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JAPAN
Aug 2, 2006

Princess dons special safe-birth obi

Princess Kiko put on a protective red and white obi Tuesday in an Imperial ceremony to pray for the safe delivery of her baby, who could possibly become an heir to the throne, the Imperial Household Agency said.
EDITORIALS
Aug 2, 2006

New beginning for a community

North Korea's July 5 missile launches were a timely reminder for East Asia. They served notice to foreign ministers attending the 13th meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) last last week in Kuala Lumpur that East Asia remains a dangerous place, and that their governments must work actively together...
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2006

Takenaka hits Tanigaki's call to increase sales tax

Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Heizo Takenaka on Tuesday criticized Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki's proposal to double the consumption tax.
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2006

July new vehicle sales hit lowest level since 1974

Sales of new vehicles fell 9.1 percent in July from the previous year to 317,928 units, the lowest level for a July since 1974, an industry body said Tuesday.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Aug 2, 2006

Festival raises interest in American football ahead of 2007 World Cup

Baseball, soccer, basketball . . . and next up, football.
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 1, 2006

Kurobe uses head in ho-hum victory

SAITAMA -- Teruaki Kurobe scored with a diving header on 88 minutes to give Urawa Reds a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in a lackluster friendly at Saitama Stadium on Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2006

ASDF makes first airlift to Baghdad

A transport aircraft of the Air Self-Defense Force on Monday made its first flight to Baghdad from Kuwait, government officials said.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2006

Safety tweaks led to nine of 28 poisonings: Paloma

Nine of 28 carbon monoxide poisoning accidents that resulted from defective gas water heaters were caused by improperly altered safety devices coupled with dirty heat exchangers and deterioration of parts, Paloma Industries Ltd. reported Monday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 1, 2006

A generation removed from scandal

Thirty years have passed since former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka was arrested July 27, 1976, on suspicion of having received a bribe of 500 million yen that originated from Lockheed Corp., an American aircraft manufacturer. The Lockheed affair, in which 15 people were indicted, became the largest postwar...
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2006

Ministry drafts measures to prevent building scandals

The infrastructure ministry proposed measures Monday to prevent the falsification of building data, including certifying architects with expertise in key areas and requiring builders to use those certified architects when constructing large buildings.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2006

Key defense bid-rigger gets 1 1/2 years

The Tokyo District Court found three former officials of the Defense Facilities Administration Agency guilty Monday of bid-rigging, including on construction assignments at U.S. bases in Japan, and sentenced the key player to prison.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2006

14 nabbed in sales of obscene DVDs

The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested 14 people on suspicion of illegally possessing and selling a huge amount of obscene DVDs, police said Monday.
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2006

Flash-memory sales fuel turnaround for Toshiba

Toshiba Corp. on Monday posted a group net profit of 4.0 billion yen for the April-June period, improving from a group net loss of 8.9 billion yen the previous year thanks to brisk sales in flash-memory products.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2006

Staffing companies find market in helping retired athletes

When international midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata recently announced his retirement from soccer, people wondered what he would do in the next stage of his life -- business, sports, or a combination of both?
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2006

Panel sets child care, broadcast reforms

in Tokyo's Nagata-cho district Monday. KYODO PHOTO
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2006

Japan Post drafts 10-year plan

Japan Post Corp. submitted to the government on Monday outlines of its 10-year postal privatization road map that includes plans for its savings bank to provide loans to individuals and for its life insurance firm to offer health and casualty insurance policies.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2006

Suit by Japan Highway boss against 'true story' is thrown out

The Tokyo District Court dismissed a libel suit Monday filed by Haruho Fujii, former president of the now-defunct Japan Highway Public Corp., and said a magazine article correctly reported his concealment of the corporation's financial statements.
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2006

Big banks to raise housing-loan rates

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and other major commercial banks said they will raise interest rates on some of their housing loans, effective Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2006

Diary of ukiyo-e artist Hiroshige is recovered

Edo Period ukiyo-e print designer Utagawa Hiroshige's sketch diary notebook, missing for 80 years, has been found in the United States.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 1, 2006

Parting is such sweet sorrow: and sometimes amusement

Job-hopping is on the rise in Japan as more and more companies bid farewell to the lifetime employment system. But some managers are still so unprepared for the departure of a subordinate that they often behave irrationally -- sometimes to the point of being downright silly.
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2006

MUFG posts big first-quarter gains

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. said Monday its group pretax profit and operating revenue in the April-June quarter posted sizable gains from the year before following last October's merger.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2006

Photographer captures essence of elderly full of life, near death

As a freelance photo journalist, Munesuke Yamamoto has witnessed numerous deaths in war zones around the world, but he is now focusing on the living, specifically elderly people in Japan.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Aug 1, 2006

Island travel and Mac help

Airport on Ogasawara? J and partner have heard that there is an air service to Ogasawara (the Bonin Islands) -- described in my book Insider's Tokyo (2001) as "Tokyo furthest flung outpost."
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2006

Mizuho group profit surges 33%

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. said Monday its group net profit in the three months ended June 30 soared 33.2 percent from a year earlier to 230.84 billion yen, due mainly to a 43.3 billion yen fall in tax-related expenses.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji