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JAPAN / Q&A
Jun 1, 2007

Poll-wary ruling bloc gropes to fix pension fiasco

The government is facing a crisis over its handling of the creaky public pension system, in part because the Social Insurance Agency scrambled the data on 50 million premium payments during a bungled shift to computerization in the 1980s. Since it cannot identify who made the payments, many pensioners...
BUSINESS
Jun 1, 2007

Stage now set for Hoya's Pentax tender offer in June

Hoya Corp. announced Thursday that it will launch a tender offer for Pentax Corp. as early as June 4 in an attempt to turn the camera maker into a wholly owned subsidiary, ending a two-month takeover battle that caused Pentax to replace its president.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 31, 2007

Yukiko Motoya takes a satirical look at the 'Super No-Flat'

There's a new buzz in Japan's theaters these days — and she's called Yukiko Motoya. Hailing from Ishikawa Prefecture on the Sea of Japan, the 27-year-old founder of an eponymous Tokyo-based theater company has quickly become a new source of freshness both in the drama world and other cultural fields....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 31, 2007

'Mourning' turns into celebration

"Mogari No Mori (The Mourning Forest)," the Japanese film that crept up from behind bigger-name productions to win the Grand Prix at this year's Cannes Film Festival, revolves around an old man's unswerving desire to find his wife's grave.
BUSINESS
May 29, 2007

Sanyo reduces losses, forecasts return to profit

Scandal-plagued Sanyo said Monday it trimmed its losses for the fiscal year and forecast a return to profit for the current year.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
May 26, 2007

In the darkness of our times

One night after visiting friends, I hopped on the local bus for a ride home. At the very first stop, the other passengers — a cane-clutching obaasan and a mother with her pre-schooler — stepped off, leaving me all alone as the bus barreled through the dark.
BUSINESS
May 25, 2007

Kankeiren chief leaves a booming Kansai in debt

OSAKA — When Yoshihisa Akiyama steps down as head of the Kansai Economic Federation (Kankeiren) next Monday, he will leave behind a booming Kansai economy thanks to the federation's focus on greater trade with China.
BUSINESS
May 23, 2007

MMC to reduce dealerships in domestic revamp

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Tuesday it will start paring its group dealerships to five from 29 on July 1 to help streamline sales channels and turn around its money-losing operations at home.
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
May 23, 2007

Internet umbrellas — today's pet rocks?

Once upon a time, during the stone age era known as the 1970s, a product completely devoid of usefulness was created: the pet rock. This thing enjoyed a burst of commercial success that engenders acute embarrassment. Its inventor proved that the alchemists were right, you can make gold out of completely...
LIFE / Language
May 22, 2007

Buzzwords trying to find own linguistic niche

Buzzwords belong in the category of catchwords and catch phrases. Like cliches — though not always as long-lived as cliches — they capture the imagination of a nation and are used in many contexts. In Japanese, buzzwords are called hayarikotoba and, as such, often do hayarisutari (pop into, then...
BUSINESS
May 18, 2007

Toyota throws hybrid models into Lexus lineup

Toyota Motor Corp. introduced two top-of-the-line Lexus LS sedans in Japan on Thursday, hoping the cars' hybrid technology will accelerate the automaker's efforts to establish Lexus as a premium brand on the world stage.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 18, 2007

Unafraid of rightist rage

Directors tend to be articulate types, especially when discussing (or rather spinning) their own films, but Kazuyuki Izutsu has few equals in the art of spoken communication, in or out of the director's chair. From snappy one-liners about dull movies to verbal bombshells aimed at local rightists, Izutsu...
BASKETBALL
May 17, 2007

Japanese shoot for dreams

This was no leisurely way to spend a weekend.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2007

A private affair, or not?

PRAGUE — Can a public figure have a private life? Recent events in three countries have highlighted the importance of this question.
EDITORIALS
May 13, 2007

Amusement park safety

A broken axle led to the May 5 derailment of a roller coaster at the Expoland amusement park in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, which killed a woman and injured 19 other holidaymakers. Not only had there been a lack of safety consciousness on the part of the operator but also unclear legal stipulations concerning...
BUSINESS
May 12, 2007

Pentax can let go of Hoya ties: camera exec

Backed by brisk earnings in 2006, a senior executive at Pentax Corp. said Friday the firm was confident it could go it alone without Hoya Corp.

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