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BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2008

Boosting liquidity key: Shirakawa

The Bank of Japan's cut Friday in the benchmark interest rate by 0.2 percentage point to 0.3 percent is aimed at increasing liquidity in the money market amid the global financial turmoil, BOJ Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa said.
COMMENTARY
Oct 30, 2008

Double standard on global crises

Oct. 16 marked the 25th Annual World Food Day, an occasion whose arrival and departure received little media attention or governmental fanfare. Evidently, much of the world media and governments are consumed with an economic crisis of epic proportions.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Oct 29, 2008

Q-chan announces retirement

Literally, Naoko Takahashi had bumps in the road in her career as a marathoner. But her days of glory and agony are finally over, and now she can walk in the street as everyone else.
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2008

Dismissed sumo wrestler Gagloev launches lawsuit

Fired wrestler Soslan Aleksandrovich Gagloev's lawsuit to win back his membership in the Japan Sumo Association got under way Monday with his lawyers saying he desperately wants to return to the sport.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 28, 2008

A peep at video parlors

In the predawn hours of Oct. 1, a fire broke out at an Osaka video parlor, killing 15 people and injuring nearly a dozen others, including one who died later. Kazuhiro Ogawa, a 46-year-old unemployed man who had been in the parlor, was arrested on suspicion of arson and murder.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 26, 2008

Motel of Lost Companions

It was a foolish argument . . . the worst kind of argument too, over food. And not even food exactly, but over salad dressing.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 26, 2008

The 'tough love' of sumo and the military can turn ugly

Euphemism is a required art for anyone who communicates with the public, be they politicians or PR flacks. The idea is to change or otherwise soften concepts that may be considered too blunt. Matters regarding sex, bodily functions and death are often euphemized so as not to offend delicate sensibilities,...
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2008

'53 secret Japan-U.S. deal waived GI prosecutions

The Justice Ministry told the United States in October 1953 that legal authorities would not exercise jurisdiction in criminal cases in which U.S. service members are suspected of crimes unless the cases are "of material importance to Japan," a recently discovered memorandum shows.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 23, 2008

Inukai ready to face new challenges as president of JFA

On July 12, Motoaki Inukai became president of the Japan Football Association, bypassing four JFA vice presidents and one general secretary to land the most powerful job in Japanese soccer.
COMMENTARY
Oct 21, 2008

Obama swings and misses on trade issues

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — "Americans are angry," said John McCain, while debating his opponent Barack Obama last Wednesday night in their final face-to-face televised debate, "and they have every reason to be angry."
EDITORIALS
Oct 21, 2008

Law hinders press freedoms

A revision of the Code of Criminal Procedure enacted in 2004 prohibits lawyers and defendants from showing or handing copies of evidence they have received from the prosecution to third parties. It also prohibits posting such copies on the Internet. When the revision bill was submitted to the Diet, the...
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2008

Nakagawa has ministry hoist Hinomaru

Despite opposition from media organizations, the Finance Ministry displayed the Hinomaru flag in its press briefing room Friday under orders from Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 16, 2008

'Kunst Oktoberfest'

Central Tokyo
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 16, 2008

Muslim-Hindu relations explored in PIFF selections

In terms of box office, India has always been the best market for movies, though with its plethora of languages and regional tastes in entertainment, the country has been impervious to imports. In recent months, however, there have been deals struck between Hollywood and Bollywood that allow for movement...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 15, 2008

Fighters find ways to get job done

OSAKA — Lately, it seems for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Oct 13, 2008

Will Japan emerge from crisis as a real financial center?

The events of the past weeks and days have dominated headlines and are threatening the world economy. Like so many dominoes, share prices and banks, big and small, have fallen in the United States and Europe, wiping out massive amounts of capital — about $21 trillion as of the end of September.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 12, 2008

Ryu Murakami mistakes consumption for labor

A friend used to call TV Tokyo the "ramen and golf channel." He was referring to the station's penchant for programming centered on food shows and sponsored sports events, which don't cost as much to produce as drama series or celebrity- laden variety shows. However, the station's tightwad image was...
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2008

Tourism minister apologizes for gaffes

New tourism minister Nariaki Nakayama wasted no time putting his foot in it. The day after stating that Japanese do not like foreigners and that the country is ethnically homogeneous, Nakayama apologized Friday and retracted his statements.
COMMENTARY
Sep 22, 2008

Brace for Bush's last hurrah

The good news is that U.S. President George W. Bush is not going to invade Iran before he leaves office. The bad news is that he is attacking Pakistan instead.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2008

AIG Japan unit safe for time being

The U.S. Federal Reserve's emergency $85 billion rescue of the U.S. insurer American International Group eased concerns Wednesday that its Japanese unit will survive, at least for the time being.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2008

DPJ and Kokumin Shinto join up on postal issue

A fundamental review of postal privatization will be included in the platforms of both the Democratic Party of Japan and Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party) for the general election expected later this year, they agreed Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2008

Kim's absence at gala baffles North watchers

Foreign Ministry officials expressed puzzlement Wednesday over North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's failure to make a public appearance Tuesday to mark the hermit state's 60th anniversary.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2008

Coincident index rise too small to dispel economic gloom

The economy is "deteriorating," the government reiterated Wednesday, acknowledging the country's longest postwar expansion has probably ended.
BUSINESS
Sep 9, 2008

Bank lending growth stalls as bankruptcies rise

Lending growth at banks failed to accelerate for the second straight month in August as the economy moved closer to a recession and rising bankruptcies among real-estate companies forced banks to cut earnings forecasts, Bank of Japan data showed Monday.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear