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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Jul 24, 2005

We call it 'metal,' they call it 'rock'

Detroit7's new release is the sound of Led Zeppelin, Nirvana and Kiyoshiro Imawano being shackled in a shower room together and sprayed with sulfuric acid until they dissolve into a messy pile of punk-rock metal gunk -- and the detritus we get on their new five-track "EP Vol. 1" is "bad" in a very good...
CULTURE / Music
Jul 24, 2005

Adassa: "Kamasutra"

As with any musical genre that becomes popular overnight, reggaeton, the Spanish-language hip-hop form that has taken Latin America by storm, is much bigger than any of its individual stars, who are often difficult to distinguish amid the synthesized beats and rapid-fire, dancehall-style rapping.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 24, 2005

End of the 'calm' for Israel, Palestinians

LONDON -- Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas called for a "period of calm" when he took over the late Yasser Arafat's job in January, and for a while some people allowed themselves to believe that peace was within reach. But that delusion depended on the belief that Arafat had been the main obstacle to...
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2005

Data on Rakuten shoppers leaked

Personal data on 123 people who used Rakuten Ichiba, Japan's largest online shopping portal, has been leaked, its operator said Saturday.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2005

Seibu to hang on to Kyoto hotel

Scandal-tainted Seibu Railway Co. said Saturday it will continue to operate the Takaragaike Prince Hotel in Kyoto, the upscale hotel that hosted the 1997 conference which produced the Kyoto Protocol, reversing its original plan to sell the property under a business rehabilitation program.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2005

Strong quake hits Tokyo

A strong earthquake jolted the Tokyo area Saturday afternoon, paralyzing train and subway services and disrupting road traffic.
COMMENTARY
Jul 24, 2005

Selling evil without a cause

If British Prime Minister Tony Blair wants to prevent more London bombings, he needs to come up with some better arguments to condemn Islamic militancy. His claim that Britain confronts an "evil ideology" was both naive and foolish.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2005

1980 report called for airborne-asbestos measures

A government study panel warned in 1980 of the health dangers near asbestos-related facilities and called for concrete steps to prevent the material from spreading in the air, according to government sources.
MORE SPORTS
Jul 23, 2005

Japan to play Honduras

Japan will take on Honduras in September in a Kirin Cup friendly match, the Japan Football Association said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 23, 2005

Making ends meet with less

The fiscal 2005 "Annual Report on the Japanese Economy and Public Finances" pays attention to the impact on the economy of two inevitable demographic changes: the expected shrinkage of the population (the first such shrinkage since World War II) and the retirement in large numbers of baby boomers born...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2005

Defense chief given missile-intercept role

The Diet enacted a revised law Friday that allows the Defense Agency chief to order emergency missile interceptions without waiting for approval from the prime minister and the Cabinet.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2005

1,182 'retraining sessions' at JR West

West Japan Railway Co. conducted 1,182 employee retraining sessions during a two-year period from April 2003, the longest lasting 51 days, the transport ministry's accident investigation commission said Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2005

Attack-contingency manuals approved

The Cabinet approved attack-contingency manuals Friday from Fukui and Tottori -- the first prefectures to submit public evacuation and rescue plans, government officials said.
BUSINESS
Jul 23, 2005

Shiseido plans new cosmetics line

Top Japanese cosmetics maker Shiseido Co. will launch its new makeup line Maquillage in August, aiming to chalk up annual sales of 50 billion yen with one of its largest-ever advertising campaigns.
BUSINESS
Jul 23, 2005

FSA reveals 6.78 million unreported data loss cases

Financial institutions have reported about 6.78 million cases of missing client data, the Financial Services Agency announced Friday.
BUSINESS
Jul 23, 2005

Unpegged yuan to impact firms

From electronics makers to fishing companies, China's decision Thursday to abandon the yuan's peg to the dollar will affect a wide range of Japanese businesses over the long term, observers say.
BUSINESS
Jul 23, 2005

NEET figure remains high at 640,000: report

The number of young people not studying, working or looking for work remained at a record-high level of about 640,000 in 2004 -- a trend since 2002 -- according to a government white paper released Friday.
BUSINESS
Jul 23, 2005

Tertiary index down 5% in May

Japan's service industry activity index fell a preliminary 5 percent in May from the previous month due to sluggish business in wholesale and retail sales, advertising, civil engineering and other sectors, the government said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 23, 2005

'Breakthrough Japanese' book sees light of day

It is rare to be interviewed twice for this column. But Hitomi Hitayama, president of the executive Japanese language school Japanese Lunch, deserves the space because she has kept faith with her book project for so long. Also, the result -- "Breakthrough Japanese: 20 Mini Lessons for Better Conversation"...
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2005

Japanese women's life span at new record 85.59 years

The average life span of Japanese women reached 85.59 years in 2004, the 20th straight year as having the world's highest longevity, according to data for 2004 released by the health ministry Friday.
BUSINESS
Jul 23, 2005

METI chief plans late-July trip to strike Thai FTA

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Shoichi Nakagawa will visit Thailand possibly on July 31 in a bid to strike a basic deal on a bilateral free-trade agreement in time for the end-of-July deadline set by the two countries, government sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2005

METI uncovers more abuses

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said Friday two more cases of public fund misuse involving its officials have been confirmed and he will thus cut his own salary for another month in August.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight