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JAPAN
Dec 4, 2007

Osaka governor, hit by scandal, lack of backers, won't seek a third term

OSAKA — Abandoned by her major backers, Osaka Gov. Fusae Ohta announced Monday she will not run for a third term in next month's election. The decision ends her career as Japan's first female governor and throws open an election likely to have national repercussions.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Nov 20, 2007

A support service for sufferers

Phones ring off the hook in the office of VOL-NEXT, a Tokyo-based company that offers various goods and services for women battling breast cancer. Chiharu Soga, the demure 42-year-old who runs the three-year-old company, has just fielded a phone call made in desperation by the sister of a recently diagnosed...
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2007

Finance panel urges more belt-tightening

An advisory panel to the finance minister urged the government Monday to stick to its belt-tightening policy to restore the government's debt-ridden finances as it compiles the budget for fiscal 2008.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2007

Fukuda carries political baggage to Washington

With Tuesday's passage of a new special antiterrorism bill by the Lower House, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda can breathe a sigh of relief before he meets Friday with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington in their first bilateral summit.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2007

Employees' quest to recover wages, get jobs begins

, Nova said that unpaid salaries would be paid and that students would receive refunds by the end of the month. Now, they file for bankruptcy protection. We can't trust what Nova officials say," said Katsuji Yamahara, a union representative. Toshiaki Higashibata, a lawyer representing Nova, told a separate...
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2007

Consultancy exec to take Livedoor helm in December

Livedoor Holdings Co. President Kozo Hiramatsu will step down in December and be replaced by Hironori Ishizaka, a 34-year-old consulting company executive, the firm said Wednesday.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Oct 24, 2007

Holdouts cause for concern in Cleveland

NEW YORK — At what point will LeBron James flex his all-mighty muscle and put pressure on Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert to resolve the contract gridlock restricted free agents Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic?
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 23, 2007

Ships out at sea or troops in a war zone?

The special antiterrorism law that expires Nov. 1 is the hottest dispute in domestic politics and could even determine the fate of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and his administration.
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2007

Fukuda admits his chapter switched names on 112 receipts

In an ironic twist, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda admitted Wednesday in the Diet that a Liberal Democratic Party chapter he heads in Gunma Prefecture changed the names on 112 receipts worth ¥9.5 million.
BUSINESS
Oct 2, 2007

'Tankan' shows producers upbeat

Business confidence among the nation's largest manufacturers remained upbeat in September despite the global financial turmoil triggered by U.S. housing woes, the Bank of Japan's quarterly survey of business confidence, or "tankan," showed Monday.
JAPAN / Q&A
Aug 7, 2007

DPJ's prospects with upper hand in Upper House

The July 29 House of Councilors election brought a landslide victory to the Democratic Party of Japan, which together with the other opposition forces gained a majority in the chamber. In addition, the DPJ won the largest number of seats on a single-party basis and thus will grab the Upper House presidency....
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2007

HMV sells Japanese store chain

HMV Group PLC, Britain's largest music retailer, said Tuesday it agreed to sell its Japanese store chain to Daiwa Securities Group Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. for ¥17 billion in cash.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 1, 2007

E-cash silencing the jingle of change

Since major electronic money services emerged in 2001, it has become common in Tokyo for people to go through ticket gates by just touching a smart card to electronic readers at train stations and to make small purchases without pulling out their wallets at convenience stores. Japan's cash-based tradition...
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2007

TBS wins proxy fight to get takeover-defense measures

Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. scored a victory in a proxy fight Thursday with Rakuten Inc. as its shareholders approved the broadcaster's plan to introduce takeover-defense measures that could foil the Internet mall operator's attempt to increase its stake in TBS to more than 20 percent.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2007

Bull-Dog bites back at advance by U.S. fund

Bull-Dog Sauce Co. shareholders on Sunday approved the company's proposal to launch defensive measures to fend off an unsolicited takeover bid by New York-based hedge fund Steel Partners.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2007

Climate change raises threat of water wars

PRAGUE — The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently released alarming data on the consequences of global warming in some of the world's poorest regions. By 2100, 1 billion to 3 billion people worldwide are expected to suffer from water scarcity. Global warming will increase evaporation...
BUSINESS
Jun 7, 2007

Rakuten seeks disclosure order for TBS deals

Rakuten Inc. made another move to make Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. its affiliate Wednesday when it petitioned the Tokyo District Court to order TBS to disclose its share transaction records.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2007

Nakayama considers Upper House

Kyoko Nakayama, a special adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the abduction issue, said Tuesday she is considering running for a seat in the House of Councilors on the ruling Liberal Democratic Party ticket.
BUSINESS
Jun 1, 2007

Stage now set for Hoya's Pentax tender offer in June

Hoya Corp. announced Thursday that it will launch a tender offer for Pentax Corp. as early as June 4 in an attempt to turn the camera maker into a wholly owned subsidiary, ending a two-month takeover battle that caused Pentax to replace its president.

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic