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JAPAN
Jul 9, 2005

U.K. attacks trigger official fears that Japan is next

Thursday's deadly terrorist bombings in London raised fresh concerns among Tokyo officials Friday that Japan might be the next target due to its support for the U.S.-led war on Iraq.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2005

FSA ups protection for insurance policyholders

The Financial Services Agency released a new set of rules Friday to upgrade protection of customers by requiring insurance firms to become more accountable for policies they sell.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2005

Japan firms' U.K. workers OK

Japanese firms breathed a collective sigh of relief Friday after determining that all their employees in London appear not to have been injured in the series of deadly explosions that rocked the transportation system in the British capital.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jul 9, 2005

Japan -- where the oldies are always golden

That pitter-patter you hear right now is probably only the remains of the rainy season slipping drop by drop from your eave spouts. Yet there is another melancholy drizzle in this land that falls all year round. It is that misty-eyed drool for all things past. Yes, this country is literally dripping...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 9, 2005

Umibiraki -- drunk fish, a certain charm

On the first Sunday of July for hundreds of years now, a priest has performed a Shinto ceremony called umibiraki on Shiraishi Island. At this "opening-of-the-sea" ceremony, the priest blesses the sea making it safe for swimming.
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.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2005

Core machinery orders plummet 6.7%

Japan's core private-sector machinery orders fell in May by a larger-than-expected 6.7 percent from the previous month to 952.5 billion, yen the government said Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2005

Hyogo labor slush fund dooms seven

The labor ministry dismissed seven Hyogo Labor Bureau employees on disciplinary grounds in connection with a slush funds scam, the ministry said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2005

Balance of bank lending down for 90th straight month

The average daily balance of Japanese bank lending decreased 2.6 percent in June from a year earlier, marking a 90th straight month of year-on-year decline, the Bank of Japan said Friday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jul 9, 2005

Thierry Voisin

Each day, Thierry Voisin cycles both ways between his Hanzomon apartment and the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo. "I have new eyes here," he said. "For me, this is like another planet."
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2005

Most firms are cool to 'Cool Biz'

Only 20 percent of private-sector firms have introduced the government's "Cool Biz" program in their offices, according to a Teikoku Databank survey released Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Jul 9, 2005

Blair pinpoints EU challenges

LONDON -- In his speech to the European Parliament in Brussels on June 23, British Prime Minister Tony Blair set out in stark terms the main challenges facing Europe (and in different ways perhaps, the United States and Japan) from China and India.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2005

Spinoff may force TSE to delay listing

Three brokerages lead-managing the Tokyo Stock Exchange's planned listing have told the bourse it must delay its listing by one to two years if it spins off its regulatory functions, officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2005

Hundreds of deaths spur ministry plan to ban all asbestos use by 2008

The health ministry said Friday it plans to ban all use of asbestos by 2008 after recent announcements that hundreds of workers at various companies have died from diseases related to the toxic unburnable mineral.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2005

Women's gyms find favor with females wanting to shape up

Women's gyms are mushrooming in Tokyo, attracting those who want to work out and lose weight without having to worry about men viewing their exertions.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2005

Five-time killer's appeal rejected

The Supreme Court rejected an appeal Friday by a 64-year-old man sentenced to hang for murdering a 9-year-old girl and four women between 1985 and 1994.
COMMUNITY
Jul 9, 2005

Humanitarian paints hope for students of Vietnam

Fred Harris looks around the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Yurakucho, central Tokyo, and observes with his usual keen but fond eye, "This was the first club I joined when I came here in 1964." (He was also in Japan while serving as a U.S. soldier during the Korean War.)
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Jul 9, 2005

Brace for more bipartisan battles in wake of Supreme Court justice's retirement

WASHINGTON -- The July 1 announcement by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor that she is retiring marks the end of a distinguished 24-year career, and the beginning of a crucial struggle by President George W. Bush to find a replacement.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 9, 2005

Beijing aims to politically isolate Koizumi

SINGAPORE -- The feud between China and Japan over the contents of Japanese history textbooks, sovereignty of the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's periodic visits to Yasukuni Shrine came to a head in April when anti-Japanese riots broke out in some Chinese cities.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Jul 9, 2005

Five signs of the coming Golden Age of trance

In the fast and chaotic protoculture growing around psychedelic trance in Japan, it is often difficult at best and futile at worst to try to get a genuine fix on the direction in which we are headed.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jul 8, 2005

Bottom-feeding Carp on a roll

Takahiro Arai drove in three runs Thursday to lead the Hiroshima Carp to a 6-4 win over the Yokohama BayStars.
EDITORIALS
Jul 8, 2005

A year of autonomy for Iraq

It has been one year since Iraqis reclaimed control over their country in the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion. It has been a long year, marked more by disappointment than hope. Political squabbles among Iraq's political leaders as well as an ongoing -- some would say escalating -- insurgency have...
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2005

Samawah security deteriorating: Tokyo

Tokyo perceives a deterioration in security conditions in the southern Iraq city of Samawah, where Ground Self-Defense Force troops are stationed on an aid mission, a government official in Japan said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2005

June forex reserves show big rebound

Japan's foreign-exchange reserves stood at $843.54 billion at the end of June, marking a $1.07 billion surge from a month earlier and the first rise in two months, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.

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