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EDITORIALS
Mar 11, 2005

Recalling the alternative to peace

It has been 60 years since U.S. bombers destroyed much of Tokyo in the spring of 1945. Survivors of the "Great Tokyo Air Raids" -- most of them now in their 70s and 80s -- are few and far between. Words like "B-nijuku" (B-29), "bokugo" (air-raid shelter) and "shoidan" (incendiary bomb) are no longer...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / COUNTER CULTURE
Mar 11, 2005

Omotesando goes one step beyond

Omotesando has seen a flurry of buildings for up-market fashion brands open in recent years, most notably Jun Aoki's Louis Vuitton flagship store and Herzog & de Meuron's Prada tower. Now, the thoroughfare lined with trashcans inscribed with "the Champs Elysees of Tokyo" is blessed with another architectural...
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2005

National wealth off for a sixth year

The national wealth slipped 2.6 percent in 2003 to 2.72 quadrillion yen for the sixth consecutive year of decline.
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2005

JAL to pare 1,400 more jobs to cut costs

Japan Airlines Corp. said Thursday it will slash 1,400 more jobs by the end of March 2008 through attrition and transfers in an effort to counter high fuel prices.
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2005

Koizumi remark trips dollar but T-bill selloff not in cards

Japan is not considering unloading dollars to diversify the currencies in its foreign-exchange reserves, the country's top currency bureaucrat said Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Mar 11, 2005

Wines of Washington State

Every state in America now lays claim to indigenous winemaking attempts -- from Alaskans experimenting with Salmonberry wine to alcoholic beverage conglomerates setting their sights on fallow potato patches in Idaho in a quest for inexpensive, "undiscovered" potential vineyards. The results of these...
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2005

SMFG to issue shares to up capital

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group said Thursday it will effect a much-needed capital boost worth some 210 billion yen by issuing preferred shares.
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2005

JR East bullet train test to exceed 400 kph

East Japan Railway Co. will begin testing a bullet train in June that will operate at speeds up to 360 kph.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 10, 2005

Narita wins overall World Cup women's halfpipe title

Japanese halfpipe snowboarder Mero Narita has won the women's overall halfpipe World Cup title for the 2004-05 season, the Ski Association of Japan said Wednesday.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Mar 10, 2005

Will the 'Brave Blossoms' soon be drinking champagne?

It's often said that it is a brave man who owns up to being wrong.
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 10, 2005

Aussies seek switch to Asian confederation

The Australian soccer federation is seeking to join the Asian Football Confederation in a switch from the Oceania Football Confederation, Japan Football Association VP Junji Ogura said Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 10, 2005

Jockey Okabe to call it a day

Japan Racing Association jockey Yukio Okabe, who has won a record 2,943 races, is set to announce his retirement, sources close to him said Wednesday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 10, 2005

Marines cancel games in South Korea

The Chiba Lotte Marines on Wednesday canceled a pair of regular-season Pacific League baseball games planned for June in South Korea.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 10, 2005

Fudo, Miyazato in for U.S. Open

Yuri Fudo and Ai Miyazato, the top two players on last year's money list of the Japanese women's tour, have received official notification allowing them to play in the U.S. Women's Open in June, the Japan LPGA said Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Mar 10, 2005

"The Whispering Road," "The Pig in the Spigot"

"The Whispering Road," Livi Michael, Puffin Books; 2005; 336 pp. If you haven't read Charles Dickens yet, what could be a better introduction than Livi Michael's "The Whispering Road"? Michael's first novel for older children imbibes Dickens' influences, dramatic storytelling and colorful characterization...
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2005

Livedoor's NBS voting rights at 46%

Livedoor Co. has moved closer to taking a controlling stake in Nippon Broadcasting System Inc., a report submitted by the Internet firm to the Finance Ministry showed Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2005

Shinmachi named JAL group CEO

Japan Airlines Corp., the holding company of the JAL group, plans to appoint its president, Toshiyuki Shinmachi, as the group's next chief executive officer.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 10, 2005

Glimpsing the 'big picture' at the heart of gray matter

It is a commonly held belief that we don't tap into the full power of our brains. Self-help gurus make millions by exploiting this belief, separating people from their money by making them think there is a secret to tapping mysterious, unused reserves of brain power.
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2005

New agriculture policy may signal shift to more competitive farming

A government panel came up with a 10-year plan Wednesday on basic agriculture policy that focuses on paying subsidies to productive farmers and raising the food self-sufficiency rate to 45 percent by fiscal 2015.
EDITORIALS
Mar 10, 2005

Last chance for Daiei's survival

Daiei Inc., Japan's ailing supermarket operator, is ready to make its third -- and final -- attempt at rehabilitation. On Monday, the state-run Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan (IRCJ) formally selected trading house Marubeni Corp. and investment fund Advantage Partners as Daiei's business sponsors....
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2005

Foreign CEO signifies a more globalized Japan

First it was Mazda, then Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors. Now it's Sony.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 10, 2005

Japan's spartan home remedies short on comfort, ice cream

It's that time of year again, when "kaze (colds)" and " infuruenza (influenza)" merge with the "sugikafunsho (hay fever)" to generate and spread that oh-so-miserable feeling.
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2005

Sojitz probes commodity trade snafu

Sojitz Holdings Corp. said Wednesday it expects to incur about 16 billion yen in appraisal losses possibly caused by a serious violation of an in-house rule on commodity futures transactions at trading house Sojitz Corp.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Mar 10, 2005

Mandarin duck

* Japanese name: Oshidori * Scientific name: Aix galericulata * Description: The male Mandarin duck is the last word in avian cuteness. With a wingspan of 68-74 cm, and a body that's 41-49 cm long, he has highly elaborate plumage, with long orange feathers on the "cheeks" of his face, swished-back...
COMMENTARY
Mar 10, 2005

Avoiding sham democracy

LONDON -- There is all the difference in the world between democracy and constitutional democracy.
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2005

Nippon Express, Mitsubishi tie up

Nippon Express Co. and Mitsubishi Corp. plan to integrate their distribution networks in China to better cater to Japanese companies operating in the Chinese market, officials from both companies said Wednesday.

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