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MORE SPORTS
Apr 26, 2006

Scandal causes 8 JSF officials to step down

Eight members of the Japan Skating Federation executive committee will resign at the end of June over their alleged involvement in questionable business operations, federation officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2006

Mourners mark anniversary of JR West crash

AMAGASAKI, Hyogo Pref. -- Relatives of the dead and survivors gathered Tuesday morning to mark the first anniversary of a train crash that killed 107 people and injured nearly 550.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2006

More seniors opting for personalized wills

It hardly seems likely a kit called "Let's Write Our Will" would be a best-seller, but since its debut last year it has been a hit with elderly people.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2006

FTC raids firms over bid-rigging in water treatment

The Fair Trade Commission searched the offices of six water-treatment plant makers Tuesday looking for evidence of bid-rigging on local government contracts, investigation sources said.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2006

Koizumi era one of change, tension

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who pledged to "destroy" his own Liberal Democratic Party when he became its president five years ago, will probably be remembered for putting in place much-needed structural reforms.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2006

Dad urges harshest sentence for Obara

Timothy Blackman asked the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday to give the maximum penalty to Joji Obara, who is standing trial for the rape and fatal drugging of his daughter, Lucie, as well as another death and the rapes of eight other women.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2006

Kin of forced laborers not eligible for back pay: court

The Tokyo High Court, upholding a lower court ruling, rejected on Tuesday a damages suit over unpaid wages filed by relatives of seven Koreans who were forced to work at a steel mill in Iwate Prefecture during the war.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2006

Nissan logs 872 billion yen record profit on global sales

Nissan Motor Co. said Tuesday it posted a record operating profit of 871.84 billion yen, up 1.2 percent from the previous year, in fiscal 2005 due to brisk global sales.
EDITORIALS
Apr 26, 2006

Learning from Chernobyl

At 1:23 a.m. on April 26, 1986, the worst nuclear-power accident in history occurred at Chernobyl, Ukraine, which was then part of the Soviet Union. Twenty years after the accident, the name "Chernobyl" and a view of the 90-meter-high concrete and steel sarcophagus covering Reactor Four at the power...
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2006

Toray bags big carbon-fiber deal for Boeing 787

Toray Industries Inc. said Tuesday it has won a contract to supply carbon fiber material for use in Boeing Co.'s new midsize B787 aircraft through 2021.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2006

Higher costs cut into KDDI profit by 30%

KDDI Corp. said Tuesday profit fell by 30 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period a year ago, hurt by higher sales promotion costs and a loss caused by a writedown of assets.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2006

Funeral entrepreneur champions affordable rites

Reserving one's own funeral is something of a rarity -- if not unheard of.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2006

Job picture brightens for grads

Companies are expected to offer 825,000 jobs to new graduates of universities and graduate schools in 2007, close to the 840,000 in 1991 when the economic bubble was peaking, the employment and labor research division of Recruit Co. said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2006

JR West's postcrash safety steps find skeptics

AMAGASAKI, Hyogo Pref. -- Each morning, express trains roar past houses and businesses along the JR Fukuchiyama Line, carrying passengers to and from work in Amagasaki and Kobe, or classes at Doshisha University's Kyotanabe campus in Kyoto Prefecture.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2006

WTO talks may be held in June

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said Tuesday it should be possible to hold ministerial talks in June to accelerate World Trade Organization efforts aimed at determining the size of tariff reductions and other trade liberalization measures in the current round of WTO negotiations....
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Apr 26, 2006

Dark sleeper

* Japanese name: Donko * Scientific name: Odontobutis obscura * Description: The enigmatically named Dark sleeper is a perch-like fish in the order Perchiformes. Members of this, the largest order of vertebrates, include 40 percent of all fish. They are typically fat-lipped, grumpy-looking fish and...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 26, 2006

A voice of reason countering Big Oil's clout

The United States government may be hemorrhaging money in Iraq, but the financial condition of America's oil companies and their top management couldn't be rosier.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2006

MMC cuts last DaimlerChrysler tie

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will dissolve its engine-production venture with DaimlerChrysler AG by selling its entire stake in the equally owned firm to the German-American automaker, according to MMC officials.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2006

Tanigaki calls for 'orderly' moves in forex markets

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki called Tuesday for "orderly" exchange-rate, movements reacting to what he called volatile fluctuations since last week's Group of Seven meeting.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 25, 2006

Kitajima headed to Pan-Pacific

Olympic breaststroke double champion Kosuke Kitajima and men's backstroke specialist Tomomi Morita were among 42 swimmers named Monday to compete at the Pan-Pacific Championships in Canada in August, the Japan Swimming Federation said.
EDITORIALS
Apr 25, 2006

A less than satisfying visit

These days, the official description of the U.S.-China relationship is that it is "complex." This banal characterization is preferred by both governments for several reasons: In addition to being true, it helps deflect pressure from both sides and deflates expectations. All the complexities of the relationship...
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2006

DPJ win helps Ozawa, reflects anti-LDP mood

The narrow victory of a Democratic Party of Japan candidate in Sunday's by-election in Chiba Prefecture has given a boost to the main opposition force's new president, Ichiro Ozawa, virtually assuring his re-election in the DPJ's presidential poll in September, political pundits say.
SUMO
Apr 25, 2006

Hakuho turns quartet into quintet

Newly promoted Mongolian ozeki Hakuho will make his elite debut at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament, bringing the total number of wrestlers occupying sumo's second-highest rank to five at the 15-day tournament.

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