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BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 19, 2006

Tuffy Rhodes: the best ever foreign player in Japan

The 10-year Japan career of Tuffy Rhodes has apparently come to an end with the announcement last week he had signed a contract with his hometown team, the Cincinnati Reds.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 19, 2006

Careful planning helps to preserve male-succession mind-set

The morning after it broke, news that Princess Kiko is expecting a baby in September was greeted with predictably meaningless blather on the TV wide shows. Commentators made a connection between the pregnancy and that ceremony the princess and her husband, Prince Akishino, attended in September of last...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Feb 19, 2006

Tale of love and hatred in NTV's 'Drama Complex,' TV Asahi's "Ai no Apron" and more

On Tuesday, NTV's weekly "Drama Complex" series will air a two-hour presentation of master mystery writer Seicho Matsumoto's "Yubi (Finger)" at 9 p.m., a tale of love and hatred played out among an insular group of women.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2006

LDP calls immigration bill too lax

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's judicial panel refused Friday to endorse a government draft bill to tighten the immigration law by fingerprinting foreigners upon their arrival in Japan, saying the law needs to be further strengthened to fight terrorism, party members said.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2006

Horie bought Takebe poll backing: DPJ

Opposition lawmaker Hisayasu Nagata dropped a political bombshell Thursday in the Diet, claiming Livedoor Co. founder Takafumi Horie sent an internal e-mail before the Sept. 11 election directing his staff to pay 30 million yen to the son of Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 17, 2006

Casa Vecchia: Good local fare with uncommon flair

A trattoria is by definition a neighborhood institution, usually a small, family-run affair with modest prices and few pretensions, serving down-home cooking for a local clientele. Casa Vecchia fits that description perfectly.
SOCCER / World cup
Feb 16, 2006

Zico to switch shape for Finland friendly

Japan coach Zico said Wednesday he will scrap his 3-6-1 formation for this weekend's friendly at home to Finland after Japan were outclassed by the United States in Saturday's 3-2 defeat in San Francisco.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2006

Kobe airport seeking business travelers

With the opening of the new Kobe airport Thursday, air carriers are set to wage a battle against railways, especially for business travelers, between Tokyo and Kobe.
EDITORIALS
Feb 15, 2006

Skirting justice in Yokohama

The Yokohama District Court last week made a disappointing ruling in a case stemming from the state's wartime suppression of freedom of speech. The court could have shed light on the dark side of modern Japanese history by delving into a variety of related issues, including the questionable conduct of...
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2006

Bill in works for arriving foreigners' fingerprints to go on state database

The government has drawn up a bill requiring foreigners aged 16 and older to register their fingerprints in a government database when entering Japan as part of its campaign against terrorism, government sources said Tuesday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Feb 14, 2006

Is there a nationalist resurgence in the air?

Gwen Loubes Architect, 24 I live in China and from over there, Japan doesn't seem so nationalistic. The Chinese all support the Chinese government and follow all the rules. They're very nationalistic. I think China is a bit envious of Japan.
EDITORIALS
Feb 12, 2006

The case for a baby princess

No wonder the Crown Princess gets depressed. The spectacle of the chasm between the Imperial family and the 21st century has long been enough to depress anyone. But then, just when the princess must have thought the gap might be closing a bit, given the prime minister's efforts to win the right of succession...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Feb 12, 2006

Quiz show 'Nep-League' on Fuji TV, Jo Odagiri in TV Asahi's 'Jiko Keisatsu' and more

One of the most popular new game shows is "Nep-League" (Fuji, Monday, 7 p.m.), starring the comedy trio Neptunes. The quizzes are based on word games that test knowledge of Chinese characters and arcane vocabulary. The show is also famous for its game-arcade atmosphere. The tests are time-intensive and...
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2006

English abusers finally get their day in the sun

"Please be careful to forget valuables" has received the Sign Language Award at the Amazing English Hunt 2005 awards, the English-Speaking Union of Japan, a nonprofit organization to promote international exchanges through English, and eigoTwown.com, which runs a Web site offering English education information,...
BUSINESS
Feb 11, 2006

Monday charges loom for Livedoor

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission, after a three-year probe, asked prosecutors Friday to indict Livedoor Co., former President Takafumi Horie, three other executives, and advertising subsidiary Livedoor Marketing Co. for lying to investors in order to inflate the stock price of the...
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2006

Myanmar woman, stateless daughter, 11, get year here

Immigration authorities Friday granted a woman from Myanmar and her Japanese-fathered daughter, who is stateless, special one-year permits to stay in the country, their supporters said.
EDITORIALS
Feb 10, 2006

The world according to the Pentagon

The U.S. Department of Defense has released its vision of the world, the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). The four-year review of U.S. military strategy provides the Pentagon's assessment of global trends and its responses to them. The QDR receives a lot of attention, but it is important to remember...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Feb 10, 2006

18,000 years in the making

Having been the centerpiece attraction at last year's Aichi Expo, the Yukagir Mammoth head is now on display in Tokyo, part of the "Yukagir Mammoth Museum" being held at the Fuji Television building. The remains of the woolly mammoth were discovered in 2002 in permafrost near Yukagir village, located...
BUSINESS
Feb 8, 2006

Forex reserves soar to record $851.7 billion

Japan's foreign-exchange reserves rose $4.80 billion in January to a record high $851.67 billion, helped in large part by a stronger euro, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Feb 8, 2006

Mud shrimp

* Japanese name: Ana-jako * Scientific name: Upogebia major * Description: Mud shrimps are 10-cm-long decapod crustaceans, which means they have 10 legs and a hard outer shell. They also have two pairs of antennae, of which one pair is very long. The animal is whitish in color, with large dark-brown...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 6, 2006

To improve Japan's finances, reform drive must stay alive

In fiscal 2006, the government will issue under 30 trillion yen in bonds for the first time in eight years, leaving the nation 11.2 trillion yen short of achieving a primary balance -- the condition where expenditures, excluding interest payments and debt redemptions, are covered by revenues excluding...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Feb 5, 2006

Solve your neighborhood problem with NHK's "Nanmon Kaiketsu" and more

As everyone knows, Japan is no longer a haven of safety. No statistic supports this sad development better than the fact that more than 440,000 bicycles are stolen every year, so don't get angry when a policeman stops you on the street to check your registration. He's only doing his job.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan