search

 
 
BUSINESS
Jun 24, 2004

China OKs Daiwa Securities gambit

Daiwa Securities SMBC Co. said Wednesday it has been given the green light by the China Securities Regulatory Commission to establish a joint securities house in Shanghai with local brokerage Shanghai Securities Co.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 24, 2004

By the way, how do I look with this raw fish?

There's sushi, and then there's SUSHI. There's the kind you eat in a noisy, friendly atmosphere with all the prices written out in big black characters and taped to the walls. If you feel the act of reading and choosing is too much, just ask for any one of the various sushi setto (sets), depicted in...
BUSINESS
Jun 24, 2004

35.5% rise notched in trade surplus

The trade surplus grew 35.5 percent in May from a year earlier to 934.2 billion yen, as overseas consumers, particularly those in Asia, snatched up Japanese cars, scientific equipment and digital gadgets, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 24, 2004

Nissan eyes high dividends in fiscal 2007

Nissan Motor Co. said Wednesday it will more than double its dividend payment for the fiscal year ending in March 2008.
COMMENTARY
Jun 24, 2004

Constitution faces hard sell

LONDON -- So the great battle of the new European Constitution is over -- at least for the moment. The leaders of 25 member-states of the European Union have agreed and signed up to a massive document, entitled a Constitution, which for the first time gives the EU a legal personality and an authority...
OLYMPICS
Jun 24, 2004

Japan names provisional baseball squad

Japanese baseball officials announced Wednesday a provisional 24-man squad for this summer's Athens Olympics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 23, 2004

Naughty and nice, sugar and spice

Shimotsuma Monogatari Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Tetsuya Nakashima Running time: 103 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] Youth fashion in Japan used to march in lockstep from trend to trend, led by magazines with names like pandas...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 23, 2004

Many questions remain over merger of Buffaloes, BlueWave

July 7 is the date for the big meeting in Japanese baseball. Owners of the 12 Central and Pacific League teams are to get together to decide what will happen with regard to the proposed merger of two PL clubs, the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes and the Orix BlueWave.
EDITORIALS
Jun 23, 2004

Effects of zero-interest rates

More than a decade has passed since the Bank of Japan brought benchmark interest rates to almost zero. Now that Japan's economy is showing signs of steady recovery, it stands to reason that this extraordinary policy of quantitative monetary easing should come to an end. Yet, reversing a policy that has...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 23, 2004

Secrets lodged underneath the skin

The Human Stain Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Japanese title: Shiroi Karasu Director: Robert Benton Running time: 108 minutes Language: English Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] When David Howard, a white aide to the black mayor of Washington, D.C., spoke of a "niggardly"...
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2004

Chip makers scuttle planned alliance

Major semiconductor companies have scrapped a plan to form an alliance to invest in advanced manufacturing facilities, the president of chip maker Renesas Technology Corp. said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 23, 2004

A Korean marriage of high and low art

In Asia, June is traditionally the most popular month for weddings -- as is evident from the ceremonies you'll see happening around you every weekend. It's timely, then, that the current exhibition at the Mingeikan (Japan Folk Crafts Museum) offers a glimpse of the practices and iconography of Korean...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 23, 2004

Smarting from pension snafu, LDP has modest poll hopes

The Liberal Democratic Party must "humbly accept" the harsh public outrage over its recent forced passage of contentious pension reform bills as it strives to retain its strength in the July 11 House of Councilors election, the LDP secretary general said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2004

NEC develops 'bioplastic' that can change shape

An NEC Corp. research unit has developed a new vegetable-based plastic that has the ability to "remember" and change shape.
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2004

IRCJ chief denies entity has failed to live up to its name

Kazuyoshi Kaneko, state minister for the Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan, brushed aside criticism Tuesday that the state-backed corporate rehabilitation body isn't living up to its name.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Jun 23, 2004

Japan crowd overwhelms Jiga + Jinno; New releases spark summer's fire

Weeks of wonder culminated in a long moment of uncertainty when Jiga + Jinno of Analog Pussy took the stage back on April 9 at Cube326.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 23, 2004

It's all in the pursuit

Toy Love Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 5) Japanese title: Neko wa Nandemo Shitteiru Director: Harry Sinclair Running time: 88 minutes Language: English Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] For once, the Japanese title works better than the original -- the New Zealand movie called...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 23, 2004

Putting it in motion

When the British choreographer Matthew Bourne first staged his "Swan Lake" in 1995 at the off-West End Sadler's Wells Theatre, most critics and members of the dance establishment simply didn't know what to make of it. That, however, didn't stop the production becoming an instant hit in the West End...
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2004

Tokyo may retain stake in privatized mail service

The government is considering retaining equity stakes in postal services even after they are privatized, government sources said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 23, 2004

New approach needed in six-party talks

WASHINGTON -- As the six-party talks over North Korea's nuclear program resume late this month, the outlook for success remains as poor as ever. The Bush administration continues to take a firm stand, insisting on complete, verifiable and irreversible North Korean nuclear disarmament before any discussions...
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2004

Japan lifts ban on Dutch poultry

Japan on Tuesday lifted its import ban on poultry and poultry meat from the Netherlands, imposed in March following an outbreak of bird flu in that country, the farm ministry said.
EDITORIALS
Jun 22, 2004

Moment of truth for Iran, IAEA

Doubts surrounding Iran's nuclear-energy program continue to mount. Last week, the governing board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a resolution condemning Iran's failure to come clean about its nuclear plans and urging greater cooperation with the nuclear watchdog. The next steps...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 22, 2004

Buffaloes-BlueWave merger gets green light

The Japanese pro baseball executive committee decided Monday to accept the proposed merger between the Kintetsu Buffaloes and the Orix BlueWave after the two clubs reached a basic agreement on the deal early last week.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 22, 2004

Visa cards, pensions and thesaurus info

Visa card Is it possible to get a zero annual fee Visa or Mastercard from a Japanese bank? It is quite common in the U.S., but I have never heard of or seen one here.
BUSINESS
Jun 22, 2004

More Japanese turning to black vinegar as healthy pep drink

Drinking black vinegar for its health benefits has become increasingly popular, with sales of the brownish-red brew posting significant growth over the last two years.
BUSINESS
Jun 22, 2004

Aioi asks MMC to reimburse 30 million yen payout

Aioi Insurance Co. has asked Mitsubishi Motors Corp. to reimburse the 30 million yen in insurance money it paid out to a person injured in an accident deemed to have been caused by a defect in an MMC truck, Aioi officials said Monday.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Jun 22, 2004

Nova's culture clash

Going to extremes Your article about the Nova no-contact rule was interesting, but seemed to overlook (or at least de-emphasize) one important aspect of the rule. It not only prevents Nova employees from having romantic or potentially romantic contact with any Nova student from any branch, but it also...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / A GAIJIN'S TALE
Jun 22, 2004

Food for thought

I was standing on a relatively crowded late afternoon train, quietly eating a sandwich when I heard in slow, but perfect, English: "It is thought . . . impolite . . . to eat . . . while standing . . . in Japan."

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight