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BUSINESS
May 31, 2006

Unemployment marks third straight month at 4.1%

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stayed at 4.1 percent in April, marking its third month in a row at that level, the government said Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 31, 2006

Japanese ability eyed as visa requirement

A Justice Ministry panel discussing long-term policies for accepting foreigners in Japan proposed Tuesday that the government in principle require that foreign workers have a certain level of Japanese proficiency.
COMMENTARY / World
May 29, 2006

Australia's dirty little secret

SYDNEY -- A dirty little secret in Australian society has been exposed, and federal and state governments are maneuvering to clean up the mess or face international condemnation for allegedly allowing the violation of human rights.
COMMENTARY / World
May 28, 2006

It's still too early to exit Iraq

PRAGUE -- Last weekend's announcement that Iraqi lawmakers have finally formed a unity government is welcome news, both for Iraq and for President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair. The American and British governments, increasingly unpopular at home, desperately needed some tangible evidence...
BUSINESS
May 27, 2006

Internships popular with companies, universities

The nation's universities and companies have taken a cue from the West and are increasing their participation in internship programs, which are being praised for not only motivating future workers but also for giving them a leg up in real-world job skills.
BUSINESS
May 27, 2006

Corporate culture of deceit wreaks havoc on wealth and markets

Unethical conduct by corporate executives and employees -- ranging from outright fraud to excessive salaries and perks for CEOs -- can inflict much greater financial damage than deadly terrorist acts, visiting American experts warned in a recent symposium in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 25, 2006

Writing a challenge in clay for his proteges

When asked "What kind of ware do you make?," ceramic artist Kimpei Nakamura's tongue-in-cheek response is "Tokyo yaki (Tokyo Ware)." It's a label of his own invention that pokes fun at the traditional system of classifying ceramics by their ties to ancient kiln sites that existed long before the city...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
May 21, 2006

Hopes and fears fuel soccer fans' far-flung parties

Walking up Gaien-Higashi Dori, the road that begins at Tokyo Tower and cuts through the Roppongi entertainment district, at 7 in the morning last Saturday there was more than the usual bags of garbage being torn at by crows, bleary-eyed hosts and hostesses knocking off work, or resting ticket touts and...
EDITORIALS
May 20, 2006

Business profits pose challenges

One company after another is announcing good business results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006. Firms listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange are reporting increased revenues and profits for the fourth consecutive year. They are expected to post record recurring profits for the...
JAPAN
May 19, 2006

Japan fishes for skilled foreign workers

Japan hopes to import more foreign white-collar workers by adopting more flexible immigration policies, the government said Thursday in a bid to spruce up its international leadership.
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2006

Redefining the Middle East

SARAWAK, Malaysia -- It may be convenient to perceive the Middle East as a politically charged, fractious region, rife with conflicts and disputes, void of many prospects, save those leading to even further uncertainty and turmoil.
COMMENTARY
May 18, 2006

Avert failure in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD -- A team of Afghan military officers who have just completed their first ever military exercises with Pakistani and U.S. troops in Pakistan represent Washington's hope for a new future for Afghanistan's beleaguered security apparatus. But the effort also promises to stir controversy because...
BUSINESS
May 18, 2006

Honda to build three new plants

Honda Motor Co. announced business expansion plans Wednesday that include construction of a new factory in Japan and two more in North America by 2010 to meet increasing demand for its vehicles.
JAPAN
May 11, 2006

Transsexuals gain freedoms but still face barriers

To most people, Takafumi Fujio -- with cropped hair, thick arms and deep voice -- is a typical, middle-aged salaryman. But until four years ago, when the food company worker started on a range of hormonal treatments, he was a woman, a housewife and mother of two.
JAPAN
May 9, 2006

Income gaps widen among workers in their 30s and 40s

Contrary to government assertions, income gaps among people in their 30s and 40s widened as much as 30 percent in the 15 years through 2002, a review of official income distribution data showed Sunday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
May 7, 2006

Not such a wild conservation idea?

It is late afternoon, and over sundowner drinks in the hunting lodge the talk around the table is of lions. Or, to be more specific, one particular lion -- "Old Black Mane," the night raider, cattle killer, and terror of the local tribesmen. Man eater!
JAPAN
May 2, 2006

Female, elderly entrepreneurs on the rise as society grays

The number of women and elderly people preparing to start new businesses has been rising amid the aging of the population and consequent decrease in the number of small and midsize companies as their owners retire, a recent government report says.
COMMENTARY / World
May 1, 2006

France on the mark with hiring subsidies

NEW YORK -- Was France's recent wave of protests against an amendment that would have increased employers' freedom to fire young workers a blessing in disguise? To defuse the protests, President Jacques Chirac was forced to withdraw the provision, and instead has proposed hiring subsidies as a way to...
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...
COMMENTARY
Apr 27, 2006

Has Japan changed for better?

LONDON -- Some people complain that Japanese society has deteriorated with the ending of the lifetime employment system and the replacement of seniority-based promotion systems with ones based on performance.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2006

Dad urges harshest sentence for Obara

Timothy Blackman asked the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday to give the maximum penalty to Joji Obara, who is standing trial for the rape and fatal drugging of his daughter, Lucie, as well as another death and the rapes of eight other women.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Apr 25, 2006

Toshie Kobayashi

Toshie Kobayashi, 76, has been working six days a week, since she was 14 years old. As a highly skilled typesetter, she made a good living until the 1980s, when digital systems replaced her and analog typesetting machines. At 54, she registered with a cleaning service, and ever since then she has been...
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2006

Kimura execs to be arrested this week

Police have decided to arrest Moriyoshi Kimura, president of Kimura Construction Co., and former company executives early this week on suspicion of submitting falsified financial statements to the infrastructure ministry, sources said.
EDITORIALS
Apr 18, 2006

France refuses to face economic facts

It is hard to find a silver lining in the clouds that hover over France's economic future. Months of sustained political protest by French students forced a humiliating defeat on the Paris government, obliging it to withdraw a package of labor reforms that would have made it easier to fire first-time...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2006

Myths and misconceptions on Chernobyl

LONDON -- The 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident of April 26, 1986, is prompting a new wave of alarmist claims about its impact on human health and the environment. As has become a ritual on such commemorative occasions, the death toll is tallied in the hundreds of thousands, and fresh...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 16, 2006

Unlike with the French, a lack of fight spells future gloom for Japan's workers

While traveling through Europe recently I tried to get a handle on the controversy surrounding France's now abandoned First Job Contract (CPE) law, which was meant to make it easier for companies to hire young people. However, those same young people thought the law would make it easier for companies...
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2006

Job-hunting students favor ANA

All Nippon Airways Co. has become the most popular company for job-seeking university students for the second consecutive year, job magazine publisher Recruit Co. said Thursday.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan