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BUSINESS
Jan 19, 2006

Meiji Yasuda eyes yield hike amid hopes of rise in bourse

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co. said Wednesday it is considering raising the investment yield promised to policyholders amid expectations of higher interest rates and a stronger stock market.
BUSINESS
Jan 19, 2006

Tokyo, New Delhi, agree to promote Japan investment in India

Tokyo and new Delhi agreed Wednesday to expand bilateral economic ties by encouraging Japanese companies to invest more in India, a Japanese official said.
BUSINESS
Jan 14, 2006

Fuji Heavy to beef up Subaru sales, reduce outlets in streamlining plan

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. said Friday it will reduce the number of sales outlets in Japan from 39 to 33 by October as part of efforts to make its sales operations more effective while aiming to increase global sales of its Subaru cars.
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 2006

Obstinacy vs. national interest

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's statement at his New Year news conference has added stress to Japan's already strained relations with China and South Korea. He defiantly criticized the two neighboring countries for refusing summit talks with Japan because of his repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine....
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2006

East Timor split by truth, justice and reconciliation

EAST TIMOR Swooping low over the azure Savu Sea, the pristine coastline and gnarly hills of Timor suddenly appear about two hours after takeoff from Bali. Before entering the spartan air terminal, visitors pass through a trailer where, upon arrival, $30 one-month visas are sold.
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2006

Barriers to U.S. force relocation

An interim report for U.S. base relocation in Japan, prepared by the Japanese and U.S. governments last October, has met stiff opposition in various parts of the country affected by the relocation plans. As things stand now, prospects for a final agreement look uncertain at best.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2006

U.S.-China ideological rivalry heats up

WASHINGTON -- Two recent events in Asia have again directly underscored the "ideological" tussle between Washington and Beijing, which is increasingly seen as a benevolent power and even as offering a model for socioeconomic development. As Asian leaders gathered last month in Kuala Lumpur for the East...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jan 4, 2006

Letting laughter flow in our woods

Two years ago, we started running programs specially designed for visually challenged children in our forest near Kurohime among the Nagano Prefecture hills. Before getting started, our Afan Woodland Trust sent out a questionnaire asking the children what they would most like to do in the woods. The...
JAPAN / FRAMING THE FUTURE
Jan 1, 2006

Elderly of tomorrow can count on technology, researchers say

Poor eyesight and hearing, and reduced physical strength often discourage elderly people from going out alone or visiting unfamiliar places where they can easily get tired or lost.
COMMENTARY
Dec 31, 2005

Testing times for Japan, China

HONOLULU -- Taro Aso's recent comment in plain words about the "threat" posed by China's military modernization effort is as remarkable as the supposed threat itself. The readiness of a Japanese Cabinet official, and a foreign minister no less, to publicly acknowledge and criticize China's military buildup...
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2005

English immersion of toddlers on the rise

Mana Kitazawa was 18 months old in September 2004 when she first started going to Poppins International Preschool in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2005

High-tech TVs putting ads on defensive

Nippon Television Network Corp. has been skillfully inserting commercials into the late-night drama "Wonder Tours" that began broadcasting in September.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 27, 2005

Lighting brilliance from Kouichi Okamoto

Lighting is many things to many people. For many, it's simply a practical tool to combat darkness. For others, it plays the role of mood enhancer. Carefully calibrated lighting can transform a space both subtly and dramatically.
EDITORIALS
Dec 26, 2005

Fitness for a Kyoto upgrade

The recent Montreal meeting of parties to the Kyoto Protocol marked an important step forward toward post-Kyoto initiatives. Despite a frustrating start, the meeting, held to give further impetus to global-warming prevention efforts, ended with a promising decision: Major developed countries, including...
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2005

Consumption tax rise said necessary

Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Heizo Takenaka said Sunday it will be necessary to secure new revenue sources to deal with an expected increase in the ratio of public funding to the basic pension scheme in fiscal 2009, such as through raising the consumption tax.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 25, 2005

Technology keeping Mizuno key player in sports market

It's funny how fate plays a role in life.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Dec 25, 2005

Born to be wild

The Gorillarium at Howletts Zoo, near the cathedral city of Canterbury in the southern English county of Kent, is about as good as it gets. If you are a captive gorilla. Or if you want to see one.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 24, 2005

Shi Yu Chen

Step inside Argo restaurant and library cafe in Kojimachi, Tokyo, and you might suppose yourself in the dining lounge of a luxury yacht. It is true you don't look out over Greek islands. Instead, you have a high view of the moat and the parkland of the Imperial Palace, and the complex of the British...
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2005

Itoham gets 30 million yen fine

The Tokyo District Court ordered major meat processor Itoham Foods Inc. on Thursday to pay 30 million yen over its involvement in a meat importer's evasion of customs duties on imported pork, imposing a fine three times the amount that prosecutors had demanded.
BUSINESS
Dec 23, 2005

State allocates 50 billion yen in 2006 budget

The government announced Thursday how to spend an as-yet-unallocated 50 billion yen in the 79.69 trillion yen fiscal 2006 budget.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 22, 2005

Completely useless objects

It's 6 p.m., it's the end of the work day at a busy Kanda office block. OLs have been furiously tapping away at their keyboards, and connections have been made in the meeting rooms. Power players in their suits have been clinching make-or-break, win-win deals. Suddenly, the doors of the elevator open...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2005

Doha Round still snagged on farm trade

It's time for Japan's negotiators to protect rice farmers in other ways besides high tariffs, argues an economist at Hitotsubashi University, after six days of frustrating world trade talks that ended Sunday in Hong Kong.
Japan Times
Features
Dec 18, 2005

New chief puts paradise on map

Many dream of traveling the world and setting themselves up in a tropical paradise, but very few people make it happen. Even fewer get themselves appointed village chief of a remote Melanesian island in the process. But that's exactly what has happened to entrepreneur and art collector Ofer Shagan.
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2005

No decision on future inflation target: Fukui

The Bank of Japan has not decided whether it will introduce a specific inflation target after it ends its ultraeasy monetary stance, BOJ Gov. Toshihiko Fukui said Friday, after the Policy Board announced the policy would continue.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

Cops turn to forensic analysis to catch gropers

Stumped for years by blatant suspects, police are using forensic analysis to hunt down gropers on crowded trains by matching tiny fabric fibers from the perpetrator's palm with the victim's clothes.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan