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Japan Times
Features
Dec 26, 2004

Men or monkeys in 2004?

A year is a novel that writes itself. The plot may be incoherent and the main characters disappointing, but the overall effect never fails to be riveting.
COMMENTARY
Dec 26, 2004

The will to clean up politicos

MANILA -- Political parties are essential components of democratic governance. Democracies require political parties as these offer the voter political choices at election time. They also represent and channel divergent social interests and diffuse them in what is typically a protracted political process....
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2004

NPA confirms Japan's first case of e-mail fraud

The National Police Agency said Friday it has confirmed Japan's first case of e-mail fraud.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 25, 2004

Vodafone to play 3G hardball with customers

Vodafone K.K. President Shiro Tsuda has said the company will stop offering new second-generation cell phone handsets in 2005 to force customers to switch to 3G handsets.
COMMENTARY
Dec 25, 2004

Waiting for Japan to change -- or can it?

LOS ANGELES -- For as long as I write this column on Asia, which enters into its 10th year next month, I doubt I'll ever witness anything as amusing or telling as the flareup that took place at the close of the University of Southern California's Asia Conference last month.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 25, 2004

Singh moves to resolve Kashmir conflict

MADRAS, India -- India's new prime minister, Manmohan Singh, welcomed his Pakistani counterpart, Shaukat Aziz, in New Delhi the other day with a classic line: "Who could say 20 years ago that the Berlin Wall would be a thing of the past. My hope and prayer is that we can do something similar in the Indian...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Dec 24, 2004

The rundown of the big countdowns

Another year has whizzed on by and the silly season is upon us again. Those of you who haven't yet had enough of overeating and overdrinking might find some of the Christmas dinner options of interest. Otherwise, hold off on the food, tighten that belt and get ready to dance in the New Year.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2004

Gangland power vacuum leaves Kobe residents gasping

KOBE -- Nada Ward is one of Kobe's better neighborhoods, home to senior business executives and foreign diplomats, and known for its good schools and small, trendy shops and cafes.
BUSINESS
Dec 23, 2004

MMC vows to listen to defect gripes

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will heed input from customers in deciding on vehicle recalls, according to a business improvement plan it submitted to the transport ministry Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 23, 2004

Spending the planet into eco-bankruptcy

When I was a teenager, my uncle would joke, "When all else fails, read the instructions." About the same time I also learned that the most important things don't come with directions for use. Our planet is a good example.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 23, 2004

Taiwan bullet train project stalled by adjustments

Taiwan's high-speed railway system linking Taipei and the southern city of Kaohsiung will probably not start on schedule next October due to delays in adjusting the Japanese bullet train system to European specifications.
EDITORIALS
Dec 23, 2004

Ukraine's poisonous politics

How far will the old order in Ukraine go to safeguard its privileges? News that opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko was poisoned suggests that it is desperate indeed. Three months after the alleged poisoning, questions continue to mount about how Mr. Yushchenko ingested what should have...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 22, 2004

Net gain: Adding Carter, subtracting 'Zo

NEW YORK -- If Vince Carter never plays a game for the Nets it was still a great trade.
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2004

Salsa fanatics defy rigid Japan

A pulsating mambo fills the air at a cavernous club near Tokyo Bay. "Ayyy-esssooo!" the song calls in exhortation as a sea of dancers -- sweaty, skin bared, clothes clinging -- roll their hips and hurtle into turns with increasing abandon.
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2004

Honda hopes to boost worldwide sales by 8%

Honda Motor Co. said Monday it hopes to boost its worldwide sales by 8 percent to 3.4 million vehicles in 2005 by fully remodeling the popular Civic series and introducing new models.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2004

Finance Ministry proposes 16% cut in FILP spending for fiscal 2005

The Finance Ministry on Monday proposed cutting spending under the government's fiscal investment and loan program by 16.3 percent in fiscal 2005 from the previous year.
COMMENTARY
Dec 21, 2004

Price of exclusivity too high

"Nippon Chinbotsu" -- Japan Sinks -- was the title of a 1980s best-selling novel that predicted how massive earthquakes would push the Japanese islands below the waters of the Pacific. The drenched survivors would head for Australia.
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2004

Justice Ministry plans legislation to combat human trafficking

The Justice Ministry plans to crack down on human trafficking, particularly involving foreign women forced into prostitution, when it submits a number of bills next year to revise the Penal Code, ministry officials said Monday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2004

Japanese firms wake up to wonders of fair trade

Japanese corporations have begun to sell fair trade-certified products in a belated effort to catch up with an international movement that has existed for nearly two decades.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / COUNTER CULTURE
Dec 17, 2004

Delicatessens delight Tokyo

Everyone hankers after a little luxury in their life and in food-fixated Japan the latest in retail therapy is splashing out on fancy imported snacks or take-home dishes prepared by expert chefs.
CULTURE / Books / THE BOOK REPORT
Dec 17, 2004

Book Trade Booms in 2004

2004 was a prosperous year for the Japanese book trade with revenues exceeding the previous year's figures for the first time in seven years. Despite many small bookstores going out of business, innovative marketing from publishers and book retailers produced several million-sellers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2004

Don Quijote president to quit over fatal fire

Don Quijote Co. President Takao Yasuda said Tuesday he intends to step down to take responsibility for the three employees who died earlier in the day in one of two suspicious fires that struck its outlets in Saitama Prefecture.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2004

Tokyo, Washington sign missile-tech exchange agreement

Japan and the United States signed a pact Tuesday allowing "comprehensive cooperation" on transfers of technologies related to missile-defense systems.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2004

Bankruptcies fall for 23rd straight month

The number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan fell 2.6 percent in November from a year earlier to 1,106 for the 23rd straight month of decline, a private-sector corporate credit research agency said Tuesday.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear