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JAPAN
Nov 24, 2004

Tougher visa requirements planned for entertainers

The government plans to impose stricter work-visa requirements on foreign entertainers to fight human trafficking, according to the outline of a draft action plan.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 24, 2004

Lonely days in Fukuoka

The imminent sale of the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks baseball team to the Softbank Internet company may yield great results down the road but, right now, the elimination of the "Daiei" name seems to have cast an atmosphere of sabishisa (loneliness) over the city and the entire northern Kyushu area.
COMMENTARY
Nov 24, 2004

Patients are paying dearly for WHO political priorities

WASHINGTON -- When the SARS epidemic was circling the globe, the World Health Organization (WHO) purported to be leading efforts to treat the disease. But the WHO was reluctant to send staffers to hard-hit Taiwan due to its extensive ties with China.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 24, 2004

The heyday of body art

"Traces: Body and Idea in Contemporary Art," a new exhibition showing at the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (soon to be seen in Tokyo) fleshes out what has been distinctive in art since the postwar '50s right up to recent times.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2004

Watchdog group raps proposed defense policy

A group that monitors Japan's defense policy warned Monday that a new security policy recommended last month by an advisory panel to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi could violate agreements under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, as it would allow nuclear retaliation against use of other weapons...
SOCCER / World cup
Nov 23, 2004

Japan, South Korea separated in draw for World Cup qualifiers

Archrivals Japan and South Korea will be separated into two different groups as the top-seeded countries in the upcoming draw for the final round of Asian zone qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2004

American sues over canceled Juki Net security talk

An American computer security expert sued the government Monday for 30 million yen, claiming the communications ministry had suppressed his freedom of speech.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2004

Suspended term for royal nuptial scam

The Tokyo District Court sentenced a 43-year-old man on Monday to a suspended 18-month prison term for his role in a fake Imperial wedding reception in which some 6.87 million yen in cash and a valuable painting were collected from guests.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2004

Nonlife insurers report sharp fall in earnings

Major nonlife insurers reported sharp drops Monday in first-half earnings because of hefty claims filed during a record typhoon season.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / A GAIJIN'S TALE
Nov 23, 2004

The delivery guy

Enjoying my favorite samurai costume drama early one morning, I heard the doorbell ring. I quickly threw on some underwear and opened the door to find a young delivery guy with a package from Amazon that I presumed my girlfriend had ordered.
COMMUNITY / LIFELINES
Nov 23, 2004

Cop capers, sailing and tattoos

More police capers Ian writes in to share some unpleasant experiences he has had with the police here, and wonders if any readers have had similar problems.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2004

Mizuho, SMFG loan ills abating

Mizuho Financial Group Inc., the nation's biggest bank by assets, said Monday its first-half net profit fell 8.4 percent from a year earlier but its bad loans shrank due to improved earnings at borrower firms.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2004

More effort urged to curb youth drug use

The man was 17 when he took speed for the first time, experimenting with a high school friend by inhaling the amphetamine in smoke form.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2004

Dollar tests 102 yen range after G20 ignores it

The dollar briefly fell to the 102 yen level Monday in Tokyo for the first time in more than four years after finance officials from the Group of 20 ended their meeting in Berlin without concrete initiatives to halt the dollar's recent plunge.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2004

Canon to robotize 25% of output

Canon Inc. will overhaul its domestic production system by introducing unmanned manufacturing lines, officials of the electrical machinery maker said Monday.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2004

Yamaha Motor changes leadership

Yamaha Motor Co. said Monday that Managing Director Takashi Kajikawa will replace Toru Hasegawa as president, effective Jan. 1.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 23, 2004

Class action

What would you do if you were sacked for "clicking your pen too much in class," or for "talking to yourself during your break" . . . or how about for "only eating the topping on your rice during lunch?"

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