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JAPAN
Sep 1, 2005

Tokyo, convenience stores, Yoshinoya ink disaster pact

Major convenience stores and Yoshinoya restaurants in Tokyo and neighboring prefectures agreed Wednesday to help people in emergencies by providing drinking water and other amenities when earthquakes and other disasters strike.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2005

Upcoming election to put LDP-Komeito cooperation to test

Ominous clouds hung over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, New Komeito, on the eve of Tuesday's start of official campaigning for the Sept. 11 general election.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2005

Industrial output drops 1.1%; 'flat' assessment kept

Industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent in July from the previous month as demand for vehicles and machinery items shrank after solid orders were placed in June, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2005

Panel frets male-only Imperial succession

A government panel on Imperial succession agreed Wednesday to start discussing details with the possibility of having a reigning empress in mind, citing "concerns" about whether Japan can ensure a stable succession under the current male heir-only rule.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2005

TBS to issue 20 billion yen in new shares to partners

Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. announced Wednesday that it will issue 20.6 billion yen in new shares to major ad agency Dentsu Inc. and several of its other business partners to raise money for new projects.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2005

Indonesia crisis-aid vow is doubled

The central banks of Japan and Indonesia signed an agreement Wednesday for Tokyo to provide Jakarta with up to $6 billion in the event of a financial crisis, the Finance Ministry said.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2005

Salaried workers' pay rises slightly

Salaried workers' standard monthly remuneration averaged 253,891 yen in July, up 0.2 percent from a year earlier for the fourth straight monthly rise, the government said Wednesday.
LIFE / Language
Sep 1, 2005

Peace scholarship looks to resourceful students

The Rotary Foundation, a century-old, worldwide benevolent group of over one million business and professional leaders, has a new scholarship on offer. Rotarians have long provided a variety of international exchange opportunities, but their newest project, the Rotary World Peace Scholarship, is committed...
EDITORIALS
Sep 1, 2005

A light on senile dementia

In April the Welfare and Labor Ministry began a nationwide one-year campaign to help others better understand senile dementia. The campaign targets the mental disorder as a top-priority issue to tackle as the graying of the nation's population progresses. The core organization established for the campaign...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2005

Where is the German vision?

WASHINGTON -- When German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder precipitated early elections in Germany, the decision to seek electoral guidance appeared appealing. Since then, the choices on Sept. 18 have been remarkable mainly for their paucity and obscurity. Unless the parties and their candidates are able...
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2005

Ailing Ito-Yokado to close 30 stores

Supermarket chain Ito-Yokado Co. said Wednesday it will close about 30 unprofitable outlets by February 2009 as part of its group restructuring plan.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2005

Japan 'regrets' China drilling

A Chinese Embassy official was summoned Wednesday to the Foreign Ministry to be told that Tokyo regrets that a Chinese consortium is set to begin drilling in the Chunxiao gas field in the East China Sea, where the two countries are disputing the boundary, a ministry spokesman said.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Sep 1, 2005

Learning to enjoy where waters flow free

Every summer in Japan there is news of a few children drowning in rivers, and the message that comes from the media with those tragic stories is that rivers are dangerous and children should not go near them.
Sep 1, 2005

Defense Agency wants 5 trillion yen

The Defense Agency on Wednesday requested 4.89 trillion yen in the fiscal 2006 budget to increase the capabilities of the Self-Defense Forces to counter threats to national security, including acts of terrorism, missile attacks and natural disasters.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Sep 1, 2005

"Cross Your Heart, Connie Pickles," "Hunter's Heart"

"Cross Your Heart, Connie Pickles," Sabine Durrant, Puffin Books; 2005; 247 pp.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2005

Housing starts rose 8.3% in July

Housing starts in Japan rose 8.3 percent in July from a year earlier to 115,343 units for the fourth consecutive month of increase, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said Wednesday.
Sep 1, 2005

Import fauna face health certificates

Importing land mammals or birds will, starting Thursday, require certification from the countries of origin that the animals do not suffer from infectious diseases contagious to humans.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2005

New rocket with bigger payload to launch in '08

The science and technology ministry plans to launch sometime in fiscal 2008 a rocket that can carry a payload 50 percent larger than the current H-IIA rocket.
Sep 1, 2005

Absentee voters get chance to cast ballots

Japanese voters living abroad were given a chance to cast their ballot Wednesday for the Sept. 11 House of Representatives election, with special offices opening in Sydney, Seoul, Beijing and other major cities.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Sep 1, 2005

Three cheers for cheerleaders

Male cheerleaders jump out of closets, burst into ramen shops and join the daily Japanese rat race -- in a bid to save humanity.
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 31, 2005

Ishikawa to stay with FC Tokyo

FC Tokyo said Tuesday midfielder Naohiro Ishikawa, who has drawn a transfer offer from Italian club Treviso, will remain with the J. League first-division side.
EDITORIALS
Aug 31, 2005

More than postal reform at stake

As the Lower House election campaign goes into full swing, Japanese voters face an important decision: whether to endorse the reform politics of Liberal Democratic Party leader and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, or a different kind of reform politics pushed by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan....
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2005

Asahi fires reporter for fabricating story info

The Asahi Shimbun has fired a 28-year-old reporter at its Nagano bureau and removed a senior editor over false information of a meeting between a former Liberal Democratic Party policy chief and the governor of Nagano.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2005

It's spoilers vs. holdouts against change

Tuesday's start of campaigning for the Sept. 11 Lower House election marked the beginning of fierce battles not only among party leaders but also candidates under the spotlight.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2005

1,132 candidates face off for Lower House election

Campaigning for the Sept. 11 House of Representatives election officially kicked off Tuesday with 1,132 candidates throwing their hats in the ring for 480 seats.
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2005

Pluthermal reactor plan approved

The Atomic Energy Commission on Tuesday approved safety evaluations for Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s project for pluthermal nuclear power generation designed to work off a growing stockpile of spent nuclear fuel.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2005

It's now a case of what clicks with voters

As campaigning officially kicked off Tuesday for the Sept. 11 election, attention is focused on voters and their priorities.
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2005

Nihon Aim, Apex eye chip machinery

Nihon Aim Co., which provides production-line work to semiconductor firms, and Apex Inc., which sells used semiconductor-making equipment, announced Tuesday they will set up a firm to offer machine maintenance work for chip-making factories.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji