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Apr 21, 2006

Olympic champs Kitajima, Shibata beaten at national c'ships

Kosuke Kitajima failed to make the medals podium in the men's 200-meter breaststroke and fellow Olympic champion Ai Shibata was unable to keep her 400-meter freestyle title on the opening day of the national swimming championships Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 21, 2006

The silly world of SpongeBob

OK, class, quiz time: Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? No takers? OK, here's a hint: Absorbent and yellow and porous is he!
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 21, 2006

L'Artemis: Panache and great value on a plate

Picture this. A substantial fillet of salmon fills the center of the plate, its flesh glinting a delicate pink and adorned with a dab of sour cream and a frond of dill. To one side a small mound of lightly steamed spring vegetables: young peas still in their pods; nanohana (rape greens); a thin wedge...
BASKETBALL
Apr 20, 2006

Japan to meet Puerto Rico in buildup for world c'ships

Japan will face Puerto Rico in the Kirin Cup in a tuneup for the men's world basketball championships getting under way this August, the Japan Basketball Association said Wednesday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 20, 2006

Fighters nail down fourth straight win

Tsuyoshi Shinjo homered for the second straight night with a three-run shot Wednesday as the Nippon Ham Fighters beat the Orix Buffaloes 6-3 for their fourth consecutive victory in the Pacific League.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2006

Nationwide raid on Aum turns up appeal for 'calm'

The Public Security Intelligence Agency raided 11 Aum Shinrikyo facilities across the country Tuesday and said it found an internal document calling for a "calm response" if cult founder Shoko Asahara is put to death.
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2006

METI's Asia-Oceania FTA pitch surprises but is predictable

Trade minister Toshihiro Nikai's announcement earlier this month that Japan plans to start talks with 15 other nations in 2008 to create an Asia-Oceania free-trade zone took many by surprise -- not only experts but also those within government -- sparking speculation about the ministry's true intentions....
MULTIMEDIA
Apr 18, 2006

Japan hopes to grow coral around disputed Pacific outcrop

Japan will begin studying ways to foster the growth of coral reefs near two islets at the center of a territorial dispute with China, a government official said Monday.
MULTIMEDIA
Apr 18, 2006

Japan hopes to grow coral around disputed Pacific outcrop

Japan will begin studying ways to foster the growth of coral reefs near two islets at the center of a territorial dispute with China, a government official said Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2006

Japan hopes to grow coral around disputed Pacific outcrop

Japan will begin studying ways to foster the growth of coral reefs near two islets at the center of a territorial dispute with China, a government official said Monday.
MULTIMEDIA
Apr 18, 2006

Japan hopes to grow coral around disputed Pacific outcrop

Japan will begin studying ways to foster the growth of coral reefs near two islets at the center of a territorial dispute with China, a government official said Monday.
COMMENTARY
Apr 16, 2006

Democracy? Good leaders matter more

SINGAPORE -- The notion of multiparty democracy as an ideal one-size-fits-all form of government is, I am sorry to have to report, not exactly bowling people over these days. Take a look at Thailand and the Philippines, which Washington has often enshrined on its ideological placards as a pair of shining...
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2006

Bankruptcies declined to 14-year low in 2005

The number of companies that went bankrupt with debts of 10 million yen or more in fiscal 2005 fell for the fourth straight year to a 14-year low, thanks to a pickup in economic activity and government aid for struggling firms, a private credit research agency said Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2006

FSA orders suspension at Aiful

The Financial Services Agency said Friday it has ordered consumer finance firm Aiful Corp. to suspend most operations at its 1,700 outlets for three to 25 days over the use of strong-arm collection tactics.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Apr 15, 2006

Maureen Tan

When Mutsuko Miki, widow of former Prime Minister Takeo Miki, set up the Asian Ladies Friendship Society in 1968, she could not have projected how the society would rate in 2006. To her gratification, ALFS today, expanded to the Asia-Pacific Ladies Friendship Society, has 24 member countries and a general...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 14, 2006

Kuwata snaps winless streak as Giants down Carp

Exhale, Kuwata-san.
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2006

Wholesale prices added 2.1% in '05 as oil rose

Wholesale prices rose 2.1 percent in fiscal 2005 from the previous year for the second-straight annual increase, due mainly to rising prices of oil and oil-related products, as well higher import prices caused by the yen's depreciation, the Bank of Japan said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2006

More companies opting for delisting

Scandal-tainted Livedoor Co. is to be expelled from the Mothers market for startup firms Friday amid allegations it falsified its financial statements. But while the Internet firm is not leaving willingly, over the past year a number of companies have walked away from the stock market on their own after...
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2006

Obituary: Frank Gibney

1953, was among the first to depict humanely the wartime enemy through portraits of a journalist, a naval officer, a steelworker, a farmer and Emperor Hirohito, posthumously called Emperor Showa.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 14, 2006

Graffiti robot drips technology

"Auto Portrait" is a weekend of "sonic and visual interludes" taking place at Information Gallery in Tokyo from April 14 to 16. The show features automated wall paintings by Hektor, a portable spray paint output device for laptop computers. There will also be a theremin performance by Yuri Suzuki and...
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2006

Victims of black lung sue government

A group of ex-coal miners suffering from black lung disease and relatives of several who have died filed a lawsuit in Ibaraki Prefecture on Wednesday seeking 505 million yen in state compensation.
EDITORIALS
Apr 13, 2006

Testing Japanese democracy

Three judges at the Tokyo District Court have begun their deliberations in a group-action case brought by more than 400 public-school teachers challenging the right of the Tokyo Metropolitan Education Board to force teachers to sing the national anthem and to stand up to show respect for the flag. With...
EDITORIALS
Apr 12, 2006

A hazard named Winny

It seems not a day passes without news on leakage of confidential information from governmental and other entities onto the Internet. The types of information leaked are vast and the content is critical -- Self-Defense Forces-related documents, quake-resistance data for nuclear-power plants, access codes...
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2006

106 defense officials got 'amakudari' jobs in 2005

A total of 106 former senior defense officials landed private-sector jobs in 2005, all within two years after retiring, according to an annual Defense Agency tally released Tuesday.

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