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JAPAN
Nov 30, 2005

EHomes chief ties Japan ERI to coverup of faked quake data

EHomes Inc. President Togo Fujita on Tuesday told a Diet committee that Japan ERI Co., which certified construction applications with faked quake-resistance data by architect Hidetsugu Aneha, was involved in hiding the falsifications after discovering them about a year ago.
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2005

State lenders to be whittled to one

The government and ruling Liberal Democratic Party agreed on a plan Tuesday to create a single public lender by scrapping one, privatizing two and integrating the remaining five.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2005

France boasts benefits in bid to boost foreign investment

French industry minister Francois Loos is calling on Japanese businesses to invest more in France despite recent rioting that spread across the country.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2005

Talks with N. Korea expected soon

Japan and North Korea are highly likely to meet before the expected January resumption of six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue, Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi said Monday.
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2005

METI eyes cutoff of funding for Shoko Chukin Bank

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which oversees Shoko Chukin Bank, a public financier specializing in loans to small businesses, plans to phase out government funding of the institution and to privatize it, METI Vice Minister Hideji Sugiyama said Monday.
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2005

Mitsubishi Fuso to slim operations

Scandal-tainted Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp. said Monday it will streamline its domestic sales network and group firms to slash costs and increase efficiency as it struggles to cope with dwindling domestic sales.
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2005

TBS getting ready to reject Rakuten

A team from Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. completed its final report on Rakuten Inc.'s merger proposal Monday, and the offer is expected to be formally rejected by management, a senior TBS official said.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 27, 2005

Animals proved superheroes in TV Tokyo's "Sekai Bikkuri Daihakken" and more

Animals are cute and all, but on TV Tokyo's special documentary program, "Sekai Bikkuri Daihakken: Dobutsutachi no Kiseki no Power (World Surprising Discoveries: The Miracle Power of Animals)" (Monday, 8 p.m.), animals prove they are also superheroes.
BUSINESS
Nov 26, 2005

State severs talks with localities on subsidy cutbacks

The central government broke off talks Friday with local government representatives on ways to decentralize fiscal authority, brushing off local-level opposition to proposed cuts in welfare subsidies.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2005

Female monarchs get green light

A government panel on Imperial succession concluded Thursday that females and their descendants should be allowed to ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne.
EDITORIALS
Nov 25, 2005

Press on with territories issue

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Tokyo this week for the first time in five years for a summit meeting with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. They and their ministers signed 12 documents, ranging from joint efforts to counter international terrorism to economic cooperation, including a Russian...
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2005

Abe backs Defense Agency upgrade

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe on Thursday supported the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's recent decision to try to turn the Defense Agency into a ministry.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2005

Russia releases seized fishing boat

A Japanese fishing boat and its five-member crew seized by Russia in disputed waters earlier this month returned to Japan early Thursday, according to a Japan Coast Guard official.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2005

Condo developer to pay residents' hotel bills

A Tokyo-based condominium developer that sold seven apartment buildings in the Tokyo area with faked quake-resistance data from Aneha Architect Design Office said Tuesday it will pay hotel bills for residents who vacate the structures.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2005

SMFG posts record net in first half

The Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group said Tuesday it posted a 392.3 billion yen net profit in the first half of the 2005 business year -- more than seven times the 53.4 billion yen profit it recorded a year earlier.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2005

Putin, Koizumi bolster economic ties, skip isles

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi agreed Monday to increase security and economic cooperation despite the 60-year territorial row over the four Russian-held islands off northern Hokkaido.
EDITORIALS
Nov 22, 2005

Simplistic view in a complex world

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush met at a summit in the ancient capital of Kyoto last Wednesday, the first such meeting in almost a year. The two leaders shared their belief that close relations between their countries are important not only for this region but also...
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2005

MFG sees sharp rise in net profit

Mizuho Financial Group Inc., the country's second-largest banking group by assets, said Monday its group net profit for the first half of fiscal 2005 through September rose 44.7 percent from a year earlier, as the economic recovery boosted the financial health of its corporate borrowers.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2005

State financial entities to shrink from eight to one

The government and ruling coalition have agreed in principle on the goal of consolidating eight governmental financial institutions into a single entity, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Monday.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 22, 2005

The 'IC you' card

People are still reeling from September's LDP landslide election, realizing that Koizumi can essentially legislate whatever he wants.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2005

Liquor retailer group a big political donor

The political arm of a scandal-hit association of liquor retailers made at least 210 million yen in political donations in the five years to 2004, it was learned Saturday.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years