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JAPAN
Aug 11, 2007

Builder in Aneha scam can walk free

The Tokyo District Court handed former Kimura Construction Co. President Moriyoshi Kimura a suspended three-year prison term Friday for window-dressing his company's accounts and knowingly selling inadequately earthquake-resistant condos designed by disgraced architect Hidetsugu Aneha.
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2007

Softbank profit up 45% amid mobile price war

Softbank Corp. said Wednesday that its April-June operating profit rose 44.9 percent from a year ago to ¥78.7 billon as its mobile phone unit pulled in more new customers than its competitors in the quarter.
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Aug 8, 2007

Cell phones may turn into boomboxes

Batteries just don't generate the respect they deserve. Imagine how much poorer your lifestyle would be if all of the miniature power cells you use just up and disappeared. Panasonic, as one of the many companies whose profit margins very much rest on these humble gadgets, knows their value and often...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 1, 2007

E-cash silencing the jingle of change

Since major electronic money services emerged in 2001, it has become common in Tokyo for people to go through ticket gates by just touching a smart card to electronic readers at train stations and to make small purchases without pulling out their wallets at convenience stores. Japan's cash-based tradition...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 31, 2007

'Eikaiwa' vets look beyond Big Four

Globalization, the Internet and increased mobility have made the planet a smaller place. The world is now often referred to as a global community, and its lingua franca is undoubtedly English. It is the official language of air traffic control and the de facto language of both international business...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 31, 2007

Mortgages, free perms, two dogs

Home away from home Robert writes: "Since mortgage rates in Japan are so low, I would like to know if any Japanese banks finance mortgages for individuals who do not live here for properties outside of Japan, i.e. Canada."
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Jul 30, 2007

Foreign competition begins to overshadow Japan's solar industry

Japan is often seen as the motherland of the photovoltaic industry. Back in 1993, the government started its New Sunshine Project, a massive subsid program that helped to equip 300,000 Japanese houses with solar panels over the following decade. During that time Japan became the undisputed world market...
JAPAN / History
Jul 27, 2007

Is blunt-speaking Aso next act after Abe?

Foreign Minister Taro Aso looked satisfied on the evening of Sept. 20, 2006 — right after the results of the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election came in.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 27, 2007

'Human maggots in a glass'

Dance fans could be excused for, well, dancing in the streets thanks to the fancy footwork of Saitama Arts Theater in luring some of the world's best contemporary troupes to its stage made famous as the home base of international theater titan Yukio Ninagawa.
Reader Mail
Jul 25, 2007

More garbage seen off the trail

An article last month regarding trash on the trail to Mount Fuji quoted a 20-year-old volunteer university student as saying, "I'd hate for people to see the trash around here and think it means Japan is a culture of garbage."
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 25, 2007

Our world is being driven by denial

As an environmental columnist, one question that repeatedly comes to mind is, "How much denial is humanly possible?"
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2007

Victor, Kenwood ready for merger

Victor Co. of Japan, a struggling subsidiary of electronics giant Matsushita, said Tuesday it will officially start negotiations as early as next month to merge with Kenwood Corp. in 2008, possibly in the form of creating a joint holding company that will hold all shares of the two firms.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past