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EDITORIALS
Jul 27, 2005

Bolder way of thinking small

In June, the Cabinet Office's Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy stressed the need for smaller and more efficient government in its 2005 basic guideline for economic and fiscal reform. Earlier this month the fiscal 2005 Annual Report on the Japanese Economy and Public Finances also called for smaller...
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2005

Panel backs considering women for throne

An advisory panel on the Imperial system said Tuesday that allowing a female to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne should be considered as an option to avoid an eventual succession crisis.
COMMENTARY
Jul 27, 2005

Philippine crisis simmers

MANILA -- One and a half months after audio tapes surfaced allegedly showing President Gloria Arroyo cheated her way into office, the Philippines' political crisis is far from settled. There is a general feeling that the country has entered a period of political stalemate. While Arroyo's supporters declare...
COMMENTARY
Jul 27, 2005

Calculating the costs of climate change

LONDON -- People who arrive at parties that are in full swing, and then ask who is paying and how much the party costs, are usually regarded as party poopers who should either keep their views to themselves or withdraw.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 27, 2005

Make'em laugh (if you can)

As with many traditional Japanese arts, aspiring owarai comedians once had to apprentice themselves to popular comedians to learn their craft.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 27, 2005

You think you're pretty funny, huh?

On a Saturday evening in late May, at an auditorium in NHK's headquarters in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, preparations for the recording of a popular show called "Bakusho On Air Battle" were underway.
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2005

All insurers told to probe payouts

The Financial Services Agency on Tuesday ordered all 39 life insurance companies operating in Japan to investigate and report by the end of September whether they failed to make due payouts to policyholders over the past five years.
SOCCER / J. League
Jul 26, 2005

Verdy shocks Real Madrid

Tokyo Verdy beat a lethargic Real Madrid 3-0 in a friendly match on Monday, with goals from Daigo Kobayashi, Washington and Takuya Yamada giving the second-from-bottom J. League side a famous victory over the embarrassed Spanish giant.
MORE SPORTS
Jul 26, 2005

Hasegawa, Niida to join doubleheader

WBC bantamweight champion Hozumi Hasegawa and WBA minimumweight champion Yutaka Niida will defend their crowns in a world title doubleheader scheduled for September at Yokohama Arena, boxing officials said Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2005

Japan begins quest for fastest supercomputer

The technology ministry aims to develop a next-generation supercomputer some 73 times faster than today's record-holder, ministry officials said Monday.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2005

Government set to begin storing LPG

The government will start stockpiling liquefied petroleum gas, possibly in late August, when the first vessel carrying 44,000 tons of LPG from Saudi Arabia is scheduled to arrive at a new facility in Ishikawa Prefecture, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Monday.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2005

Supermarket sales slip 3.6% in half

Supermarket sales dropped 3.6 percent in the January-June period from the same period the year before to 6.912 trillion yen on a same-store basis, the Japan Chain Stores Association said Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2005

UNICEF denies link to fund misuse

The U.N. Children's Fund denied any links Monday to an alleged misuse of funds involving an official of the former Ministry of International Trade and Industry, saying the money had been paid to the ministry as a commission and it was not entrusted to the ministry by the U.N. agency.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2005

Fullcast to set up bank serving small, midsize companies

Staffing agency Fullcast Co. said Monday it will establish a new bank to provide loans primarily to small and midsize companies as well as venture businesses.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 26, 2005

Inheritance, swimming and men

Property tax I am building a home here on land jointly owned by my wife (Japanese citizen) at a 50:50 recorded proportion (land only).
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2005

Sick building ills hit new homes

Individuals living in of about 1 percent of newly built or recently renovated homes in Japan suffer symptoms of sick building syndrome, and high humidity probably increases the risk, the health ministry said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2005

Japan Highway vice president held over bid-rigging

Prosecutors on Monday arrested Michio Uchida, vice president of Japan Highway Public Corp., for allegedly helping to rig bids for bridge projects ordered by the highway body.
EDITORIALS
Jul 26, 2005

Narita fiasco: never again

A tragedy has clouded the history of the New Tokyo International Airport at Narita. The place names Narita and Sanrizuka have been associated with Japan's longest and fiercest political struggle against the government, a struggle that has seen 13 deaths, five of them policemen, and thousands of arrests....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jul 26, 2005

What diet do you think works best?

Joanne Nolan Translator, 28 Weight Watchers. It worked because I put in the effort. You learn to prioritize. You can have your cheesecake, but you have to eat carrot sticks for the rest of the day.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 26, 2005

Cleaning the body

Summer is upon us, and spring-cleaning of your body may be long overdue.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2005

New Delhi and Washington grow closer

MADRAS, India -- It seems that India and the United States are finally on the same side. After years of mutual suspicion during the Cold War -- when New Delhi veered toward Moscow and Washington played the China card -- Indo-American relations appear set to follow a mature path and agenda.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2005

World plans buyout to ward off takeover

Major fashion apparel manufacturer World Co. said Monday it will proceed with a management buyout plan in a bid to turn itself into a privately owned company.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2005

Obituary: Hinako Sugiura

Hinako Sugiura, an author of books on Tokyo culture in the Edo Period, died Friday of hypopharynx cancer at a hospital in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, publisher Shinchosha Co. said Monday. She was 46.

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