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JAPAN
Jan 12, 2006

Importer of 'illegal' drug faces sanction

The health ministry will file a criminal complaint against a Tokyo-based importer for allegedly selling a chemical whose effect is similar to that of illegal drugs, ministry officials said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 12, 2006

Workers hopeful as Nippon Keidanren gives nod to wage hikes

As the economy starts to pick up, workers can expect to see their first wage increases in a long time as the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), the nation's most powerful economic organization, is poised to allow such raises.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Jan 12, 2006

Democrats taking aim at House control

WASHINGTON -- The American political landscape continues to be dominated by U.S. President George W. Bush. He had his ups and downs in 2005, and while he has gained about seven points in the various polls since he hit bottom in late November, his approval ratings remain in the low 40s, according to various...
BUSINESS
Jan 12, 2006

Postal privatization planning firm to get 300 billion yen

A planning company to be launched by the government Jan. 23 to set the stage for privatizing postal services will be capitalized at 300 billion yen, a committee on postal privatization said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2006

Kimura data suggest Aneha lied before Diet

In-house information provided Wednesday by a bankrupt construction firm linked to the building-code violation scandal indicates disgraced architect Hidetsugu Aneha may have given false testimony to a Lower House committee in December over his involvement in the fraud.
BUSINESS
Jan 12, 2006

Itochu, Uny tie on clothing products

Major trading house Itochu Corp. and supermarket chain Uny Co. have reached a tieup agreement under which they will cooperate in a wide range of areas, including jointly developing and producing clothing, Itochu officials said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 12, 2006

Corolla top seller for third year

The Toyota Corolla was the best-selling car in Japan for the third consecutive year in 2005, although its sales slumped 13.6 percent to 149,810 vehicles, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Jan 12, 2006

Step up positive diplomacy

The year 2005 is likely to be remembered as the year when rivalry between Japan and China over how to create a new international order reached a high point.
BUSINESS
Jan 12, 2006

Newly merged megabank starts out with blunders

The newly merged Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ said Wednesday it has erroneously entered the names of up to 3,495 companies and their account numbers into documents it mailed or handed out to 585 unrelated firms.
BUSINESS
Jan 12, 2006

Foreign reserves reach $847 billion

Japan's foreign-exchange reserves totaled $846.90 billion at the end of December, up $3.63 billion from a month earlier and marking the second-highest level on record, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jan 12, 2006

WONDER SITE: Strong words in Shibuya fail to bring a crowd

In 2001, a peculiar contemporary-art space called Tokyo Wonder Site opened in a disused building in Bunkyo Ward in Northeast Tokyo. Supported by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the project attracted a measure of initial interest, but never developed into anything like a hot spot for art. This is probably...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2006

Time for another government shakeup?

It was only five years ago that government ministries were reorganized into 13 entities, but some senior officials of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party think it is time for another shuffle.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 12, 2006

ALPHONSE MUCHA: Modern, not Modernist

For Alphonse Mucha, being a "Modernist" in the 19th and 20th centuries was never as important as being in the right place at the right time: which is why for critics the Impressionists of the late 19th century are Modernist and Mucha, their contemporary, was merely modern.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 11, 2006

Okazaki to captain Japan party

The Japanese Olympic Committee on Tuesday named veteran speed skater Tomomi Okazaki as captain of the country's delegation for the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Turin.
SUMO
Jan 11, 2006

Asashoryu bounces back

Yokozuna Asashoryu rebounded from an upset loss to post his second win at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament on Tuesday, while newly promoted ozeki Kotooshu won his second straight following an opening-day defeat.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 11, 2006

Lasorda hopes Cuba makes it to World Baseball Classic

Cuba's exclusion from the World Baseball Classic would be tragic, and no one knows it more than WBC ambassador Tommy Lasorda.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 11, 2006

Kadota, Yamada in Hall of Fame

Three-time Pacific League home run king Hiromitsu Kadota and Hisashi Yamada, ace pitcher for the Hankyu Braves in their heyday in the 1970s, have been inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, the selection panel said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2006

Firm warned for illicit Iraq remittances

The government Tuesday issued a warning to Nippon Kayaku Co. over drug exports to Iraq when the country was ruled by Saddam Hussein, saying it made remittances to an Iraqi company without approval.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2006

Town gives World Cup site 100-meter carp streamer

Those thinking of visiting the German city of Kaiserslautern to see some World Cup soccer matches this June might consider moving their travel plans up a few days to view another sight -- a gigantic carp streamer.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2006

Razing of Aneha buildings begins

Full-scale work began Tuesday on dismantling a residential building in Tokyo and a budget hotel in Aichi, whose quake safety parameters were falsified by disgraced architect Hidetsugu Aneha and deemed at risk of collapsing in a strong earthquake.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2006

Copyright labyrinth snags iPod TV hopes

Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod digital music and video players have been an explosive hit in the United States and Japan, but sales of the product may be eventually hampered by the complicated copyright system here.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2006

193 homes remain snowbound

About 500 people in 193 households remained cut off by deep snow Tuesday in an area straddling Nagano and Niigata prefectures after Ground Self-Defense Force units stopped snow removal work for the day.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2006

Japan Post sues Seibu, Kokudo and Tsutsumi

Japan Post sued Seibu Railway Co. and two other parties Tuesday, demanding 3.67 billion yen in damages for the investment loss it incurred due to the 2004 delisting of Seibu Railway following fabrications of its financial statements.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2006

Top U.S. Navy officer apologizes

The commanding officer of the U.S. Naval Forces in Japan visited the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday and apologized over the arrest of a U.S. sailor on suspicion of robbing and killing a woman in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, ministry officials said.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2006

Yasukuni visits shouldn't be an issue in LDP presidential election, Abe says

Contenders for the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election should avoid making an issue out of Yasukuni Shrine, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2006

'07 bluefin tuna catch may have to be cut by 50%

An international commission has recommended the southern bluefin tuna catch be halved in 2007 to prevent depletion of the species, sources said Tuesday.
SOCCER / J. League
Jan 11, 2006

Suzuki gets offer from Red Star

J. League first-division club Kashima Antlers have received an offer for Japan striker Takayuki Suzuki from former European champion Red Star Belgrade, Kashima officials said Tuesday.

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