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JAPAN
Jul 3, 2005

Takara acquires animation studio

Toy maker Takara Co. has purchased an 88 percent stake in Tatsunoko Productions, a pioneering animation studios known for such classic works as "Speed Racer" and "Gatchaman," industry sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2005

Prosecutors to grill former Japan Highway exec

Prosecutors plan to question a 70-year-old former board member of the Japan Highway Public Corp. as early as this week over a bid-rigging scandal for bridge construction projects, according to sources.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jul 3, 2005

Takeshi Yoro: Professor No-Self

Some think of him as a retired anatomist par excellence; some revere his knowledge of the human brain; while to others he's simply someone who's nuts about insects.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2005

Marubeni fined 100 million yen for evading taxes

Tax authorities have found that Marubeni Corp. intentionally concealed about 600 million yen in income over three years through March 31, 2003, sources close to the case said Saturday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 3, 2005

Writers ask: Are you being served?

SAYING YES TO JAPAN: How Outsiders are Reviving a Trillion Dollar Services Market, by Tim Clark and Carl Kay. New York: Vertical, 2005. 175 pp., $14.95 (paper). Readers familiar with Japan are in danger of whiplash when reading this entertaining and informative book about Japan's services sector. Some...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 3, 2005

Many ways to view a temple

MUROJI: Rearranging Art and History at a Japanese Buddhist Temple, by Sherry D. Fowles. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2005. 296 pp.; 13 color plates and many b/w illustrations, drawings, maps; $50.00 (cloth). Muroji, one of Japan's most beautiful temples, was founded near Nara in the late 8th...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 3, 2005

Puccini's masterpiece transcends its age

Giacomo Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" is one of most beloved operas of all time. Musically rich, dramatically taut and shamelessly wringing every last drop of sentiment from its tale of innocence betrayed, it shows Puccini at the top of his form. Yet its seductive beauty and the emotional immediacy disguise...
CULTURE / Music
Jul 3, 2005

Datarock: "Datarock Datarock"

Weirdness exerts its own energy, which is why Talking Heads and The Happy Mondays made such great dance music. In front of a tight combo of drums, bass and rhythm guitar the lead singer couldn't keep his feet on the ground or his brain in his skull. Datarock, two guys from Norway, understand this juxtaposition....
EDITORIALS
Jul 2, 2005

Protection in a modern economy

The recent theft of data from some 40 million credit-card accounts in the United States is another reminder of the insecurities of the digital world. Electronic commerce continues to rise in volume but consumers, retailers, financial institutions and other parts of the business chain have not yet adjusted...
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2005

Forum mulls ways to make racial discrimination illegal here

Citing racial slurs by politicians and biased news reports playing up an increase in crimes committed by foreigners, participants in a Tokyo symposium called Thursday for a legal framework that would eradicate racial discrimination in Japan.
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2005

Megabank plans U.S. holding firm

Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. and UFJ Holdings Inc. plan to set up a financial holding company in the United States after their merger in October, industry sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2005

Bank client data loss at 1.8 million

Customer data loss cases at major Japanese banking groups, regional banks and credit unions mounted to more than 1.8 million as of Friday, according to a tally compiled by Kyodo News based on their announcements.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2005

Firms upbeat for first time in three quarters: 'tankan'

Japan's large manufacturers turned more confident about their business in the April-June quarter, marking the first improvement in three quarters, according to the Bank of Japan's "tankan" business sentiment survey released Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2005

AIDS time bomb is Asia: Kobe forum

KOBE — Medical professionals, scholars, community leaders and those who are HIV positive from around Asia and the Pacific gathered Friday in Kobe to begin a five-day conference on the region's growing HIV/AIDS crisis.
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2005

SMFG to repay public funds by '08, waits on Daiwa merger

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. will go ahead with a plan to pay public money it received to shore up its capital base back to the government in three years, according to its top leaders.
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2005

Jobless rate stayed unchanged at 4.4% in May

Japan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, which dropped to its lowest level in more than six years in April, remained unchanged at 4.4 percent in May, while the number of jobless people fell for the 24th straight month, the government said Friday, underscoring the resilience of the nation's labor...
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2005

Don't put all eggs in China basket: METI

Japanese companies should seek to establish a regionwide network in East Asia to maximize their business efficiency, turning not only to China but also to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations as their production bases, a government white paper on trade said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2005

MMC recalls Liberos with hazardous tailgate bolts

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Friday it is recalling about 209,000 Libero station wagons for free repairs due to defective mounting bolts in the tailgate that caused an injury last year.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 2, 2005

Adrift at sea, intrepid columnist prepares to meet her Maker

This is the last part in a four-part series on a trans-Pacific crossing to Australia.
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2005

Japan Post enters JSDA to sell trusts

Japan Post on Friday became a special member of the Japan Securities Dealers Association to launch sales of investment trusts at 575 post offices in Japan in October.
COMMENTARY
Jul 2, 2005

A clash of European visions

PARIS -- The latest EU crisis could be one of the worst the European Union has known, and nobody can say if, when and how it will be overcome.

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