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JAPAN
Jan 21, 2006

21 prefectures' plans for handling attacks OK'd

The government approved emergency plans Friday for 21 prefectures to protect the public in the event of an attack.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2006

'National debate' to precede tax hikes: Tanigaki

The government will promote national debate on proposed drastic changes to the tax system, including a consumption tax increase, as part of expenditure-revenue reforms, Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki told the Diet on Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2006

Future more important than past: Aso to China

Japan hopes China will not be overly concerned about issues related to history and look at the broader bilateral relationship, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Friday in a diplomatic policy speech.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2006

Koizumi reform pitch in last Diet-opener

In his final speech as Liberal Democratic Party president to mark the opening of the ordinary Diet session Friday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reiterated his plan to trim the civil service, consolidate state-backed financial institutions and push further administrative reforms.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2006

Pyongyang negotiator gets U.S. post

The government said Friday it will appoint Akitaka Saiki, chief negotiator for Japan-North Korea governmental talks, as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the United States, officials said.
EDITORIALS
Jan 21, 2006

A new empire is shaken

Mr. Takafumi Horie, president of the high-flying Internet services company Livedoor Co., has once again been thrown into the media spotlight as a criminal investigation into his business activities begins.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 21, 2006

Southpaw Ishii rejoins Yakult

The Yakult Swallows and Kazuhisa Ishii agreed Friday on terms that will see the left-hander return to Japanese baseball after a four-year stint in the major leagues.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2006

Livedoor accounting, M&A execs questioned

Prosecutors on Friday reportedly questioned Livedoor Co.'s chief financial officer, Ryoji Miyauchi, director Fumito Kumagai and another executive over alleged violations of the Securities and Exchange Law, sources said.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 21, 2006

Con job on Eriksson illustrates hypocrisy of press, public

LONDON -- Sven-Goran Eriksson, the England head coach whose press conferences can be an exercise in pulling teeth, was only too happy to reveal stories about his players to a bunch of strangers.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2006

TSE plans to upgrade capacity Monday

The world's second-largest bourse, embarrassed by its inability to handle a crushing selloff that erupted earlier in the week, said Friday it would work over the weekend to raise its maximum trading capacity to 5 million deals by Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2006

111 sister-cities with South despite row

As of the end of last year, 111 municipalities in Japan had established ties with South Korean cities, including three more cities that had formed links since last April, according to a report released Friday by an international exchange group.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2006

Hashimoto gets meeting with Hu despite Koizumi shutout

Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto will meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao in March on a trip to China, Japanese and Chinese government sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2006

Tokyo, Seoul ink bilateral crime pact

Japan and South Korea signed a bilateral treaty Friday to facilitate and speed up their cooperation on criminal investigations, government officials said.
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2006

Kanebo asks ex-Ascii chief Komori to step in as president

Struggling personal care and cosmetics maker Kanebo Ltd. said Friday it will appoint as president Tetsuo Komori, the 47-year-old ex-president of computer information magazine publisher Ascii Corp.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2006

Victims of asbestos get aid package

The government approved a comprehensive package of bills Friday to provide financial support to people suffering from asbestos-linked diseases as well as those who have lost family members to such illnesses, while also stepping up preventive measures against similar problems.
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2006

BOJ sees economy improving, hints at end to ultraloose policy

The Bank of Japan on Friday upgraded its view of the economy for the first time in four months, stepping up the upbeat tone of its assessment.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2006

Cultist sent up for 'organized crime' salve sales

The Tokyo District Court sentenced a past key Aum Shinrikyo figure to 30 months in prison Friday and fined him 2 million yen for unlicensed sales of skin ointment in 2003 and 2004.
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2006

Deflation to end in '06: government

The Cabinet on Friday endorsed the government's fiscal 2006 economic outlook, which projects that deflation will end during the year with the nominal growth rate outpacing real growth for the first time since fiscal 1999.
COMMENTARY
Jan 21, 2006

Is Islam compatible with women's rights?

LOS ANGELES -- About 10 years ago Hillary Clinton delivered a seminal address in Beijing at the United Nations' 4th World Conference on Woman. The then-first lady stirred the international delegates by articulating a more inclusive definition of human rights. Bluntly put: "Human rights are women's rights,"...
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2006

Mizuho brass take hit for trade error

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. announced Friday that it will cut the pay of top executives over the trading blunder committed by Mizuho Securities Co.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jan 21, 2006

My dog -- the Buddhist

When it comes to matters of religion, I tend to equivocate.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 21, 2006

DNAm, 'Third Ear' offer change and learning

Hong Kong is a jungle. Which is where fluent Mandarin-speaker Chris Lonsdale is an elephant spotter, and why he is in Tokyo to take a five-day right-brain drawing course.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 21, 2006

The rah-rah radish, part I

The cold winter months on Shiraishi Island are dedicated to the daikon, a long, white tapered radish that looks more like a weapon than a vegetable. The kanji for "daikon" literally mean "big root," but I suspect this is a typo for "big brute." At 7 to 12 cm in diameter and 30 to 40 cm long, the radish...
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2006

Minivehicle market reaching saturation: Suzuki chairman

Demand for minivehicles -- which hit a record 1.924 million units sold in 2005 -- is starting to level off, the chairman of Suzuki Motor Corp. said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2006

Exec promotions in limbo amid Livedoor probe

The ongoing probe into the Livedoor group cast shadows Friday on executive appointments at three of its firms.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 21, 2006

Alexei Rumiantsev

"Ragtime," Alexei Rumiantsev said, "is the first genuine American music, a mix of Afro-American and European tradition. Ragtime gave birth to jazz. When I was 14, my father was working in the old Czechoslovakia. For my birthday he brought me from there an album of Duke Ellington, the 'New Orleans Suites.'...

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’