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CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 23, 2006

Dietician Sonoko Suzuki's life dramatized in Nihon TV's "The Diet Queen" and more

Everybody is excited about this summer's World Cup in Germany, but before that takes place there is another international tournament being held in the same country.
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 23, 2006

... all mixed up ...

Doesn't she realize that I can't understand much of anything she says? Bobbing my head, trying to rest on torturously bent knees with a smile iced onto my face, I wonder why she is so desperate to get in all of those words. They don't really sound like words, but they are.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 23, 2006

Two theaters of the Asian absurd

THIRTY-THREE TEETH by Colin Cotterill. New York: Soho Press, 2005, 238 pp., $24 (cloth). FAN-TAN by Marlon Brando and Donald Cammell. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005, 249 pp., $23.95 (cloth). Novels set in Asia that combine crime and detection with touches of humor are not especially numerous, but the...
MORE SPORTS
Apr 22, 2006

Morita sets national record

Backstroke swimmer Tomomi Morita broke the Japanese record twice on his way to claiming his fifth consecutive 100-meter title at the national swimming championships Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2006

Abe awarded defamation damages

The Tokyo District Court ordered a Tokyo-based publisher Friday to pay 500,000 yen in damages to Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe for defaming him in its monthly magazine, Sentaku.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2006

10-year military realignment plan to cost Japan 2 trillion yen

The government estimates that it will need around 2 trillion yen over the next 10 years -- roughly 200 billion yen a year on average -- to meet costs associated with the realignment of U.S. military forces in Japan, excluding the cost of relocating U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam, sources said.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2006

Consumers skeptical about U.S. beef; firms say lift ban

Consumers expressed skepticism Friday about the ability of the U.S. to guarantee the safety of its beef, while businesses urged an immediate end to the import ban.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2006

Dust around young star may give clue to birth of planets

Researchers said Friday that space dust particles surrounding a young star in the Painter's Easel constellation have grown to about 10 times the size of regular space dust particles, giving an important clue to the origin of planets.
EDITORIALS
Apr 22, 2006

Trust and the Food Safety Commission

The trustworthiness of the Food Safety Commission appears to be in jeopardy. Half of the 12-member panel under the commission that was tasked with assessing the safety of North American beef resigned as of March 31. The six who quit were regarded by consumer groups as being cautious about the idea of...
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2006

Seafood costs too much: consumers

Japanese consumers believe the price of seafood is high relative to meat, while fishermen believe it is relatively low because they are hit hard by fuel prices boosted by soaring oil prices, according to a government white paper released Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2006

Yuan hike urged

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Friday a revaluation of the yuan would be desirable for China, a day after U.S. President George W. Bush urged China to conduct further reform of its exchange-rate regime.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2006

Local tax grant review 'unavoidable'

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said Friday the central government will consider rethinking the way it allocates tax revenues to local authorities, calling such reform "unavoidable" in restoring Japan's debt-ridden finances.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Apr 22, 2006

Time for F.A. to get tough on abusive managers, players

LONDON -- Earlier this week Neil Warnock, the Sheffield United manager whose ego and popularity are at opposite ends of the scale, was sent to the stands during the 1-1 draw with Leeds after yelling to to the visiting manager Kevin Blackwell: "I hope he breaks his f leg next time," a reference to Leeds'...
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2006

Import ban on Mexico tomatoes ends

Japan lifted an import ban on Mexican tomatoes Friday, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2006

Nukaga off to U.S. hoping to talk costs

Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga left for the United States on Friday in the hopes of meeting his U.S. counterpart about Japan's share of the cost to relocate 8,000 U.S. Marines to Guam from Okinawa.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2006

Service index off 1.5% in February

Japan's service industry activity index fell 1.5 percent in February from the previous month for the first decline in five months, due partly to lackluster wholesale and retail sales of clothing, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2006

USTR suggests Doha players take last stab at deal

Departing U.S. Trade Representative Robert Portman has suggested that ministers of major players at trade liberalization talks of the World Trade Organization should meet despite the slim chance of clinching a deal before the April 30 deadline, Japan's trade minister said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 22, 2006

Enjoying life to the fullest during cherry-blossom viewing time

Imagine an entire old folks home on sake. That's what living on this island has been like ever since the cherry blossoms opened up. The first cherry-blossom viewing started last Sunday and the party hasn't stopped.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2006

96 Diet members visit Yasukuni Shrine

Ninety-six Diet members from various parties jointly paid a visit Friday to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, where 14 Class-A war criminals are honored as well as more than 2 million Japanese war dead, as the shrine launched this year's three-day spring rites.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 22, 2006

Life in balance with sweets, stitches and the sea

Every Tuesday, Hideki Okubo heads her car from the Tokyo suburb of Chofu towards the Shonan coast, and the oldest and possibly the largest windsurfing school in Japan.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2006

Wellington cautious about regional FTA

New Zealand Associate Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton has cautiously welcomed a recent proposal by Japan to create a 16-nation free-trade zone in Asia-Oceania, saying further research is needed to examine its feasibility.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2006

Kimura knew about faked data on hotel, took fee: cops

Kimura Construction Co. accepted partial payment for building a hotel in Nara Prefecture in November even though its president knew the inn was designed based on fabricated structural-strength data provided by now-disqualified architect Hidetsugu Aneha, police sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2006

Gates pitches his software to NPOs

Visiting Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said Friday that nonprofit organizations will be able to better communicate with donors and the public if they use software from Microsoft, which launched a campaign in Japan to offer free technology lessons for NPOs.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Apr 22, 2006

Peter Bernick

"Now that I have been involved with Tokyo English Life Line and gotten some experience in the mental-health field, I realize that this is very much what I want to do long-term, and in Japan," said Peter Bernick.
SOCCER
Apr 21, 2006

Japans draw China, Taiwan, Vietnam in Women's Asian Cup

Japan has been drawn against China, Vietnam and Taiwan in Group A at this summer's Women's Asian Cup in Australia, the Japan Football Association said Thursday.

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