search

 
 
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2002

Automakers launch price war

Automakers are waging a price war in an attempt to lift sales amid the prolonged recession.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2002

Gulliver's Kingdom finally finds a buyer

KOFU, Yamanashi Pref. -- Fuji Gulliver's Kingdom, a failed theme park at the foot of Mount Fuji, was finally auctioned off Thursday to a resort company for 1.48 billion yen, following two unsuccessful rounds since its collapse a year ago.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Nov 22, 2002

A taste of theater with a twist

There's about to be a hanging at Tokyo's Hibiya High School -- and the auditorium is packed with students who've come to see it.
COMMENTARY
Nov 22, 2002

Koizumi deserves more time

The political situation is beginning to show signs of yearend tumult. At the beginning of the fall, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was doing fine. In September he visited Pyongyang and managed to extract an apology from North Korean leader Kim Jong Il for the abduction of Japanese nationals in the...
COMMUNITY / NOTES FROM THE SMOKE
Nov 22, 2002

Iidabashi offers cheap passport to movie heaven

Going to the movies is one of life's great simple pleasures.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2002

Osaka to sell resort, apartments

OSAKA -- The financially strapped Osaka Prefectural Government will sell off all of its 1,185 employee housing units and its seaside resort in a bid to raise cash and narrow its gaping budget deficit, sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2002

Mitsui ties with Yoshimoto Kogyo

Trading house Mitsui & Co. said Thursday it has tied up with Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., a leading entertainment production group, to produce and sell "shochu" distilled spirits.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2002

Japan to host donor talks in aid of Aceh peace process

Japan plans to host a donor conference early next month to support the peace process in Indonesia's Aceh Province in light of a forthcoming peace accord between Jakarta and rebels, government sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2002

Plunging ad revenues hit Nippon Television profit

Nippon Television Network Corp. said Thursday its group net profit for the first half to Sept. 30 plunged 45.3 percent from a year earlier to 10.87 billion yen. Group pretax profit fell 35.9 percent to 23.1 billion yen on a 9.3 percent drop in operating revenues to 170.37 billion yen.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2002

Extra budget to feature 3 trillion yen in fresh funds

The government and ruling parties agreed Thursday that the supplementary budget for fiscal 2002 will feature 3 trillion yen in fresh spending, with 1.5 trillion yen earmarked for both public works projects and safety net measures.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2002

Nintendo's pretax profit down 84%

Nintendo Co. said Thursday its group pretax profit logged a year-on-year decline of 83.7 percent in the first half, coming in at 8.42 billion yen.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Nov 22, 2002

Finding a place and food for Thanksgiving

Finding a place Andrew in Kanagawa-ken wants to know how to help his daughter's French boyfriend get accommodation.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Nov 22, 2002

"Noughts and Crosses," "Krazy Kow Saves the World -- Well, Almost"

"Noughts and Crosses," Malorie Blackman, Corgi Publishing; 2002; 445 pp. Children's writers often conjure up imaginary worlds in their fiction; and making those worlds convincing is no easy job. Perhaps there's one thing that's harder, though -- writing a compelling story that makes us think about our...
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2002

False auto insurance claims rising

Fraudulent claims for auto accident insurance this year amounted to 310 as of the end of October, 88 more than all of last year, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2002

Prince dies after collapse on embassy squash court

Prince Takamado died Thursday night at a Tokyo hospital after collapsing during a squash lesson at the Canadian Embassy in the afternoon, the Imperial Household Agency said. He was 47.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2002

Science grads shift to service sector

The service sector, especially software industries, became the largest employer of university science and technology graduates last spring, overtaking manufacturing, according to the National Institute of Science and Technology Policy.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 22, 2002

Japanese movies eyed for makeover

With "The Ring," the horror film based on the 1998 Hideo Nakata hit "Ringu," sailing past the $100 million mark in the United States, remakes of Japanese and other Asian films are suddenly hot in Hollywood.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Nov 22, 2002

Oily cicada

* Japanese name: Abura zemi * Scientific name: Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata * Description: The body length of this large cicada is between 32-40 mm as an adult. Like any true bug, the wings are held over the body and form an upside-down V-shape. The mottled wings look like they have a coating of oil...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2002

Daiei kicks off crucial nationwide sale with help from Oh

Struggling supermarket chain Daiei Inc. started Thursday a crucial yearend sale at its 271 stores across the country.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2002

Wowow maneuvers into the black

Satellite broadcaster Wowow Inc. said Thursday it swung back into the black in the fiscal first half to Sept. 30 due largely to cost cuts.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Nov 22, 2002

Are our schools ready for a big one?

Every few months, I have the same nightmare: A major earthquake strikes Tokyo when my kids are at school. The city is in ruins. There's no electricity, the phones are out and the trains have stopped. I run through the streets, unable to find my children, until I wake up in a cold sweat.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Nov 22, 2002

Reduce friendly matches, not Champions League games

LONDON -- Tord Grip, the assistant to England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, once sat next to a supporter on a plane bound for a game in Germany. The fan remarked to the Swede who watches at least three games each week at home and abroad: "You must have lots of air miles."
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2002

Five war-displaced Japanese return

Five Japanese left behind in China during and after World War II arrived Thursday at Narita airport in Chiba Prefecture for meetings with their possible relatives in Japan.
EDITORIALS
Nov 22, 2002

Achilles' heel in FTA progress

In a major shift of trade strategy, Japan is moving toward concluding bilateral and regional free-trade agreements. In January of this year the nation signed its first FTA with Singapore. Now it is negotiating a similar arrangement with Mexico. And looming over the horizon are FTAs with South Korea and...
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2002

GDP likely to drop over 7% from slack birthrate

The gross domestic product is expected to decrease between 7.8 percent and 8.6 percent in 2025 from 533.7 trillion yen in 2001 due to a decrease in the labor force caused by the falling birthrate, labor minister Chikara Sakaguchi said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2002

One in three Internet users in Japan link via broadband

More than one in three Internet users in Japan use broadband transmission systems such as asymmetrical digital subscriber line services, according to a survey released Wednesday by Nomura Research Institute.

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