search

 
 
JAPAN
May 10, 2001

Tax evasion nets seafood giant

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on Wednesday arrested a former senior official of Maruha Corp., Japan's seafood industry leader, on suspicion of tax evasion, prosecutors said.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2001

BOJ survey shows more believe economy is worse than last year

The number of people who believe the economy is worse off than the previous year jumped to 58 percent in March from 27.4 percent six months before, according to a Bank of Japan survey released Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World / GUEST FORUM
May 10, 2001

Another side of the New Economy

Many East Asian nations look to the New Economy as a possible cure for their recent economic ills, but they are short of good prescriptions. The term was coined to describe the decade-long economic expansion in the United States that was hard to explain on the basis of old economic theories. Lack of...
JAPAN
May 10, 2001

Female on throne fine: Koizumi

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday he would support a woman's ascension to Japan's Imperial Throne, throwing his weight behind a proposal within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to revise the current Imperial House Law.
EDITORIALS
May 10, 2001

'Sold to the highest bidder'

U.S. President George W. Bush's plans for antimissile-defense highlight the threat posed by rogue nations. Many security experts warn that the real national defense issue is not ballistic missiles, but the warheads they carry. Nuclear proliferation is the danger. According to a new study, that threat...
JAPAN
May 10, 2001

Exhibition spotlights Diet members' Silk Road diplomacy

An exhibition of photos of Central Asia taken by 11 Diet members, including former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, opened Wednesday at the Parliamentary Museum in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 10, 2001

Carp rally past Giants

Tomoaki Kanemoto hit a game-tying two-run homer off reliever Hideki Okajima and Kojiro Machida hit a tie-breaking single with runners on second and third in the bottom of the ninth inning in the Carp's 7-6 sayonara win Wednesday night over the Yomiuri Giants in Hiroshima.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2001

Shiseido posts first loss since 1945

Shiseido Co., the nation's largest cosmetics maker, said Tuesday that it posted its first loss in 55 years in fiscal 2000 ended March 31, 2001, due to shortfalls in its pension and retirement reserves.
JAPAN
May 10, 2001

Mob chief gunned down in Machida

A gangland kingpin who was shot a number of times, including once in the head, died at a hospital Wednesday after being found earlier in the day in a condominium stairwell in the western Tokyo suburb of Machida, police said.
COMMENTARY
May 10, 2001

No case for direct election

LONDON -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is reported to have said that the only change he wants to make in the Japanese Constitution is to insert an article providing that the Japanese prime minister be elected by the people of Japan rather than by the Diet. In this he is endorsing a proposal originally...
JAPAN
May 10, 2001

Komura wants deportation explained

Former Justice Minister Masahiko Komura criticized the government Wednesday over Friday's deportation of a man believed to be the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2001

Ex-Tokuyo execs agree to repay 90 million yen

The state-run Resolution and Collection Corp. said Wednesday it has reached an out-of-court settlement with three former managers of the defunct Tokuyo City Bank over dubious loans it extended in 1991.
JAPAN
May 10, 2001

Japan-British Society wants help in recovering records of its activities

For its 100-year anniversary in 2008, the Japan-British Society has started compiling a history of the organization and is asking for the public's help.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
May 10, 2001

High marks for Bush at home

It's 100 days and counting for U.S. President George W. Bush. So far, so good. His approval ratings are better than those of most of his predecessors at this stage. He survived his first international crisis nicely, achieving the return of the American aircrew who ditched their EP-3 surveillance plane...
BUSINESS
May 10, 2001

Kawasaki Heavy wins Embraer deal

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. said Wednesday it has struck a basic agreement with Brazilian aircraft makerEmbraer SA to develop and manufacture the main wings of Embraer's next-generation small jets.
JAPAN
May 10, 2001

Iwate sculptors seek to shape cultural ties

IWATE, Iwate Pref. -- Iwate Prefecture is probably not the first place people would expect to stumble on artists of international renown.
JAPAN
May 10, 2001

State eyes stricter rules to make boating safer

The Transport Ministry launched an initiative Wednesday to revise safety rules and regulations to stem the rising tide of accidents involving motorboats, yachts, ski jets and other recreational vessels.
ENVIRONMENT / IN BLOOM
May 10, 2001

Fuji (wisteria)

"Now that I have reached the age of 60, and my life seems about to evaporate like the dew, I have fashioned a lodging for the last leaves of my years. It is a hut where, perhaps, a traveler might spend a single night. Creeping vines block the trails and the valleys are overgrown, but to the west...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 10, 2001

Long-protected holy mountain to be gutted by highway project

Japan's Environment Minister, Yoriko Kawaguchi, recently told Mick Corliss of The Japan Times that she would like to incorporate an "environmental perspective" into public-works projects. If she is serious, there could be no better place to begin than Mount Takao.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2001

Growth indexes deep in the doldrums

Japan's key gauge on the state of the economy stood at 14.3 percent in March, staying well below the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent for the second straight month, after February's 10 percent, the government said Wednesday in a preliminary report.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 10, 2001

What's your cerebrotype?

In "The Prince," Machiavelli set out his manifesto of duplicity and deception. His name stands for cunning, for forming alliances with those in power. The theory of Machiavellian Intelligence proposes that with the advent of social interaction, the advantage gained by manipulating others was the driving...
BUSINESS
May 10, 2001

Dollar down as investors switch to equities

Triggering the dollar's fall in recent weeks was a switch in the global investment flow back into equities.
JAPAN
May 10, 2001

Koizumi rules out tax increases

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told the Lower House plenary session Wednesday that the government will not hike taxes to mend Japan's debt-ridden finances, but will instead try to curb spending and the issuance of state bonds.
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2001

Europeans wonder if Koizumi can deliver

BRUSSELS -- Despite the initial popularity and purported radicalism of Japan's new prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, there is no evidence yet to show he has the vision or the ability to pull the country out of its economic slump and carry through the reforms necessary to meet the regional and global...

Longform

Construction equipment sits idle in a park near Shiba Toshogu shrine in Tokyo's Minato Ward. While Japan has a history of treating its trees with reverence, green coverage is said to be lacking in most of the major cities.
Do Japan's trees no longer occupy the sacred space they used to?