| 20 Nov 09 |
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Sony head sees big things for 3-D Sony Corp. Chairman Howard Stringer forecast 3-D movies, pictures and games will be the electronics maker's next $10 billion business, challenging investors and analysts who say the technology isn't ready to become mainstream. The maker of Bravia... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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Oita president Mizohata to resign OITA (Kyodo) Hiroshi Mizohata will resign as club president of debt-ridden J. League side Oita Trinita, it was learned Friday. Relegated Oita was on the verge of bankruptcy before securing earlier this week a rescue package worth around ¥600 million fro... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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Couple's love story started in Africa  Emmanuel Gbevegnon met his wife, Eriko Hidaka, in 1995 in Niger. Eriko, a native of Yakushima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, was there to help with vaccination activities, using her experience as a nurse. Emmanuel, a native of the city of Cotonou in... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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Williams turns back clock as Dolphins down Panthers CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) With Ronnie Brown lost for the season, the Miami Dolphins turned to their aging running back. Ricky Williams showed he's still got it. |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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Cabinet's shady fund drained by LDP: Hirano Two days after the Aug. 30 Lower House election ended decades of power by the Liberal Democratic Party, the LDP-led government withdrew ¥250 million from a controversial Cabinet secret fund, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said Friday. Th... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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Breaking the Pyongyang pattern U.S. President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak reaffirmed in Seoul on Thursday that they will seek a "definite and comprehensive resolution" to the North Korean nuclear issue. Mr. Obama urged the North to return to the six-party... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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Globalization: a culture killer SEATTLE — A Muslim family sits across from me in a cafe, in a largely Muslim Asian country. An older woman shyly hunches over, desperately trying to avoid eye contact with the giant-screen TV blazing loud music on MTV. The scantily dressed present... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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Michelin exec fears Tokyo's star power may ruffle France's feathers The Epicurean king who oversees the Michelin Guide fears he may be banished from France. His shocking crime? |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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U.S. serviceman admits to Okinawa hit-and-run  NAHA, Okinawa Pref. (Kyodo) The U.S. Army serviceman suspected of hitting a Japanese man with a car and killing him earlier this month in Okinawa has effectively admitted his involvement in the accident and is willing to apologize to the relatives of the... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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Ozawa looming as 'shadow shogun'  The Democratic Party of Japan's oldest lawmaker recently had a few bitter words for his old friend, DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa. Speaking in Fukuoka earlier this month, Kozo Watabe criticized what he considered the monopolization of party... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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BOJ keeps rates low, is upbeat  The Bank of Japan held interest rates near zero amid mounting government pressure for it to fight deflation that could stunt the recovery from the country's worst postwar recession. Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa and his colleagues held the overnight lending... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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Shinginko posts ¥1.07 billion profit Shinginko Tokyo reported Friday an unconsolidated net profit of ¥1.07 billion for the April-September period, the first such profit since the Tokyo Metropolitan Government founded the bank in 2005. The fiscal 2009 first-half profit, compared with ... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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Lower House committees pass bills amid opposition no-show  The Democratic Party of Japan-led ruling coalition passed bills and treaties at several House of Representatives committee sessions Friday that were boycotted by two opposition parties. The bills and treaties included one on compensation for people who... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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DBJ, other creditors let JAL off hook State-owned Development Bank of Japan and other creditors agreed Friday to let struggling Japan Airlines Corp. suspend the repayment of its debts while the carrier is seeking out-of-court restructuring, sources said. The DBJ and JAL may also sign an... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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Kitajima triumphs in return  Two-time double Olympic breaststroke champion Kosuke Kitajima marked his return to domestic competition with victory in the 100-meter breaststroke final at a time trials meet in Tokyo on Friday. Kitajima topped the heats in 1 minute, 2.22 seconds at... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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Wakata to get prime minister award Astronaut Koichi Wakata will receive a prime minister's award for his contribution to the completion of Japan's first manned space laboratory at the International Space Station, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said Friday. Wakata stayed 4 1/2... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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Asashoryu, Hakuho remain on collision course  FUKUOKA (Kyodo) Asashoryu floored Kotoshogiku to stay on course for his 25th Emperor's Cup at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament on Friday. The Mongolian firebrand (6-0) retained his share of the lead with fellow yokozuna Hakuho and maegashira Yoshikaze,... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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Yamato plans Singapore 'takkyubin' Yamato Holdings Co. said Friday it will commence a service similar to its domestic "takkyubin" parcel delivery operation in Singapore in January in light of the city state's good business prospects. Japan's top parcel transport firm unveiled in August a... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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Economy back in state of deflation Japan is in a state of deflation for the first time in about three years, the government declared Friday, warning that falling prices and a further worsening of employment conditions may hurt the nascent economic recovery. "Recent price developments show... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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Spaniard denies being drug smuggler; lay judges hand him 10 years CHIBA (Kyodo) A Spanish man was sentenced to 10 years and fined ¥5 million in a lay judge trial Friday for smuggling illegal stimulants into Japan in May. He had pleaded innocent. Orquin Mompo Fernando, 38, was the second defendant to claim innocence i... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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Same old perk of the ruling party The ruling Democratic Party of Japan Thursday rushed a bill through the Lower House Financial Affairs Committee on Thursday to help small and midsize enterprises overcome cash flow problems. The opposition Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito refused to... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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Homeless man from Osaka finds his place on pitch  A 52-year-old homeless man who spent nine years on Osaka's streets after being fired from his job was in Italy in September as captain of Japan's soccer delegation to the Homeless World Cup. A total of eight men from Tokyo and Osaka who lost their jobs... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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A guide for femurs visiting Japan Finally, what you've all been waiting for: a guide for femurs visiting Japan. Femur, Latin for "thigh," is one of the largest, longest and strongest bones in the body. So it is important to provide them with healthy, cultural things to do when on... |
| 20 Nov 09 |
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American bar, ski lodge owner puts the emphasis on fun  "The first question people ask when you say you're in the bar business in Japan is whether you have to pay money to the yakuza," says Matt Naiman, owner of several bars around Japan and a ski resort. "The answer is no, we don't. When we were building our... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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Just 62.5% of '10 university grads offered jobs next spring: survey The employment rate for students expected to graduate from universities next spring stood at 62.5 percent nationwide as of Oct. 1, down a sharp 7.4 percentage points from a year earlier, a government survey showed Thursday. The figure is the third-lowest... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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Controversy mars France win over Irish  LONDON (AP) France qualified for its fourth consecutive World Cup when officials missed an obvious hand ball by Thierry Henry that led to William Gallas' overtime goal in a 1-1 tie against Ireland on Wednesday night. Greece, Slovenia, Portugal, Algeria,... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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DPJ rams debt relief bill through committee A bill aimed at encouraging lenders to freeze debt repayments for small and midsize companies was set to clear the Lower House late Thursday night after the ruling bloc rammed it through a Diet committee in the first such power play since the Hatoyama... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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Fewer disasters boost first-half profits at major nonlife insurers Six major nonlife insurers said Thursday their group net profits in the April-September period rose from a year earlier as insurance payments slipped below projections on a smaller-than-expected number of natural disasters. They also reported pretax... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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Department store sales dive by 10.5% Department store sales in October dropped 10.5 percent from a year earlier on a same-store basis, falling for the 20th consecutive month as the economic downturn and unfavorable weather discouraged consumer spending, an industry body said Thursday. The... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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Stringer sees gaming, TVs rejuvenating Sony Sony said Thursday it aims to be profitable in gaming and flat-panel TVs by the fiscal year ending in March 2011 as it slashes costs to turn around money-losing businesses. "Our work is already bearing fruit," Chief Executive Howard Stringer said in... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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Hirano taps secret fund, remains mum Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said Thursday he withdrew ¥120 million from the Cabinet's secretive discretionary fund but would not disclose how, or if, he used it. "It is a fact that I requested the withdrawal. I will be responsible in makin... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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Third-period rally propels Oilers past Avalanche  EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) The Edmonton Oilers made themselves right at home after losing four straight games on the road. Ryan Potulny and Patrick O'Sullivan scored third-period goals and the Oilers overcame a two-goal deficit to beat the Colorado Avalanche... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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Ichihashi lawyers slam interrogation methods CHIBA (Kyodo) Lawyers for Tatsuya Ichihashi urged prosecutors and police Thursday to improve their interrogation methods, arguing that a prosecutor had told the suspect during a grilling that he could be hanged for the 2007 murder of Briton Lindsay Ann... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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Sake makes parliamentary debut in U.K.  LONDON (Kyodo) Sake made its way into the British Parliament on Wednesday as the House of Lords gave the opening of a new session a twist to commemorate a landmark anniversary of bilateral relations. At a party hosted by the House of Lords, around 200... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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'Runaway sites' latest Net-based exploitation of young girls  First there were the "enjo kosai" Internet sites where underage girls hook up with adult males in exchange for money. Now there's a new type of Web site that unites girls running away from home with men offering a place to stay in return for sexual... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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IAAF allows Semenya to retain gold medal JOHANNESBURG (AP) South African runner Caster Semenya will keep her 800-meter gold medal from the world championships, and the results of her gender tests will be kept confidential, the South African sports ministry said Thursday. The ministry also said... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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LeBron hurts wrist in loss  WASHINGTON (AP) With LeBron James taking a second-half breather, Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler put the Washington Wizards way ahead. When James returned to the court, instead of leading a comeback, he became part of the problem in his... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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Mitsubishi Chemical to absorb rayon firm Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. said Thursday it will turn major synthetic fiber maker Mitsubishi Rayon Co. into a wholly owned company by March in a deal that could be worth around ¥200 billion. The move will reunite the two companies almost 60 year... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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Superchunk  Dubbed the 19th best single of the 1990s by American mainstream rock rag Spin, the fuzzed-out, power pop anthem "Slack Motherf*cker" from Superchunk's 1990 eponymous debut helped push them to the forefront of the U.S. underground music scene. With A&R... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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Musette delivers taste of France  Louis Vuitton may have charmed Japanese wallets, but if Dominique Cravic and Daniel Colin have their way, musette will soon enchant Japanese ears and minds. Musette is an accordion-centered traditional French music created in Paris in the 1920s from a... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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Imperial treasures shown in full glory  Few objects have surfaced from early Imperial tumuli as, being graves of an extant family, excavation is at present prohibited by the Imperial Household Agency. Nevertheless, the occasional object has come to light in the course of repairs following... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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Five cheating men and a dead girl in the attic It's probably easy to make a complete hash out of something like "Loft" — five men share a loft purely for the purpose of enjoying their mistresses until one evening the bloodied, nude body of a young woman is left on the bed, her wrist handcuffed to... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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'2012' star tells of being John Cusack  HOLLYWOOD — The year 2012, according to the ancient Mayas, is the year Earth destructs and a new cycle of life begins. (The Aztec and other pre-Columbian American calendars also held a cyclical view of the universe, sort of a reincarnation of planets ... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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What lies behind the eccentric?  The German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel wrote that what is "familiarly known" is not "properly known," just for the reason that it is familiar. The familiar historical image of the Edo Period Eccentric painters, one of whom was Ito Jakuchu... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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Back to sleep folks — it's only the end of the world, yet again The new-agers have been talking for ages about the magic year 2012, which is both the end of the Mayan calendar (ooooh!) and the end of psychedelic guru Terence McKenna's "timewave zero" (aaaah!). The idea is that humanity will shift to some vague higher... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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Drawing out North Korea SEOUL — Negotiations over the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula look set to resume. Sadly, they are unlikely to end soon. Talk of a "grand bargain" remains just that — talk. Trust between North Korea and the United States, South Korea and Japa... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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The difference is in the will to destroy a wall PARIS — Walls designed to keep people in or out — whether they are in Berlin, Nicosia, Israel or Korea — are always the product of fear: East German leaders' fear of a mass exodus by their citizens seeking freedom and dignity; Greek and Turkish C... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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Solid foundation for U.S., China U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao held a summit in Beijing earlier this week and agreed to push cooperation on such issues as the fight against global warming, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and efforts to realize a... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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Castle samurai ham for guests, dispatch trash  OSAKA (Kyodo) Foreign tourists watch in amusement as some 20 people dressed in bright red samurai armor pick up cigarette butts and other rubbish around Osaka Castle with tongs designed to look like swords. They are members of the nonprofit organization... |
| 19 Nov 09 |
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War of words continues between Johjima, Nomura New Hanshin Tigers catcher Kenji Johjima's return to Japanese baseball was lauded by many in the NPB community. Just not by Katsuya Nomura, perhaps Japan's best ever at the position. |
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