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Dec 16, 2004

State petitioned to ID bones linked to Unit 731

Scholars and residents of Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, submitted a petition Wednesday to the central government to have a superimposing method used to confirm whether human bones dug up there belong to six wartime prisoners who may have been subject to atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Army's infamous...
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2004

Ruling bloc agrees on tax hikes

The two ruling parties formally agreed Wednesday on fiscal 2005 tax changes that will raise income and residential taxes for the first time in six years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 15, 2004

Godzilla is dead, long live Godzilla

What do most non-Japanese, Western or otherwise, know about Japanese films? About Japanese pop culture, period? More than they did a decade ago certainly, but let's get real: Go to a typical family gathering in America — blue state or red, it doesn't much matter — and ask those assembled for the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 15, 2004

Dumb and dumber: revenge of the idiots

Jackass -- The Moive Rating: * * * (out of 5) Director: Jack Tremaine Running time: 88 minutes Language: English Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] Bad Santa Rating: * * (out of 5) Director: Terry Zwigoff Running time: 91 minutes Language: English Opens...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 15, 2004

It's a mad, mad, triple-mad world

Les Triplettes de Belleville Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Japanese title: Belleville Rendex-vous Director: Sylvain Chomet Running time: 80 minutes Language: French Opens Dec. 18 [See Japan Times movie listings] It's in sepia and scarred with soft, silvery needles, like interference on...
EDITORIALS
Dec 15, 2004

More gridlock in the Taiwan Strait

Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian had a disappointing weekend. His Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was unable to win a majority in parliamentary elections held Saturday. The result is likely to be continuing gridlock in Taiwanese politics, as different parties control the presidency and the legislature....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 15, 2004

Director falters and then triumphs

Few names resonate more powerfully in the world of theater than that of Hamlet, Shakespeare's youthful Prince of Denmark. In whatever language, somewhere in the world right now, an actor is likely embarking on that famously challenging soliloquy beginning "To be or not to be . . ."
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 15, 2004

2005 schedule reflects big changes in Japanese baseball

The 2005 Japan pro baseball schedule was released last week, and one look at the table gives you an idea there will be a whole new ball game next season. Three separate slates were unveiled, one for each of the Central and Pacific Leagues as usual, with Japan's first-ever interleague calendar tacked...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 14, 2004

Flax law, dog care and ISPs

Flax laws MW, who was trying to find a coppersmith (Lifelines; Nov. 30) writes: "Many thanks for the advice . Although I've been in Tokyo since forever, I still managed to neglect to check with the Traditional Craft Center."
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2004

Disaster broadcasts via cell phone eyed

More than a year has passed since terrestrial digital broadcasting services began a new TV era in Japan, with the services spreading to rural prefectures.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2004

Komeito decides to back cut in tax breaks

The ruling coalition basically agreed Monday on halving the fixed-rate income tax cuts during fiscal 2005 and abolish the cuts in fiscal 2006, senior ruling party lawmakers said.
Dec 14, 2004

Terrorist tracking center planned

The Justice Ministry will set up an intelligence center to track the movements of suspected terrorists and identify weaknesses in immigration controls at airports, according to ministry sources.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 12, 2004

Wrapping things up in time for Christmas

Tokyo bibliophiles will no doubt look back at 2004 as the year in which a revered Tokyo institution -- the Maruzen book store -- moved from its original location in Nihombashi, where it had operated since 1870, to a new home on the first through fourth floors of the OAZO Building in Marunouchi. While...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 12, 2004

Nostalgia is a green monster

GODZILLA ON MY MIND: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters, by William Tsutsui. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004, 240 pp., $12.95 (paper).
EDITORIALS
Dec 12, 2004

Shift in security policy

Japan's security policy is likely to change significantly under the new National Defense Program Outline, which lays out guidelines for improving the nation's defense capabilities over the next 10 years. The main feature of the outline, approved by the Cabinet on Friday, is that it is aimed at meeting...
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2004

Majority want SDF brought home: survey

Sixty-one percent of respondents to a Kyodo News poll oppose the government's decision to extend the Self-Defense Forces troops' mission in Iraq, according to the results released Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2004

Obituary: Sayoko Arai

Sayoko Arai, a pioneer in the field of simultaneous interpretation, died Wednesday of the cirrhosis of the liver in Tokyo, her family said Thursday. She was 75.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 11, 2004

Bill Hemmer

CNN claims that "American Morning," its flagship news program, is seen in more than 86 million households in the U.S. Here in Japan through CNNj, a partnership between CNN and Japan Cable Television, it may be seen in over 5 million households. This year marks the 20th anniversary of CNN's first live...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 11, 2004

Malone latest to feel wrath of Kobe's wife

NEW YORK -- You realize, of course, Kobe Bryant knew exactly what he was doing when he made himself available for an interview on ex-Laker Mychal Thompson's L.A. radio show earlier this week.
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2004

Tax hikes could be recipe for recession, analysts say

Books and Web sites devoted to the art of economizing describe the savings per month from "recycling" leftovers by putting them in stews and tempura (2,600 yen), taking shorter showers (540 yen) and flushing toilets at low-intensity (720 yen).
COMMENTARY
Dec 11, 2004

More to winning than tackling the Taliban

ISLAMABAD -- A call by a senior U.S. official urging Afghanistan's Taliban fighters to lay down their arms in exchange for a promise that only those guilty of major crimes would be punished marks a departure from Washington's traditional hardline stance toward the group.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 10, 2004

Popular ex-Hawk Traxler dead at 37

Sad news reached Japan recently with the word that Brian Traxler, a former member of the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, had passed away at the age of 37 in San Antonio on Nov. 19.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2004

Anti-Disney style of 'manga' and 'anime' appeals to Americans

Animation in the United States once meant Mickey Mouse, Snow White and Winnie the Pooh.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2004

Cops want more power to curb delinquency

A National Police Agency panel studying legislative steps to curb juvenile delinquency proposed Thursday that the government expand police power to combat the problem.
BUSINESS
Dec 10, 2004

Current account surplus up for 16th month in row

Japan's current account surplus grew 7.4 percent in October from a year earlier to 1.34 trillion yen for the 16th straight month of increase, due to an all-time-high in exports for the reporting month, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 10, 2004

Getting holy in Wakayama

Since ancient times, pilgrims have ventured into heavily forested mountains in Wakayama Prefecture to visit Koyasan, the headquarters of the Shingon sect of esoteric Buddhism. This is regarded as one of the most sacred places in Japan, lying in an alpine basin at an altitude of about 800 meters, and...

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