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JAPAN
Apr 28, 2004

Hostage blames state for backlash

The harsh criticism that has been aimed at Japanese civilians taken hostage in Iraq stems from government resentment over their relatives' calls for Tokyo to withdraw its troops from the country, one of the hostages said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 28, 2004

Winning charm points with Mum and Kurosawa

The demands of stardom are not easily ignored: When Jude Law failed to show for a Tokyo press conference in early April with director Anthony Minghella and co-star Renee Zellweger, the disappointment was palpable -- not just among his many female fans, but also that of the film's distributor, who is...
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2004

Honda posts record profit on strong overseas sales

Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday its net group profit grew 8.8 percent to a record 464.3 billion yen in fiscal 2003, due in part to robust sales overseas.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2004

Sharp reports record earnings for fiscal '03

Sharp Corp. on Tuesday reported record earnings for the year that ended on March 31, powered by strong sales of liquid crystal panel TVs and camera-equipped cell phone handsets.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2004

Sony restructuring plan bites into 2003 net profit

Sony Corp. said Tuesday its net profit fell 23 percent to 88.5 billion yen in fiscal 2003 due to heavy restructuring expenses.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2004

Crown Prince set to visit Europe

Crown Prince Naruhito will visit Europe next month to attend wedding ceremonies for the Danish and Spanish royal families and pay a goodwill visit to Portugal.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 28, 2004

Between blue and gray, love finds a way

Cold Mountain Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Anthony Minghella Running time: 152 minutes Language: English Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] Sixty-some years after Scarlett O'Hara clutched that handful of earth and swore she would never go hungry again, another...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 28, 2004

Afloat in Mount Koya's spiritual sea

Mention Mount Koya, a highland in the north-central part of the Kii Peninsula in Wakayama Prefecture, and most people think immediately of the priest Kukai (774-835). Also known as Kobo Daishi, Kukai was the founder of the Shingon sect of esoteric Buddhism, and Mount Koya became the new sect's headquarters....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 28, 2004

Should Buddhist art be left in the temples?

The most poignant work in Kyoto National Museum's "Treasures of a Great Zen Temple, The Nanzenji: Commemorating the 700th Memorial Year of Emperor Kameyama" is a hand scroll titled "Prayer for the Prosperity of Zenrinzenji [Nanzenji]" from the hand of Emperor Kameyama himself.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2004

Consumer sentiment rises again

Consumer sentiment in Japan improved in March from December for the fourth consecutive quarter, the Cabinet Office said in a survey released Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Apr 28, 2004

Polls to change face of Asia

HONOLULU -- Winston Churchill once said "democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried." Recent elections in South Korea and Taiwan have already demonstrated that irony. This year contains a number of presidential and parliamentary elections that promise to...
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2004

FSA discloses results of special audit

The Financial Services Agency said Tuesday it upgraded 23 borrowers that have loans with Japan's 11 major banks, and downgraded 26 others.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2004

Small firms said creating new business

Small and midsize companies have contributed to the creation of new businesses, particularly in the services sector, despite the economic doldrums of recent years, the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency said in an annual white paper released Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2004

Hitachi Metals ordered to pay more to researcher

The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday increased the amount Hitachi Metals Ltd. must pay a former researcher who invented a method of making permanent magnets.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 28, 2004

It's back to the future in style

Casshern Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Kazuaki Kiriya Running time: 141 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] The great age of the megalomaniac director, who dreamt of making big, visionary, no-expenses-spared movies, ended with the silents....
OLYMPICS
Apr 27, 2004

Kitajima vows to deliver gold

Japanese breaststroker Kosuke Kitajima on Monday vowed to bring home the gold from the Athens Olympics as the Japan Swimming Federation unveiled a 20-strong team for this summer's Games.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2004

Nippon Shinpan data may have been leaked

Nippon Shinpan Co. said Monday that personal data of up to 100,000 holders of its NICOS credit cards might have been leaked.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2004

State to check on overtime workers

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry plans to have inspectors make unannounced nighttime visits to companies to clamp down on unpaid overtime and prevent deaths from overwork, ministry sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2004

Government orders former hostages to pay up

The government has demanded that three Japanese civilians previously held hostage in Iraq pay a combined 2.37 million yen to the state to cover expenses it incurred after their release, an official representing a Foreign Ministry affiliate said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2004

Hostages 'anti-Japan': lawmaker

A Liberal Democratic Party member of the House of Councilors on Monday described the Japanese civilians recently released from captivity by militants in Iraq as "antigovernment, anti-Japan elements."
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2004

Government relieved as LDP wins all Lower House by-elections

Government and ruling coalition leaders breathed a sigh of relief Monday after the Liberal Democratic Party won all three House of Representatives by-elections held Sunday in a possible prelude to July's House of Councilors poll.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2004

Polish envoy calls on Japan to boost investment, tourism

Polish Ambassador Marcin Rybicki on Monday called on Japan to invest more in Poland and encourage more of its citizens to visit his country.
EDITORIALS
Apr 27, 2004

Mixed marks for Mr. Koizumi

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who completed his third year in office on Monday, is already one of the nation's longest-serving postwar prime ministers. Although the stratospheric popularity he enjoyed early in his administration is no more, media polls still give him considerably high approval ratings...
BUSINESS
Apr 27, 2004

Nissan saw profit reach record level in fiscal '03

Nissan Motor Co. said Monday it posted a record group operating profit of 825 billion yen for fiscal 2003, up 11.9 percent from the previous year.

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