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JAPAN
May 3, 2006

Key points of Japan-U.S. realignment road map

Following are highlights of the joint statement and road map for realignment of the U.S. military in Japan adopted Monday at a security meeting between the two nations' defense and foreign ministers.
BUSINESS
May 3, 2006

Aeon to take over Diamond City

Major retailer Aeon Co. said Tuesday it will make Diamond City Co. a subsidiary May 11 because it has acquired a controlling stake in the shopping center operator through a public tender offer.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
May 3, 2006

Yearning for Canada's high north

I spent most of the latter part of March in Vancouver, British Columbia. I have friends and family there, and when the cherry and magnolia trees blossom and the mountains still gleam with snow, Vancouver is a very special place to be.
BUSINESS
May 3, 2006

New Corporate Law to foster additional M&As

In the weeks before the Corporate Law took effect Monday, Izumiya Co. announced measures to prevent hostile takeovers, expecting the law's provisions to encourage mergers and acquisitions.
BUSINESS
May 3, 2006

P&G, Shiseido head top 10 list as women-friendly

The Japan unit of U.S. consumer products giant Procter & Gamble Co. and Shiseido Co., the market leader in Japan's cosmetics industry, ranked first and second in terms of the work environment they offer female employees, according to a magazine survey published Monday.
BUSINESS
May 3, 2006

Legal provisions targeting 'paper companies' a worry for foreign firms

Before the new Corporate Law took effect Monday, one article was viewed with a wary eye by foreign-affiliated firms: No. 821.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2006

Asia needs an ambitious Doha outcome

MANILA -- Developing Asia has a vital stake in the outcome of the troubled Doha "development round" of trade negotiations. The ingredients of a good deal would include: a reduction of tariffs on manufactured goods by developing countries, a meaningful reduction in agricultural protection by developed...
JAPAN
May 2, 2006

Abe encouraged by effort of abductees' kin

Relatives of Japanese abducted by North Korea sent a strong message to the world on Pyongyang's human rights abuses when they visited Washington last week, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Monday.
JAPAN
May 2, 2006

Coca-Cola recalling 570,000 bottles

The Coca-Cola group of companies in Japan said Monday they are recalling a total of 570,000 bottles of six types of soft drinks because they contain iron powder.
EDITORIALS
May 2, 2006

Nepal's king caves in

The confusion in Nepal's political situation appears to have been settled at least temporarily. But the future prospect is not necessarily transparent. Large-scale strikes and protests punctuated with violence have forced the increasingly isolated King Gyanendra to reinstate the dissolved Parliament....
JAPAN
May 2, 2006

Architect, photographer burglarized

The Tokyo offices of a well-known photographer and architect were burglarized Monday and police believe the two crimes were committed by the same party.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 2, 2006

How to kill a bill

On Oct. 12, 2005, the Tottori Prefectural Assembly approved Japan's first human rights ordinance, a local law forbidding and punishing racial discrimination.
JAPAN
May 2, 2006

Female, elderly entrepreneurs on the rise as society grays

The number of women and elderly people preparing to start new businesses has been rising amid the aging of the population and consequent decrease in the number of small and midsize companies as their owners retire, a recent government report says.
BUSINESS
May 2, 2006

Bridgestone may close U.S. plant

Compiled from Kyodo, AP
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
May 2, 2006

Are trains safe?

Yayoi Miyahara Cook, 32 Japanese trains always run on time, but there have been accidents where the train comes off-track. I think JR should have more workers to protect people when the trains are crowded and to perform routine safety checks.
JAPAN
May 2, 2006

Memorial service marks Minamata tragedy's 50th year

MINAMATA, Kumamoto Pref. -- Japan marked on Monday the 50th anniversary of the recognition of Minamata disease, a malady caused by pollution that officials were slow to confront and whose sufferers include thousands still seeking recognition and compensation.
COMMENTARY
May 2, 2006

Limiting the economic gaps

Japan is rich because Japanese are poor.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 2, 2006

A long life on the island

Reaching 100 has long fascinated societies. The century mark is regarded as an almost supernatural seal of hardiness and good health.
LIFE / Language
May 2, 2006

Manga fans take their Japanese to another level

Manga are the engine of Japan's new multibillion dollar export success, its pop-culture sofuto sangyo -- software industry -- which includes anime, video games, and music. Not surprisingly, perhaps, more and more foreigners are also using manga to learn Japanese.
BUSINESS
May 2, 2006

S&P puts Hankyu on its watch list

Credit rating firm Standard & Poor's said Monday it has put Hankyu Holdings Inc. on its watch list because the railway operator's planned merger with rival Hanshin Electric Railway Co. might prove too costly.
JAPAN
May 2, 2006

Japan, U.S. finalize troop plan

Capping more than three years of grueling negotiations, top Japanese and U.S. officials signed a set of agreements Monday in Washington to realign the U.S. military forces in Japan by 2014 and take the security alliance to a new level.

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