Search - news

 
 
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 3, 2002

Newly noticed whiskey makers forced to diversify products

It's winter, the perfect season to sip a glass of whisky on a long, quiet night to warm up, as well as a good time to sample the variety of quality whiskeys available on the market.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2002

Municipalities leaning toward mergers

More than 60 percent of the nation's cities, towns and villages, particularly those with aging or declining populations, are considering mergers, according to a poll released Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2002

Hatoyama to visit India this month

Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, said Monday he will make a four-day visit to India this month to call for a peaceful solution to the country's standoff with Pakistan.
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2002

Nikkeiren pushes job-sharing to stabilize unemployment

Employers and employees will eventually agree on wage cuts in the form of work-sharing as they undergo the much expected pains of ongoing structural reforms initiated by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the chief of Japan Federation of Employers Association (Nikkeiren) said.
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2002

Economy to be severe in first half: BOJ

The state of the nation's economy will likely remain severe in the first half of 2002 as a result of the Prime Minister's ongoing structural reforms, according to the chief of the central bank.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2002

Bad times spark new breed of lottery fan

Masao Kitasawa, 58, is a lottery fan. He buys about 10 lottery tickets a week, spending roughly 10,000 yen a month to "dream a little."
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2001

A year of fear and confusion

The war in Afghanistan is just about over. Contrary to most expectations, the U.S.-led coalition avoided the traps that had ensnared previous enemies of governments in Kabul. Its bombing campaign succeeded in exterminating a loathsome regime and the terrorists it harbored. Yet despite that impressive...
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2001

Sunken mystery ship's sister vessel docks in North Korea

A vessel suspected of being in a fleet that included an unidentified ship that sank Dec. 22 in the East China Sea after exchanging fire with Japanese patrol boats has returned to North Korean shores, according to well-placed sources.
EDITORIALS
Dec 30, 2001

Little bags of luckiness

Just about a month ago, at the start of the holiday shopping season, consumers in Japan and other affluent countries were being urged to sit on their wallets for "Buy Nothing Day," the now annual and global act of homage to self-restraint. Get in the habit of buying only what you need, not what you want,...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2001

2001 a banner year for Beijing

The year 2001 has been a good one for China. It won the right to host the 2008 Olympics, which should raise the country's status in the world. After 15 arduous years of negotiations, it finally joined the World Trade Organization, which will provide momentum for additional economic reforms. And despite...
JAPAN / Media / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 30, 2001

A holiday basking in the blue glow

Depending on how you feel about the New Year's holidays and Japanese TV programming in general, the first week of the year is either the best week for TV or the worst. Most New Year's specials mimic what the average Japanese family is doing at home. Celebrities sit around in their finest holiday duds...
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Dec 30, 2001

Reasons to celebrate good-tasting bargains

Recent Vineland columns have focused on distinctive, luxury wines for holiday gift-giving and festive dinners. For our last column in 2001, we pursued an elusive category -- delicious bargain party bottles. It's a tantalizing quest. Few achievements are more gratifying to a wine lover than discovering...
COMMUNITY
Dec 30, 2001

O-Shogatsu: a custom-made holiday

Yoshio Mamiya doesn't need reminding that o-shogatsu is almost here. For several weeks, the 78-year-old craftsman has been working 12-hour days, seven days a week at his studio in the Sanno district of Tokyo's Ota Ward, where he busily stitches away to meet his customers' demand to renew their domestic...
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2001

Doctor may have abused organ transplant system

A physician who served as coordinator for the Japan Organ Transplant Network, the organization responsible for coordinating the nation's organ transplants, may have used his influence to obtain organs for one of his patients, sources close to the case told Kyodo News.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 30, 2001

Delicious plum choices from 2001

In a city the size of Tokyo, it is simply impossible to visit every single new restaurant or to keep track of changes at all the established places. For that reason, the Food File does not presume to assign year-end rankings or pronounce its best-of lists for the year, especially since, in the end, it...
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2001

Takebe hit for querying need to find source of mad cow

Senior members of the opposition parties demanded Friday that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi remove farm minister Tsutomu Takebe from office for his recent comment indicating his reluctance to look into the source of mad cow disease.
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2001

Jobless rate climbed to 5.5% in November

The unemployment rate climbed to 5.5 percent in November, setting a record high for the third consecutive month with job losses by middle-aged, full-time male workers showing a marked increase, the government announced Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2001

Tanaka clarifies her comments on Taiwan

Following protests from Taiwan, Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka on Friday clarified her earlier remarks that she hoped the sovereignty of Taiwan would be resolved peacefully, as Hong Kong was returned to China.
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 28, 2001

Avispa names Imai as new boss

Avispa Fukuoka, which has been relegated to Division Two next season, has named Philippine coach Masataka Imai as new manager, the J. League club said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2001

Kuraray to spin off real estate unit

Synthetic fiber maker Kuraray Co. said Thursday that it will spin off its real estate operation and hand it over to its wholly owned real estate company in April.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2001

Government to accept Hansen's proposal

Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Chikara Sakaguchi said Wednesday the government has decided to accept a district court proposal to compensate former Hansen's disease patients who were not forced into sanitariums and the relatives of such patients who have died.
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2001

Fukuda backs postal revamp date

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda expressed support Wednesday for a reported plan by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to privatize in 2005 a postal public corporation to be created in 2003.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2001

Sankei to shut down Osaka Shimbun

OSAKA -- The mass-circulation daily Sankei Shimbun said Wednesday it will stop publishing the Osaka Shimbun, an affiliate evening newspaper, on March 31.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2001

Land-buy aims to halt airport plans

A network of citizens' groups opposing the construction of an airport on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture, have acquired a plot of land where the airport is slated to be built, members of the network said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2001

More environmental staff on way for 2002

The Environment Ministry will get 58 extra staff for fiscal 2002, but it will still be understaffed, Environment Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi told a news conference on Tuesday.
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Dec 26, 2001

Best of times, worst of times

The ominous statistics had been news for some time, but, being a slippery freelancer, I never thought Japan's worsening economic situation would affect me directly. The year 2001, however, proved this assumption wrong, as the mean old cutback beast reared up and hit me where it hurt the most -- right...

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan