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JAPAN
Apr 22, 2005

DVD rivals hope to unify standard by end of month

Corporate groups led by Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp. are mulling joint development of a unified standard for next-generation DVDs, sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2005

Common-law 'widow' wins pension

The Supreme Court on Thursday granted the common-law wife of a deceased teacher at a private college the right to receive a bereaved family pension.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2005

Tokyo, U.S. Navy pay 35 million yen for two asbestos-exposed workers

The central government and the U.S. military have jointly paid compensation for lung ailments suffered by two Japanese former workers exposed to asbestos at the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture, a civic group said Thursday.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2005

Factories contain 1.7 million toxic time bombs

About 1.7 million electric devices containing toxic polychlorinated biphenyl are being kept at factories nationwide, according to officials of the environment and industry ministries.
BASKETBALL
Apr 21, 2005

Ex-Japan center Hamaguchi to join Aisin AW

Former Japan international center Noriko Hamaguchi will come out of retirement and play for Aisin AW of the second-tier women's domestic basketball league next season, the club said Wednesday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 21, 2005

Kiyohara's homers put him one away from 500

Kazuhiro Koyohara hit a pair of homers and Koji Uehara went eight solid innings Wednesday as the Yomiuri Giants downed the Hanshin Tigers 9-0.
SUMO
Apr 21, 2005

Maegashira Kotoryu to call it quits

Veteran sumo wrestler Kotoryu, who has been plagued with a liver ailment in recent tournaments, has decided to retire and will become a sumo elder, his stablemaster Sadogatake said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2005

Kyushu's latest aftershock a setback

Officials expressed concern Wednesday that a magnitude 5.8 earthquake that hit northern Kyushu that morning could hamper the area's efforts to repair damage caused by a more powerful quake just a month ago.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2005

JAL safety inspection under way

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry started three days of inspections Wednesday of Japan Airlines to verify whether the airline has implemented promised preventive measures following a series of safety blunders.
COMMENTARY
Apr 21, 2005

Australia's problem with ASEAN amity

During Australian Prime Minister John Howard's visit to Japan this week, Japan will be pressing him to sign the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC), which is often referred to as a "nonaggression pact."
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2005

LDP accuses party leadership of faking postal plan consensus

A group of Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers accused its top executives Wednesday of falsely claiming a consensus on postal privatization matters the previous day in order to conduct further negotiations with the government.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2005

Japan, Australia to mull FTA

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his Australian counterpart, John Howard, agreed Wednesday that their two nations should study the pros and cons of a bilateral free-trade agreement for about two years.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Apr 21, 2005

A pack of dog statues

Dear Alice,
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2005

Feuding risks for East Asia

SINGAPORE -- Southeast Asian countries view the recent Sino-Japanese and South Korean-Japanese feuds with interest and deep concern for possible impli- cations in four areas:
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2005

Open-tender rules may cover off-hours minor-stake buys

Open-tender regulations should cover stock acquisitions in off-hours trading involving less than one-third of outstanding shares in a company if the buyer intends to eventually obtain more than one-third, Financial Services Minister Tatsuya Ito indicated Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2005

Yahoo Japan profit soars to record high

Yahoo Japan Corp. said Wednesday that group operating revenue and net profit rose to all-time highs in fiscal 2004 due to growth in advertising and the popularity of its Net auction business.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2005

Settling isle row at Hague no option: Seoul

South Korea will not agree on taking a territorial dispute with Japan concerning a group of South Korea-controlled islets in the Sea of Japan to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, South Korean Ambassador to Japan Ra Jong Yil said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2005

Toyota affiliate sets up China venture

Toyota Boshoku Corp., a textile maker affiliated with Toyota Motor Corp., will set up a joint venture this month in China's Guangdong Province to make car oil filters, the company said Wednesday.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 21, 2005

For a life less ordinary, try marrying an otaku

Wedding bells rang for my friend Yoshika six months ago and last night a bunch of us got together over drinks to hear all about it -- her new life as a wife to a genuine, full-fledged ota-yome (wife of an otaku or "nerd").
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2005

Pneumonia kills famed writer Niwa at age 100

Veteran novelist Fumio Niwa, whose works depicted modern life and historic Buddhist monks, died of pneumonia early Wednesday morning at his home in Musashino, western Tokyo, his family said. He was 100.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2005

Mizuho to tie up with Wachovia and Wells Fargo

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. plans to tie up with major U.S. banks Wachovia Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. to develop investment trusts and other financial products for retail banking, sources close to the deal said Wednesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Apr 21, 2005

Matters of survival in a 'shattered world'

One of the best things about writing a newspaper column is that I get a chance to meet people whose paths I might otherwise never cross. Last weekend, at the Odaiba waterfront launch of Earth Day Tokyo 2005, I had the rare pleasure of meeting and interviewing two environmentalists I have long admired,...

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