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EDITORIALS
Dec 13, 2006

How to use road taxes?

Under legislation dating from 1954, the government's revenues from "road-related taxes" have been exclusively earmarked for road improvement. These revenues have been a "sanctuary" of sorts for politicians representing the interests of industries engaged in road construction. Last year, then Prime Minister...
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2006

Accused in Blackman trial denies all charges

Joji Obara, accused of fatally drugging two women, including British hostess Lucie Blackman, and raping eight others, made his final plea Monday at the Tokyo District Court, denying all charges against him.
EDITORIALS
Dec 12, 2006

Heavy burden on an aging town

The residents of Yubari city in Hokkaido are shivering not only from biting cold but also from the city's harsh financial reconstruction plan under the supervision of the internal affairs ministry. The former coal-mining center, now with a population of only about 13,000, must pay back 36 billion yen...
COMMENTARY
Dec 12, 2006

Abe at crossroads of reform

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's two-month-old administration stands at the crossroads of how to implement the reform agenda inherited from the previous government of Junichiro Koizumi.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2006

Farm tours are a hit, offer career opportunities

places and there are people on a waiting list," said a federation official. The secret of the farm visits' exploding popularity appears to be the hands-on experience they offer. Visitors can learn what it's like to plant crops on a working farm, rather than just watching a harvest.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2006

Farm tours are a hit, offer career opportunities

places and there are people on a waiting list," said a federation official. The secret of the farm visits' exploding popularity appears to be the hands-on experience they offer. Visitors can learn what it's like to plant crops on a working farm, rather than just watching a harvest.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 12, 2006

BOEGE Polos, up-market UNIQLO, blood-free diamonds . . .

Polos reimagined
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 12, 2006

Pluck, trim, extend -- making up is hard to do

The word kesho (makeup) is beautiful to look at -- made up of the kanji characters ke (to metamorphose) and sho (to decorate). Combined, they evoke far more than the mere act of making up. Novelists have poured much ink over the depiction of a woman applying powder, dabbing rouge or performing that special...
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2006

Abe pledges to make deepest bond cut ever

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that planned new government bond issues for the next fiscal year will be cut by the largest margin on record.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 12, 2006

Birthday travel offers

Birthday special In spring 2005, Marion availed herself of ANA's birthday special ticket, but has discovered the service not longer exists. "Is there any other? It was great. I went all the way to Fukuoka in Kyushu for just 10,000 yen."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Dec 12, 2006

Heizaburo and Reiko Kawaguchi

Heizaburo and Reiko Kawaguchi, 84 and 81, from Kobe, believe that simple meals and large servings of complex ideas from Japanese manga, anime and classical literature pave the way to a long and happy life. Trained as a fukuryu (underwater kamikaze diver), and later head of a 300-year-old family business...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 12, 2006

Students spread their wings

Ever since Japan opened its doors to the West, English has been zealously studied in Japan's high schools, night schools, universities and companies.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes