search

 
 
EDITORIALS
May 7, 2003

Ease lending to small firms

Small businesses in Japan continue to languish in the midst of a protracted economic slump. Compounding their predicament is the tight lending policy of private banks, which are said to be more selective toward smaller borrowers than larger ones. Banks may have their own reasons to restrict lending,...
BUSINESS
May 7, 2003

BOJ board members noted policy's failings

Several members of the Bank of Japan's Policy Board said at an emergency meeting March 25 that quantitative monetary-easing steps taken by the central bank did not produce the desired effects in stimulating the economy, according to minutes of the talks released Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 7, 2003

Vajpayee overture boosts hopes for peace in South Asia

MADRAS, India -- At a time when the world has given up hope of peace between India and Pakistan, essentially because of fighting over Kashmir, New Delhi sprang a surprise. Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee told Parliament some days ago that he was restoring diplomatic relations with Islamabad....
BUSINESS
May 7, 2003

Qualified IT staff still thin on ground

At least one in four major Japanese companies lack qualified information-technology staff despite the high unemployment rate amid the sluggish economy, according to a Kyodo News survey released Tuesday.
SUMO
May 7, 2003

Maru pulls out of summer basho

Stablemaster Musashigawa confirmed Tuesday that Samoan-born grand champion Musashimaru will miss the upcoming Summer Grand Sumo Tournament after failing to fully recover from a nagging wrist injury.
COMMENTARY / World
May 7, 2003

Careworn Blair turns 50

LONDON -- As British Prime Minister Tony Blair passes his 50th birthday, the almost boyish bounce that characterized him in the years when he got to the top of the Labour Party, reformed it and then won two crushing general election victories has been replaced by a more careworn appearance. This may...
BUSINESS
May 7, 2003

Seafood firm, Waseda forge alliance

Seafood maker Natori Co. said Tuesday it will set up a joint venture with Waseda University to develop food items for the elderly.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 7, 2003

Iguchi powers Hawks past 'Wave

Daiei rookie Tsuyoshi Wada fanned 12 batters over the distance in notching his fourth victory and Tadahito Iguchi homered in consecutive at-bats as the Hawks defeated the Orix BlueWave 8-4 at Yahoo BB Stadium on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 7, 2003

MHI plans to green Saudi desert

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Tuesday it will begin to draw up plans this fiscal year to create a greenbelt of about 50 sq. km in the Saudi Arabian desert beside the Red Sea.
BUSINESS
May 7, 2003

Ripplewood to take over Asahi Tec

U.S. investment fund Ripplewood Holdings LLC will obtain a 51 percent stake in auto parts maker Asahi Tec Corp.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 7, 2003

Phil Woods

The intense be-bop style created by Charlie Parker changed the shape of jazz and created an entirely new vocabulary for the saxophone. Few sax players could keep pace with the incredible dexterity and musical intelligence of Bird, though many tried.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 7, 2003

Koby Israelite: "Dance of Idiots"

'Dance of the Idiots" takes the thrust of heavy metal and slams it together with a Balkan restlessness while maintaining a strong Jewish spiritedness. If you've grown up in a musical or cultural blender, this record will make perfect sense to you. If you haven't, it will strike you as highly imaginative...
BUSINESS
May 7, 2003

Nippon TV foreign stake nears 20%

Nippon Television Network Corp. said Tuesday its foreign ownership has increased to 18.8 percent as of March 31, nearing the 20 percent legal limit.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
May 7, 2003

One door opens, another one closes

"The closing of a door can bring blessed privacy and comfort -- the opening, terror. Conversely, the closing of a door can be a sad and final thing -- the opening a wonderfully joyous moment."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 7, 2003

Come on, come on, let's get together

There's collaboration in the air in Japan's contemporary theater world; collaboration between foreign directors and Japanese actors, directors and producers.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 7, 2003

Banda Bassotti

A prominent critic once called the Clash "the only band that mattered," a comment that went beyond appreciation of the band's punk sound and acknowledged its radical political outlook.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 7, 2003

Tsugaru soul man

"Artistic skill that cannot be appreciated by young people is bound to fade away."
MORE SPORTS
May 5, 2003

Hishi Miracle takes Emperor's Cup

KYOTO -- The winner of last year's Japanese St. Leger's, Hishi Miracle, came from off the pace Sunday at Kyoto Racecourse to capture the Emperor's Cup by half a length over Sunrise Jaeger.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 5, 2003

Ham proves to be tougher than Buffalo

Michihiro Ogasawara and Tomochika Tsuboi had three hits each and combined for eight RBIs as the Nippon Ham Fighters trounced the Kintetsu Buffaloes 11-3 at Osaka Dome on Sunday.
COMMENTARY
May 5, 2003

Rudderless world economy

From 1993 to 2001, the administration of U.S. President Bill Clinton based its policies on the Democratic Party's platform of compassion toward the underprivileged and tolerance toward dissent. In the past, this ideology had prompted Democratic administrations to try to legislate an end to racial discrimination....
COMMENTARY
May 5, 2003

Unity needed on nuclear issue

North Korea's statement that it already has nuclear weapons is most likely an exercise in diplomatic brinkmanship aimed at drawing the United States into direct dialogue. But if the statement is true, the security environment surrounding Japan and Northeast Asia will undergo fundamental change.
EDITORIALS
May 5, 2003

Compromise for Mideast peace

A new road map for peace in the Middle East has been proposed to the two parties in the conflict, Israel and Palestine. The Palestine problem is the main focus in ascertaining the shape of a new order in the Middle East following the Iraq war. The new plan, which aims for a comprehensive settlement,...
BUSINESS
May 5, 2003

Japanese government committed to promoting foreign investment

On April 22nd, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry selected five regions in Japan that are making special efforts to attract foreign direct investment.
COMMENTARY
May 5, 2003

China still hasn't learned the right lesson

HONG KONG -- The dismissal on Easter Sunday of Chinese Health Minister Zhang Wenkang and Beijing Mayor Meng Xuenong for their role in covering up the seriousness of the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic was the biggest governmental shakeup in over a decade and has far-reaching ramifications....
BUSINESS
May 5, 2003

Wireless broadband market to hit 92 trillion yen in 10 years: panel

The market for wireless broadband services in Japan is projected to reach 92 trillion yen in a decade, according to projections released Sunday.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
May 5, 2003

Japanese referees adhere to a different set of laws

There are those that will say that last week's 37-31 win by Waseda University over the touring New Zealand Universities side on April 27 was a sign that there is nothing wrong with the local rugby scene.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 4, 2003

Hawks earn second straight 'sayonara' victory

Munenori Kawasaki doubled home the game-winning run in the bottom of the 11th as the Daiei Hawks beat the Lotte Marines 4-3 with their second straight "sayonara" win at Fukuoka Dome.
COMMENTARY
May 4, 2003

U.S. far from tying up Taliban's loose ends

ISLAMABAD -- Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan's transitional government, spent much of his time on a recent visit to neighboring Pakistan discussing the mounting security challenge faced by his beleaguered government.
COMMENTARY / World
May 4, 2003

Avoid hasty reaction to a probable bluff

LONDON -- "They don't negotiate like we do," explained Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and one of the North Korean regime's few channels of communication with the United States, after meeting with Pyongyang's representative in January. "They believe that...

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers