search

 
 
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2000

Bias suit ruling draws protest

Plaintiff Eiko Shirafuji (second from right) and others form a human chain around the Osaka District Court to protest the court's rejection of a damages suit against Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. over its discrimination against women. OSAKA -- Some 330 people formed a human chain Thursday around...
MORE SPORTS
Sep 1, 2000

Japanese rugby player Iwabuchi hopes to make mark at Saracens

The 2000-01 season will be a significant landmark for Kensuke Iwabuchi. The former Japan international rugby player joined English club Saracens, the team he has dreamed of playing for.
COMMUNITY
Sep 1, 2000

Internet makes itself felt in publishing

Stephen King is currently shaking up American publishers with his experiment in making his novel "The Plant" available for downloading one chapter per month directly from his own Web site. In Japan, too, various ventures are taking place in digital publishing and distribution.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2000

Economists push for transparency

A group of economists and finance professionals from the private sector will today launch what it has termed a "financial NPO" aimed at issuing opinions and recommendations on the nation's financial system.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2000

Mori says he will work toward peace treaty with Russia

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Thursday said he will continue working toward signing a peace treaty with Russia, which would formally end World War II hostilities, by the end of the year.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2000

Derailed work train delays subway

OSAKA -- A rail maintenance train derailed at Nishi-Tanabe Station on the Osaka Midosuji Line early Thursday, affecting some 280,000 commuters, subway officials said.
COMMENTARY
Sep 1, 2000

Faction plots to replace Mori

The focal question in Japanese politics is how the 2001 Upper House election will turn out. Turn-of-the-century politics will hinge on whether the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito and the New Conservative Party will retain its majority in the Upper House, or whether the opposition...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2000

Prospects bleak for Sharif, but may be bleaker still for Musharraf

NEW DELHI -- Pakistan's two most important political figures are facing bleak times.
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Sep 1, 2000

Play that funky Okinawan music

Asian folk music has become a rich source for progressive club music. Hang out in one of Tokyo's happening nightspots and one is apt to hear break beats ping-ponging past Indian sitars or fluttering around Balinese gamelan. But when it comes to Okinawan min'yo or traditional music, there hasn't been...
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2000

Industrial output falls for first time in three months

Industrial output in July dropped 0.7 percent from the previous month -- the first decline in three months -- the Ministry of International Trade and Industry reported Wednesday, although officials said an overall trend of modest increase continues.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2000

Snow's offices searched in criminal liability probe

OSAKA -- Police on Wednesday searched the Tokyo head office and Osaka regional office of Snow Brand Milk Products Co. in a bid to establish criminal liability for the outbreak of food-poisoning that affected thousands of consumers in western Japan this summer.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2000

U.S. military lets press view emergency medical drills

U.S. service members stationed in Japan conduct an emergency medical drill Wednesday at the Sagami Grand Depot in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Pref. YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) The U.S. Army stationed in Japan opened to the media Wednesday a weeklong drill on emergency medical operations being conducted at a military site...
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2000

Panel suggests tax breaks for gifts to nonprofit groups

A Liberal Democratic Party committee on Wednesday drew up a proposal to grant tax breaks to firms or individuals that donate to nonprofit organizations, committee officials said.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2000

Foreigners need help: disaster expert

Tokyo lacks effective policies to help foreign residents survive a massive disaster, which is one of the most urgent challenges facing the metropolitan government, a special antidisaster adviser to Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2000

Pupils evacuated from Miyake settle in at west Tokyo school

Schoolchildren evacuated from Miyake Island arrived Wednesday afternoon at a school in western Tokyo that will be their temporary home shortly after an evacuation order was issued for all parts of the volcanic island.
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2000

Osaka chamber to open B2B market

OSAKA -- The Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday announced that it will set up an electronic commerce market on the Internet for small businesses in October, in cooperation with other regional chambers of commerce and industry.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 31, 2000

Drags lefty Yamamoto clamps down on Carp

Chunichi lefty Masahiro Yamamoto tossed a six-hit shutout against the Carp on Wednesday, leading the Central League's second-place Dragons to a 4-0 victory at Hiroshima Stadium.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2000

Lake reclamation scheme canceled

MATSUE, Shimane Pref. -- Following the ruling coalition's termination of a 37-year-old controversial project to reclaim part of Lake Nakaumi and create 1,470 hectares of farmland, local municipalities are scrambling for new central government spending to make up for the aborted project.
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2000

15 trillion yen set aside for weak banks

The Financial Reconstruction Commission plans to set aside as much as 15 trillion yen in government credit guarantees as a banking safety net following the planned introduction of deposit refund caps, FRC officials said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2000

Tokyu to close two more hotels

Tokyu Hotel Chain Co. will close two of its hotels, in Nagasaki and Naha, on Nov. 30 as part of restructuring efforts, company officials announced Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2000

Justice Ministry set to review penal code

The Justice Ministry plans a major review of Japan's century-old penal system in a bid to bring prison terms and the punishment for commercial crimes more in line with current judicial values.
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2000

Tsutaya eyes ads on cellphone Web sites

A graphic small enough to be hidden under your thumb is expected to bring in millions of yen in revenues for Japan's biggest rental video chain, Tsutaya.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2000

10 trillion yen extra budget urged

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's top policymaker on Wednesday urged the government to draw up a supplementary budget of more than 10 trillion yen to spur economic growth.
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2000

Dollar fall probably correction, not trend

The dollar has failed to climb past the psychological resistance level of 110 yen and is now hovering around 106 yen.
EDITORIALS
Aug 31, 2000

More than a private matter

Not for the first time, members of the Japanese public seem to be proving the experts wrong by their behavior. It is no longer merely a provocative social phenomenon, however, when the means by which they choose to do so is suicide. According to a new report from the National Police Agency, 33,048 Japanese...
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2000

Sony to invest 100 billion yen in plant

Sony Corp. will invest roughly 100 billion yen to build a new manufacturing plant in Kumamoto Prefecture to meet strong demand for electronic devices, the company announced on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2000

Managers wise to be disabled-friendly: speaker

Managers who recruit disabled people and work to accommodate them not only tap an underused well of talent but simultaneously create an environment that will ease the transition of able-bodied workers should they fall victim to repetitive stress injuries or other perils of the modern office.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji