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JAPAN
Mar 8, 2006

High court backs man's refugee claim

The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling granting refugee status to a 41-year-old Myanmar man and rejected the government's claim he should be deported.
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 7, 2006

Boys in Blue to face Malta

Japan will complete its preparations for this summer's World Cup finals with a friendly against Malta in Dusseldorf, the Japan Football Association said Monday.
COMMENTARY
Mar 7, 2006

Party to a lack of maturity

In a statement issued last week, the Democratic Party of Japan acknowledged that a fellow lawmaker used a fake e-mail to cook up a scandal implicating a senior official of the governing Liberal Democratic Party with the disgraced former president of Internet startup Livedoor Co.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2006

Dialogue with S. Korea resumes

Japan and South Korea resumed on Monday a sub-Cabinet-level strategic dialogue to improve bilateral ties that have been strained due to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine and differences in historical perception.
BUSINESS
Mar 7, 2006

Capital spending jumps 9.5%

Capital spending rose 9.5 percent in the October to December quarter of 2005 on an all-industry basis compared with the previous year, the Finance Ministry said Monday.
BUSINESS
Mar 7, 2006

Ailing radio broadcasters see promise in podcasts

Podcasting, a new type of Web broadcasting via digital music players like the Apple iPod, might prove a boon for businesses that are increasingly catching on to its novel commercial potential.
COMMENTARY
Mar 6, 2006

A 'livable' society has rules

Takafumi Horie, the former Livedoor president arrested in January on charges of breaking securities laws, was one of the last men to "pay the price" for the excesses of Japan's bubble economy (1987-90). I cannot help but feel a certain amount of sympathy for him, for there are still many others who have...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 6, 2006

Oita's example can give clues on how to close rural gap

Japan's overall economic conditions are steadily improving, but the large gap between urban and rural areas is often cited as a serious problem. While business is brisk in Tokyo and other big cities, rural parts of Japan still lack the vigor.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 5, 2006

Evolution of Japanese cinema and the design of its creators

A HUNDRED YEARS OF JAPANESE FILM, by Donald Richie. Kodansha International, 2005, 320 pp., $22 (paper). Among Japanophiles, Donald Richie doesn't need an introduction, having written over 40 books on Japan, including the definitive works on directors Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu, and the first-ever...
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2006

Dubbed soccer cartoon 'Captain Tsubasa' Iraq TV-bound

The Japan Foundation will donate an Arabic-dubbed version of a popular Japanese soccer "anime" animated cartoon known as "Captain Tsubasa" to an Iraqi television station.
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2006

February monetary base up 1.9%

Japan's monetary base grew 1.9 percent in February from a year earlier for the 61st straight monthly increase, the Bank of Japan said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2006

ODA units to be rejiggered but faces stay the same

The government may allow the new Japan International Cooperation Agency and a new public financial entity, both involving the consolidation of state-backed financial bodies, to have the same executives, according to sources.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2006

Strife-ridden JAL removes Shinmachi from its helm

Japan Airlines Corp. announced Wednesday that JAL President Toshiyuki Shinmachi will be relieved of his post and be replaced by Senior Vice President Haruka Nishimatsu.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2006

Mexican envoy praises fruits of FTA

Japan's second free-trade agreement, the one with Mexico that is approaching its first anniversary, has been a big success with a 30 percent jump in bilateral trade, Mexican Ambassador Miguel Ruiz-Cabanas said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2006

Astronauts practice on space lab

Two astronauts on Tuesday practiced using Japan's first manned space laboratory, Kibo, scheduled to become part of the International Space Station, at the Tsukuba Space Center in Ibaraki Prefecture.
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2006

Seaweed quota set

Japan will expand import quotas for edible seaweed starting in April by 46 percent from the previous year to 585 million sheets, covering 6 percent of domestic consumption, the Fisheries Agency said Tuesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Mar 1, 2006

Dead wood mars warm winter retreat

Once a year I try to spend time in Okinawa, if possible a month, during which I usually get a block of writing done. Okinawa is one of my favorite places in Japan, and nowadays I would say that it is where I most like to be in winter.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Mar 1, 2006

Nintendo scores with consumers and then almost squanders its edge

Xbox 360 vs. PlayStation 3, Microsoft vs. Sony, DVD vs. Blu-ray -- there's a glimpse into the world of the hardcore game community. Tech talk and brand loyalty create enough static to scare away normal people who just want to play some games in their free time.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2006

Convenience stores go gimmicky to hold appeal

Major convenience store chains, which have seen sluggish sales amid severe competition in a highly saturated market, are trying to diversify in a bid to mine more promising market segments.
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."
LIFE / Language
Feb 28, 2006

To learn the Japanese language, get pod-agogical

With Internet blogs beginning to challenge traditional print media, it was only a matter of time before a new medium broke radio's traditional choke hold on free audio programming. Enter podcasts, the downloadable MP3 audio files that feature mixes of music and chatter created by amateurs worldwide....
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 27, 2006

Of winter sports and economic fortunes: What's the connection?

The Winter Olympics were last held in Japan in 1998. The stage was Nagano, and on that stage, the Japanese athletes performed brilliantly. They won no less than five gold medals, one silver and four bronzes. Many of the winning athletes sported auburn, if not blonde-tinted hair. Some even went for eyebrows...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 26, 2006

Memoirs of a foreigner

JAPANESE JOURNEYS: Writings and Recollections, by Geoffrey Bownas. Kent: Global Oriental Ltd., 2005, 264 pp., with b/w photos, £30 (cloth). One late evening in 1970, the scholar Geoffrey Bownas was working with the writer Yukio Mishima on their anthology "New Writing in Japan." The noted author excused...

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