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JAPAN
Jul 8, 2006

Tunnel workers get 69 million yen

The Tokyo District Court ordered the government Friday to pay 69.3 million yen in compensation to victims of pneumoconiosis who worked on tunnel projects ordered mainly by the state.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2006

Royal pairs may be interred together

The Imperial Household Agency is considering changing the Imperial burial system, possibly interring emperors and empresses together, sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2006

Bullet trains beset by slide, blackout

A mudslide closed a section of the Kyushu Shinkansen Line temporarily Friday, while a blackout briefly halted morning operations on part of the Sanyo Shinkansen Line, the railways said.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2006

EHomes head admits lying to gain building inspector license

Togo Fujita, president of eHomes Inc. and a key figure in the building safety fraud centered on architect Hidetsugu Aneha, pleaded guilty Friday to falsifying financial documents in 2001 in order gain state certification to conduct structural engineering safety checks, many of which it apparently failed....
EDITORIALS
Jul 8, 2006

At last, a statement for the record

To prepare for the start of the lay judge system in May 2009, the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office has decided to make audio and video recordings, on a trial basis, of the confessions and interrogations of criminal suspects. The trial period will run from this month to yearend. The SPPO will later...
COMMENTARY
Jul 8, 2006

Britain soars without euro

LONDON -- Britain now receives more inward investment than any other country in the world. So says the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) based in Paris.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2006

KDDI led new subscribers in June

KDDI Corp. scored the biggest net increase in subscriptions in June for the second month in a row, topping all mobile phone companies in Japan, an industry body said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2006

Mizuho to hike time deposit rates

Mizuho Bank announced Friday it will raise interest rates on three- and six-month time deposits starting Monday, marking the first hike since August 2000 on deposits held less than a year.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 8, 2006

Waseda on cutting edge of cybercrime

Pauline Reich is as smart as she looks in black with a string of pearls. A late starter in some respects -- she did not graduate as a lawyer until she was almost 40 -- she's making up for lost time as a pioneer in the field of cybercrime.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 8, 2006

On the train, the English teacher is 'out'

I often hear foreigners complain that Japanese people will not sit next to them on the train. The perception is that this is some form of discrimination, or perhaps more simply, that we just plain smell bad. Or maybe foreigners feel this is a form of ostracizing, leaving them feel all alone.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2006

Shipboard reactors pose radiation leak risk if attacked: expert

A U.S. expert on atomic reactors said Thursday nuclear-powered vessels, including the aircraft carrier that will be deployed to the Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture, pose a radiation risk if their reactors are breached in an attack.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2006

TSE, KRX seal stock-trading tieup

The Tokyo Stock Exchange and South Korea's Korea Exchange, known as KRX, signed a tieup contract in stock trading Friday afternoon in hopes of coping with the global trend of equity market realignment, TSE officials said.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2006

Spending cuts, deferring sales tax hike, get nod

The Cabinet on Friday approved an economic policy guideline for 2006 aimed at shoring up the government's woeful finances with spending cuts and tax revisions, but leaves the dreaded consumption levy hike for a later administration to deal with.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2006

Tanigaki tells BOJ to gauge missile reaction before voting on rate hike

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki urged the Bank of Japan on Friday to gauge the market's reaction to the North Korean missile tests before making a decision on interest rates next week.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2006

Tokyo snubs Pyongyang threat over sanctions

Japan rejected North Korea's demand Friday to drop new economic sanctions over the North's Wednesday missile launches, ignoring Pyongyang's threat of "stronger measures" and "devastating consequences" unless it reversed its decision.
COMMENTARY
Jul 8, 2006

A Germany not ashamed to wave the flag

BERLIN -- It was clear from the taxi ride into town from Hamburg airport that something was different: Most buildings had a German flag hanging from a balcony. More remarkable still were the cars with small German flags protruding from windows. By the time I got to Berlin, it seemed that every third...
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2006

Japan, China likely to ink aviation deal next week

Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kazuo Kitagawa said Friday he hopes Japan and China can settle their stalled aviation talks next week.
EDITORIALS
Jul 8, 2006

Payback time after merging

The drama triggered when the Murakami fund, managed by maverick investor Mr. Yoshiaki Murakami, purchased a large chunk of Hanshin Electric Railway Co. shares came to an end last week as shareholders of both Hanshin and Hankyu Holdings Inc. voted for a merger. It is the first merger of major railway...
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2006

GDP forecast to be upgraded to a real 2.1%

The government plans to raise its economic growth projections in fiscal 2006 to a real 2.1 percent and nominal 2.2 percent, both up 0.2 percentage point from January's estimates, government sources said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jul 8, 2006

Richard Schwartz

Richard Schwartz said, "I originally graduated with a drama degree, which basically qualified me to drive a truck." That was in 1986, and that was what he did, among other things, supporting himself with day labor jobs. He thought that wasn't good enough for a lifetime, though, so he attended night school...
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2006

New BOJ rules ban its execs from most types of investment

The Bank of Japan adopted new rules Friday banning its executives from engaging in most types of investment, including stocks and private equity funds, in response to the public furor over personal investments BOJ Gov. Toshihiko Fukui made before he became chief of the central bank.
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 7, 2006

Zizou aging like a fine wine

MUNICH -- Footballing maestro Zinedine Zidane is the man who makes dreams come true for France, coach Raymond Domenech said on Wednesday.
BASKETBALL
Jul 7, 2006

Japan to face Senegal in warmup

announced Thursday that the Japan national team will take on Senegal on Aug. 13 in the Kirin International Basketball 2006 as the final warmup game for this summer's FIBA World Championship in Japan. A JABBA executive Takeshi Ishikawa said at a Tokyo news conference that three Kirin Cup games (July 19-22)...

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