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Sunnis has reached a basic agreement with a secular group to form a bloc to take part in a coalition government.
It's been criticized that the governing Liberal Democrats used former Livedoor president Takafumi Horie as a symbol of reform in the lower house election in September.
The LDParty denied any connection between Mr Koizumi's structural reform policies and the Livedoor scandal. The party said it is right that capable persons pull and lead Japan's society as a result of competition. The New Komei Party said the LDP should reflect on the scandal and take necessary measures to relieve losers from reform as it has been widening the gap between rich and poor.
The main issue surrounding Facebook is one of trust. Privacy advocates on the Web are always wary of any website that asks for detailed personal information, and Facebook takes this to the extreme by displaying entire social networks. However, most Facebook users seem to trust it deeply, providing full friends lists, phone numbers, and personal photo albums.
According to the latest survey, there have been enough job openings to satisfy job seekers in Japan in December for the first time in 13 years and three months.
Lower House has passed a bill to compensate asbestos victims. The chamber approved the bill, and sent it to the Upper House.
The Japanese government puts top priority on resolving the abduction issue and must urge North Korea to return all surviving Japanese abductees.
It is also important for the two sides to discuss security issues.
Norway's capital Oslo has displaced Tokyo as the world's most expensive city. Tokyo had stood at number one for the past 14 years.
The visit to China by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il will lead the North to abandon its nuclear programs.
Orchestra conductor Seiji Ozawa has canceled all his appearances this year as music director of the Vienna State Opera because of health problems.
Elementary school students took tests to enter four public integrated middle and high schools that are opening this spring in Tokyo. This year a total of 6,670 students have applied for five such schools. Since competition for places is so high, three schools held preliminary selections based on school records. While competition for entrance to private middle schools has become even more severe, the low fees charged by public integrated middle and high schools have caused a boom in popularity and increased competition for places. But private middle schools will have a hard time to survive, because a lot of students like to go to public schools whose tuition fees are much lower.
There are wide differences between the Japanese and the North Korean positions. It is by no means easy to make North Korea understand Japan's point of view. The Japanese government will take an affirmative stance if the abduction issue remains stalled. It calls for dialogue and pressure.
Japan aims to resolve the territorial issue and then conclude a peace treaty with Russia. Japan must continue its efforts to find a solution acceptable to both countries. It is important to spotlight the wishes of the Japanese and to support Japan's diplomatic efforts.
Princess Akishino is pregnant. If the baby is a boy, he will be third in line to the throne, under the current Imperial Household Law. The government plans to submit a bill to revise the law that aims to allow females to ascend to the Imperial throne during the current session. Koizumi says that it's hopeful to revise the law which everyone will be satisfied, but there are arguments both for and against in the public. So we need to discuss carefully about this matter.
North Korea will no longer adhere to its moratorium on missile test launches. The talks were held in Beijing to discuss security issues.
The US trade deficit marked a record high in 2005. US imports rose 12.9 percent last year and that exports grew by 10.4 percent. The overall US trade deficit increased 17.5 percent from a year earlier.
Japan and China remain divided over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine. I think it is important for Japan and China to deepen future-oriented relations.
Protests by Muslims continued around Europe on Saturday over Danish newspaper cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad.
A Muslim leader criticized the cartoons as harassment of Islam under the excuse of freedom of expression. He called for dialogue based on mutual respect to solve the issue. The rally emphasized a peaceful resolution of the issue without resorting to violence.
In Paris, nearly 10,000 Muslims marched in downtown areas.
Iran has resumed uranium enrichment work, which could lead to nuclear weapons development.
Tension between Iran and the international community is expected to worsen.
Agriculture minister Shoichi Nakagawa says Japan will oppose plans to revise guidelines on international beef trade, which would lead to the relaxing of restrictions to prevent mad cow disease, or BSE.
The beef that does not contain bone should be authorized for trade, regardless of the age of the cattle or whether it was tested for BSE.
Shoichi Nakagawa/Agriculture Minister
"The US beef problem has been discussed by the public and by parliament. To ensure food safety, Japan should adopt a cautious stance on the revision, as it appears to favor beef exporters over importers."
Prosecutors accuse Livedoor of fraud. Livedoor deceived investors by announcing Livedoor Marketing intended to buy publisher Money Life Co to inflate its stock price.
The Diet passed a bill to abolish the controversial pension system for members of the national legislature. It was proposed by the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito.
During the ordinary Diet session in 2004, it came to light that some Diet members had not joined or failed to pay premiums into the national pension system (kokumin nenkin).
The government at the time was planning to raise premium payments.
Under that system, a person who has served as a Diet member for 10 years or more and has continued to pay the monthly premium of 103,000 yen over the period acquires the right to receive monthly benefits at 65.
member.
By contrast, participants in the kokumin nenkin system and the pension system for salaried workers (kosei nenkin) must pay monthly premiums for 25 years to be eligible for a pension. about 230,000 yen. If they pay the monthly premium of about 13,600 yen for 40 years, their monthly pension is about 66,000 yen.
The Japanese economy is growing strongly. GDP was up 1.4 percent from the previous quarter.
Japanese began filing 2005 income tax returns Thursday. People who have spent 100,000 yen or more for medical expenses last year and those who have purchased houses with the help of bank loans are eligible for tax refunds.
Thousands of Muslims have made a protest in central London against the publication of cartoons depicting their prophet Muhammad. The first bird flu outbreak in poultry has been confirmed in India. The government of western Maharashtra state said it has confirmed the first bird flu in India after receiving a report that about 50,000 birds died.
A LDP official asked for Chinese understanding on Yasukuni issue.
Three Japanese skaters did run-throughs worthy of competition. Suguri, the Japanese champion, did her program flawlessly.
Ando tried to land a quadruple jump twice and succeeded one. Arakawa, who won the 2004 world championship. Mao Asda, who is Grand Prix final winner, is too young to take part in.
Environment Ministry has turned off its office heaters for one week, as part of its campaign to help curb global warming.
Rescue workers on Leyte Island in the Philippines are still searching for missing people, five days after a massive landslide.
They are focusing their effort around an elementary school, where many children are feared buried.
China opposes Mr Koizumi's visits to the shrine.
Tokyo prosecutors have given new arrest warrants to the former president and executives of Internet firm Livedoor on suspicion of window-dressing the company's financial figures. The government has upgraded its assessment of the overall economy for the first time in six months, saying the economy is stronger due to personal spending.
Arakawa has won the gold medal in women's figure skating at the Turin Winter Olympics.
JAL is about to get a management overhaul.
It's been announced that President Toshiyuki Shinmachi will resign. The move will put an end to internal conflict.
The airline's board of directors has decided that Mr Shinmachi will leave his post after the shareholders' meeting in June.
He will become chairman of the board and will have nothing to do with the day-to-day operation of the company.
General Motors and Japan's compact car maker Suzuki Motor Corporation have agreed to maintain their strategic alliance, although GM will sell most of its 20 percent stake in Suzuki.
Suzuki Motor Chairman Osamu Suzuki disclosed the agreement at a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
It would be natural for the US to impose financial sanctions on a bank in Macau to protect the US financial system.
Many Japanese universities are fighting to survive. The competition to attract good students will become tougher as universities try to maintain their academic standards by having good students as well as good faculties. "Many universities will face financial difficulties. To overcome them, some universities will have to cut departments that are highly respected or expensive. However, closing those departments would reduce the academic status of the universities.
One of the most important aspects of survival will be the ability of a university's international status to attract students from abroad.
Team Japan has won the first World Baseball Classic championship.
Ichiro Ozawa has appointed rival candidate Naoto Kan as his deputy in the Democratic Party. Ozawa met Mr Kan and party Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama at the party's headquarters on Saturday, the day after the leadership election.
He asked Mr Kan to assume the vice-presidential post and asked Mr Hatoyama and other party executives to stay on in their positions.
Mr Ozawa called for unity so the whole party can rise united from the recent scandal.
Former leader Seiji Maehara resigned owing to a fake e-mail message.
Okinawa Governor has told the Defense Agency chief that the prefecture cannot accept a new government plan on the relocation of a US military airfield in the prefecture.
The meeting came one day after Nago City accepted a revised plan to construct two runways in the coastal area of US Camp Schwab to replace the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station.
The revised plan calls for building two runways.
There are the moves to resume six-party talks over North Korea's nuclear development program, suspended since last November.
A group of Japanese citizens are calling on the United States, South Korea, Russia and China to help rescue members of their families abducted to North Korea.
Yasukuni Shrine honors major Japanese war criminals of World War Two. Mr Koizumi told reporters on Monday that the government is not in a position to make such suggestions.
Democratic Party leader Ichiro Ozawa said it is wrong for Mr Koizumi to make annual visits to Yasukuni Shrine. The shrine honors those who died for Japan in past wars and Japanese leaders convicted as war criminals after World War Two.
DNA tests have confirmed that the husband of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted and taken to North Korea, was a South Korean who had also been abducted.
An NHK poll shows that 40 percent of respondents say Japan's Constitution should be revised.
NHK conducted random telephone interviews with people aged 20 and over,. 1,097 people.
Asked about whether Japan's Constitution should be revised, 42 percent of respondents say yes, while 19 percent are against a revision.
In today's high-stress society, many people turn to painkillers for relief.
Massaging the right pressure points can be good, but finding the right therapist isn't easy.
Massage clinics and relaxation specialists can be seen all over Japan. While it may seem to be a profit-making boom, Japanese have used acupressure to ease pain for more than 1,000 years.
So why aren't we all regularly receiving massage treatment?
Perhaps the biggest reason is the mixed quality of practitioners. How can you tell from the signs outside the ubiquitous clinics/salons whether they are competent, average, unqualified -- or even part of the sex industry?
The oldest reference to anma -- traditional massage therapists -- dates back to the Taiho Ritsuryo (Taiho Code) in the 8th century. Later, in the 1300s to 1400s, anma and acupuncture were taught in schools for the blind.
During Meiji Era Japan's embrace of all things Western, massage techniques were imported from France and became integrated with anma.
Present-day anma, which means "pressing and stroking," often involves rapid moves of the fingers. Practitioners try to relax tense muscles and improve blood circulation by applying pressure to tsubo points across one's body with the balls of the thumbs and fingers. Tsubo points are believed to accumulate fatigue and stress.
Shiatsu practitioners also apply pressure with their fingers, but use their elbows as well, and tend to apply slower, more constant pressure. In reality, unless practitioners tout themselves specifically as shiatsu experts, they probably use a combination of both.
The government-certified title for massage practitioners is "anma, massage and shiatsu-shi." A growing number are not accredited by the government.
As a result, many of the massage clinics and salons that you see around town are not licensed by the government. Nor are there government qualifications for chiropractic and seitai (osteopathy).
Massaji-shi Kai (Zenshin), is stepping up action against private practitioners, which they say are engaged in "illegal activities."
Japan's economy is continuing to recover. Personal spending and corporate production are both continuing to grow moderately. The government upgraded its assessments of exports from last month's "moderately increasing" to "increasing," due to higher exports to Asian countries and the United States.
The report keeps the assessment on capital spending unchanged, saying it is increasing, thanks to improving corporate earnings and growing demand.
With the government's declaration of an economic recovery in April, the current growth period has now reached 4 years and 3 months.
This period has already been as long as the bubble economy from the late 1980s into the early 1990s. The so-called bubble was Japan's second-longest period of expansion after World War Two.
Democratic Party has won in a by-election for the Japanese parliament.
In the election for a Lower House seat Ms Kazumi Ota defeated four other candidates, including governing Liberal Democratic Party candidate Ken Saito.
Ms Ota got 87,046 votes against Mr Saito's 86,091. She called for an end to the widening gap between rich and poor.
leader Ozawa."
The Democratic Party's newly elected president Ichiro Ozawa reiterated the party could regain people's support in this election.
NHK's political reporter says things are heating up between the ruling and opposition parties towards the upper house election next summer.
The Yamanote Line was halted six hours after an abnormality on the tracks near Takadanobaba Station in Tokyo.
Passengers from a stranded JR Yamanote Line train climbed onto the platform at Takadanobaba Station on Monday after walking along the tracks.
JR East said a 50-meter stretch of track about 5 cm higher than usual was found about 600 meters south of JR Takadanobaba Station in Shinjuku Ward.
The number of job offers for students graduating from universities next March in Japan will rise 18 percent from this year. It has marked the highest levels since 1991.
The major Japanese data service firm Recruit surveyed over 7,000 firms across the country and got about 4,000 responses.
The former president of the Internet firm Livedoor, Takafumi Horie, paid the bail of 2.6 million dollars. leaving the Tokyo detention house. Mr Horie is charged with securities and exchange law violations, and had been in jail for 95 days, but he denied all allegations.
Despite it being the middle of a weekday, men occupy about 60 percent of the theater's 96 seats. "I drop in whenever I'm free," says a 58-year-old man who comes to the theater once a week. "With a rich variety, each movie is interesting.
"It is better to see a movie on a large screen," he adds.
In fact, opportunities are increasing for general audiences to see soft-core porn.
Soft-core porn has its roots in 'roman porno,' as it's known in Japan. Roman porno is the shortened Japanese-English form of "romantic pornography."
In fact, opportunities are increasing for general audiences to see soft-core porn.
Men see them because of their sexual interest, but even women should not dislike them."
To our surprise, he number of people newly confirmed as AIDS patients or as HIV-positive in Japan hit a record high in 2005.
Television commercials play a key role in initiating the problem of people running up huge debts with consumer credit firms.
The Japan Consumer Information Center asked 585 people struggling with multiple debts what made them borrow from consumer credit firms in the first place.
Nearly 40 percent said it was TV commercials for consumer credit.
TV commercials had a particularly strong influence on younger people, being the key factor in starting the debt problem for about 66 percent of those in their 20s, and about 53 percent of those in their 30s.
In 2008 middle class people will have to pay 20% of medical fees. The burden on the patients wii be heavier. If your annual income is over 5.2 million yen, you will have to pay 30% of medical fees.
It has been found that this year the major banks in Japan has got the largest profits over the past few years. They can get a lot of bonuses.
three boys died owing to fire. the oldest 7 years old, the youngest 1. then their mother was working at a company. only three boys were left home. the oldest sent an emai to his mother when he was dying. it was a very sad story.
again there was a powerful earthquake in Indonesia, Java. Accodring to Leuters more than 2700 people died. The epicenter was 26 kilometes away from ----.