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JAPAN
Sep 8, 2006

Political party donations hit a low in '05

Political parties and groups raised 132.8 billion yen in funds during 2005, down 3.8 percent, or 5.3 billion yen, from the previous year, the lowest since the bubble economy collapsed in the early 1990s, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2006

Widowed mother reflects on life post-9/11

Five years after the death of her husband Yoichi, Harumi Sugiyama, 41, still wears her wedding ring and dreams about him at night.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2006

10 athletes, coach from N.K. get visas

The Justice Ministry on Thursday granted visas to 10 North Korean athletes and their coach to attend the Synchronized Swimming World Cup 2006 in Yokohama but rejected three others in the group, officials said.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2006

Aomori governor slams MSDF's live-fire volley

Aomori Gov. Shingo Mimura lodged a protest Thursday with Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga over Tuesday's accidental firing of live ammunition toward land by a Maritime Self-Defense Force ship docked in the prefecture.
EDITORIALS
Sep 8, 2006

Japan joins the Great Game

Acentury ago, Russia and Britain contested for influence in Central Asia in a competition known as the Great Game. One hundred years later, Central Asia remains a vitally important region, and the governments fighting for influence have increased, and now include Japan.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2006

Royal families send congratulations

Royal families and governments around the world sent congratulations to Japan on Wednesday over the birth of a baby to Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / COUNTER CULTURE
Sep 8, 2006

Dover Street shop storms into Tokyo

When it comes to revolutionary retail concept stores in Japan, there's no getting away from Tokyo's Aoyama district. That area's latest major opening comes from none other than Japan's epoch-making fashion house Comme des Garcons.
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2006

Newspapers to set up joint Web site

A group of 51 newspaper publishers in Japan including The Japan Times said Thursday it will establish a new company this month that will create a Web site containing news and regional information.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2006

New leader to be named on Sept. 26

The main ruling and opposition parties agreed Thursday to pick the successor to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in an extra Diet session on Sept. 26, lawmakers said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Sep 8, 2006

Staying mellow about 'malo' wine

T hose who were drinking white wines in the late 1980s and early '90s will remember the virtual tsunami of heavily oaked "butter bomb" style Chardonnays that swept the world. Living in London at the time, I couldn't tell whether sea levels were rising or the entire country was sinking under the weight...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 8, 2006

Hyde Park

When and where: Saitama is really part of Tokyo, except when you get far enough out and places like Inariyama Park in Sayama feel a bit like Woodstock. That's even more the case on Sept. 9 and 10 (noon to 8:30 p.m.), when more than 20 bands perform at the Hyde Park Music Festival.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2006

Horie's lawyer says client being framed

The chief lawyer for Takafumi Horie, on trial on charges of inflating the earnings of Internet services company Livedoor Co., is accusing prosecutors of framing his client.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2006

Top court rejects appeal in '97 robbery-murder

The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal Thursday by a man who was sentenced to death for killing a couple in a robbery-murder case in 1997 in Osaka Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 8, 2006

Taking J-rock values stateside

On the eve of the longest and perhaps most important tour of their almost decade-long career, Dir en grey were putting on a brave face.
COMMENTARY
Sep 8, 2006

Recovery from failed policy

LONDON -- Some U.S. and British politicians argue that to tackle terrorism effectively human rights must be subject to increasing limitations. In wartime Britain (1939-45), human rights were curtailed and some innocent people were locked up. The British accepted this at the time as necessary to combat...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 8, 2006

Shakespeare performed in Sendai's native tongue

The Shakespeare Company Japan has been incorporating local Japanese dialects and settings in its innovative adaptations of plays by The Bard since it was founded in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture in 1993.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 8, 2006

Various Artists "Peace Not War Japan"

Charity music has a rich tradition in Western countries, from 1985's "Live Aid" extravaganza to War Child's benchmark album of indie philanthropy, the 1996 "Help" compilation. Given the size and wealth of Japan's music industry, it might be expected to chip in where poverty and strife raise their ugly...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 8, 2006

Shizuka Gozen dances the dance in Kamakura

The Tokyo-based Public Art Forum is organizing a day of cultural activities in Kamakura on Sept. 30. The forum is organizing a lecture on the role of women who lived in samurai society, including a walking tour of places in Kamakura where these women frequented, such as Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine, and...
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2006

Kimura admits window-dressing but denies fraud in building safety scandal

Former Kimura Construction Co. President Moriyoshi Kimura, a key figure in the building safety scandal, pleaded not guilty Thursday to fraud for allegedly selling a building he knew did not meet earthquake-resistance standards, but admitted to window-dressing.
COMMENTARY
Sep 8, 2006

A faux debate to justify aggressive war

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush has faced surprisingly little serious opposition to his disastrous foreign policy. The left was divided over Iraq and many of those who opposed Bush did so for partisan or even personal reasons. Unfortunately, little has changed.
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2006

Tokyo Gas to use 10 billion yen to replace old water heaters

Tokyo Gas Co. plans to spend about 10 billion yen to replace old bath and water heaters over a three-year period starting next spring to ensure the safety of household gas appliances, company officials said Thursday.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 8, 2006

The Dears "Gang of Losers"

Before Arcade Fire made Montreal's indie scene famous a couple of years ago, The Dears were already attracting attention with their dark, cinematic art-pop. Since debuting in 2000 and achieving moderate success, they have also made fans out of artists -- such as Morrissey -- who had influenced them in...

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell