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JAPAN
Jan 6, 2006

Number of 110 calls to post first fall

The number of emergency phone calls to police using the 110 service across Japan in 2005 is expected to register the first drop on record, the National Police Agency said Thursday. Records have been kept since 1961.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 6, 2006

Mylo

Electronic dance musicians, especially those who work alone or in pairs, usually become distinctive by design, honing a certain habitual mood (Daft Punk's kiddie disco; The Orb's creepy sensuality) into a trademark sound.
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2006

Barriers to U.S. force relocation

An interim report for U.S. base relocation in Japan, prepared by the Japanese and U.S. governments last October, has met stiff opposition in various parts of the country affected by the relocation plans. As things stand now, prospects for a final agreement look uncertain at best.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2006

Koizumi kicks off new year defiant toward Beijing, Seoul

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi criticized China and South Korea during his New Year's news conference Wednesday, claiming it is Beijing and Seoul, not Tokyo, that should work to resolve their long-standing gripes over his repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2006

U.S.-China ideological rivalry heats up

WASHINGTON -- Two recent events in Asia have again directly underscored the "ideological" tussle between Washington and Beijing, which is increasingly seen as a benevolent power and even as offering a model for socioeconomic development. As Asian leaders gathered last month in Kuala Lumpur for the East...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jan 4, 2006

Letting laughter flow in our woods

Two years ago, we started running programs specially designed for visually challenged children in our forest near Kurohime among the Nagano Prefecture hills. Before getting started, our Afan Woodland Trust sent out a questionnaire asking the children what they would most like to do in the woods. The...
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2006

Kawasaki foreign residents' panel has significant impact on city policy

In the nearly 10 years since its establishment, the Kawasaki City Representatives Assembly for Foreign Residents, an advisory body to the mayor made up of non-Japanese residents, has been largely successful.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 3, 2006

Landlords, car repairs, and city hall

Landlord Five years ago my landlord asked for access to our apartment in order to fix a water problem in another premises directly under ours. Damage done to this apartment during that work still has not been repaired. Recently we had a problem with our electrical system and the electrician discovered...
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2006

Four-way horse race to succeed Koizumi

The gate is open and the horses are off and running.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2006

China says Japan wanted suicide of diplomat to stay under wraps

Japan urged China not to disclose the suicide of a staff member at the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai in May 2004, saying it had been caused by job stress, the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo said in a written statement Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2005

2005 hurdles over for TSE

The Tokyo Stock Exchange held a ceremony Friday to mark the end of the year's trading, with Dai Tamesue, the bronze medal winner in the men's 400-meter hurdles at the International Association of Athletic Federations World Championships in August, cheering on the economy.
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2005

Handsets best pal for young female shoppers

for personal computers, will grow further," he predicted. Supporting this growth is the spread of third-generation mobile phones that offer high-speed data transmission, as well as flat fees for unlimited Internet use.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 30, 2005

On and off the charts

Cast an eye over those charts that list the top-selling Japanese pop albums of the year and three musical trends come out on top: There were loose-limbed hip-hop party grooves aplenty (Def Tech and Ketsumeishi); American-influenced punk pop (Ellegarden, Ken Yokoyama and scores of others with Orange County-inflected...
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2005

China slammed over diplomat's suicide

Tokyo has lodged protests with Beijing four times since last year over the 2004 suicide of a diplomat at the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai, claiming China violated an international treaty by trying to blackmail him for intelligence, government sources admitted Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2005

Tapes fast disappearing from movie rental shelves

Whether they're couch potatoes or not, people had better get DVD players if they want to check out the latest rental releases or even classic titles this holiday season.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2005

Newest 'shogi' pro followed unlikely path

debuts Dec. 12 as a pro "shogi" (Japanese chess) player against amateur champ Toru Shimizugami at Shogi Kaikan in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Dec 29, 2005

Reasons for smiles after the disasters

I participated last Sunday in a thing called the "Dean Martin Memorial Stop Misery Outreach Action." This is a public happening that goes back some 10 years in Japan, and involves distributing one hundred martinis -- shaken on the spot, with uncommonly good gin and vermouth, garnished with pimento-stuffed...
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2005

It's official: Flu season has arrived six weeks early

Flu season has arrived -- six weeks earlier than last winter and its second-earliest onset in the past decade, the health ministry announced Tuesday.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes