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JAPAN
May 11, 2006

Posts service remittance fraud soars

Incidents of remittance fraud committed through postal services, including registered mail, rose by 2 1/2 times last year to 482, up from 189 incidents in 2004, according to the National Police Agency.
JAPAN
May 11, 2006

Fukuda to meet with U.S. officials

Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda left for Washington on Wednesday for talks with influential current and former U.S. officials.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2006

Softbank logs 1 trillion yen sales due to broadband

Softbank Corp. reported Wednesday that group sales reached 1.108 trillion yen in the business year that ended at the end of March, up 32 percent from a year earlier and achieving the 1 trillion yen threshold for the first time.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2006

JAL suffers 47.2 billion yen loss for 2005

Japan Airlines Corp. fell into the red in fiscal 2005 due to falling passenger numbers and high fuel prices, marking a stark contrast to archrival All Nippon Airways Co., which had record profits and sales.
COMMENTARY
May 11, 2006

It's crying time for Labour

LONDON -- In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has clearly announced the time when he will depart from office. In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair has left the time of his departure wide open. Therein lies the difference, and the core, of the deep problems currently besetting...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
May 11, 2006

Japan grads go apolitical

With its current exhibition, "Index #2 -- Life Styles," Tokyo Wonder Site in Ochanomizu has mounted a worthwhile survey of recent Japanese art-school graduates. Prolific critic Kentaro Ichihara, in association with Kyoto University of Art and Design, selected five Kanto- and five Kansai-region artists...
JAPAN
May 11, 2006

Fearing painful needle, young people shun giving blood

Nearly one in three young people who have never donated blood told a recent survey they are afraid the needle will hurt, the health ministry said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2006

Four life insurers to raise dividends

Four major Japanese life insurers plan to raise dividends for individual policyholders for fiscal 2005 for the second straight year, sources at the firms said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2006

A power to resist the currents of history

One cold morning in December 1941, I was running through the frozen streets of Tokyo during the predawn hours, delivering newspapers. I saw this as my way to contribute to the family finances. I was 13 at the time, my father was bedridden with rheumatism, and my four elder brothers had been sent off...
BUSINESS
May 11, 2006

March key index dives, not fretted

A key gauge of the current state of the economy plunged below the boom-or-bust threshold of 50 percent in March for the first time in eight months, but it should be viewed as a temporary fall, the government said Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 11, 2006

Grappling with gravity

At the Dairakudakan performance space in Kichijoji, a group of female performers move with the particular deliberateness of the butoh dance style. Their partners in the dance are snow-white noh masks, fully true to tradition but with one important modification: lurid red tongues extend and curl from...
JAPAN
May 11, 2006

Horie to plead not guilty, lawyers say

Former Livedoor Co. President Takafumi Horie will plead not guilty to securities law violations, his lawyers told the Tokyo District Court during pretrial proceedings Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2006

Alliances to meet this century's threats

WASHINGTON -- In 1970 I traveled to Egypt as part of a delegation representing the United States at the funeral of President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Back then, Egypt was closely aligned with the Soviet Union. When we arrived in Cairo, it seemed that everywhere one looked there was evidence of the Soviet...
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2006

While Hamas is snubbed, kids starve

NEW YORK -- The decision by the United States, the European Union and Canada to cut financial assistance to Hamas, the winner of the recent Palestinian elections, not only disrespects the results of a clean and democratic electoral process; more ominously, it will further harm Palestinian children, already...
BUSINESS
May 11, 2006

Coke recall jumps to 2.37 million bottles

The Coca-Cola group in Japan will increase the number of soft drinks it is recalling, due to suspected iron contamination, to 2.37 million bottles from the initially planned 570,000.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2006

ChuoAoyama handed suspension order, heads roll

The chairman of the ChuoAoyama PricewaterhouseCoopers board said Wednesday that both he and the deputy chairman will resign to take the responsibility for the firm's failure to prevent three of its accountants from conspiring in the earnings falsification at Kanebo Ltd., just hours after the auditor...
BUSINESS
May 11, 2006

Murakami fund shifts to Singapore

An investment fund led by financier Yoshiaki Murakami said Wednesday it has set up a new investment firm in Singapore and transferred all funds under MAC Asset Management Inc., the core of the fund, to the new company.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2006

Toyota sets new record profit

Toyota Motor Corp. reported Wednesday a record group net profit of 1.37 trillion yen for fiscal 2005, up 17.2 percent over the previous year and the fourth straight yearly rise, thanks to brisk sales overseas, particularly in North America.
JAPAN
May 11, 2006

Joyu angling for own cult, cut of half of Aum assets

Former Aum Shinrikyo leader Fumihiro Joyu may be looking to form his own group with assets from the cult, according to sources.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 10, 2006

Brown, Romano slapped with fines

Central League president Hajime Toyokura said Tuesday Hiroshima Carp manager Marty Brown and right-hander Mike Romano have been fined 100,000 yen and 50,000 yen, respectively, for their outbursts during a game against the Chunichi Dragons on Sunday.
SUMO
May 10, 2006

Hakuho stays unbeaten in Summer Basho

Newly promoted ozeki Hakuho made quick work of compatriot Kyokutenho Tuesday to maintain a share of the early lead with a spotless record on the third day of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo.
SPORTS / E-LIST
May 10, 2006

Interleague play on the horizon

Japanese baseball is getting ready to roll into Interleague play. The novel concept has done a lot for scheduling in Nippon Professional Baseball, as six-team leagues can get pretty tired of each other after a couple months of the usual slate of opponents.
SOCCER / World cup
May 10, 2006

Bulgaria edges Japan with late goal

OSAKA -- Substitute Hristo Yanev scored a heart-breaking injury-time goal as Bulgaria beat a makeshift Japan side 2-1 in their opening Kirin Cup match at Nagai Stadium in Osaka on Tuesday night.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
May 10, 2006

Kawachi has bj-league heading in right direction

You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 10, 2006

PL officials frown at CL's playoff plan

The Central League failed Tuesday to obtain support from the Pacific League for the planned system of the postseason playoffs to be introduced next year.
EDITORIALS
May 10, 2006

Readiness to enforce peace

Warring factions in Sudan's Darfur region last week concluded a peace agreement that is designed to end three years of vicious fighting. The deal is not perfect. Several of the warring factions are not signatories, and only concerted intervention by outside powers, including the African Union, the Arab...

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