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BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2008

Japan eyes 92,000-ton wheat buy

Japan, Asia's largest wheat importer, is seeking to buy 92,000 metric tons of milling wheat at a tender to be held March 19, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2008

Ricoh projects higher profit, sales

Ricoh Co., the nation's second-biggest office equipment maker, said Tuesday it expects operating profit and sales to rise in the next three years.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Mar 19, 2008

Burst into song anytime with pocket karaoke

Diving directors: Everything about jumping out of an aircraft is a memorable experience, so filming the experience is a must. Skydivers have new opportunities to express their creativity thanks to Elmo Japan and its new SUV-Cam Professional, out March 26. The unit consists of a distinctly small camcorder...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2008

Sentimental barrier to economic growth

Protectionist sentiment and fear of globalization are on the rise. In the United States, presidential candidates appeal to anxious voters by blaming the North American Free Trade Agreement for the erosion of the country's manufacturing base. Liberal trade initiatives have run into trouble in Congress,...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2008

Seniors benefiting from animal therapy

No words are exchanged, but just staring into their big round eyes and patting their furry heads is enough to brighten the mood.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Mar 18, 2008

Pocket bells

Dear Alice,
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 18, 2008

Figuring out 'cleaning fees'

Years ago, when a friend of mine was preparing to move back home to Los Angeles, I helped her clean her rented studio apartment in Tokyo. Shoving aside a pile of books, clothes and various other kinds of clutter, we wiped the wood floor, scrubbed the bathtub and polished the kitchen sink. We spent almost...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 18, 2008

Police in dock over rape

Crimes by women and crimes against women in Japan receive uneven coverage in the press. Female suspects, particularly those charged with serious offenses, are so thoroughly skewered in the media that defense attorneys often complain that a fair trial is near impossible. Crimes against women receive...
EDITORIALS
Mar 18, 2008

Privacy vs. Juki Net

The Supreme Court earlier this month declared as constitutional the nationwide Juki Net residency registry network, ruling against residents who had filed four separate lawsuits. Citing the possible danger of information leakage and use of information for illegitimate purposes, residents from Osaka,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 18, 2008

Scales of justice: Legal system looks for right balance of lawyers

Judicial reform is having a quick and dramatic impact on the legal profession, not least on the number of lawyers. In March 2002, the government decided to increase the number of those who pass the bar exam to 3,000 a year by 2010. Only 1,000 were passed in 1999.
EDITORIALS
Mar 18, 2008

Time to boost domestic demand

The dollar plunged last week to the ¥95 level for the first time in 12 years and six months. The U.S. currency at one point moved to record lows against the euro. Its weakness results from a fear among market players that the U.S. economy is heading toward a recession. The subprime mortgage crisis in...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 18, 2008

Hey grandma, thanks for all your genmai grub

'Shoku wa inochi! (Food is life itself)' was one of my grandmother's maxims, which when I was growing up, I was never able to fathom.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2008

Dollar plummets to near 13-year low against yen

The dollar nosedived below ¥96.00 Monday for the first time in nearly 13 years as fears of a U.S. financial industry meltdown persist amid America's festering subprime mortgage loan crisis.
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2008

Docomo, Fujitsu lodge Softbank handset gripe

NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan's biggest mobile-phone operator, and Fujitsu Ltd. said they filed a legal complaint seeking to prevent Softbank Corp. from selling a handset they claim is very similar to a model offered by DoCoMo.
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2008

Maker of largest ingots has market lock

From a windswept corner of Hokkaido, Japan Steel Works Ltd. controls the fate of the global nuclear-energy renaissance.
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2008

Takefuji slashes profit forecast 69%

Takefuji Corp., the nation's third-largest consumer lender by market value, said Monday it has cut its full-year profit forecast 69 percent, citing subprime-related losses.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 18, 2008

Kroon set to make impact with Giants

There are a lot of familiar faces with new baseball teams this season and each had his own reasons for making a change.
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2008

Steel to Ezaki Glico: Up earnings, returns

Warren Lichtenstein's Steel Partners said Monday it has asked Japanese confectioner Ezaki Glico Co. to cut costs, expand overseas businesses and sell cross-shareholdings to boost earnings and investor returns.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years