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BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2007

GE considers selling Lake credit unit

General Electric Co., the world's largest provider of private-label credit cards, said Tuesday it is considering the sale of its Japanese consumer-credit unit, Lake Co.
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Aug 22, 2007

Multitasking watches and solar iPod rechargers

No craze is complete without its own gadgets. This new Sudoku aid looks just like another Japanese obsession — the "keitai" — with players using the number keypad to enter their sudoku answers. It costs ¥1,029, with more information available at item.rakuten.co.jp/wnd-minakuru/4582256_900052/. If...
SOCCER
Aug 20, 2007

Spurs find form against Derby

LONDON (AP) Tottenham lifted the pressure on manager Martin Jol by scoring three goals in the first 14 minutes on Saturday on the way to a 4-0 Premier League victory over Derby.
Reader Mail
Aug 19, 2007

Sumo wrestlers deserve rest, too

The punishment meted out to Asashoryu was neither lenient nor strict, but the accusation of "mental instability" was off the wall and totally inappropriate. Asashoryu's unrefined behavior in the past was tolerated because he was the only yokozuna, his sumo was exciting, and spectators and TV audiences...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 19, 2007

Why not let doping close the gene gap?

PRINCETON, New Jersey — There is now a regular season for discussing drugs in sports, one that arrives every year with the Tour de France. This year, the overall leader, two other riders and two teams were expelled or withdrew from the race as a result of failing, or missing, drug tests. The eventual...
COMMENTARY
Aug 18, 2007

China's tough leap forward

BRUSSELS — Ever since Deng Xiaoping's aphorism "Black cat, white cat, who cares as long as it can catch mice" was burned into Chinese souls by the successive horrors of the Great Leap Forward, its resulting famine and the Cultural Revolution's shambolic savagery, China has seen 10 percent-plus growth...
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2007

Nintendo scores with brain-training, etiquette games

Since March, Natsumi Takita has spent 10 minutes daily on a Nintendo DS hand-held game machine, undergoing daily quizzes using "Otona-no Joshikiryoku Training DS" ("Common Sense Training for Adults").
EDITORIALS
Aug 18, 2007

Nuclear safety at stake

The Nuclear Safety Commission made public its 2006 white paper on the safety of nuclear power last week. The fact that its publication came after two postponements shows that the safety of the nation's nuclear power plants cannot be taken for granted. It will take tremendous efforts on the part of the...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 18, 2007

Are island people an endangered species?

The passing of O-bon (the festival of the dead), seems an appropriate time to reflect on the declining population in Japan. While the population continues to decline, depopulation is also occurring in farming communities and on Japan's small islands. As an islander myself, I am confronted with the question:...
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2007

Aussie bank chief: 'normalize' rates

Global financial markets need Japan's benchmark interest rate to be returned to "normal," Reserve Bank of Australia Gov. Glenn Stevens said.
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2007

PT Pertamina, Mitsubishi seek LNG plant loans

Mitsubishi Corp., Japan's largest trading company, and PT Pertamina will seek $800 million in loans to develop Indonesia's fourth liquefied natural gas plant.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 17, 2007

Roh's trip to Pyongyang puts three scenarios in play

WASHINGTON — There is much speculation about what President Roh Moo Hyun will do when he meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang during Aug. 28-30.
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2007

Rural universities feel pinch of lower enrollments

Hagi International University in Yamaguchi Prefecture filed for court protection from creditors in June 2005, owing ¥3.7 billion after the number of freshmen enrollments and students declined sharply.
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2007

MUFG to sell 'catastrophe bonds' linked to quake danger

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's biggest bank, plans to sell bonds linked to earthquake risk to tap demand from investors seeking higher returns and from companies to hedge the cost of potential damage.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
Aug 17, 2007

Still Life

Director: Jia Zhang Ke Language: Mandarin
EDITORIALS
Aug 16, 2007

Subdued hopes for a Korean summit

The leaders of South and North Korea have agreed to hold a summit, the second ever between presidents of the two countries. Any dialogue among Korean heads of state is to be welcomed, but the timing of this meeting is suspicious. It is tempting to dismiss the summit as a political stunt to shore up the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2007

One minister breaks ranks, visits shrine

Japan observed the 62nd anniversary of its World War II surrender Wednesday as all but one of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet ministers refrained from visiting Yasukuni Shrine.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2007

Rightwingers lash out at absent ministers' 'lack of respect'

Rightwing activists and visitors at Yasukuni Shrine were quick Wednesday to protest the Cabinet's lack of "respect for the war dead" as all but one minister chose to steer clear of the contentious site.

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