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Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Dec 6, 2006

Guns, geese and bears by the pair

We leaned back in our seats and gazed at the ruins of the goose. Our hut on Devon Island was festooned with decorations we'd made from toilet paper, and the five of us -- the Arctic Institute of North America's wintering party in Canada's far north, straddling the Arctic Circle above Baffin Island --...
BUSINESS
Nov 2, 2006

Softbank to add clarity to 'zero yen' promo ads

Softbank Mobile Corp. said Wednesday it plans to change the content of its advertisements, possibly by this weekend, in response to an investigation by the Fair Trade Commission into whether the firm's "zero-yen" campaign was misleading.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2006

Mobile carriers jostle as number portability starts

The much-awaited number portability started Tuesday, with mobile carriers offering new gadgets and services to woo customers.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2006

Koizumi moves out, signs off

Outgoing Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi moved out of the Prime Minister's Official Residence Thursday evening as he gets ready to hand the reins of government to new ruling party leader Shinzo Abe next Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2006

Majority in survey favor English for elementary kids

Opinions are divided over whether English language lessons should be mandatory at elementary schools, according to a recent survey by the education ministry.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 20, 2006

Posting, free agents and the always-busy rumor mill

Japan's sports papers are saying the ownership of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows is indicating the team is leaning toward posting two star players for major league availability following the 2006 season. Third baseman Akinori Iwamura and lefty reliever Hirotoshi Ishii are the guys who may be put up for auction...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 15, 2006

Mutton caramel, fish ice cream as regional fare goes over top

Trying popular and quirky local fare is often part of the summer vacation experience, and not all items are necessarily guaranteed to be tasty.
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2006

Japan Post drafts 10-year plan

Japan Post Corp. submitted to the government on Monday outlines of its 10-year postal privatization road map that includes plans for its savings bank to provide loans to individuals and for its life insurance firm to offer health and casualty insurance policies.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2006

Japan Post parcel trucks also to face no-parking zone law

The National Police Agency plans to prohibit Japan Post vehicles from parking on the street when they pick up and deliver packages, just like parcel delivery trucks are restricted now, NPA officials said Thursday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 11, 2006

A way forward?

Last month, Diet member and Senior Vice Minister of Justice Taro Kono publicized a new action plan for immigration.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 4, 2006

Yoga, gold and pet adoption

Maternity yoga Chris is pregnant and living in the Osaka area, and wants to know if there is anywhere she can practice yoga in her condition.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2006

Ah, no kids afoot: Empty trains, work till you die

There has been a great deal of hand-wringing in the media and government about Japan's population implosion. A breakdown in the pension system, soaring health-care costs, slower economic growth and a looming labor shortage are just a few of the dark clouds on the horizon.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 20, 2006

Family of POW makes appeal to Aso 'honor'

Japan's foreign minister, Taro Aso, will this week receive an appeal to his "honor and decency" in the repayment of a small family debt more than 60 years old.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 13, 2006

The Japan Lite reader shrine

Dear Amy: Every time I read you I get more sentimental for the land of my birth. I was born in Yokohama Japan, of British parents in 1920, and was evacuated just prior to Pearl Harbor, 1941. Thank you so much for all the pleasure you have given me over the years I have been reading you. I [went] back...
JAPAN
May 11, 2006

Posts service remittance fraud soars

Incidents of remittance fraud committed through postal services, including registered mail, rose by 2 1/2 times last year to 482, up from 189 incidents in 2004, according to the National Police Agency.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 7, 2006

Giants pitcher Powell: 'Best month I ever had'

Congratulations to Yomiuri Giants pitcher Jeremy Powell on being named Central League Pitcher of the Month for April. Powell won all four of his starts on successive Tuesdays, April 4, 11, 18 and 25, finishing the month with a league-leading 1.03 ERA, two shutouts and three complete games.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 30, 2006

Recalling lady umpire Perry Barber and Cooperstown cookies

Reader Dennis McCormick from Hyogo Prefecture recently wrote to ask, "Do you remember about 15 years ago an American woman umpire came to Japan and worked a few Japanese games in the Kansai area? I don't recall her name, but I was surprised when I found out she was not a regular umpire in one of the...
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2006

SMBC to use electronic signatures

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. said Thursday it will introduce an electronic signature system on May 22 that will be used on all of the 3 million e-mail messages it sends each month in a bid to protect customers from cyberfraud.
EDITORIALS
Apr 9, 2006

Mr. Ozawa takes the DPJ's helm

The Democratic Party of Japan -- which has plunged into a crisis following the resignation of its young leader Seiji Maehara over a bogus e-mail fiasco -- chose Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, a heavyweight veteran politician, as its new leader. As leader of the No. 1 opposition party, the tasks facing Mr. Ozawa are...
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2006

Ozawa, Kan look set to seek DPJ helm

, former Democratic Party of Japan vice president, has reportedly decided to seek his party's presidency, while two-time President Naoto Kan indicated he was almost ready to throw his hat into the ring.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2006

Ozawa eager to fight for top DPJ post

Ichiro Ozawa, former vice president of the Democratic Party of Japan, says he is eager to run in the party's presidential election this Friday.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Mar 28, 2006

Cheese, eBye and reiki

Say cheese AP asks: "Where can I get a wide range of foreign cheeses in Japan? They are so expensive in supermarkets, and often not in good shape."
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 19, 2006

Myths behind the rise of the mobile

PERSONAL, PORTABLE, PEDESTRIAN: Mobile Phones in Japanese Life, edited by Mizuko Ito, Daisuke Okabe, and Misa Matsuda. Massachusetts: MIT Press, 357 pp., $39 (cloth). Consider the refrigerator. The changes this appliance brought in its wake are monumental. Thanks to that big humming machine in the kitchen,...
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2006

DPJ execs deny leadership race will be moved up

Top officials of the Democratic Party of Japan brushed aside speculation Sunday it may move up the schedule for its presidential election following the fiasco over a fabricated e-mail message.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Feb 28, 2006

Poison, vendors and tai chi

Dangerous G wonders (somewhat bizarrely) where to begin inquiring about where people go to find poisons for the purpose of suicide. "I would appreciate some suggestions for the heroine of a story I'm planning to write."
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 26, 2006

Will Barry Bonds play his last game at Tokyo Dome?

News came last week that San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds announced he would be retiring at the end of the 2006 season. The next day, he said he may play several more years. Typical for a guy who often changes his mind, but there's nothing wrong with that.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2006

Japan Post stock firm starts business

A new joint stock company set up by Japan Post began operations Monday in the leadup to privatization, which is scheduled to begin in October 2007.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2006

New Post job may go to ex-Toyota exec

The government is eyeing Toshihiro Takahashi, currently vice president of Japan Post and a former Toyota Motor Corp. managing director, to assume the post of president of a company that will manage over-the-counter services of post offices starting Oct. 1, 2007, sources said Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2006

Infamous English word is just an import

HONG KONG -- Apart from Thatcherism and the creation of the modern game of soccer, some cynics say that the major English contribution to modern international life has been the widespread promulgation of the dreadful "F" word.

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