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BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2006

Economy grew 5.5% in quarter

The economy grew at a robust annualized rate of 5.5 percent in real terms in the October-December period for the fourth-straight quarter of growth, the Cabinet Office said Friday.
BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2006

Livedoor probe expands to Switzerland, H.K.

The nation's securities watchdog has dispatched investigators to Switzerland to search for evidence that Livedoor group conducted money-laundering, unnamed sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2006

Trade deficit expected for January

Private-sector economists expect Japan to report a trade deficit for January for the first time in five years due to higher oil import prices, a Kyodo News poll of 24 economists showed Friday.
BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2006

Taiwan's quake-stricken areas rise from the ashes

TAIPEI -- The world still remembers the month of September for the terrorist attacks in New York. For most Taiwanese, however, the month will stay long in memory for another tragedy -- the devastating earthquake that hit central Taiwan on Sept. 21, 1999.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2006

Condemned serial killer's book out

Condemned serial murderer Tsutomu Miyazaki has authored a book that compiles his letters to a publisher, branding the Supreme Court "an idiot" for sentencing him to death for killing four girls, the publisher said.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2006

Huser appeals bankruptcy declaration

Huser Ltd. filed an appeal Friday against a Tokyo District Court decision the previous day to begin bankruptcy procedures for the Tokyo-based condominium developer involved in an earthquake-resistance data fabrication scam.
BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2006

JAL chief snubs demand to quit

Japan Airlines Corp. President Toshiyuki Shinmachi has expressed his intention to stay in his post until March 2007, rebuffing a recent request to step down to take responsibility for the airline group's poor business performance, a major JAL shareholder said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 18, 2006

New Year's resolution: self-mutilation, a trance and some milk

How's your New Year's resolution progressing? What? You've already forgotten about it! What happened -- not enough determination? Well, I suggest you not tell the Hindu people in Malaysia about how you broke your New Year's resolution. Because unless your resolution involved sticking hooks into your...
BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2006

Boardroom tussles reflect changes in M&As

The decorum traditionally seen in Japan's mergers and acquisitions has broken down, as hostile takeover attempts have grabbed the spotlight.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2006

Supplements for pets selling despite doubts

Sales of supplements for dogs, cats and other pets are on the rise, but veterinarians are starting to take a closer look at some of the products.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Feb 18, 2006

Mami Yamada

In the last five years, Mami Yamada has published seven books. Her scope encompasses original novels, one of which describes ancient links between Jewish people and the Japanese, and another of which is set against a Buddhist background.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Feb 18, 2006

Winesburg, Japan, and the will of God

Sherwood Anderson once charmed America with a collection of short stories focused on the fictional town of Winesburg, Ohio. The stories portrayed normal people in the normal agony of their normal lives, tales that made Winesburg a hometown for everyone. One story in particular told of a modest clergyman...
OLYMPICS
Feb 17, 2006

Olympic opposition a different class, says Narita

Domu Narita admitted Japan's snowboarders still have a long way to go before they can hope to seriously challenge the world's top riders after returning home empty-handed from the Winter Olympics on Thursday.
OLYMPICS
Feb 17, 2006

Medals become talking point

TURIN, Italy Some folks think it looks like a doughnut. Others see a bagel. Or a giant Life Saver, or a compact disc. An Austrian Olympian used it as an eye patch.
SOCCER
Feb 17, 2006

J. League champion to play in Club World Cup

Soccer's world governing body FIFA on Thursday gave the green light for this season's Japanese club champion to play at the Club World Cup in Japan in December.
EDITORIALS
Feb 17, 2006

Numbers to grow by

With Japan's economy following a recovery path, how fast it should grow in coming years is a subject of vigorous debate in the government and the ruling parties. The debate, however, is being conducted largely in numerical terms, with the focus on how to set target levels for nominal growth rates (excluding...
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2006

Kobe airport opens amid hope

KOBE -- In what its supporters hope is not an ill omen, Kobe's new airport opened in fog early Thursday morning.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2006

Number of juvenile felons dropped 8.3% in 2005

2005 saw an 8.3 percent decline in the number of people age 14 to 19 identified as suspects in murders, robberies and other Penal Code offenses from a year earlier to 123,715, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2006

Tax return season begins

Taxpayers began filing 2005 income tax returns Thursday at 524 regional tax offices across the country.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2006

Ex-liquor union exec arrested

Police arrested a former official of a liquor retailer union Thursday on suspicion of damaging the group by losing most of the 14.4 billion yen in pension funds that had been invested in foreign bonds, sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2006

Trading houses join effort to boost economies of regional communities

Trading houses are teaming up with local governments to foster homegrown industries that could revitalize small cities and towns.

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell