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JAPAN
Oct 18, 2005

Osaka's scandal-hit mayor to resign, run again in snap poll

OSAKA -- Osaka Mayor Junichi Seki announced Monday he will resign his post and then run again in a snap election that he said will determine voter faith in his proposed reforms.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2005

Ministry drafting plan for new flu strains

The health ministry is compiling a guideline to prevent the spread of new types of influenza and deal with potential outbreaks amid concerns a global flu pandemic may soon emerge.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2005

Maehara backs changing war-renouncing Article 9

Democratic Party of Japan President Seiji Maehara said Monday that the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution should be revised in a way that allows Japan to exercise its right to both self-defense and collective defense.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2005

First-half bankruptcies below 6,500

The number of corporate bankruptcies in the first half of fiscal 2005 dropped below 6,500 for the first time in 14 years on a half-year basis, Tokyo Shoko Research said Monday.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2005

Privacy concerns spur census change

The government has decided to change the way it conducts the census after participation dropped in the latest survey due in part to rising concerns about privacy.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Oct 18, 2005

Funding, adoption and cigars

There was no column last week due to the monthly press holiday falling on a Monday.
EDITORIALS
Oct 18, 2005

Toward the final frontier

China's successful launching last week of its second manned spacecraft, the Shenzhou 6, coming just two years after its historic first flight, demonstrates that the country's space program is making steady progress. China's goal, obviously, is to become a "space power."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2005

MMC seeks salvation in flagship Outlander SUV

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. on Monday launched the new Outlander sport utility vehicle, its first all-new model in nearly 2 1/2 years, which it hopes can revitalize the struggling automaker.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 18, 2005

Girls in need of direction get it from the comics

The business of being a wakai musume (young woman) in this country used to have just one subtext: There were no options. If she didn't get married she was less than a whole person; on the other hand, marriage meant abject obedience to her husband's household and an endless round of bone-crunching chores....
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2005

Honda to set up China firm, plant

Honda Motor Co. said Monday it will set up a company making vehicle transmissions and other drivetrain elements in China in a bid to secure sufficient supplies to support its business expansion there.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Oct 18, 2005

Mika Noguchi

Peach John has been providing women with sexy and cute lingerie via its catalog and retail business since 1994. Leading this company, which had sales of 16 billion yen last year, is President Mika Noguchi, a woman who is not afraid to bare her true feelings.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2005

Fukui, Greenspan discuss macroeconomic conditions

Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui held talks Monday with visiting U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan, discussing a range of issues related to macroeconomic and monetary conditions, including those of Japan and the U.S., BOJ officials said.
COMMENTARY
Oct 18, 2005

Miers pick reflects Bush's flaky nature

WASHINGTON -- For most men who hold the office of America's president, government is serious business. For George W. Bush it apparently is a hobby. That's the only explanation for his "trust me" nomination of Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Oct 18, 2005

How would you spend 20,000 on a shopping spree?

Dave Jamieson Teacher, 27 If I got my hands on 20,000 yen I think I'd buy some glasses. I want to get new frames because I managed to break my last pair when I fell off my bike. I want to get some plastic, square-framed ones -- Weezer-style.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2005

Murakami, Tokyo Style reach settlement

Outspoken financier Yoshiaki Murakami said Monday his fund has reached a court-mediated settlement with Tokyo Style Co. after the apparel firm's president, Yoshio Takano, agreed to pay 100 million yen in compensation to his own firm for inflicting damages as a result of investments that turned sour....
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Oct 18, 2005

Water pumps

Dear Alice:
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 18, 2005

Ministry missive wrecks reception

Between Oct. 7-11, the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT), Japan's largest convocation of language educators, held its annual meeting in Shizuoka, a pleasant city between Tokyo and Osaka.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 18, 2005

e.m.'s The Message, Lift Position, Blackpain wristwatches, Soe in Naka-Meguro . . .

Message in a boutique
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2005

TBS sets up in-house team to study Rakuten bid

Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. said Monday it has set up an in-house panel to study a proposal from Rakuten Inc. to integrate their operations under a joint holding company.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 17, 2005

Matsuzaka to pursue MLB

Seibu Lions ace right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka said Sunday he will press ahead with his wish to pursue a career in the major leagues via the so-called posting system in the upcoming offseason.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2005

On the precipice in Iraq

WASHINGTON-- How are things going in Iraq? The short answer, unfortunately -- based on Brookings' Iraq Index and my own assessments -- is not very well. There is still considerable hope, and much that does go well in Iraq. But on balance, there is more reason for worry than optimism right now.

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