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BUSINESS
Nov 12, 2005

BOJ chief ties end of ultraloose policy to steady CPI rise

The country's core consumer prices are likely to rise steadily as fiscal 2006 draws closer, which will give the Bank of Japan the green light to end its ultraloose monetary policy, BOJ Gov. Toshihiko Fukui said Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2005

Half-year Iraq duty extension urged

The Ground Self-Defense Force reconstruction assistance mission in Iraq needs to be extended by at least six months past its Dec. 14 expiration, a government source has said.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 9, 2005

Valentine's future remains undecided

Based on job offers, Bobby Valentine has just as good a chance to be with the Chiba Lotte Marines next season as he does with the Los Angeles Dodgers or any other club his name has been linked to in recent weeks.
BUSINESS
Nov 9, 2005

Koizumi unlocks auto taxes

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has ordered the government to use revenue from some auto-related taxes for purposes other than road-related projects, infrastructure minister Kazuo Kitagawa said Tuesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Nov 9, 2005

Mystery snail Tanishi

* Japanese name: Tanishi * Scientific name: Cipangopaludina japonica * Description: A large snail, growing up to 60 mm long. It has two large "horns"; shell color is uniform, light to dark olive-green, but may have color bands. As in the photo, they are often muddy, and they are also known as mud snails. *...
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2005

Governors oppose base relocation plans

is greeted by Fukushiro Nukaga, director general of the Defense Agency, prior to a meeting Monday at the agency.
BUSINESS
Nov 8, 2005

Poverty fight using wristband sales finds skeptics

The "whiteband" movement in Japan to eradicate poverty in developing countries, using celebrities in a tieup with a public relations company, has had some unexpected results, with misunderstandings and allegations about how the money raised is being used.
Japan Times
Features
Nov 6, 2005

Surveying a state of change

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi led his Liberal Democratic Party to a landslide victory in the Sept. 11 general election he called as a de facto referendum on his drive to privatize postal services.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 4, 2005

Richie Cole

Richie Cole is one of jazz's most distinctive alto sax players. Following in the footsteps of Phil Woods (who followed in the steps of Charlie Parker), Cole has a tone on alto that stays pure and supple even at rapid-fire tempos. Unapologetically straight-ahead in an age of gimmicks and computerized...
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Nov 3, 2005

Aso planning to run for LDP president

Foreign Minister Taro Aso, a potential successor to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, said he will run for president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party next September if he can get the required 20 party members to nominate him.
BUSINESS
Nov 3, 2005

METI panel may back use of 'golden shares'

A study panel in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is considering allowing listed companies to use special shares to ward off hostile takeovers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 3, 2005

And the winner, by a nose, is . . .

Speaking at the news conference following the closing ceremony of this year's Tokyo International Film Festival, lead actor Koichi Sato said that while working on "Yuki ni Negau Koto (What the Snow Brings)" he "never imagined that this film would go on to receive the top prize at an international event."...
EDITORIALS
Nov 2, 2005

Little time to do so much

The lineup of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's new Cabinet, formed Monday, shows his determination to put finishing touches on his reforms in the rather short time left for him. He has made clear that he will step down in September 2006. Mr. Koizumi included in his new Cabinet three politicians from...
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Nov 2, 2005

New defense chief promises less local burden from U.S. bases

The government will reduce the burden on communities with U.S. military bases by facilitating cooperation between the Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military, Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2005

New policy chief signals softer stance on BOJ

New economic and fiscal policy minister Kaoru Yosano indicated Monday the administration will respect the Bank of Japan's decision on when to scrap its ultraloose monetary policy.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2005

Negishi wins film fest's top prize

Director Kichitaro Negishi won the Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix at the 18th Tokyo International Film Festival for his work "What the Snow Brings" as the event drew to a close Sunday.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Oct 31, 2005

Is the American dream now a mirage?

NEW YORK -- Is the American dream just a mirage now? Earlier this year the Wall Street Journal ran a series called "Challenges to the American Dream," casting into doubt the "staple of America's self-portrait" that "a child born in poverty isn't trapped there." If that was putting the matter delicately,...
COMMENTARY
Oct 31, 2005

EU must win grassroots trust

LONDON, PARIS and ROME-- European leaders have been holding a special meeting at the invitation of British Prime Minister Tony Blair to discuss what he calls "the strategic issues facing Europe in the years ahead."
MULTIMEDIA
Oct 30, 2005

Speaking volumes

Kaori Shoji
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 30, 2005

What lies beneath the myth of middle-class consciousness

A friend sent me an email about some new people, all Japanese, she had met at a party. There was a young man who had worked in Africa for Medecins Sans Frontieres. One middle-age man had quit a stable job in broadcasting to study French in Paris. A female graduate student in marine biology was also there....
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2005

Koizumi's Cabinet picks shrouded in mystery

to appoint personnel to the three executive posts to the party and the Cabinet on Oct. 31," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda told a news conference later the same day. The special Diet session opened after the Sept. 11 Lower House election and ends Tuesday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 29, 2005

Panty snatching: is it a crime?

It's the change of seasons in Japan and the favorite time of year for TV weather forecasters as they make comments and give advice to their viewers. "It is normal for people to feel hot during the daytime but cold at night," observes one weather forecaster. "Tomorrow people should carry a foldup umbrella,"...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 29, 2005

New Asian Collection gallery is dream come true

Robert Tobin makes charismatic progress around the back side of Ebisu Station in central Tokyo.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Oct 29, 2005

Yuki Akimoto

Yuko Akimoto and her brother began the right way by choosing their parents well. Their father, Minoru Akimoto, has an M.A. from Michigan State University. From a business career at the top, he retired as executive vice president of Itochu Corp. Their poetic, music-loving mother, Taeko, runs her own musical...
EDITORIALS
Oct 28, 2005

Learning from devastating quakes

On Oct. 23, 2004, a series of powerful earthquakes, including one with a magnitude of 6.8, devastated the Chuetsu region in Niigata Prefecture. Of the 51 deaths, 16 were directly caused by the devastation. Most of the remaining deaths were caused by "economy-class syndrome," in which survivors who tried...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2005

TBS scrambling for 'stable' investors

About 55 percent of Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc.'s outstanding shares will likely fall into the hands of long-term shareholders, sources close to the television broadcaster claimed Thursday.

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