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BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2004

Billions eyed for drilling near China

The government plans to spend some 23 billion yen in fiscal 2005 to prepare for exploratory gas drilling in Japan's exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea, government officials said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Dec 15, 2004

We mix you a Merry Christmas; stocking stuffers & party plans

"Drape the Messe in day-glo deco,
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2004

Toy maker Takara needs Christmas gift: renewed demand

It isn't likely to be a very merry Christmas for Keita Sato this year.
EDITORIALS
Dec 14, 2004

Signs of an economy losing steam

Japan's economy last entered an expansionary phase in February 2002. Thirty-three months later, in October 2004, it was losing steam. It would not be surprising if the recovery ended that month, as upswings in Japan's business cycles since the end of World War II have lasted, on average, about the same...
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2004

DNA experts give reports on ashes to police

Teikyo University researchers who conducted DNA tests on two sets of cremated remains received from North Korea formally submitted reports to the police Monday stating that they are not those of two Japanese abductees.
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."
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 14, 2004

Right side of the law

Sacked without notice I was working for an English-language school in Tokyo and got fired without any notice at all. My one-year contract doesn't expire for four more months. Can they do that?
JAPAN / BY THE NUMBERS
Dec 14, 2004

Sake trendy abroad but hard sell here to young

It has a deep, delicate and definitely cultural flavor. Yet sake does not appeal to many of today's Japanese, who would rather clink glasses of "shochu" liquor or wine.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2004

Rice genome is decoded; now expect new varieties to crop up

An international team of scientists has completed the sequencing of the rice genome, an accomplishment that should lead to the development of new varieties of rice to meet different needs, including resistance to disease.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 14, 2004

Mongolia: Land of yesterday and tomorrow

ULAN BATOR Mongolia has been called "one of the last unspoiled travel destinations in Asia," and, indeed, the traveler feels not only in another country but in another century.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2004

Stricter limits eyed for farmed tuna

The Fisheries Agency has decided to impose tougher limits on imports of farmed bluefin tuna due to criticism that tuna farms have caused environment pollution and overexploitation, agency sources said Saturday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 12, 2004

The short and the sweet of popular Japanese theater

A GUIDE TO THE JAPANESE STAGE: From Traditional to Cutting Edge, by Ronald Cavaye, Paul Griffith and Akihiko Senda. Foreword by Nomura Mansai. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2004, 388 pp., many illustrations. 2,310 yen (paper). A convenient, pocket-size volume, this entertainment guide recommends "plays...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 12, 2004

Nihon TV's "Sekai wo Kakeru Hiro-tachi" and more

The aura surrounding people who become successful abroad is perhaps more pronounced in Japan than in other countries. There's a sense that the cultural gulf separating Japan from the rest of the world is deeper and more difficult to cross, so when someone does it successfully it seems more impressive....
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2004

Haneda-Kimpo flights to increase

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has decided to tell South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun this week that Japan will increase the number of shuttle flights between Tokyo's Haneda airport and Seoul's Kimpo airport to promote exchanges between the two countries, government sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2004

Petition supports Kurdish refugees

A petition with more than 60,000 signatures supporting asylum for two Kurdish families from Turkey who staged a 72-day sit-in outside the United Nations University this summer was handed to the Justice Ministry on Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2004

Yokota furor spells end to food aid for North Korea, Machimura says

North Korea will not receive the remaining half of its food aid package from Japan, Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said Friday.
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

Long-range missile quest off defense buildup plan

The government will not begin controversial research into long-range precision missile technology, according to the fiscal 2005-2009 midterm defense buildup plan handed to the ruling bloc Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2004

Yokota's dad repeats call for sanctions against North Korea

The father of abductee Megumi Yokota repeated Thursday that the government should impose immediate economic sanctions on North Korea while maintaining an open channel for bilateral dialogue.
BUSINESS
Dec 10, 2004

Business groups hold rally against fossil fuel tax plan

Some 60 Japanese business groups rallied Thursday in Tokyo against an Environment Ministry-proposed tax on fossil fuels.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 10, 2004

Swallows re-sign Furuta, but don't raise his salary

Veteran catcher Atsuya Furuta sealed a new contract with the Yakult Swallows on Thursday and will be paid an unchanged annual salary of 300 million yen plus performance bonuses next season.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2004

Schroeder, Koizumi agree to back each other's UNSC candidacy bid

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder agreed Thursday to support each other's candidacies for permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council.
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...
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2004

Revamped H-IIA a go for launch with satellite

Japan plans to resume the use of its domestically made H-IIA rocket around February and launch a new multifunctional transport satellite, the first H-IIA mission since the previous launch ended in failure in November last year, government officials said Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 9, 2004

Sasaki's deal with BayStars is the richest ever in NPB

Yokohama BayStars closer Kazuhiro Sasaki confirmed the terms of his final contract year with the Yokohama BayStars on Wednesday and revealed that he earned 650 million yen in the 2004 season, making him the highest-paid Japanese ballplayer in history.
EDITORIALS
Dec 9, 2004

Closing the curtain on a hard life

Mr. Charles Jenkins on Tuesday arrived in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, together with his wife Ms. Hitomi Soga, a former abductee to North Korea, and their two daughters after serving a short sentence for desertion from the U.S. Army. Sado is Ms. Soga's hometown. Procedures for Mr. Jenkins' dishonorable...
COMMENTARY
Dec 9, 2004

U.N. will reform or slide into oblivion

LOS ANGELES -- If the United Nations were somehow to disappear from the face of the Earth, would people care -- or even notice?

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers