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COMMENTARY / World
Jul 3, 2006

European women caught in leisure trap

PRAGUE -- Black Friday in the United States traditionally is the day after Thanksgiving that signals the start of the holiday season sale. At daybreak, people line up before department stores to get the special "early bird" bargains.
COMMENTARY
Jul 3, 2006

Regaining the spirit to build

I had thought that Japan's Internet mogul Takafumi Horie, arrested Jan. 23 by public prosecutors for allegedly violating the securities and exchange law, was likely to be the last person to "pay the price" for the excesses associated with the nation's bubble economy from 1987 to 1990.
EDITORIALS
Jul 3, 2006

For Tokyo, a drop in the rankings

How is a city supposed to feel when it has just learned it is no longer the world's most expensive in which to live? Peeved, since there's a certain cachet attached to being No. 1 anything? Relieved, since a reputation for overpricing isn't the kind of cachet any self-respecting city actually needs?...
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 2, 2006

Toni fires Italy into semis

HAMBURG, Germany -- Things are falling into place for the Italians, and it couldn't come at a better time.
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 2, 2006

Defense powers Italy in quarters

HAMBURG, Germany -- Marcelo Lippi lavished praise on his "first class" defense after the Italians' 3-0 victory over Ukraine gave them their fourth clean sheet in five matches.
SOCCER / J. League
Jul 2, 2006

Kawabuchi bashed by JEF officials

The president of the Japan Football Association has come under fire over his handling of the search for a new coach for Japan's national team.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 2, 2006

Desperate Giants bring in Japan veteran Arias from Mexico

Not sure what to make of the Yomiuri Giants signing infielder George Arias just three days prior to the June 30 Japan pro baseball deadline for acquiring new foreign players.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2006

Risk of molecular substances weighed

The health ministry has started researching potential toxicity risks of molecular substances increasingly used in a broad range of products, from information technology devices to cosmetics, ministry officials said Saturday.
SPORTS / MULLY'S MISSIVES
Jul 2, 2006

WAGs stealing spotlight from playing partners

HAMBURG, Germany -- England's players may have been dominating the sports pages of their country's newspapers during their time in Germany, but they've been shifted off the front pages.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2006

ChuoAoyama starts its partial penalty period

Leading accounting firm ChuoAoyama PricewaterhouseCoopers on Saturday suspended some of its operations through the end of August for failing to prevent Kanebo Ltd. from releasing falsified earnings reports.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jul 2, 2006

Giants escape skid at Tigers' expense

Tomohiro Nioka, Lee Seung Yeop and Yoshinobu Takahashi hit three straight RBI doubles in the sixth inning as the Yomiuri Giants rallied to beat the Hanshin Tigers 4-2 to end a 10-game losing streak Saturday.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2006

81% want to be told of dementia

More than 80 percent of people surveyed say they want to be informed if they are someday diagnosed with dementia, according to the National Institute for Longevity Sciences.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jul 2, 2006

Tamiyo Kusakari: Dancing with body and soul

Tamiyo Kusakari has been on her toes since the age of 8. Japan's most treasured ballerina virtually grew up in her toe shoes, and spent her youth dancing on one stage after another. Now, at the age of 41, she continues to enthrall legions of fans with the skill and eloquence of her craft.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2006

Lawson opens test stores tailored to elderly shoppers

Convenience store operator Lawson Inc. has opened outlets tailored for the elderly in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, and in Awaji, Hyogo Prefecture, the first attempt of its kind among major convenience store operators.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 2, 2006

Consternation characterizes response to Zico's World Cup flops

Though it may not be any consolation to local soccer fans, the Japanese team won the Humanoid Division in the RoboCup soccer competition that took place in Bremen on June 14-20.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 2, 2006

To be, or not to be published? That no longer is the question

SELF-PUBLISHING IN JAPAN: What You Need to Know to Get Started, by Kathleen Morikawa. Forest River Press, 2006, 76 pp., 1,800 yen (paper). The largest media development since the Gutenberg printing press is coming. The full force has not yet hit, but the waves are lapping our shores. Computers, scanners,...
LIFE
Jul 2, 2006

Showdown at Budokan

The rightwing reactionaries were arriving in their menacing black-and-white trucks, blasting military music. The politicians were shaking their fists and telling people to go to a garbage dump. The police had locked down all entrances to the Imperial Palace grounds. Riot police lined the road leading...
CULTURE / Books
Jul 2, 2006

Journeys across turbulent waters

MAD ABOUT THE MEKONG: Exploration and Empire in South-East Asia, by John Keay. HarperPerennial, 2006, 294 pp., £8.99 (paper). The long-lasting conflict in Vietnam made the name of the Mekong familiar to people in other countries, but to those who live along its banks and tributaries it is known simply...
EDITORIALS
Jul 2, 2006

Touching base before stepping down

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush have reaffirmed not only their five-year "very friendly relationship" but also the strong ties between the two nations in a meeting at the White House, their 13th summit -- which may be their last.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 2, 2006

SMAP heartthrob Takuya Kimura returns in "Hero" on Fuji TV and more

Fuji TV usually has a lock on the Monday 9 p.m. time slot with whatever drama it decides to plug into it, and this summer seems no exception. SMAP heartthrob Takuya Kimura returns in "Hero" as prosecutor Kohei Kuryu, a role he first played in the series of the same name that ran in 2001.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 2, 2006

Hedge your bets: Conform, but don't act like you belong

'The barriers of racial feeling [between Japanese and foreigners], of emotional differentiation, or language, of manners and beliefs, are likely to remain insurmountable for centuries."

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