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COMMENTARY
Nov 24, 2005

Time for U.S. to leave Korea

When U.S. President George W. Bush was in Pusan last weekend for the APEC summit, he and South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun agreed upon a "strategic dialogue" at ministerial level on security issues.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 20, 2005

The good, the bad and the cliched

A RABBIT'S EYES by Kenjiro Haitani. Vertical, 2005, 288 pp., $14.95 (paper). On first publication, the mellow and delightful 1974 novel "A Rabbit's Eyes," out now in English for the first time, brought Kenjiro Haitani a great deal of fame and a wide following.
BUSINESS
Nov 19, 2005

State special accounts: Why they face scrutiny

A subcommittee of the Finance Ministry's Fiscal System Council recommended Friday that the 31 special accounts in the government's budget be streamlined by absorption into the general account, privatization, or management by independent administrative institutions.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2005

Liberia's new president brings fresh hope

NEW YORK -- The election of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as president of Liberia could mean that a tremendously positive transformation could happen in Africa, one that may extend beyond Liberia's borders. In a country where women make up more than half the electorate, the election of Johnson-Sirleaf could...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Nov 11, 2005

Investigating the history of Hiroo

The Shibuya River starts at Shinjuku Gyoen. Running southward, it makes a big horseshoe curve near Ebisu and heads north to Roppongi. At Ichi-no-hashi, it abruptly bends east to eventually pour into Tokyo Bay. The river's upper reaches are now culverts, but water emerges just south of Shibuya Station...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 10, 2005

Cultural diversity strengthens nations

During UNESCO's recent biannual conference at its Paris headquarters, the United States remained adamant in its opposition to the conclusion of an international convention on cultural diversity. On the surface it appears that the U.S. position is mainly motivated by trade interests. The U.S. seems to...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 9, 2005

The politics of assigning a nuclear carrier to Japan

HONOLULU -- The easy part of newly assigning a U.S. aircraft carrier to Japan, which was to persuade the Japanese to accept a nuclear-powered vessel, has been accomplished. Now comes the hard part: deciding which one of 10 carriers should be based in the port of Yokosuka.
BUSINESS
Nov 9, 2005

Koizumi unlocks auto taxes

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has ordered the government to use revenue from some auto-related taxes for purposes other than road-related projects, infrastructure minister Kazuo Kitagawa said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2005

Loose cable on Yamanote Line causes five-hour halt

Trains on Tokyo's crowded JR Yamanote Line were halted for more than five hours Monday, including the morning peak time, due to a loose overhead power cable, officials at East Japan Railway Co. said.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 6, 2005

A modern master of an old tradition

MIREI SHIGEMORI: Modernizing the Japanese Garden, by Christian Tschumi, photographs by Markuz Wernli Saito. Stone Bridge Press, 128 pp., $18.95 (paper). A revival of interest in the dry landscape garden of Japan both domestically and internationally took place during the early Showa Era (1926-1989),...
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2005

JAL decides to join oneworld airline alliance

Reversing its longtime stance of sticking to bilateral agreements, Japan Airlines Corp. said Tuesday it has decided to join oneworld -- the global airline coalition featuring British Airways, American Airlines and other six carriers.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Oct 18, 2005

Water pumps

Dear Alice:
BUSINESS
Sep 23, 2005

Orix to buy into China railway firm

Orix Corp. said Thursday it will invest 550 million yen around December to acquire a 25 percent stake in China's first railway car leasing company.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2005

Impostor pilot conned woman out of 1 million yen

A 30-year-old man has been charged of defrauding a woman out of about 1 million yen by pretending to be an airline pilot needing to borrow money for business, police said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2005

Aussies adjust the moorings

BRISBANE, Australia -- While the historical origins and cultural roots of Australia lie in Europe, its primary strategic alliance is with the United States, its pri- mary security focus is on Southeast Asia, and its major trading partners are in Northeast Asia.
Japan Times
Features
Sep 4, 2005

Nagano's champion of change

He is perhaps the most well-known governor in Japan, largely because he has been breaking with tradition ever since he took office in Nagano Prefecture in October 2000.
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.
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2005

Household spending sinks 3.3%

Spending by wage-earning households fell a real 3.3 percent in July from a year earlier to 323,515 yen, for the first decline in two months, the government said Tuesday.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 30, 2005

Spoiled pooches live the good life

Whether it's "wan-wan," "bow-wow" or "ruff-ruff," dogs in Japan are all speaking the same language: life here ain't too dog-gone bad.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2005

JAL chief joins kin in marking '85 crash

UENO, Gunma Pref. -- Kin marked the 20th year Friday since 520 of their loved-ones died when a Japan Airlines jumbo jet crashed on a mountain in Gunma Prefecture -- the worst single-air craft accident in aviation history.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2005

More nuclear plant data leaked via file-swapping program

Data on nuclear power plant safety inspections have been posted on the Internet, apparently leaked through the Winny file-swapping program on a virus-infected personal computer of an employee at the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, the agency said Friday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 10, 2005

Where Zen is perfectly at home

ZEN AND KYOTO, by John Einarsen. Uniplan Co., Inc, 2004, 135 pp., 2,381 yen (paper). Like heaven and hell, or the elements of earth and rock, Zen and the city of Kyoto are joined at the hip.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2005

Airlines grapple to root out human error

The airline industry and the transport ministry are trying to overhaul safety standards following a series of blunders involving commercial aircraft, but finding a quick solution will not be easy.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2005

Four salesmen arrested over home-improvements scam

Police arrested four former salesmen Thursday on suspicion of deceiving several individuals -- most of them elderly -- into signing contracts for unnecessary home renovations.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami