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ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Nov 23, 2005

Big Money warms to socially responsible investing

Environmentalists have been preaching for decades that true societal change will only happen when the really big-money players, such as multinational corporations and banks, begin to balance profit-making with social responsibility.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2005

Niigata group loses legal round against reactor

The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday ruled against a group of residents in Niigata Prefecture seeking nullification of a 1977 government decision allowing a nuclear reactor be built there.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Nov 23, 2005

Rice fish

* Japanese name: Medaka * Scientific name: Oryzias latipes * Description: This ordinary-looking little creature is one of the most important fish in biological research. Growing just 5-8 cm long, in the wild it is pale brown dorsally and silver underneath and on the flanks. The dorsal fin has 5-6 rays;...
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2005

Panel eyes death of 1999 tax cuts

The Tax Commission plans to recommend in its fiscal 2006 tax reform proposals that the government abolish the 1999 income tax cuts at both national and local levels in January 2007, and some corporate tax cuts as scheduled in March, Commission Chairman Hiromitsu Ishi said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2005

SMFG posts record net in first half

The Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group said Tuesday it posted a 392.3 billion yen net profit in the first half of the 2005 business year -- more than seven times the 53.4 billion yen profit it recorded a year earlier.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2005

Major insurers profit thanks to fewer disasters

The nation's six major nonlife insurers reported higher first-half net profits from a year ago thanks to a decline in natural disasters, according to parent-only earnings reports released Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2005

Miyazaki murder trial wraps up

The marathon legal journey of Tsutomu Miyazaki, charged with abducting and killing four girls in 1988 and 1989 in Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture, reached a final stage Tuesday at the Supreme Court, with the focus of his appellate trial on whether he was mentally competent at the time the crimes were committed....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2005

Nakasone hits Koizumi populism, Yasukuni visits

Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone warned the half-century-old Liberal Democratic Party against "pandering" to populism and urged it to hammer out far-sighted policies.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2005

Ex-IBJ chief Nakayama dies at 99

Sohei Nakayama, a former president of the Industrial Bank of Japan, a predecessor of Mizuho Corporate Bank, died at a hospital in Tokyo on Saturday, the bank said Tuesday. He was 99.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Nov 23, 2005

For giant-slayers, getting there is half the battle

Let's talk about "Shadow of the Colossus" and "Punch-Out!!" -- two masterful games that are remarkably similar and yet have nothing in common.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 22, 2005

Deers trample Skylarks

Kajima quarterback Yosuke Ozaki ran for 125 yards, while completing nine passes in 13 attempts, to guide the Deers to a 27-6 victory over the Onward Skylarks in Monday's first round game of the X League Final 6 at Tokyo Dome.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 22, 2005

Eagles pick up pitcher Sikorski

The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles said Monday they have acquired right-hander Brian Sikorski, who was released by the Yomiuri Giants earlier this month.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2005

Hot baths may cause sudden death: study

It is well known that the Japanese love to unwind in hot baths, but what perhaps is not so well known is that about 14,000 people die each year from taking them.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2005

Putin, Koizumi bolster economic ties, skip isles

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi agreed Monday to increase security and economic cooperation despite the 60-year territorial row over the four Russian-held islands off northern Hokkaido.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2005

Council seeks huge cuts in welfare, civil service, U.N. outlays

A Finance Ministry panel on Monday urged drastic cuts in social security, local government financing and civil servant payrolls in the fiscal 2006 budget to shore up the nation's debt-laden finances.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2005

Bomb hits convoy linked to project

A convoy of civilian contractors involved in an electricity supply project in Iraq was hit by a roadside bomb Sunday evening, killing an Iraqi guard, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2005

256 measures proposed to support crime victims

A government panel Monday proposed a basic plan to support crime victims, covering 256 measures including beefing up financial aid, panel members said.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2005

Panel backs allowing women to ascend Imperial throne

A government panel discussing the Imperial succession decided Monday to propose allowing females and their descendants to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2005

Kyushu student summit looks at hurdles to tourism, cures

BEPPU, Oita Pref. -- Some 460 students interested in travel and the tourism industry from around the world gathered this month in this hot-spring resort town in southeastern Kyushu to discuss the sector's untapped potential.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2005

14 buildings tied to faked quake data deemed weak

A hotel and 12 condominium complexes in the Tokyo area built using falsified quake-resistance data from Aneha Architect Design Office could collapse if hit by an earthquake with an intensity of upper 5 or above on the Japanese scale to 7, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Nov 22, 2005

Simplistic view in a complex world

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush met at a summit in the ancient capital of Kyoto last Wednesday, the first such meeting in almost a year. The two leaders shared their belief that close relations between their countries are important not only for this region but also...
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2005

Nissan picks builders for new HQ

Nissan Motor Co. said Monday it has chosen an architect and two major contractors to design and construct its new head office in Yokohama.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Nov 22, 2005

Do you think it's necessary to fingerprint foreigners?

Mike Trees Director, 43 I disagree. I did my masters on discrimination against foreigners and fingerprinting Koreans was a big issue. I agree with the ID cards, but fingerprinting is for criminals, unless they're going to fingerprint everyone, Japanese included.

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