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Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 2, 2006

TIF pushes theater's borders

With guest productions from as far afield as Kuwait, Israel, Germany and the United States, this year's 12th annual Tokyo International Arts Festival (TIF) is delivering a challenging program of theater and dance from some of the world's leading dramatists. In doing so, TIF -- held for the first time...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 26, 2006

Will Barry Bonds play his last game at Tokyo Dome?

News came last week that San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds announced he would be retiring at the end of the 2006 season. The next day, he said he may play several more years. Typical for a guy who often changes his mind, but there's nothing wrong with that.
BUSINESS
Feb 24, 2006

Japan, Chile start formal FTA talks

Japan and Chile began two days of negotiations Thursday in Tokyo aimed at concluding a bilateral free-trade agreement by the end of the year.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2006

Asahara's daughter beats school in court

The Tokyo District Court on Monday ordered the operator of Wako University to pay 300,000 yen in damages to a daughter of Shoko Asahara, founder of Aum Shinrikyo, for illegally denying her entry after she passed the school's entrance exam.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2006

Shimizu got defense contracts without tenders

Major construction company Shimizu Corp., already linked to bid rigging involving the Defense Facilities Administration Agency, won contracts worth nearly 9 billion yen from the agency without undergoing public tenders, documents show.
BUSINESS
Feb 17, 2006

Corporate character goods harness power of 'cute'

A traditional seasoning flies off store shelves after the bottles begin sporting a cartoon panda. A droplet-shaped character turns a little-known manufacturer into a household name.
OLYMPICS
Feb 16, 2006

Okazaki misses out on medal in 500

Veteran speed skater Tomomi Okazaki was overtaken in the second run of the women's 500-meter event Tuesday, narrowly missing out on a podium finish at the Turin Olympics.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2006

Sumitomo Trust's suit rejected

The Tokyo District Court rejected a lawsuit Monday filed by Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co. seeking compensation from UFJ Holdings Inc., now part of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., for scrapping the planned integration of the two banks' trust units.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 14, 2006

Enemy of the state

Is Toshiyuki Obora a threat to society? The Japanese state certainly seems to think so. The police arrested the 47-year-old elementary school worker and held him in detention for 75 days.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 7, 2006

Twisted legal logic deals rights blow to foreigners

Steve McGowan, an African-American resident of Kyoto, sued an eyeglass shop in Daito City, Osaka Prefecture, for refusing him entry in 2004 on the basis of the color of his skin.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 30, 2006

Fighters, Diaz agree to contract

After originally agreeing to a one-year deal with the Hiroshima Carp, former Chicago White Sox prospect Felix Diaz instead will be joining the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, the club announced Sunday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 30, 2006

Settling labor disputes promptly

I n April, Japan will introduce an "industrial tribunal system" to settle individual labor disputes, such as those involving dismissals, working conditions and reassignments. The purpose of this system is to settle disputes expeditiously by limiting the number of trial sessions to no more than three....
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2006

Suspension of food aid to N. Korea to continue

Japan will continue to suspend food aid to North Korea despite an agreement to resume bilateral talks next Saturday in Beijing, according to government sources.
EDITORIALS
Jan 28, 2006

No place for pension evasion

At a time when people's trust in the nation's pension systems is declining, some enterprises, especially small ones, are behaving in a manner that will weaken the reliability of social security. They deliberately choose not to join the corporate employees' pension system (kosei nenkin) while the number...
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2006

Annual retail sales record first increase in nine years

Retail sales rose 1.1 percent in 2005 to 129.52 trillion yen, chalking up their first year-on-year rise in nine years, due largely to soaring fuel prices and robust clothing sales, the government said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2006

Government moves to plug latest Horie loophole

Financial Services Minister Kaoru Yosano said Thursday the government will submit a bill to the Diet to establish a registration system for investment unions to prevent organizations with murky backgrounds from conducting questionable stock transactions.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2006

China again top Japan trade partner

Japan's trade with China totaled 24.949 trillion yen in 2005, making it the country's biggest trading partner for the second year running despite souring bilateral relations, according to Finance Ministry data released Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2006

Livedoor's takeovers took investment union route

The Livedoor Co. group used investment unions in corporate takeovers done through stock swaps, having them transfer the stock-sale gains made in the deals to it in the form of dividends, and cleared the actions with a consultant and a lawyer beforehand, prosecution and other sources said Thursday.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji