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JAPAN
Oct 20, 2005

Lawmakers' pension appears doomed

Governing coalition officials agreed Wednesday to present a bill next year to abolish a pension plan for lawmakers, raising the likelihood the program is doomed given that the opposition Democratic Party of Japan is calling for its immediate elimination.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2005

Panic over bird flu isn't wholly misplaced

LONDON -- It would be funny if it were not so serious. As migratory birds carry the avian influenza virus west across Europe, Britain is following in the footsteps of Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Turkey and asking hunters to shoot down as many incoming ducks and geese as possible. They have been issued...
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2005

Cabinet waffles on Yasukuni visit

Cabinet members differed Tuesday in their views on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's latest visit to Yasukuni Shrine, with some praising it, some expressing concern over its diplomatic effects and many refraining from making a judgment of any kind.
COMMUNITY
Oct 19, 2005

Tomorrow's bikes on display today at Makuhari

With 133 motorbikes and scooters on display from Japan's four major manufacturers, and 57 more from eight overseas makers, eye candy abounds at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show. This year's show features 29 world premiers and 37 Japan premiers. Here are just a few of the many highlights.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Oct 19, 2005

Autumn sees predators in action

The hunters are abroad! Every day, now, the sparrow hawks, goshawks, honey buzzards, ospreys and falcons that summer in Northeast Asia are migrating out of the region. As cooler weather approaches and prey numbers decline, these predators head south for the winter. Soon, almost on their heels, the larger...
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Oct 16, 2005

UNEAR THING FACT IN CLASSIC FICTION

'Robinson Crusoe" has fascinated explorer Daisuke Takahashi ever since his elementary school days, when he first read the classic adventure tale about a British sailor who lived on a desert island for 28 years. Imagining that he, too, was marooned on an isolated island, the young Takahashi would roast...
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2005

Postal bills become law

The hotly contested postal-privatization bills that have been at the center of a political firestorm this year were finally approved Friday, passing through a House of Councilors plenary session with relative ease.
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2005

Keidanren grades LDP over DPJ

The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) generally gave higher grades to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party over the Democratic Party of Japan in an assessment of the two parties' policies and achievements.
BUSINESS
Oct 13, 2005

BOJ retains its ultraloose money policy

The Bank of Japan maintained its ultraloose monetary policy Wednesday, leaving the current account balance target unchanged at 30 trillion yen to 35 trillion yen.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Oct 9, 2005

Not much to declare about Andorra

Andorra is one of the very few countries on Earth that no one has ever bothered invading. True, Hannibal passed through with his elephants, but he had the Roman Empire to destroy and didn't stay long. Napoleon once planned to annex it, but the Andorran delegation to Paris decided not to go to the talks....
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 9, 2005

Roll up! Roll up! For a freak show starring 'Koizumi's children'

Adding salt to its wounds, it was reported recently that the Democratic Party of Japan paid 129 million yen to the American public relations firm Fleischmann-Hillard to buff its image in 2004. Though it might have helped in last year's Upper House election, the company's strategy didn't seem to work...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2005

Homemaking guru in hot water for talking about food in lieu of Diet

New Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Makiko Fujino, the "charismatic housewife" elected in the Sept. 11 House of Representatives election, took heat from her colleagues Friday after she missed a Diet session the day before to make two public presentations on cooking in Fukuoka, officials of the ruling...
BUSINESS
Oct 8, 2005

Tapping of oil reserves to be extended 30 days

Japan will extend measures to free oil reserves held by the private sector for a further 30 days, industry minister Shoichi Nakagawa said Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2005

Princess Nori to get 153 million yen Imperial nuptial sendoff

The government said Thursday it will pay 152.5 million yen in a one-time allowance to Princess Nori, who will be leaving the Imperial household after her marriage to Tokyo metropolitan employee Yoshiki Kuroda, government officials said.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2005

Atone and get UNSC support: Uri Party chief

South Korea will support Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council if Tokyo adopts "sincere" policies reflective of its wartime and colonial-era conduct, Moon Hee Sang, visiting chairman of South Korea's ruling Uri Party, said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2005

Bankers set rules on theft redress

The Japanese Bankers Association released detailed guidelines Thursday listing the conditions under which bank depositors may not receive full compensation in the event that they lose money via bank-card thefts and forgeries.
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2005

Industrial union leader is elected new Rengo chief

Japan's largest labor organization elected Tsuyoshi Takagi, head of a federation of textile, chemical and other industrial workers' unions, as its fifth president Thursday.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past