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COMMENTARY
Dec 26, 2005

End of exploitation past due

Okinawans are embittered over an interim report on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, issued by a Japan-U.S. ministerial conference on security in October. There is a widespread public feeling that the plan will not reduce Okinawa's burden of hosting U.S. military installations -- the keystone...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 26, 2005

Tax system overhaul must ensure economic vigor for a dwindling population

The ruling coalition released its tax reform proposals for fiscal 2006 on Dec. 15. Despite the tight fiscal conditions, it is laudable the ruling parties recommended measures aimed at boosting economic activity -- such as those that encourage corporate investment in research and development, expenditures...
COMMENTARY
Dec 26, 2005

Amazing grace toward torture

LONDON -- It beggars belief that U.S. President George W. Bush took so long to endorse Sen. John McCain's resolution against the use of torture by the CIA or any other U.S. organization. The resolution has been passed by an overwhelming majority in the U.S. Senate and by Congress but was, it seems, fiercely...
MORE SPORTS
Dec 26, 2005

Suguri bound for Olympics

Fumie Suguri clinched a spot for the Winter Olympic Games in Turin after coming from behind to win her fifth title and first in three years at the figure skating national championships Sunday, edging teenage sensation Mao Asada with a solid free skate.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Dec 26, 2005

A Japanese take on 'intelligent design'

NEW YORK -- Why do my compatriots, the Japanese, try to copy Americans -- often on the basis of a most tenuous understanding? The wonderment occurred when I checked the Internet to see if the notion of "intelligent design" (I.D.) was known in Japan and at once found that it was, and more.
COMMENTARY
Dec 26, 2005

Sino-Japanese strains bode ill for EAS

HONG KONG -- The inaugural meeting of the East Asia Summit (EAS) -- including all 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus six other countries in the region -- went off without a hitch, except for the rather serious fact that China and Japan were not talking to each other.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2005

Crown Princess may attend water confab in Mexico

Crown Princess Masako may visit Mexico together with Crown Prince Naruhito in March to attend the Fourth World Water Forum, according to sources.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2005

EU must act in a unified manner to catch U.S., keep lead over China and India

The European Union needs to take a regionwide approach -- in addition to independent efforts by member countries -- as it tries to catch the United States in labor productivity and remain competitive vis-a-vis emerging powers like China and India, a top economic adviser to the French government told...
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2005

Public deserves role in picking LDP leader, Takebe says

Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe on Sunday reiterated his desire to have the public participate in the party's presidential election next September.
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 25, 2005

Urawa Reds breeze into Cup semifinals

SAITAMA -- Urawa Reds eased through to the semifinals of the Emperor's Cup with a convincing 2-0 win over Kawasaki Frontale on Saturday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 25, 2005

Snapshot: All I want for Christmas is a new (digital) camera

This week I would like to tell you about the camera that has been my constant companion to ballgames all around Japan for almost 30 years.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 25, 2005

Technology keeping Mizuno key player in sports market

It's funny how fate plays a role in life.
Rugby
Dec 25, 2005

Toshiba Fuchu nabs second title

Toshiba Fuchu won its second straight title in the rugby Top League on Saturday when its closest rival, Sanyo Electric, lost 56-18 to Yamaha Motor.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 25, 2005

Arakawa's Turin bid gaining steam

Former world champion Shizuka Arakawa took the lead at the Japanese national figure skating championships on Saturday, improving her chances of securing one of three spots for Japan at the Turin Winter Olympics.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2005

Agreement on new S. Korea flights

Japan and South Korea agreed Saturday to allow their airlines to open four new routes between the two countries, including a service linking Hakodate in Hokkaido and Seoul, Japanese officials said.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2005

Man held for threatening Starbucks

A 28-year-old man was arrested Saturday on suspicion of sending an e-mail message to the Web site of Starbucks Coffee Japan, threatening to set fire to its stores on Sunday, Tokyo police said.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2005

Missile shield project to proceed

The government formally decided Saturday to begin joint development of a next-generation interceptor missile with the United States in April -- a move critics say will create tension in East Asia.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2005

Firm headed by Sony founder's son in tax fight

A now-defunct company headed by Hideo Morita, the eldest son of late Sony Corp. founder Akio Morita, failed to declare some 22.8 billion yen in income in the three years to March 2004, it was learned Saturday.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Dec 25, 2005

Born to be wild

The Gorillarium at Howletts Zoo, near the cathedral city of Canterbury in the southern English county of Kent, is about as good as it gets. If you are a captive gorilla. Or if you want to see one.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 25, 2005

Creators, not hacks

OUTLAW MASTERS OF JAPANESE FILM by Chris Desjardins. London, New York: I.B. Tauris, 2005, 262 pp., $19.95 (paper). IRON MAN: The Cinema of Shinya Tsukamoto, by Tom Mes. FAB Press, 2005. 237 pp., $24.95 (paper) Foreign critics used to worship at the altars of Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu and Kenji Mizoguchi...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 25, 2005

Merry Christmas -- whether rendered as a fact or not

Today being Christmas Day, I think we should all come clean and dedicate ourselves to truth. When all is said and done (and pretty soon it may be), there is probably no person in the world as tortured over the truth these days as U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2005

Ground floor of a scandal

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the Chiba and Kanagawa prefectural police launched a joint investigation Dec. 20 into Japan's building-design scandal, raiding more than 100 locations in Tokyo and five prefectures -- Chiba, Saitama, Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Miyazaki.

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’