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JAPAN
May 12, 2006

Conspiracy bill raises questions as Diet showdown nears

A controversial bill aimed at making conspiracy a crime will likely take its first step toward law as the ruling coalition is ready to ask a House of Representatives panel to approve the legislation over strong objections from the opposition parties.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 12, 2006

Designing for life

Asia's biggest art event, Design Festa, returns for its spring installment to Tokyo Big Sight on May 20-21 when it hopes to attract 60,000 people to its 2,600 booths. Approximately 6,000 exhibitors from around the world will be participating in Design Festa Vol. 23, showing off everything from flower...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
May 12, 2006

Resurrecting Girard

Good wine at a fair price is not a phrase heard often in Napa Valley these days, but the buzz among Tokyo wine lovers is that the recently revived Girard winery is now delivering just that.
JAPAN
May 12, 2006

Mitarai favors political donations

Canon Inc. will resume donations to political parties if an amendment to the political funds control law clears the Diet, company President Fujio Mitarai said Thursday.
CULTURE / Music
May 12, 2006

Juana Molina "Son"

Magical realism usually describes the writings of the great old men of Latin American literature, who have a knack for revealing the enchanted in the every day. Argentine musician and former television star Juana Molina shares the continent's mystical bent, and her fourth album, "Son," could be categorized...
JAPAN
May 12, 2006

Swift suspensions eyed for unsafe road carriers

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry plans to swiftly issue a business suspension order if it sees "malicious" violations of the road transport law by truck, bus or taxi operators that allow drivers to drink and drive or have forced them to work too many hours, ministry sources said Thursday....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
May 12, 2006

Psychedelic radar 05.12

Saturday, May 13
COMMENTARY
May 12, 2006

Fixing the freedom to move

LONDON -- Recent marches in the United States by Latin Americans calling for some 12 million illegal immigrants to be given the right to reside and work in "the land of the free" are the most striking manifestation of a problem that affects every advanced country, although the issue is disguised in Japan....
BUSINESS
May 12, 2006

DoCoMo, Microsoft eye music mart

NTT DoCoMo and Microsoft are teaming up to provide music services for mobile telephones in Japan, the companies said Thursday.
CULTURE / Music
May 12, 2006

Dilated Peoples "20/20"

P. Diddy once rapped "Don't worry if I write rhymes, I write checks." Dilated Peoples' fourth full-length album, "20/20," opens with rapper Evidence countering with the tongue-in-cheek "Don't worry if I write checks, I write rhymes." And like Diddy, Dilated have the means to back up their proclamation....
BUSINESS
May 12, 2006

Merged duo's photo pullout results in loss of 54 billion yen

Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. reported a 54.31 billion yen net loss for fiscal 2005 on Thursday, as it wrote down fixed assets following a decision to withdraw from the camera and film business.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 12, 2006

Raunchy blues-rock duo takes audiences on a trip

If music writers were more creative, the term "garage band" wouldn't be used in so cavalier a fashion.
CULTURE / Music
May 12, 2006

Omer Avital/Marlon Browden "The Omer Avital Marlon Browden Project"

Both bassist Omer Avital and drummer Marlon Browden are regulars at the New York club Small's, a hive of jazz creativity for young musicians. But on this album, the two travel to Avital's native Israel for a live recording of their funky, electric "project."
BUSINESS
May 12, 2006

Japan Tobacco seeks 30 yen price hike

Japan Tobacco Inc. said Thursday it is seeking permission to raise prices for its 13 cigarette brands by 30 yen a pack -- a move likely to inflame smokers.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2006

NEC reports 84% plunge in profit

NEC Corp. on Thursday reported an 84 percent plunge in profit for fiscal 2005 due to a drop in prices for computer chips, computers and mobile phones.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2006

Automakers' profits up on overseas sales

Japan's major carmakers got a boost in earnings and profits in fiscal 2005 but the figures show many are relying on overseas sales, mainly in the United States, as domestic sales stagnate.
CULTURE / Music
May 12, 2006

Fatboy Slim

Fatboy Slim, aka Norman Cook, is the DJ everyone can love: drunken college meatheads, glow-stick-toting ravers, classic rock lovers and parents of small children alike. His popularity has gone beyond mere love for his music; it has crept into the arena of institutional adoration.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2006

Don't gut ChuoAoyama when it's down, rivals told

The Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants urged its members Thursday to refrain from snatching clients or staff from auditing firm ChuoAoyama PricewaterhouseCoopers, which has been sanctioned by the government.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 12, 2006

Pages stages world premiere

Avant-garde Spanish flamenco dancer Maria Pages stages the world premiere of her production "Sevilla" in Tokyo from May 14 to 16.
SOCCER / J. League
May 11, 2006

Nishizawa fires in winner for Cerezo

Former Japan striker Akinori Nishizawa scored a last-ditch winner as Cerezo Osaka put its dismal league form behind it with a 1-0 win over Ventforet Kofu in the Nabisco Cup on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS
May 11, 2006

JSF plans to accuse ex-president for embezzlement

The Japan Skating Federation plans to file civil and criminal charges against its former president for suspected embezzlement, acting federation president Yasuakira Hayashi said Wednesday.
SUMO
May 11, 2006

Hakuho stays perfect at summer basho

Newly promoted ozeki Hakuho survived a scare to earn his fourth win and maintained a share of the lead with three other unbeaten wrestlers at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 11, 2006

Slugger Larocca cranks out two more home runs

Greg Larocca homered twice in an 11-run fourth inning as the Yakult Swallows overcame a 6-0 deficit to beat the Seibu Lions 14-8 in interleague play on Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
May 11, 2006

Conspiring on a weak bill

The ruling and opposition parties are waging a battle in the Lower House's Judicial Affairs Committee over a bill that would introduce the "crime of conspiracy." The crux of the proposal is that one would be punished for joining others to plan a crime even if the crime was not actually carried out or...

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes