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BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2007

Investors slam JAL's surprise '06 share issue

Japan Airlines Corp. shareholders Tuesday slammed the carrier's top executives, saying they had deceived them by issuing new shares last July without consulting them at their 2006 meeting and for failing to restore profitability in the last business year.
Reader Mail
Jun 27, 2007

Flaky respect for a contract

Regarding the June 12 Lifelines column under "Renewal fees revisited": A correspondent writes that he has refused to pay a rental contract renewal fee even though the contract obliges him to do so, and that he still lives in his apartment. The correspondent cites as justification a court decision supporting...
COMMENTARY
Jun 27, 2007

Battle for the European Union's identity

LONDON -- The latest battle of Brussels is over and news of the outcome is circulating through the capitals of the European Union. But unlike the ferocious battles of past centuries on European soil, this appears to be an engagement that everyone has won.
EDITORIALS
Jun 27, 2007

Reality check for Mr. Sarkozy

Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy's coattails are shorter than anticipated. As expected, his Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) won a parliamentary majority in national elections this month, but not the landslide that the new French president had hoped for to push through his aggressive program for change. Mr. Sarkozy...
Reader Mail
Jun 27, 2007

Get the cat off the head

Regarding Kaori Shoji's June 12 article, "It's a dog's life when you wear a cat on your head," on the Bilingual page: There are some misleading comments about Japan and the Japanese in this article that I think need to be cleared up:
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2007

Pressure building for transparency in mobile fees

A government panel Tuesday urged mobile phone operators to introduce a new fee system by 2010 that clearly separates communications charges from the cost of handsets so consumers know what they're paying for.
EDITORIALS
Jun 27, 2007

Spas need safety regulations

The explosion at an annex of a women-only spa located 500 meters from Tokyo's Shibuya Station, which killed three women and injured eight people, has taught many Tokyoites something: Drill deep enough underground in Tokyo and you'll likely strike hot water containing methane gas. That's because the city...
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Jun 27, 2007

Finding a final resting place for retired mobile phones

No self-respecting person is going to toss out their address book into the street for one and all to peruse at their leisure. It would invite too horrendous a violation of privacy. So, it is only natural that we are loathe to trust our retired "keitai" to the tender mercies of the communal trash, especially...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 27, 2007

Soft-shelled turtle

* Japanese name: Suppon * Scientific name: Pelodiscus sinensis * Description: This is a medium-sized turtle whose carapace (the upper part of the shell) grows up to 25-cm long, and is colored olive, gray, or mottled pale green/brown. It has a long head with a pointed snout and bulging eyes, giving it...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 27, 2007

Is this a poisons coverup?

Mariners say the oceans reveal their secrets only grudgingly. Shelly Parulis would say the same of the U.S. Navy.
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2007

Coca-Cola to buy third of local unit

Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest soft-drink maker, will buy a 34 percent stake in Tokyo Coca-Cola Bottling Co. to expand its business in the Japanese market.
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2007

Aeon to invest $2 billion in China

BEIJING (Bloomberg) Aeon Co., Japan's largest supermarket operator and owner of the Jusco chain, said Tuesday it may invest 15 billion yuan ($1.97 billion) to increase its stores in China to 100 in the next five years.
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2007

Nippon Steel unsure about expanding ties with Arcelor Mittal

Nippon Steel Corp., the world's second-largest steelmaker, said Tuesday no "concrete" decision had been made about expanding cooperation with bigger rival Arcelor Mittal.
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2007

Ministry shuffles out key advocate of the weak yen

The Finance Ministry's top currency bureaucrat, widely considered an advocate of a weak, yen will step down in a regular reshuffle, a ministry official said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2007

Corporate-service inflation at fastest pace in nine years

Corporate service prices rose at their fastest pace in more than nine years in May, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2007

Jasdaq gets FSA order to improve controls

The Jasdaq Securities Exchange for venture firms, run by the Japan Securities Dealers Association, was ordered Tuesday to improve its internal controls, the Financial Services Agency said.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2007

Abe, two of his ministers to forgo bonus

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki and Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa will forgo their summer bonuses as Cabinet ministers to take responsibility for the pension record fiasco, it was announced Monday.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes