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COMMENTARY
Aug 21, 2006

Fear of rivalry rules LDP

With the governing Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election a month away, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe has emerged as the overwhelming favorite to win the post, and hence to become the next prime minister.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 20, 2006

A nation of animal lovers -- as pets or when they're on a plate

The Japanese consider themselves a compassionate people when it comes to an animal's fate. Memorial stones have been erected in whaling villages since the early Edo Period (1603-1867), as they are today at slaughterhouses. Buddhist priests are hired to read the sutras before altars set with incense and...
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2006

Ex-lawmaker's former aide questioned over Mizutani scam

Prosecutors probing alleged tax evasion by engineering firm Mizutani Kensetsu Co. have questioned a former secretary to a retired Diet member who once served as a Cabinet minister and was a top executive of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2006

Sugar prices soar amid demand for bio-ethanol

High oil prices have been causing rises in not only fuel and material costs but also in one thing consumers are more familiar with -- sugar.
COMMENTARY
Aug 19, 2006

Struggling for transparency in China

HONG KONG -- Following the Chinese press, one sometimes gets totally depressed and feels that there is no hope for the country, with its myriad problems. At other times, the opposite is true. This week, it is a mix. On different fronts, one sees a host of problems but, at the same time, it is clear that...
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2006

Futata snubs Aoki bid, backs Konaka buyout

Menswear retailer Futata Co. said Friday it will accept Konaka Co.'s offer to make it a wholly owned subsidiary, rejecting menswear rival Aoki Holding Inc.'s proposal.
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2006

Matsuda first in Cabinet to meet Gadhafi

The state minister for science and technology held talks Thursday night in Libya with leader Moammar Gadhafi, according to the Foreign Ministry.
EDITORIALS
Aug 18, 2006

Threat to confidentiality

As part of international efforts to stop money laundering by criminal organizations and money transfers by terrorist groups, the government is preparing a new bill that it hopes to submit to a regular Diet session next year.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2006

Crown Prince and family fly off to Holland

Crown Prince Naruhito, Crown Princess Masako and their daughter, Princess Aiko, left for the Netherlands on Thursday for a two-week trip aimed at helping the Crown Princess recover from her stress-induced illness.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 16, 2006

'Stubborn maverick' makes good on promise

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday took his last opportunity while in office to visit Yasukuni Shrine on the anniversary of Japan's wartime surrender, finally following through on a campaign pledge he made before his April 2001 inauguration to break the diplomatic taboo by making the contentious...
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 16, 2006

Prime ministers' Yasukuni visits

Following is a chronology of events related to prime ministers' visits to Yasukuni Shrine:
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2006

Firms find niche market turning office towers into dwellings

From the outside, the apartment building Kenny Sumitani recently moved into looks exactly like an office high-rise.
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2006

Farm ministry OKs 35th U.S. meatpacker

The agriculture ministry said Tuesday it has authorized a meatpacker in California to resume beef exports to Japan, the last on the list of 35 U.S. beef processors approved for exports to the Japanese market.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Aug 15, 2006

What's your greatest achievement?

Pari Solanki Market research, 25 Climbing Mount Kenya was probably my greatest achievement so far. It took me three days to get to the top and I felt great once I was there. I cursed myself all the way up, but once I got there it was amazing.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2006

Paraguay envoy looks back on emigration plan that worked

, now the Japan International Cooperation Agency, played a key role in assisting the emigrants to Paraguay and improving their lives, providing them with agricultural knowhow. Hospitals and schools were built with aid from Japan, while JICA experts collaborated to improve soybean strains and advised...
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 13, 2006

Iwo Jima: 'A futile battle' fought without surrender

August 15 is the 61st anniversary of Emperor Hirohito's capitulation speech that ended World War II. Yet even in a world assailed ever since with ghastly images of conflicts, few rank with the ferocity both sides showed in the battle for a remote Pacific islet in the spring of 1945. That islet's name...
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 12, 2006

Suzuki signs minor-league deal

Former Kansas City Royals right-hander Mac Suzuki has agreed to a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs, the player said on his official Web site on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Aug 12, 2006

BOJ Policy Board talks net no changes

The Bank of Japan decided Friday to maintain its 0.25 percent short-term interest rate as the central bank's assessment of economic and financial condition in the past month remained unchanged.
EDITORIALS
Aug 12, 2006

Japan Post Corp.'s sketchy road map

Japan Post Corp.'s 10-year road map for postal service privatization is ambitious. If things develop as the road map envisages, a mega-bank and a mega-life insurance firm will be established, possibly creating competition problems for existing private banks and insurance firms. But the road map appears...
BASKETBALL
Aug 11, 2006

Japan unveils roster for World Championship

Speed, agility, experience and poise -- versatility, unpredictability and desire, too. These are trademarks of the 12 basketball players named to the Japan National Team on Thursday night.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Aug 11, 2006

Psychedelic radar 08.11

Mother: Aug. 13-15
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2006

Will polluters pay for climate change?

PRINCETON, New Jersey -- I am writing this in New York in early August, when the mayor declared a "heat emergency" to prevent widespread electricity outages from the expected high use of air conditioners. City employees could face criminal charges if they set their thermostats below 25.5 C. Nevertheless,...
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2006

Fujimoto seeks thalidomide approval

Fujimoto Pharmaceutical Corp. has filed an application with the health ministry to manufacture and sell thalidomide as an authorized medicine, more than 40 years after the drug was banned in Japan for causing severe birth defects, according to a company official.
SOCCER
Aug 9, 2006

Ulsan stomps Dalian to lift silverware

Lee Chun Soo played a starring role once again as Ulsan Hyundai thrashed Dalian Shide 4-0 to win the A3 Champions Cup at Tokyo's National Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji