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BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Oct 31, 2008

Three clubs unbeaten as Week 4 play begins

Parity can be a good thing in sports, keeping fans' attention throughout a long season. And already that is what we are seeing in the bj-league this season.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2008

Hopes for next president

LONDON — Around the world, America's presidential election campaign has attracted as much attention as domestic political controversies in each of our countries. The interest the world has taken in America's vote is the best example of America's soft power, and a lesson in democracy from the world's...
BUSINESS
Oct 31, 2008

Aso unveils ¥27 trillion stimulus package

Prime Minister Taro Aso unveiled a fresh stimulus package Thursday that includes about ¥2 trillion in benefits payments to households, expressway toll cuts and record tax breaks on home loans.
BUSINESS
Oct 31, 2008

Nintendo trims profit forecast

Nintendo Co. said Thursday it posted a 9.4 percent gain in first-half profit but cut its full-year outlook as a surging yen undercut brisk sales of its popular Wii console and DS hand-held device.
BUSINESS
Oct 31, 2008

Mazda to maintain alliance with Ford, company president says

Mazda Motor Co. will maintain its alliance with Ford Motor Co., which owns one-third of Mazda's stake, despite the ongoing realignment in the U.S. auto industry, Mazda President and CEO Hisakazu Imaki said Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2008

ID-less arrest thought to be drug kingpin

An Iranian man under arrest since July is believed to be the ringleader of drug dealers who sold an estimated ¥200 million worth of narcotics to 20,000 customers on the streets of the ritzy Azabu, Shirokane and Takanawa neighborhoods in Minato Ward, Tokyo, since last November.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 31, 2008

Equaling Oh's HR record proved difficult

Third in a three-part series
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 31, 2008

Watanabe's gentle touch brings out Lions' claws

When thinking of what made the Seibu Lions' quick resurgence from the fifth-place finish of the previous season possible, as well as the players' growth, manager Hisanobu Watanabe's presence played a big part in it.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2008

Prime minister's crisis political, not financial

Prime Minister Taro Aso's desire to address the global financial crisis appears to be why a snap election won't be called anytime soon, but political analysts have another take: He just wants to avoid a losing battle.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 31, 2008

'Homeless Chugakusei'

The homeless in Japan are mostly older men down on their luck, sleeping on cardboard in train stations or under blue tarps in public parks. Some are mentally disturbed or chronically ill, but their image in popular culture is surprisingly positive — ranging from the lovable loser to the ragged sage....
CULTURE / Film
Oct 31, 2008

'The Other Boleyn Girl'

Despite what Mr. Hitchcock had to say about the requirements of a successful movie ("Script, script and script!"), sometimes the casting is everything. And when your film comes with a poster featuring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson with come-hither looks and appearing as if they're about to...
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 31, 2008

Tazawa avoids draft, looks to U.S.

Junichi Tazawa, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher who wants to play in the major leagues, was passed over by Japan's 12 professional teams in Thursday's amateur draft.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2008

Tokyo police hope to put scare into Halloween train pranksters

While many anticipate the appearance of ghosts and ghouls over Halloween, police and railway authorities in Tokyo have something more frightening to worry about: naked, drunken revelers.
BUSINESS
Oct 31, 2008

Hitachi logs quarterly loss, slashes full-year profit forecast

Hitachi Ltd. reported a quarterly loss of ¥17.4 billion Thursday amid a global slowdown in export markets and a surge in prices of oil and other raw materials.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2008

Naturalist Nicol gives Prince Charles forest tour

SHINANO, Nagano Pref. — Emperor and Empress? Check. Prime Minister Taro Aso? Check. So who else did Britain's Prince Charles catch up with during his five-day visit to Japan? None other than longtime Japan Times columnist, naturalist and author C.W. Nicol.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 31, 2008

'Boy A'

When a 10-year-old commits a horrendous crime, whose fault is it? "Boy A" addresses the question but offers no easy answer in this painful portrayal of the repercussions of a childhood gone terribly awry.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 31, 2008

Monoral feed on Halloween horror

'A lot of the companies we signed to disappeared, basically," says Ali Morizumi of pan-national rock duo Monoral, musing on the mysterious curse that has followed his band around.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2008

Economic mess arrived to trump election chance

Prime Minister Taro Aso announced his intention Thursday to postpone dissolving the Lower House and calling a snap election.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 31, 2008

Now in their 50s, Def Leppard are still ferocious

Legendary English rock band Def Leppard brought the circus back to town last week. Paired up with fellow hair-metal survivors Whitesnake, the group began a four-date Japan tour with two nights at the prestigious Nippon Budokan in central Tokyo on Oct. 23 and 24.
BUSINESS
Oct 31, 2008

Aioi to buy 9.9% of Lotte Non-Life

Aioi Insurance Co. said Thursday it will invest about ¥2.8 billion to buy 9.9 percent of Lotte Group's nonlife insurer to strengthen ties with the South Korean firm.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 31, 2008

Club tricks and treats for Halloween

With Halloween falling on a Friday this year, there's a countrywide wealth of ghoulish fun on offer over the weekend — and even less excuse not to indulge in some serious sartorial inelegance and hit the town.

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