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Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2006

Prime minister's airplane to get face-lift

The government aircraft used for overseas state visits will undergo in fiscal 2006 its first full-scale renovation since it was put into service in 1993 to turn it into more of a prime minister's office in the air.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2006

418 schools have asbestos woes

Classrooms and corridors in 418 public schools, ranging from kindergartens to high schools, had exposed asbestos-sprayed walls and ceilings as of last month despite the government's order to take safety measures, according to an education ministry survey released Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 17, 2006

Foreign Ministry mind game

Mr. Bunroku Yoshino, 87, director general of the Foreign Ministry's American Bureau from January 1971 to May 1972, was in charge of negotiations with the United States on the reversion of Okinawa to Japanese control. In recent media interviews, Mr. Yoshino admitted that Japan secretly shouldered $4 million...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2006

Drop base plan: Iwakuni mayor

Iwakuni Mayor Katsusuke Ihara urged Tokyo again Thursday to withdraw the planned relocation of U.S. carrier-borne aircraft to his city after a majority of residents voted "no" on the move in a plebiscite Sunday.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2006

Horie starting to confess his guilt, prosecutors say

Livedoor Co. founder Takafumi Horie has owned up to part of the accounting fraud charges against him and the Internet and financial services firm for the first time since his January arrest, according to prosecution sources.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2006

DNA database had hits in 245 crimes

A DNA database that stores biological evidence left at crime scenes or collected from suspects has helped identify suspects in 245 criminal cases in the six-month period since it came into operation last September, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2006

Oil firms adjust footing amid Iran's nuclear follies

As tension mounts worldwide over the standoff concerning Iran's nuclear ambitions, Japanese oil companies are starting to take precautions as uncertainties surrounding the situation may force them to stop importing oil from the Islamic state.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2006

Condemned cultist files final appeal

Senior Aum Shinrikyo figure Tomomitsu Niimi filed an appeal Thursday with the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the Tokyo High Court's decision the previous day to uphold the death penalty for his role in several of the cult's murders, including two sarin attacks, his lawyers said.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2006

Jeweler to sell gold dumbbells

Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewelry K.K. will sell pure gold dumbbells from March 25 in its shops in Tokyo and Osaka, amid growing interest in gold and healthier lifestyles in Japan.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 17, 2006

Lee having a blast in the WBC

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Lee Seung Yeop sure knows how to party.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2006

Usen chief to buy Fuji's Livedoor stake

Usen Corp. President Yasuhide Uno said Thursday he will personally purchase Fuji Television Network Inc.'s entire 12.75 percent stake in Livedoor Co. for 9.5 billion yen.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 17, 2006

Heating up dance floors

The Latin boom continues unabated in Tokyo. There are Latin dance lessons aplenty, spicy eateries and specialty cigar and rum bars; the latest bands from Cuba tour to full houses; and a Japanese-language free magazine, Salsa 120%, lists all things Latin. No longer just a fad, Latin culture has become...
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2006

Youth to be tried as adult in slaying

A 16-year-old boy was charged Thursday with murder and will stand trial as an adult in connection with the death of a 15-year-old girl in Tokyo last November, prosecutors said.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2006

UFJ NICOS, Visa tie up on payments via mobiles

UFJ NICOS Co. will tie up with the Visa International credit group to expand UFJ NICOS Smartplus mobile-phone payment service, officials at the two firms said Thursday.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 17, 2006

Anadorei "This is the Beginning of the End"

Anadorei's eardrum-puncturing screamfest of a farewell album, "This is the Beginning of the End," is little different from 2002's debut "Pussy Cannibal Holocaust." A compilation featuring new material, the brutally short tracks are tossed out of the stereo like hand grenades of feedback-smeared noise....
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2006

Mob killer's death sentence stands

The Tokyo High Court on Thursday upheld the death sentence imposed on a gangster for gunning down a mob boss' bodyguard and three bystanders in a bar in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, in 2003.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2006

Dalai Lama plans 12-day fall visit

Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, will arrive in Japan on Oct. 30 for a 12-day visit through Nov. 10 at the invitation of a Japanese religious group in Hiroshima Prefecture, political sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2006

Japan halts Dutch poultry imports

Japan suspended poultry imports from the Netherlands on Thursday following an outbreak of bird flu in France and other European countries, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2006

Toyota launches first Lexus hybrid engine-equipped

Toyota Motor Corp. on Thursday unveiled the Lexus GS450h, the first hybrid in the luxury sedan's lineup.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2006

BOJ to stay accommodative: Fukui

Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui on Thursday dismissed speculation that the central bank would move to raise interest rates at an early date, saying it will maintain an accommodative monetary stance to spur a well-balanced, sustainable economic recovery.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 17, 2006

Kaela Kimura "Circle"

Columbia Records want you to think that Kaela Kimura is different from other idols, which is why they've manufactured her image out of the most adorably kooky component parts -- take the endearingly under-rehearsed dance routines of Tommy February6, quirky costumes stolen from Yuki's wardrobe, and then...

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