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EDITORIALS
Jul 25, 2005

China revalues its currency

China's revaluation of its currency came as something of a surprise. Beijing has been under considerable international pressure to increase the value of the yuan, but Chinese economic officials had countered that doing so was not yet in their country's best interests. The change in position reflects...
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2005

Preferred enters hotel fray in Japan

Despite the ongoing hotel war in Tokyo with many international hotels debuting, the chief of the Preferred Hotel Group in Chicago is optimistic about its expansion here.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2005

Next bullet train makes first Osaka run

A next-generation bullet train Sunday made its first test run on the 515-km route from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 25, 2005

When will China's miracle hit the wall?

PHILADELPHIA -- U.S. "Fed" Governor Ben Bernanke has blamed net inflows of capital from the rest of the world, especially China, for a global savings glut that is driving up the U.S. current account deficit. Unfortunately, some commentators have echoed this seemingly plausible but outrageously silly...
COMMENTARY
Jul 25, 2005

Condoleezza Rice's unfortunate decision

HONOLULU -- The recent decision by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to skip the annual ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) ministerial-level dialogue this Friday in Vientiane represents a setback for U.S. efforts to persuade Southeast Asians that Washington really cares about their region. Rice plans...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jul 25, 2005

Depredation of species that get in our way

NEW YORK -- "Protected Birds Are Back, With a Vengeance: Cormorants Take Over, Making Some Enemies." This headline in the New York Times earlier this month, inset in a photo showing a few black birds atop a tree, struck me with the thought: So it has come to pass. Hadn't the same daily some years back...
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2005

GSDF unit back from Iraq duty after six months

About 100 members of the Ground Self-Defense Force landed Sunday at Tokyo's Haneda airport after concluding a six-month tour of duty providing humanitarian and reconstruction aid in Iraq.
COMMENTARY
Jul 25, 2005

Britain's tolerance put to test

LONDON -- The British government has backed the development of a multicultural and multiethnic society, and has accepted, if not promoted, multilingual communities. Until quite recently Britain welcomed immigrants and asylum seekers. These policies have made British society in the last half century much...
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2005

Japan may give energy aid to N. Korea

Japan will provide energy aid to North Korea in cooperation with the U.S. and South Korea if substantial progress is made in getting Pyongyang to abandon its alleged nuclear program in upcoming multilateral talks, according to government sources.
COMMENTARY
Jul 25, 2005

Threshold of a lower threat

The fourth round of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear-arms programs opens Tuesday in Beijing. The question is whether the talks will succeed in convincing the North to halt its nuclear-arms development, which poses a serious security threat to Northeast Asia. For Japan, the United States, South...
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2005

Cosmo Oil to sell hair growth tonic

Cosmo Oil Co. and a group of researchers are jointly working to commercialize a hair growth tonic made of a type of amino acid.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jul 25, 2005

Right for the wrong reasons: deflation dilemma at the BOJ

What do you do when things turn out right for all the wrong reasons? Do you laugh? Do you cry? Do you do a bit of both, or none of either? This must be the kind of mental acrobatics that observers of consumer price developments at the Bank of Japan are going through at this particular moment.
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2005

GSDF unit back from Iraq duty after six months

About 100 members of the Ground Self-Defense Force landed Sunday at Tokyo's Haneda airport after concluding a six-month tour of duty providing humanitarian and reconstruction aid in Iraq.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 24, 2005

Kroon in tune as surprise closer for BayStars

Yokohama BayStars relief pitcher Marc Kroon made headlines July 19 when he threw a 161-kph (100.6 mph) fastball in a game against the Hanshin Tigers at Koshien Stadium. However, setting a record for the fastest pitch thrown in a Japan pro baseball game was not his goal.
EDITORIALS
Jul 24, 2005

The economy of plastic bags

A s this summer marks the 10th anniversary of the promulgation of the law for recycling containers and wrapping materials, the government is moving to strengthen the law to force a change in the behavior of consumers. The target is plastic shopping bags provided for free by supermarkets, convenience...
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2005

52% of Japanese don't trust U.S. government

More than half of the Japanese public doesn't trust the U.S. government, but 59 percent of Americans consider Tokyo trustworthy, according to a joint public perception survey by Kyodo News and the Associated Press.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2005

Japan plans to tighten up rules on fund transfers

In an effort to cut off money for terrorist organizations, the Financial Services Agency plans to check the identity of people transferring even relatively small amounts of money to other people's accounts, FSA officials said Saturday.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2005

Japan-China-U.S. ties said vital

Scholars and experts from Japan, China and the United States agreed in a recent meeting in Beijing that stable and cooperative relations among the three countries "will be in the best interests" of them and the rest of the world, according to organizers of the event.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2005

Vulnerability is all too apparent

The strong earthquake that struck the Kanto region Saturday reminded Tokyo residents of the city's vulnerability to natural disasters -- and left them wondering what would happen if the capital is hit by the long-anticipated Big One.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 24, 2005

Race across the Pacific

IN THE WAKE OF THE JOMON: Stone Age Mariners and a Voyage Across the Pacific, by Jon Turk. New York: International Marine/McGraw-Hill, 2005, 287 pages, with b/w illustrations, $24.95 (cloth). Midway through "In the Wake of the Jomon" comes a paragraph that poses all the questions Jon Turk ponders in...
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2005

Takeda sleeping pill OK'd in U.S.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. said Saturday its U.S.-based research and development center has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a new prescription insomnia medicine.

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