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BUSINESS
May 30, 2006

Revamped Narita terminal set to open

NARITA, Chiba Pref. -- About 1,000 guests and reporters toured the refurbished South Wing at Narita International Airport's Terminal 1 during a ceremony Monday held ahead of the grand reopening later in the week.
JAPAN
May 30, 2006

France awards Nakagawa for role in WTO farm talks

France has honored Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shoichi Nakagawa for his proactive role in farm negotiations under the World Trade Organization, making him the first Japanese to receive the highest award of Commandeur in the agricultural sector.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2006

Seafood dealer obtains eco-label

A Tokyo-based seafood wholesaler has become the first business in Japan to be certified by a London-based conservation group as a supplier of seafood produced by sustainable fishing, officials of the group said Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 29, 2006

English-only laws: a pain with little gain

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- "It gives the idea that any other language is excluded," stated Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain in reaction to a recently passed amendment that would make English the "national language of the United States."
CULTURE / Books
May 28, 2006

American intrigues disrupt quiet of Singapore and Seoul

THE AMBASSADOR'S WIFE by Jake Needham. Hong Kong: Prime Crime Press, 2006, 349 pp., £10 (paper). MORTAL ALLIES by Brian Haig. New York: Warner Vision Books, 2002, 580 pp., $6.99 (paper). When a maid finds the nude corpse of a Western female in a suite in Singapore's Marriott Hotel, all hell breaks loose....
CULTURE / Books
May 28, 2006

Japanese scholars contribute to MEGA

In 1998, Izumi Omura, professor of economics at Tohoku University's graduate school in Sendai, and seven other scholars started a rather unusual job -- deciphering voluminous, almost illegible, 19th-century German handwritten manuscripts. The following year, Rolf Hecker from Germany joined the team,...
JAPAN
May 27, 2006

Wolfowitz here for long weekend

Japan for four days from Saturday, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.
BUSINESS
May 27, 2006

External assets hit 181 trillion yen at end of 2005

The balance of Japan's net external assets stood at 180.7 trillion yen at the end of 2005, down 2.7 percent from a year earlier, declining for the first time in two years, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
JAPAN
May 27, 2006

Livedoor ex-CFO admits guilt as trial starts, turns on Horie

are for the most part correct," contradicting Horie's assertions that he did not knowingly falsify the company's financial statements. "I deeply regret having committed these crimes, and apologize for having caused so many people trouble, he said.
BUSINESS
May 27, 2006

WTO chief Lamy to visit in July

Pascal Lamy, director general of the World Trade Organization, is expected to visit Japan in early July to sound out Tokyo as WTO members struggle to strike a deal by the end of that month, Japanese officials said Friday.
JAPAN
May 26, 2006

Canon exits film cameras amid digital dominance

Following in the footsteps of camera giants Nikon Corp. and Konika Minolta Holdings Inc., Canon Inc. will stop developing new film-based camera products because of the shrinking analogue market and dramatically growing digital demand, the company's president said Thursday.
CULTURE / Music
May 26, 2006

ROMZ Record 4th Anniversary Tour

Computer geeks, grab your MacBooks and rejoice -- your passion for processors and software will place you among the hippest of the hip next week.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 26, 2006

Making a song and dance about human rights

Amnesty International began over four decades ago, when British lawyer Peter Benenson wrote to The Observer newspaper campaigning for worldwide protests about the rights of forgotten prisoners. Benenson had heard about the case of two Portuguese students sentenced to seven years imprisonment simply for...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 26, 2006

The capital delights of Nara

To visit Kyoto is often to experience what Oscar Wilde thought of Wagner's music -- beautiful moments, but bad quarters of an hour. The time spent soaking up the splendors of its temples and gardens seems slight at the side of those long bus rides getting there across a cityscape that goes out of its...
EDITORIALS
May 25, 2006

A love that can't be legislated

The Diet has started discussions on a government bill to revise the Fundamental Law of Education. First and foremost, the bill represents an attempt to lay down a legal basis for using education as a means of instilling "love of nation" in students. While love of nation is something that should grow...
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2006

Evidence portrays Russia as failed state

LONDON -- Have you read Russian President Vladimir Putin's 2006 State of the Nation message yet? The one he gave last week? You should.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 25, 2006

Playing for his master

"I entered the world of bunraku by accident, without knowing anything about it," says shamisen player Tsuruzawa Enjiro, who has just received the prestigious stage name Tsuruzawa Enza (VI) previously held by his master.
BUSINESS
May 25, 2006

ANA to resume Narita-O'Hare service in the fall

All Nippon Airways Co. said Wednesday that it will resume flights between Tokyo and Chicago's O'Hare airport in October as part of its overseas expansion plan in the coming years.
BUSINESS
May 25, 2006

New Keidanren chief urges Asia diplomatic thaw

The new chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) has urged the government to swiftly resolve the nation's conflict with its Asian neighbors over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine.
SUMO
May 24, 2006

F2 is born -- you read it here first!

F2! F2! F2! Rather a strange way to start an article on the recently completed Natsu Basho but as the dust continues to settle and as sumo fans around the world slowly adjust to life after the tournament, I for one believe the man with the Emperor's Cup now sat proudly on his sideboard is increasingly...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 24, 2006

A road to ancient history's ruin

Irish politician Dick Roche is in the business of government, and his two-decades-long career has touched on public administration, finance, transportation and economic planning and development.
BUSINESS
May 24, 2006

OECD upgrades GDP growth estimates for 2006, 2007

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development upgraded on Tuesday its real economic growth estimates for Japan to 2.8 percent in 2006 and 2.2 percent in 2007. Its previous projection in November was for 2.0 percent for both years.

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