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BUSINESS
Feb 17, 2009

GDP plunge worst in 35 years

The economy plummeted at an annualized pace of 12.7 percent in the three months through December, the worst fall in the past 35 years. Gross domestic product for 2008 shrank 0.7 percent in real terms, compared with 2.4 percent growth in 2007.
BUSINESS
Feb 17, 2009

Creating demand at home must be main goal

To achieve a long-term solution to the economic crisis, the government must offset the sharp decline in foreign demand by strengthening industries that can generate demand at home, according to economist Nobuo Ikeda, a professor at Jobu University in Gunma Prefecture.
COMMENTARY
Feb 17, 2009

Former saviors racking up losses

SINGAPORE — A year ago, before the financial crisis started to bite hard, the United States and Europe were worried that Asian and Middle East nations, armed with a mighty war chest of surplus foreign exchange reserves from their exports of manufactured goods and oil, would gobble up so-called strategic...
COMMENTARY
Feb 17, 2009

Rumsfeld prosecution could set precedent

NEW YORK — There is now enough evidence to try former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for war crimes, Manfred Nowak, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, recently told "Frontal 21," a German television program.
EDITORIALS
Feb 17, 2009

Beware of protectionism

The U.S. House and Senate have adopted a $787 billion economic stimulus package and the U.S. Treasury Department has announced a $2.5 trillion rescue plan for the U.S. financial system. The main point of the financial system stabilization plan is to set up a public-private investment fund to finance...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Feb 17, 2009

Dealing with a death abroad

Reader S.B. seeks advice on how to deal with arrangements following the death of a foreign relative in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 17, 2009

Berlitz launches legal blitz against striking instructors

It has been 14 months since members of the Berlitz General Union Tokyo (Begunto) first downed chalk and launched rotating strikes against the language school Berlitz Japan.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2009

Aso-Medvedev summit expected to sidestep isles

Economic priorities are expected to outweigh territorial gripes when the leaders of Japan and Russia hold a summit Wednesday at the launch of a gas plant on Sakhalin Island.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2009

Aso won't fire 'drunk' Nakagawa

Prime Minister Taro Aso refused Monday to fire Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa for his unusual behavior Saturday after a Group of Seven meeting which has led opposition parties to call for his dismissal.
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Feb 17, 2009

Correspondents, PR reps warm ties at annual 'Hacks & Flacks' dig

The relationship between a journalist and a corporate public relations representative can be a tense one. Journalists, pressured by deadlines, hound the PRs for precise and prompt information, while PRs, irritated and a bit bewildered by the incessant questioning, respond with gritted teeth.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Feb 17, 2009

Kanagawa Prefecture can be Japan's clean-air trailblazer

Dear Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa,
EDITORIALS
Feb 17, 2009

Bailing out the jobless

The steep economic downturn is causing a large number of job losses. As unemployment worsens, some local governments have started offering job opportunities to those who have been fired. Along with such measures, there is a pressing need for both the central and local governments to provide adequate...
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2009

Slump exposes holes in safety net

The recent massive layoffs of temporary employees by blue-chip firms have shocked and scared workers in a nation long known for accommodative labor relations and lifetime employment.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Feb 17, 2009

Job taken on a whim leads to 35 years in Tokyo

Peter Barakan, 57, wears many hats. He is a radio DJ, a TV program host, an author of books on music and English language education, a long-time Tokyoite fluent in Japanese, husband to a Japanese woman, and the father of a college boy and high school girl. Barakan said he never imagined spending more...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Feb 17, 2009

What do you think about the laws on smoking in Japan?

BUSINESS
Feb 17, 2009

Protecting corporate bonds from default comes at high cost

The cost of protecting Japanese corporate bonds from default rose to a record after the economy last quarter shrank the most since the 1974 oil crisis.
BUSINESS
Feb 17, 2009

Toyota to cut output 54%

Toyota Motor Corp. will slash domestic production 54 percent in the current quarter as demand plunges in the U.S. and Japan.
BUSINESS
Feb 17, 2009

Sanyo to build solar battery plant

Sanyo Electric Co. will spend ¥6 billion to build a factory as part of plans to almost double output of solar batteries within the next two years.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 17, 2009

Accelerating Toyota forced to downshift

Figures for just the past five years show how much Toyota Motor Corp. has prospered. During that period, the carmaker continued to post record sales, profits, production and sales units, ultimately taking the top of the hill from General Motors Corp.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 16, 2009

Seibu hockey team goes out on top

Former Boston Bruins forward Joel Prpic set up the winning goal as Seibu Prince Rabbits rallied to defeat the Nippon Paper Cranes 6-5 in Sunday's final of the Japan ice hockey championship and the team's last appearance.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo