Search - business

 
 
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 15, 2009

The end of the long march

CARLSBAD, Calif. — Sixty-seven years ago this month, on April 9, 1942, I was surrendered to the Japanese Imperial Army on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. At my first prison camp, the Japanese commandant turned to the American prisoners of war (POWs) and told us that we were "lower than dogs"...
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Apr 15, 2009

These kanji have literally all gone to the dogs

Despite tough economic times, many dog owners in Japan still shell out big yen to pamper their pooches: Delectable ドッグおやつ (dogguoyatsu, dog snacks), perky 犬洋服 (inuy ōfuku, dog clothing), and outings to the 犬の美容院 (inu no biyōin, dog beauty salon) are de rigueur for the coddled...
EDITORIALS
Apr 14, 2009

Record-breaking stimulus

The government has compiled the largest-ever economic stimulus package in the form of a fiscal 2009 supplementary budget, involving actual spending of ¥15 trillion. This is much larger than the past biggest stimulus package of ¥7.6 trillion, which the Obuchi administration compiled as a third supplementary...
EDITORIALS
Apr 14, 2009

Recession and suicides

The National Police Agency has announced that 32,249 people killed themselves in 2008, making it the 11th consecutive year that the annual suicide rate has topped 30,000. The NPA added that 2,645 people killed themselves in January and 2,470 in February this year. The January figure is 340 more than...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2009

Finnish cell phone maker targets well-heeled with luxury handsets

The mobile phone made of platinum and black ceramic has a sapphire crystal display and a scroll key made of a diamond. The most expensive model in the shop in Tokyo's Ginza district costs ¥6 million.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Apr 14, 2009

Job firing launched labor activist on career

You may have seen him on TV, commenting on Nova teachers who lost their income and housing when the language school went bankrupt in November 2007. Or you may have seen him marching through Shibuya, leading a chant of "Tatakau zo! (We'll fight!)" and calling for solidarity and action among workers. Or...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 14, 2009

'A battle for Japan's future'

Despite being Japan's most densely populated area, Warabi rarely causes a blip on the national media radar.
LIFE / Style & Design / JAPAN FASHION WEEK
Apr 12, 2009

Menswear seeks meaning

The luxury market is taking a beating; world-famous German minimalist fashion designer Jil Sander is working with Uniqlo, H&M are taking over Tokyo high streets and Number (N)ine, a top Japanese menswear label, has gone out of business.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 12, 2009

Veteran announcer Bickard calling NPB games on TV in English

Did you know there is English-language coverage (though very limited) of some Pacific League games in Japan?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / JAPAN-CHINA-U.S. SYMPOSIUM
Apr 11, 2009

Can Japan, U.S., China work together?

Japan, China and the United States — the world's three largest economies — all face long-term challenges even after they successfully emerge from the current global crisis, Chinese and Japanese scholars told a recent symposium in Tokyo.
EDITORIALS
Apr 11, 2009

Restricting online drug sales

The health and welfare ministry has plans to prohibit in principle mail-order and Internet sales of some drugs from June 1. Such sales reportedly totaled about ¥80 billion in 2007. It is true that using these methods to sell drugs can pose safety issues. On the other hand, some people benefit from mail-order...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2009

Ranks of homeless swell in Osaka

OSAKA (Bloomberg) Within two months of losing his job packing shelves at a cold-storage company in Osaka, Toshiyuki Miki said, he was homeless. He counts himself among the many people worldwide whose life has been turned upside down in the wake of the "Lehman Shock."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 10, 2009

Bach leads Tokyo classical festival

"I told myself to combine the study of commerce and my passion for music," says French producer Rene Martin, who has built on those foundations to pursue his vision of democratizing classical music through the annual spectacular he's named La Folle Journee (Days of Enthusiasm).
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 10, 2009

Musician paves his own way

Described by fans as a "cross between the Dead Kennedys, the Violent Femmes and Weezer," Canadian singer-songwriter Laurier Tiernan and his backing band will perform April 12 at What The Dickens in Ebisu, Tokyo.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 10, 2009

Musician paves his own way

Described by fans as a "cross between the Dead Kennedys, the Violent Femmes and Weezer," Canadian singer-songwriter Laurier Tiernan and his backing band will perform April 12 at What The Dickens in Ebisu, Tokyo.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2009

Aso reveals new plan to create 2 million jobs

Prime Minister Taro Aso pledged Thursday that the government will try to create 1.4 million to 2 million new jobs in the next three years by spurring ¥40 trillion to ¥60 trillion in new demand.
BUSINESS
Apr 10, 2009

JAL may seek DBJ funding as bond redemptions loom

Japan Airlines Corp., Asia's most indebted carrier, said Thursday it may seek funds from state-run Development Bank of Japan to repay debt as widening losses make it harder for the carrier to borrow from bond markets.
Reader Mail
Apr 9, 2009

An admirable Japanese export

Regarding the March 25 article "Japanese give Paris tidiness lesson": It is nice to learn that the Japanese are trying to spread their culture of cleanliness to other places. Every time I returned to my country after spending a year in Japan, I used to get a shock when I saw the difference. Some people...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / STYLE WISE
Apr 9, 2009

Kalivas goes 'Goemon,' Marjoli shines bright and Sistere makes Kyoto urban

Fantasy after fashion Tina Kalivas will get to see her creations on the big screen this May, as the Australian fashion designer produced the costumes for the new Japanese film "Goemon." The movie is based on the legend of a Robin Hood-like hero and was directed by Kazuaki Kiriya, who was responsible...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2009

Sri Lanka envoy seeks aid to rebuild country

Sri Lanka is hoping for further economic assistance from Japan to rebuild the northeast- ern part of the island previously controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam once the long-running civil war comes to an end, the country's ambassador to Japan said Tuesday.
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Apr 7, 2009

Kenyan Embassy puts positive spin on charity cause

Impoverished children, war-torn homes, towns ravaged by epidemics, land devastated by floods and droughts — these are some of the most powerful images of Africa, and also the most commonly used to encourage charity donations. But, organizers of a fundraising event for Kenyan children late last month...

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