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BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 19, 2005

Time to remove life support: Government should heed BOJ

To end or not to end. That is the question. The Bank of Japan says yes. The government says no. The BOJ feels the time is ripe to do away with the policy of "quantitative easing." The govern- ment feels it is premature to do so. Dueling time is here again over the conduct of monetary policy.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2005

Government plans first budget cut in four years

The government plans to set the budget for the next fiscal year at around 80 trillion yen, down from 82.1 trillion yen this year for the first contraction in four years, Finance Ministry officials said Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Dec 19, 2005

'Korean wave' sweeps the Philippines

MANILA -- The political alliance between the Philippines and South Korea has a long tradition. During the Cold War, both countries were staunch supporters of the United States. The government in Manila was among the first to send troops to the Korean Peninsula to defend the South against the invasion...
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2005

Aso takes conciliatory tone on Seoul

Japan will deal sincerely with issues from the past concerning South Korea and work to improve bilateral relations by looking to the future, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Sunday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 18, 2005

Batista's number didn't justify his massive salary

The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, as you read here in these pages, will pay a whopping 525 million yen (almost $4.5 million) to buy out the second year of the contract of third baseman Tony Batista, ending the Japan career of "Mr. Nonchalant."
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 18, 2005

Artest, Brown reunion very unlikely

NEW YORK -- Before commencing with today's communique excuse me while I laugh in the faces of pretenders whose "sources" claim Isiah Thomas and Ron Artest had a solid relationship in Indiana . . . heckle the hoodwinked who fail to grasp the Knicks' president's phone call to Pacer CEO Donnie Walsh regarding...
MORE SPORTS
Dec 18, 2005

Seagulls ready to rumble with Impulse in X Bowl

The Obic Seagulls captain Tatsuro Shoji is uplifted by the opportunity to pay back for a humiliation.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 18, 2005

Asada cruises to win at Grand Prix Final

Japanese teenager Mao Asada played it safe and attempted only one triple axel Saturday, but still easily beat world champion Irina Slutskaya to win the women's title at the Grand Prix Final.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 18, 2005

Reds captain Gerrard confident ahead of championship decider

YOKOHAMA -- England international Steven Gerrard believes the current Liverpool side is the best he's ever played in and is raring to go ahead of Sunday's Club World Championship soccer final against Sao Paulo.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2005

UFJ, Japan Post to take China cards

UFJ Bank and Japan Post plan to accept Chinese bank cards at their automated teller machines, according to informed sources.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2005

Maehara raps Koizumi's policy toward U.S., Asia

Democratic Party of Japan leader Seiji Maehara said Saturday that Japan should place strong emphasis on its relations with other Asian countries, criticizing Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi for leaning too much on ties with the United States.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2005

Population may have already started falling

2005 may be the year in which Japan's population began to decline, according to preliminary government data.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2005

TBS, Rakuten agree on freeze of voting rights

Rakuten Inc.'s voting rights in Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. that are to be placed in trust will remain frozen as long as the two companies continue business tieup talks beyond April, according to sources.
Japan Times
Features
Dec 18, 2005

Festive fun with forgotten Futa

It's 9:58 on a chilly Wednesday morning, and it looks like I am the first of the day's visitors to Chiba Zoological Park.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2005

Japan, Brazil eye deep-sea oil tech

Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. said Saturday it has agreed with Brazil's state-run Petroleo Brasileiro SA to begin talks on joint research of deep-sea oil field development technology.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 18, 2005

What did you read about Asia this year?

Donald Richie THE COLUMBIA ANTHOLOGY OF MODERN JAPANESE LITERATURE, edited by J. Thomas Rimer and Van C. Gessel (Columbia University Press) This new take on Japanese modern classics -- old standbys and lots of recent writing as well -- is big (864 pages and it's only the first volume). It includes examples...
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2005

TSE to allow 'golden share' defense

In an about-face, the Tokyo Stock Exchange plans to conditionally allow listed companies to issue so-called golden shares as a defense measure against hostile takeovers, sources said Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2005

One of the last great anti-America rants

LONDON -- They gave British playwright Harold Pinter the Nobel Prize for Literature recently, and the committee that awarded it made particular note of his lifelong opposition to "oppression." So Pinter, 75 and ailing, sent his acceptance speech to Stockholm by pretaped video link, and at its heart,...
Japan Times
Features
Dec 18, 2005

New chief puts paradise on map

Many dream of traveling the world and setting themselves up in a tropical paradise, but very few people make it happen. Even fewer get themselves appointed village chief of a remote Melanesian island in the process. But that's exactly what has happened to entrepreneur and art collector Ofer Shagan.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 18, 2005

TBS's quiz show "Sekai Baribari Value" looks at being rich and female and more

Many of the topical words that dominated the media this year described certain kinds of women, like makeinu ("loser dogs" -- a term for unmarried women past 30 -- and cerebu, women who, for some reason or another, are loaded. TBS's guess-the-price quiz show "Sekai Baribari Value (World's Exciting Values)"...
Japan Times
Features
Dec 18, 2005

Legal loner courts controversy every day

Any weekday, if you happen to drop by the Tokyo District/High/Summary Court building in Kasumigasaki, among all the besuited lawyers and the like you'll likely spy a blond, bearded young man leafing through the day's schedules in the first-floor lobby, or shuffling in and out of courtrooms big and small....
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 18, 2005

Sinister stats suggest southpaws should swap sides

I am very depressed by the news these days. But, believe me, it's not what you think. It's all because I'm left-handed, an extrovert and a writer of poetry.

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