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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 3, 2005

And the winner, by a nose, is . . .

Speaking at the news conference following the closing ceremony of this year's Tokyo International Film Festival, lead actor Koichi Sato said that while working on "Yuki ni Negau Koto (What the Snow Brings)" he "never imagined that this film would go on to receive the top prize at an international event."...
EDITORIALS
Nov 2, 2005

Little time to do so much

The lineup of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's new Cabinet, formed Monday, shows his determination to put finishing touches on his reforms in the rather short time left for him. He has made clear that he will step down in September 2006. Mr. Koizumi included in his new Cabinet three politicians from...
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Nov 2, 2005

New defense chief promises less local burden from U.S. bases

The government will reduce the burden on communities with U.S. military bases by facilitating cooperation between the Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military, Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2005

New policy chief signals softer stance on BOJ

New economic and fiscal policy minister Kaoru Yosano indicated Monday the administration will respect the Bank of Japan's decision on when to scrap its ultraloose monetary policy.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2005

Negishi wins film fest's top prize

Director Kichitaro Negishi won the Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix at the 18th Tokyo International Film Festival for his work "What the Snow Brings" as the event drew to a close Sunday.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Oct 31, 2005

Is the American dream now a mirage?

NEW YORK -- Is the American dream just a mirage now? Earlier this year the Wall Street Journal ran a series called "Challenges to the American Dream," casting into doubt the "staple of America's self-portrait" that "a child born in poverty isn't trapped there." If that was putting the matter delicately,...
COMMENTARY
Oct 31, 2005

EU must win grassroots trust

LONDON, PARIS and ROME-- European leaders have been holding a special meeting at the invitation of British Prime Minister Tony Blair to discuss what he calls "the strategic issues facing Europe in the years ahead."
MULTIMEDIA
Oct 30, 2005

Speaking volumes

Kaori Shoji
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 30, 2005

What lies beneath the myth of middle-class consciousness

A friend sent me an email about some new people, all Japanese, she had met at a party. There was a young man who had worked in Africa for Medecins Sans Frontieres. One middle-age man had quit a stable job in broadcasting to study French in Paris. A female graduate student in marine biology was also there....
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2005

Koizumi's Cabinet picks shrouded in mystery

to appoint personnel to the three executive posts to the party and the Cabinet on Oct. 31," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda told a news conference later the same day. The special Diet session opened after the Sept. 11 Lower House election and ends Tuesday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 29, 2005

Panty snatching: is it a crime?

It's the change of seasons in Japan and the favorite time of year for TV weather forecasters as they make comments and give advice to their viewers. "It is normal for people to feel hot during the daytime but cold at night," observes one weather forecaster. "Tomorrow people should carry a foldup umbrella,"...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 29, 2005

New Asian Collection gallery is dream come true

Robert Tobin makes charismatic progress around the back side of Ebisu Station in central Tokyo.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Oct 29, 2005

Yuki Akimoto

Yuko Akimoto and her brother began the right way by choosing their parents well. Their father, Minoru Akimoto, has an M.A. from Michigan State University. From a business career at the top, he retired as executive vice president of Itochu Corp. Their poetic, music-loving mother, Taeko, runs her own musical...
EDITORIALS
Oct 28, 2005

Learning from devastating quakes

On Oct. 23, 2004, a series of powerful earthquakes, including one with a magnitude of 6.8, devastated the Chuetsu region in Niigata Prefecture. Of the 51 deaths, 16 were directly caused by the devastation. Most of the remaining deaths were caused by "economy-class syndrome," in which survivors who tried...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2005

TBS scrambling for 'stable' investors

About 55 percent of Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc.'s outstanding shares will likely fall into the hands of long-term shareholders, sources close to the television broadcaster claimed Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Oct 28, 2005

Psychedelic radar 10.28

Saturday, Oct. 29
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2005

Vow to 'fully execute' leaves Tokyo in Futenma dilemma

, head of the Naha Defense Facilities Administration Bureau, sits with Okinawan Gov. Keiichi Inamine at the start of their meeting to discuss the new plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2005

Diet extends Indian Ocean fueling duty

The Diet on Wednesday extended the counterterrorism law for a fifth year, clearing the way for Tokyo to maintain the SDF's refueling support for the U.S.-led counterterrorism campaign in the Indian Ocean for another year.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2005

Japan, North Korea to hold bilateral talks starting Nov. 3

Relatives of two Japanese abducted to North Korea decades ago and a senior U.S. official agreed Tuesday to work to bring President George W. Bush's special envoy on human rights on North Korea to Japan at an early date, one of the relatives said. Teruaki Masumoto, 50, whose sister is abductee Rumiko...
EDITORIALS
Oct 27, 2005

Saddam Hussein on trial

The trial of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein began last week in Baghdad. While Hussein and seven others are the defendants of record, the real focus is the tribunal itself -- its legitimacy and by extension, that of the current government in Iraq. Never before has justice been so important to Iraq....
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2005

New carbon tax plan limits levy

The Environment Ministry on Tuesday released a revised version of its carbon tax plan, aimed at discouraging fossil fuel use so Japan can fulfill its Kyoto Protocol obligation to cut global greenhouse gas emissions.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2005

Court splits on Hansen's compensation

Judges were split Tuesday on two lawsuits filed by former Hansen's disease patients from South Korea and Taiwan -- the South Korean patients were denied compensation while the Taiwanese were awarded it.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Oct 26, 2005

Bagrid catfish

* Japanese name: Nekogigi * Scientific name: Pseudobagrus ichikawai * Description: Catfish have whiskers, making them easily recognizable. Of course, the whiskers are not made of hair, but they have the same function as a cat's whiskers: They are sensory organs, more correctly called barbels. The bagrid...
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2005

At last minute, safety panel delays ending ban on U.S. beef imports

A government-appointed panel unveiled Monday a draft report that would pave the way to lifting the 22-month-old ban on U.S. beef imports, saying meat from young cattle poses an extremely low food safety risk.
EDITORIALS
Oct 25, 2005

Postal reform just the start

With the Diet's Oct. 14 passage of the postal-services privatization bills, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has reaped a reward for his daring decision to dissolve the Lower House. But the postal privatization is only the first of many issues that the government has to address to streamline its operations...
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2005

Issues involved in U.S.-Japan base talks

The following questions and answers deal with the deadlock between Japan and the United States over the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture -- the main topic of bilateral working-level talks that began Monday in Tokyo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 25, 2005

Yamaha's electric cycles, Toshiba's 'Wearable Star' series, Naoto Fukasawa's Aroma Pot, AU's Penck, the Boing collection

When it comes to the promotion of design in Japan, there's hardly any honor more significant than the annual Good Design Award. Developed by the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization (JIDPO), each year the Good Design Award heralds the best of the best. In its 49th year, and with over 30,000...

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years