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COMMENTARY / World
Oct 10, 2005

America overhauls its Asia-Pacific force

HONOLULU -- Amid plans for a sweeping realignment of United States military services in Asia and the Pacific, the U.S. Army in the Pacific has begun extensive changes intended to turn it into the most flexible expeditionary force that it has been since the end of the war in Vietnam 30 years ago.
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2005

Asbestos-linked cancer deaths doubled in last decade

Deaths from mesothelioma, a rare cancer often caused by asbestos exposure, almost doubled to a record 953 in 2004 from 500 in 1995, according to government statistics.
EDITORIALS
Oct 8, 2005

EU opens its doors to Turkey

After taking negotiations to the brink, the European Union this week agreed -- as promised -- to open talks with Turkey on its membership in the union. The last-minute decision is typical of EU behavior these days, but Ankara's accession raises fundamental questions about the EU. This week's agreement...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2005

LDP rookies debut in postal deliberations

Three new faces in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party who were elected in the Sept. 11 general election as proponents of postal privatization made their debut in the Diet Friday during deliberations on the issue.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Oct 8, 2005

Conor Hanratty

Conor Hanratty of Ireland says there is obvious benefit in studying a subject ranking amongst the less sought-after. When he enrolled in Royal Holloway, University of London, for his master's degree in Greek theater performance, he was one of only four in his class. Undoubtedly he did not require individual...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 8, 2005

Giant new store gives Akihabara a wakeup call

The mammoth outlet opened by Yodobashi Camera Co. in Tokyo's Akihabara district in mid-September appears to have become a catalyst for change in an area renowned for its cut-throat retail electronics competition.
BUSINESS
Oct 8, 2005

Household spending declines 0.6%

Japan's average monthly household spending in August dropped a real 0.6 percent from a year earlier to 299,641, yen marking the fifth straight month of decline, the government said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 8, 2005

Kanazawa to Hayama for workshop and concert

A flute in full blow draws me to a Taisho-period building behind the Catholic church in Hayama. A window is open, and whoever is playing sounds pretty good to this amateur.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2005

Constitution panel mulls referendum bill

A new House of Representatives panel began debate Thursday on establishing legislation on procedures for a national referendum on revising the Constitution.
COMMENTARY
Oct 7, 2005

Why not a nonlawyer on the high court?

WASHINGTON -- For the first time in more than 30 years, an American president has nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court someone without prior judicial experience. It's too bad that President George W. Bush didn't go further and choose a nonlawyer.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 7, 2005

Kumazawa Brewing Company: Brews worth the trip

Drink locally, eat bountifully: It's a rule of thumb that has served us very well over the years in Japan. Places that specialize in good nihonshu invariably serve food of similar quality. So it would stand to reason that, if a brewer of fine jizake were to open its own restaurant, then the results would...
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2005

Lump-sum asbestos redress elusive goal

The government agreed Sept. 29 on the outline of a special bill to help asbestos victims, but officials admit the legislation provides no lump sum compensation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 6, 2005

You cannot force them to sing it in Japan, or to listen in London

"In this 60th anniversary year of the end of the war . . . I thought it was the right time to ask about Japan's current movement toward constitutional revision -- especially the revision of (war-renouncing) Article 9," said 53-year-old Ai Nagai, founder of Nitosha (Two Rabbits) Theater Company, as she...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2005

International airports debut local bus tours for transit passengers

William White did not expect to have a chance for sake tasting at Narita airport while in transit from Vietnam to the U.S.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2005

Cabinet OKs bill to tighten controls on the sex industry

The Cabinet approved a bill Tuesday to revise the law covering the sex industry, featuring a measure against human-trafficking that would require operators of such businesses to confirm that foreign women employed for "entertainment services" have work permits.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2005

CDs with cardboard jackets find a groove

Jazz and rock compact disks that come in cardboard jackets mimicking those of the long-playing records of yore are creating a boom among nostalgic buyers in their 30s and 40s as record companies rush to revive great recordings of the past.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2005

32% oppose green tax, topping those in favor

More people oppose an environmental tax to curb global warming than support it, according to a recent government survey.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2005

Shortwave eyed to reach out to abductees

will begin broadcasting the names and ages in Japanese of people it believes were abducted for about 30 minutes a day possibly starting this month. "If the Japanese in North Korea listen to the broadcasts, they will know we are still trying to bring them home," said Sadaki Manabe, a senior member of...
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2005

Japan Post enters new era with investment trust sales

Japan Post began selling investment trusts Monday, marking a departure from an era where post offices only offered nonrisk financial services, such as deposits and life insurance.
COMMENTARY
Oct 4, 2005

DPJ out to change its ways

The rout of the Democratic Party of Japan in the Sept. 11 Lower House election raises the question: Will it be able to recoup its losses and make itself strong enough to snatch power from the Liberal Democratic Party?
COMMUNITY
Oct 4, 2005

Volunteers, taxes and Amnesty

Volunteering Reader S. lives in Gifu-ken and is looking for volunteer work in her area. She also travels to Nagoya on weekends to meet friends, so is looking for volunteer opportunities there too.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Oct 4, 2005

"Barkbelly," "The Sign of the Black Dagger"

"Barkbelly," Cat Weatherill, Puffin; 2005; 352 pp.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’