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BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2006

BOJ sees economy improving, hints at end to ultraloose policy

The Bank of Japan on Friday upgraded its view of the economy for the first time in four months, stepping up the upbeat tone of its assessment.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2006

Cultist sent up for 'organized crime' salve sales

The Tokyo District Court sentenced a past key Aum Shinrikyo figure to 30 months in prison Friday and fined him 2 million yen for unlicensed sales of skin ointment in 2003 and 2004.
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2006

Deflation to end in '06: government

The Cabinet on Friday endorsed the government's fiscal 2006 economic outlook, which projects that deflation will end during the year with the nominal growth rate outpacing real growth for the first time since fiscal 1999.
COMMENTARY
Jan 21, 2006

Is Islam compatible with women's rights?

LOS ANGELES -- About 10 years ago Hillary Clinton delivered a seminal address in Beijing at the United Nations' 4th World Conference on Woman. The then-first lady stirred the international delegates by articulating a more inclusive definition of human rights. Bluntly put: "Human rights are women's rights,"...
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2006

Mizuho brass take hit for trade error

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. announced Friday that it will cut the pay of top executives over the trading blunder committed by Mizuho Securities Co.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jan 21, 2006

My dog -- the Buddhist

When it comes to matters of religion, I tend to equivocate.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 21, 2006

DNAm, 'Third Ear' offer change and learning

Hong Kong is a jungle. Which is where fluent Mandarin-speaker Chris Lonsdale is an elephant spotter, and why he is in Tokyo to take a five-day right-brain drawing course.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 21, 2006

The rah-rah radish, part I

The cold winter months on Shiraishi Island are dedicated to the daikon, a long, white tapered radish that looks more like a weapon than a vegetable. The kanji for "daikon" literally mean "big root," but I suspect this is a typo for "big brute." At 7 to 12 cm in diameter and 30 to 40 cm long, the radish...
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2006

Minivehicle market reaching saturation: Suzuki chairman

Demand for minivehicles -- which hit a record 1.924 million units sold in 2005 -- is starting to level off, the chairman of Suzuki Motor Corp. said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2006

Exec promotions in limbo amid Livedoor probe

The ongoing probe into the Livedoor group cast shadows Friday on executive appointments at three of its firms.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 21, 2006

Alexei Rumiantsev

"Ragtime," Alexei Rumiantsev said, "is the first genuine American music, a mix of Afro-American and European tradition. Ragtime gave birth to jazz. When I was 14, my father was working in the old Czechoslovakia. For my birthday he brought me from there an album of Duke Ellington, the 'New Orleans Suites.'...
MORE SPORTS
Jan 20, 2006

Niida to face Columbian challenger

Japanese champion Yutaka Niida will face No. 15-ranked Columbian challenger Ronald Barrera in Tokyo on March 4 in his fourth defense of the WBA minimumweight title, boxing officials said Thursday.
SUMO
Jan 20, 2006

Hakuho battles back to hand Asashoryu second defeat

Mongolian yokozuna Asashoryu was handed a second shock defeat at the hands of countryman Hakuho on Thursday, causing mayhem with just three days remaining at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 20, 2006

S. Korean slugger Lee joins Giants

The Yomiuri Giants on Thursday announced the acquisition of South Korean slugger Lee Seung Yeop on a one-year contract worth an estimated 210 million yen, including a 50 million yen signing bonus.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2006

University plans Mideast center

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies said Thursday it will open a research center in Beirut on Feb. 1 to study Middle Eastern history and culture.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2006

New agency not needed to guide ODA policy: Aso

The government should set up a policy body under the prime minister to deliberate the use of official development assistance and not create a new agency, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2006

Bill to revise Hansen's compensation for victims overseas

The governing coalition agreed Thursday to pay some 8 million yen each to former leprosy patients who were placed in leprosariums in South Korea, Taiwan and other overseas territories during Japan's colonial rule.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2006

GSDF captain held in rape of girl, 19

A Ground Self-Defense Force officer stationed in Tokyo has been arrested on suspicion of raping a 19-year-old female acquaintance earlier this month, police said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2006

Diet hears Soken deny knowing of fraud in '04

General Management Consultant (Soken) executive and chief consultant Takeshi Shikasho on Thursday told the Diet, but not under oath, that he was never informed in 2004 about the building safety fraud centering on disgraced architect Hidetsugu Aneha, although the whistle-blower to the scam claims otherwise....
EDITORIALS
Jan 20, 2006

Defusing the Iran nuclear crisis

Iran has resumed nuclear-fuel research, causing serious concerns in the international community. On Monday, representatives from three European nations -- Britain, France and Germany -- as well as the United States, Russia and China met in London to discuss the matter. With the European Union and the...
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2006

Yasukuni 'nightmare' for ties: Seoul ambassador

South Korea's ambassador to Japan called Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine a "nightmare" -- the sole issue damaging what could have been more amicable ties between the two neighbors.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2006

Huser condo owners seek help

Owners of condominium complexes developed by Huser Ltd. with fabricated quake-resistance data called on the government at a Diet committee session Thursday to increase support for rebuilding the defective structures.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2006

LDP vet Ito denies arranging Huser meeting with ministry

Former state minister Kosuke Ito on Thursday denied claims that he arranged a meeting between the head of a property developer accused of selling earthquake-vulnerable condominiums and senior officials of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry on Nov. 15, two days before the ministry revealed...
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2006

Priests oppose allowing women on the throne

About 700 representatives of the country's 80,000 Shinto shrines came together Thursday to oppose a government plan to allow women and their descendants to ascend the Imperial throne.

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