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BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2006

Business sentiment hits two-year high

Business confidence at large manufacturers rose to a two-year high in the three months through September, according to the Bank of Japan's latest "tankan" survey, despite forecasts by economists it would either remain flat or slightly decline.
EDITORIALS
Oct 3, 2006

Minamata's latest chapter

This year marked the 50th anniversary of the official recognition of Minamata disease, a symbol of postwar industrial pollution in Japan. But the episode of massive organic mercury poisoning is not a thing of the past. On Aug. 11, a group of 100 people who have not been officially recognized as sufferers...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Oct 3, 2006

Transport minister wants road taxes to be spent on more than just roads

Gas and vehicle taxes should not be spent only on road construction but also on protecting the environment, including maintaining the nation's forests, according to the new minister of land, infrastructure and transport.
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 1, 2006

Sato thrice as nice in Sanfrecce draw

KAWASAKI -- Hisato Sato scored a brilliant hat trick in front of Japan coach Ivica Osim as Sanfrecce Hiroshima drew 3-3 away to Kawasaki Frontale in the J. League on Saturday.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 1, 2006

Stars strive to be normal guys . . . and you buy it

During the 1980s bubble era it was almost obscene how much money Japanese companies overspent on things they didn't really need. In the media world, this extravagance was manifested in the hiring of foreign celebrities to appear in TV commercials.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 1, 2006

Age-old 'naked friendships' lay bare new bathhouse concerns

I do it about three times a week, but I tell you I would double that frequency if I could. It is surely one of life's great pleasures, and it takes on average (for me) 45 to 50 minutes. Some people smoke afterward, but I just like to cool down and think about things -- you know, life, the human body,...
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2006

Abe looks to compel schools to push 'patriotism'

As the extraordinary Diet session began Friday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe laid out his legislative agenda and left political observers speculating over the government's apparent tilt to the right and its push for "patriotism."
BUSINESS
Sep 30, 2006

Honda to increase U.K. auto production

LONDON (Kyodo) Honda Motor Co. said Thursday it will create 700 new jobs and step up production at one of its British plants.
BUSINESS
Sep 30, 2006

Economy looks strong as Abe takes reins

Japan got a double dose of good economic news Friday with the release of healthy industrial production and consumer price figures that underline continued recovery of second-largest economy in the world.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 29, 2006

Finding the finest foods from afar

Tokyo is not just one of the world's great restaurant cities, it's equally good for those who prefer to cook at home. Name the country or cuisine: Chances are you can find whatever ingredients you need, if not at your local supermarket, then certainly without having to leave the metropolis.
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2006

Trace radiation seen near nuke sub

Small amounts of radiation were detected near a U.S. nuclear submarine while it made a port call at Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, earlier this month, the government said Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 28, 2006

Fumio Nanjo to replace David Elliott

The Mori Art Museum's director, David Elliott, will leave his post at the end of October to take a position as the new director of the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art in Turkey. The news was announced Wednesday at a press conference at Roppongi Hills, where Elliott spoke of his five years in Tokyo working...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 28, 2006

Celebrating civilizations

The Islamic world is home to one of the richest and most important musical traditions on Earth. It doesn't hurt that it also spans an incredibly vast area, stretching west to Morocco and east as far as Indonesia, and that it contains an intricate tapestry of races, languages and cultures, or that it...
SOCCER
Sep 26, 2006

No final match for Hide

Hidetoshi Nakata will not have a final match to mark his retirement, Japan Football Association President Saburo Kawabuchi said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 26, 2006

Saraba, Mr. Koizumi

Mr. Junichiro Koizumi leaves the center stage of Japanese politics Tuesday, after five years and five months in power. He can claim some major accomplishments under the banner of structural reform. He also has created problems that must be overcome by the new administration in the years to come.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2006

Success elusive so far in China summit talks

Japan and China took a break from sub-Cabinet-level talks Monday in Tokyo apparently without having agreed on an early resumption of summits after Shinzo Abe becomes prime minister.
LIFE / Language
Sep 26, 2006

Be warned: we're talking rather rude Japanese

In a society like Japan's, where civility in public requires a high degree of decorous formality, crude language rarely rears its ugly head.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 26, 2006

Notary publics, free legal advice

Notary public K. thinks he has seen this question in Lifelines before, but he can't remember the answer.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2006

Abe may turn more assertive in Asia: U.S. paper

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, guaranteed to win the prime minister's post Tuesday, will likely bring an assertiveness to foreign policy and may redefine Japan's leadership role in Asia and the world, modeling himself as a "fighting statesman," an influential U.S. newspaper said in an editorial...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 24, 2006

Softbank's Saito better statistically than Matsuzaka, Kuroda

We mentioned here last week that major league scouts visiting Japan think Chunichi Dragons outfielder Kosuke Fukudome is the best Japanese position player in the Central or Pacific Leagues, but who is the best pitcher?
CULTURE / Books
Sep 24, 2006

Tracing the genealogy of gekiga

Presented a copy of the latest English-language collection of his work, Yoshihiro Tatsumi turns it over in his hands and says, "This looks too beautiful to be a comic book."

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past