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JAPAN / Politics
Jul 26, 2006

Tanigaki suggests Yasukuni should separate war criminals

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki suggested Tuesday the 14 Class-A war criminals enshrined in Yasukuni Shrine should be separated from the war dead honored there, but he also said the shrine must decide this matter.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2006

Nikkei staffer held for illicit trades

Prosecutors arrested an employee of Nihon Keizai Shimbun Inc. on Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of insider trading, investigative sources said.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2006

Bamiyan dig yields mythical image

The image of a mythical creature has been found on a seventh century Buddhist mural in a cave at the Bamiyan ruins in central Afghanistan, a team of Japanese researchers said Tuesday, having successfully removed soot from the work.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2006

Abe defends Japan's denial of entry to North Korean group

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe on Tuesday defended Japan's rejection of requests by five North Koreans to enter the country, saying the action was appropriate in view of stricter regulations imposed following Pyongyang's July 5 missile launches.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2006

All GSDF troops safely home from historic mission to Iraq

The last batch of Ground Self-Defense Force troops touched down on Japanese soil Tuesday, wrapping up the country's humanitarian mission in Iraq, its biggest and most dangerous overseas deployment since World War II.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2006

University admission woes worsen

A record-high 222 private universities failed to reach their admissions targets this year, according to a recent survey by an educational lobby group.
EDITORIALS
Jul 26, 2006

Words carrying weight

Last week's discovery of a memorandum recording the words of the Emperor Showa explaining why he stopped visiting Yasukuni Shrine will exert considerable influence on the debate over Japanese publicly remembering Japan's war dead, while praying for peace, in a manner acceptable both to Japanese and to...
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2006

Life spans decrease for first time in six years; women still top world

ranking due to the special factor (of influenza), but the long-term trend of Japanese people's average life span has not changed," a ministry official said. In 2004, life expectancy was 85.59 years for Japanese women and 78.64 years for men -- both record highs.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2006

NEC to tie with Matsushita unit on cell phones

NEC Corp. and Panasonic Mobile Communications Co., a subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., aim to form a 50-50 joint venture this autumn to develop new cell phone handsets, company officials said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2006

Sharp's quarterly profit up 23%

Sharp Corp.'s net profit jumped 23.1 percent in the first fiscal quarter on growing sales of flat panel TVs and mobile phones, the electronics maker said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2006

TSE may hit Hokuetsu for lack of disclosure

Tokyo Stock Exchange President Taizo Nishimuro indicated Tuesday the bourse will consider punishing Hokuetsu Paper Mills Ltd. for insufficient information disclosure.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2006

Tropical forests under siege: Yokohama body

for agriculture," said Hana Rubin, ITTO communications assistant. "But how such benefits can be realized remains a stumbling block." According to the group's latest study on tropical forest management, released in May, about 12 million hectares of tropical forest are cleared each year to make way for...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 26, 2006

Will commons sense dawn again in time?

These days we can be forgiven for wondering if Homo sapiens have gone completely mad. From just a glance at the headlines, it is easy to conclude that humans are hellbent on destroying themselves and their environment, with little concern for which goes first.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2006

Adolescent suicide: a serious problem in every country

NEW YORK -- It happens every day, and with alarming frequency. Adolescent suicide is a serious problem in every country, and Japan is no exception. An estimated 30,000 Japanese of all ages kill themselves each year.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2006

Health ministry rapped over poor quarantine plans

The health ministry's preventive measures to handle outbreaks of serious infectious diseases are inadequate and require major improvements, the internal affairs ministry said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2006

Nissan's net profit down 25.7% in first quarter

Nissan Motor Co. said Tuesday its net operating profit fell 25.7 percent to 153.35 billion yen on sales of 2.21 trillion yen, up 3.1 percent, in the April-June quarter as there were no new model launches to boost global sales.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2006

Japan to OK U.S. beef imports this week

The government is preparing to approve the resumption of U.S. beef imports this week, officials said Tuesday, despite a report that Japanese inspectors found problems at some U.S. meat processing plants.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2006

Aiful suspension takes toll on profit

Consumer loan firm Aiful Corp. reported a sharp year-on-year fall Tuesday in its group net profit for the April-June quarter, which was affected by a government order to suspend operations over coercive loan-collection practices.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2006

FTC searches firms over 'eco-station' bid-rigging

The Fair Trade Commission inspected the offices of 20 companies, including Tokyo Gas Co., on Tuesday in connection with suspected bid-rigging on government-subsidized natural-gas filling station projects, sources said.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jul 26, 2006

Galleyworm

* Japanese name: Baba-yasude * Scientific name: Parafontaria species * Description: Galleyworms are not worms but millipedes: elongated, cylindrical arthropods, with two pairs of legs on each body segment. Millipede means "1,000 legs" but these species have around 20 body segments, so therefore about...
BASKETBALL
Jul 25, 2006

Orimo, Setsumasa taking on leadership roles for Team Japan

Five players attended the postgame press conference after Japan's win over Iran on Saturday, and Takehiko Orimo and Takahiro Setsumasa were always the first two to speak.
SUMO
Jul 25, 2006

Dominance, Underperformers and Yogurt!

Exactly what happened on Sunday evening at the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium is simple -- Asashoryu won his 17th Emperor's Cup to date and his second this year, Hakuho came up short despite his victory over the yokozuna and will not be promoted to yokozuna for the September tournament in Tokyo and Miyabiyama...
SOCCER / J. League
Jul 25, 2006

Morimoto aims for success in Italy

Tokyo Verdy striker Takayuki Morimoto, who is set to join newly promoted Italian first-division club Catania on one-year loan, said Monday he hopes his skills developed at the J. League club will pay dividends in Italy.

Longform

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