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BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2007

U.S. beef back on Ito-Yokado shelves

Major supermarket chain Ito-Yokado Co. brought American beef back to its shelves Friday, about 3 1/2 years after sales were halted in the wake of the first U.S. case of mad cow disease, a parent company spokesman said.
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2007

For those needing home care, here's how the plan works

Following are answers to some common questions about the national nursing-care insurance plan and how it works:
JAPAN / Q&A
Jun 30, 2007

Why the big fuss about SIA? Some answers

Two bills to replace the Social Insurance Agency with a government corporation were set to be enacted in the early hours of Saturday morning, despite the opposition camp's last-ditch attempts to stop the vote in the House of Councilors.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2007

The Dutch trick: flextime and shorter workweek

AMSTERDAM — Trying to figure out a Dutch work schedule is a little like solving a Sudoku puzzle: You bog down in numbers.
EDITORIALS
Jun 29, 2007

Insult to meat consumers

The product mislabeling scandal at Meat Hope Co. in Tomakomai, Hokkaido, will deepen consumer distrust of food manufacturers. Police must carry out a thorough investigation. The company not only misled consumers about product content but also carried out practices that compromised product safety. Both...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2007

Office weighs less in the work-life balance

After his son was born last April, Hyogo Prefecture civil servant Akira Hirabayashi decided to cut back on overtime at work. He yearned for more time with little Susumu and also wanted to give his wife, Chie, a chance to return to her teaching job at an elementary school.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 29, 2007

David Helfgott: Genius reborn

Critical praise — not public adulation — has eluded piano virtuoso David Helfgott since his life inspired the hit movie 'Shine.' But that's fine by him
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2007

Pension bills rammed past panel

The ruling bloc forced three controversial bills through a House of Councilors panel Thursday night in a hasty attempt to put a lid on the nation's pension data woes.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 28, 2007

Just who is Gordon Brown?

BRUSSELS — At long last, Gordon Brown is taking over from Tony Blair as Britain's prime minister, thus attaining his lifelong ambition, as if by right. That is his first problem. He has not been elected by anyone — not by the Labour Party, and not by Britain's voters; he has merely come into an inheritance...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2007

Suribachi photog's grave hunted

A U.S. team is slashing its way through thick, thorny underbrush to find a cave where a marine combat photographer was believed killed by Japanese machinegun fire nine days after he filed the iconic World War II flag-raising 62 years ago on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwojima.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 27, 2007

Soft-shelled turtle

* Japanese name: Suppon * Scientific name: Pelodiscus sinensis * Description: This is a medium-sized turtle whose carapace (the upper part of the shell) grows up to 25-cm long, and is colored olive, gray, or mottled pale green/brown. It has a long head with a pointed snout and bulging eyes, giving it...
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2007

Abe, two of his ministers to forgo bonus

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki and Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa will forgo their summer bonuses as Cabinet ministers to take responsibility for the pension record fiasco, it was announced Monday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 26, 2007

The war according to Aso Co.

'Japan the Tremendous,' the new book by Foreign Minister Taro Aso, highlights the peaceful nature of postwar Japan and calls the country a "fount of moral lessons" for Asia. It might even help Aso become Japan's next prime minister.
EDITORIALS
Jun 25, 2007

Hazy fiscal reform plan

The government has approved an economic and fiscal reform plan for 2007 that will serve as the basis for compiling the fiscal 2008 budget. It encompasses a variety of policy measures that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration thinks are necessary to ensure both economic growth and financial reconstruction....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 23, 2007

Feet, feet . . . where would we be without them?

As the weather warms up, off come the tights and socks and it's time for sandals. But what are these? Yes, the two possibly pale, calloused, misshapen — for which read "mistreated" — things upon which you are now standing, called feet.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jun 23, 2007

A doughnut by any other name

Basically, I try to live my life according to that time-tested maxim from the Roman philosopher Seneca, who said wisdom is knowing the proper limit of things.
BUSINESS
Jun 22, 2007

Sony to enter growth mode: Stringer

Sony Corp. Chairman Howard Stringer promised Thursday to shift the struggling electronics and entertainment giant from recovery mode to growth and to boost game offerings for the PlayStation 3, calling the console a key profit driver despite its bungled rollout.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 22, 2007

Simpler treaty for EU's silent majority

LUXEMBOURG — At the European Union's summit this week, debate will center on whether to go forward with a "mini" EU Constitutional Treaty. That debate is the result of the rejection of the draft treaty by French and Dutch voters in 2005. But those "no" votes have obscured the fact that 18 of the EU's...
EDITORIALS
Jun 21, 2007

Relief for pollution victims

Court-mediated talks to settle damage suits filed by some 630 Tokyoites suffering from air pollution-induced asthma are nearing a final stage. In the damage suits they sought a total of 14.8 billion yen from the central government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Metropolitan Expressway Co. and...
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2007

Nuclear industry gears up for global push

KYOTO — Japan's nuclear power industry is pushing to get atomic energy on next year's agenda when this nation hosts the Group of Eight summit meetings, saying it is time world leaders recognize the power source as a practical way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Jun 20, 2007

Gadgets to the rescue — vibrating pillow curbs snoring; toothbrush tracks your hygiene habits

Snoring is like the common cold — they both prove that the world's scientists are clueless about what is important in life. Rather than building a better spaceship, how about just removing these banes from our lives? Francebed, the name of which is only half truthful as it is the moniker of a Japanese...
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2007

Mentally ill exceeded 3 million in '05

The number of Japanese suffering from mental illnesses, including depression and Alzheimer's disease, topped 3 million for the first time in 2005, the government said Friday.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years