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JAPAN
Mar 28, 2007

Whalers threaten to sue activists over sea clash

Japanese whalers threatened Tuesday to sue the environmental groups Sea Shepherd and even Greenpeace for physically attempting to thwart the fleet's government-backed research hunt earlier this year in the Southern Ocean.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2007

Ailing Nissan to halve domestic sales force

Continuing efforts to improve efficiency, struggling Nissan Motor Co. said Tuesday that it will reorganize its dealer network into 10 regional groups and halve its domestic sales workforce by the end of 2011.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 27, 2007

Life in the cloudy Imperial fishbowl

Although the media and insatiable public curiosity can expose the private secrets of superstars, the Imperial family remains largely out of view.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Mar 27, 2007

Fingerprint law furor revisited

Thomas in Tokyo wrote to Lifelines in response to my Jan. 9 answer to an inquiry from reader Nick on the new law requiring the photographing and fingerprinting of foreigners on their entry into this country. I wrote that Japan Helpline is coordinating a response to the measure.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2007

Turn Japan-South Korean ties into a real partnership

HONOLULU -- We are dismayed by the current state of Japan-South Korean relations. The two countries are natural partners. Both are U.S. allies, democratic societies, and share similar values and security concerns. During the Cold War, both Japan and South Korea feared expansion of communism from the...
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Mar 26, 2007

From steel and coal deal to integration: EU fetes 50 years of history

On Sunday, Europe marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, the historic agreement that established such bodies as the European Parliament and the Court of Justice.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 25, 2007

Despite vision deficit, Europe survives

PRINCETON, New Jersey -- The celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome come at an opportune moment. For now is the time for the European Union to call an end to its self-imposed "reflection period" following the rejection of the European Constitution by the French and the Dutch,...
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2007

Osaka homeless in residency registry limbo ahead of polls

OSAKA -- As the Osaka Municipal Government's deadline looms for thousands of the city's homeless to change their residence registrations or be struck from the books, the two sides are still far apart about establishing bona-fide addresses for them to be able to vote in next month's local polls.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 24, 2007

If it looks like yesteryear, you know you're skiing in Japan

After a winter in Hokkaido, I feel at home skiing on the mountains here. Sometimes I even forget I am in Japan, until something "only in Japan" happens.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2007

Two-edged sword of values

WASHINGTON -- Japan's recent decision to develop a foreign policy based on support for universal values is a step forward in the development of a more coherent, strategic vision to pursue its national interests. The new policy is likely to make coordination with the United States easier and allow Tokyo...
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2007

Daiei proposes Aeon Mall president to be its new chairman

Struggling Daiei Inc. said Tuesday it will invite Yoshiharu Kawato from the Aeon supermarket chain to be its chairman as part of the business and capital alliance between the two retailers.
JAPAN / INNOCENT VICTIMS
Mar 21, 2007

Foster-care group aims to change the way Japan treats its children

When Kazuko Sakamoto found herself unable to conceive a child, she and her husband figured there was more than one way to start a family.
COMMENTARY
Mar 21, 2007

Crusading to cut carbon emissions

LONDON -- The obvious route is not always the best one. Throughout Europe the governments and political parties, as well as the central European Union Commission in Brussels, are all vying with each other to prove who is the greenest. The simplest way of doing this is to produce ever more ambitious plans...
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2007

Six-member SDF Nepal peace duty team to get LDP nod

. UNMIN was established Jan. 23 by the U.N. Security Council after the Nepalese government and the Maoist rebels of the Communist Party of Nepal declared an end to their conflict by signing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement last November.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Mar 20, 2007

Where do you browse online?

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 19, 2007

Advice for Japan as it returns to the jungle: Don't feed the animals

The Japanese economy is now a fully signed-up member of the global jungle.
EDITORIALS
Mar 18, 2007

Who's playing by the rules?

The United States has ended an investigation of a Macau-based bank suspected of helping North Korea launder money from illicit activities. In wrapping up its investigations, the U.S. banned U.S. banks from doing business with the bank, but left up to Macau authorities the decision on what to do with...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 17, 2007

Blues band does its bit for Internet freedom

It's early for Mac (Makoto) "The Knife" Okuyama and Mark "The Spark" Schwarz to be up and about, especially since both have the day off from filling their rice bowls.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2007

Abe pressed again on sex slavery

Saying that true friendship between their countries depended on it, visiting South Korean lawmaker Yoo Ki Hong on Friday urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to officially recognize and apologize for the wartime sexual enslavement of women and girls in Japanese-occupied Asia.
EDITORIALS
Mar 17, 2007

A little more fruit for labor

Most of the nation's leading automakers and electronics firms have agreed to raise base wages and bonuses for their employees for the second consecutive year on the strength of improved earnings. But the wage raises are lower than the amounts demanded by the labor unions, and the difference in the margin...
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2007

Toyota frets U.S. political backlash: Okuda

The former head of Toyota acknowledged Wednesday the successful carmaker was worried about a possible political backlash in the United States to his company's booming success there in stark contrast to struggling U.S. rivals.

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.