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COMMENTARY
Apr 4, 2006

Hope dims for plebiscite bill

Now that the budget bills for fiscal 2006 have cleared both houses of the National Diet, one of the focal issues for the remainder of the current session will be how to reconcile conflicting views between the ruling and opposition parties over legislation on plebiscites, a process indispensable for amending...
BUSINESS
Apr 4, 2006

Larger vehicle sales down; minicars strong

Domestic new vehicle sales excluding minicars edged down 0.7 percent from the previous year to total 3.9 million units in fiscal 2005 -- which ended Friday -- due to weak passenger car sales, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Monday.
BUSINESS
Apr 4, 2006

Manufacturers' confidence takes surprising drop

Confidence among major manufacturers dropped unexpectedly -- albeit slightly -- in the first quarter of the year due to high oil prices, marking the first decline in four quarters, according to the Bank of Japan's closely watched "tankan" survey released Monday.
BUSINESS
Apr 4, 2006

850,000 new grads enter workforce

An estimated 850,000 new graduates from colleges and high schools joined the workforce Monday, up several hundred thousand from last year as many companies hired more young people on the back of the economic recovery and ahead of the upcoming mass retirement of postwar baby boomers.
BUSINESS
Apr 4, 2006

KDDI, Tepco to merge optic nets

KDDI Corp. and Tokyo Electric Power Co. have reached a basic agreement to integrate their fiber-optic communications networks next spring, sources said Monday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 4, 2006

"Regarding the Sink," "Magyk: Septimus Heap Book One"

"Regarding the Sink," Kate Klise, Harcourt; 2005; 127pp.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 4, 2006

Students bring school to book

It was payday, and Shawn Hannold's bank account was empty. A phone call from a coworker alerted Hannold the paychecks hadn't shown up in the accounts that morning.
BUSINESS
Apr 4, 2006

Top chains go toe-to-toe in discount apparel push

Large supermarkets that handle general merchandise are beefing up their marketing strategies, including developing own-brand goods, in response to the popularity of Uniqlo, GAP and other clothing specialty stores.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 4, 2006

Gonna make you sweat

The Japanese love bath-time, whether it be in a hot spring (onsen), a public bathhouse (sento), or a soak in the tub at home (o-furo). Bathing in Japan really is something of an art that verges on an obsession. Of course, the Japanese didn't invent it (the ancient Romans take credit for that), but they...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Apr 4, 2006

What is your impression of Japan?

David Hung Clothing importer, 26 I give props to Japan because after losing WWII they could build themselves back up and become one of the top technological countries.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 4, 2006

Permanent residency and names

Permanent residency Having been granted permanent residency a couple of years ago, I have been concerned about ensuring that I do not jeopardize it by overlooking any technicalities.
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 3, 2006

Urawa draws, still moves into first

SAITAMA -- Urawa Reds missed out on the chance to move three points clear at the top of the table on Sunday after a 0-0 draw against Nagoya Grampus Eight at Saitama Stadium.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 3, 2006

Tigers' Kanemoto, Egusa do number on Swallows

Tomoaki Kanemoto homered and went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and Hirotaka Egusa pitched eight shutout innings Sunday as the Hanshin Tigers defeated the Yakult Swallows 9-1 in the Central League.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2006

Prosecutors set up quake-data team

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office has set up a full-time team to investigate the quake-resistance fabrication scandal involving disgraced architect Hidetsugu Aneha, sources said Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Apr 3, 2006

If 'affluence' fails to please

One measure of "affluence," whose meaning can be ambiguous, is per capita gross domestic product. While GDP growth indicates a quantitative expansion of the economy, its size is by no means a measure of social well-being or people's happiness.
EDITORIALS
Apr 3, 2006

Checkered moves of land prices

Land price statistics as of Jan. 1, announced by the Land, Infrastructure and Land Ministry, show that at least three of the nation's major urban areas plus some other areas have emerged from a long tunnel of real-estate price deflation. The trend is supported by increased demand for office space and...
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2006

Aso: Troops to stay put in Iraq until stability restored

Japanese troops may stay in southern Iraq until a degree of political stability is restored in the country, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Sunday, denying media reports they might pull out by May.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2006

Aso says China a threat; shrine overtures rebuffed

Foreign Minister Taro Aso on Sunday called China a military threat and Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe rebuffed conciliatory gestures by Beijing over Yasukuni Shrine in comments likely to heighten tensions between the two nations.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2006

Bullet trains to permit scooters

Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) and West Japan Railway Co. are considering accepting mobility scooters for disabled people on new bullet train cars, sources said Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 2006

Challenges, opportunities for the Japan-U.S. alliance

HONOLULU -- As its 55th birthday approaches, the Japan-U.S. alliance faces new challenges and new opportunities. Ironically, new security threats -- and new demands for cooperation -- provide the best opportunities to revitalize the alliance. The bilateral security relationship is in better shape than...

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