Search - special

 
 
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 14, 2003

Shooting gallery aimed at sumo

On the other side of the Sumida River from Nihonbashi is Ryogoku, the undisputed center of the sumo world. Popular ways for a visitor to experience the character of the area include watching one of the three annual Tokyo basho (tournaments) at the Kokugikan (Sumo Stadium), joining some of the wrestlers...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 14, 2003

Bento pioneers stay the course of time

As the hub of the Gokaido, the five roads radiating from old Edo to major centers around the country, the Nihonbashi district of the capital was long one of its most bustling areas.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2003

500 to 700 ground troops to be sent to Iraq

Japan plans to dispatch between 500 and 700 personnel from the Ground Self-Defense Force to areas centering around Al-Muthanna province in southeastern Iraq, which include the city of Samawah, government officials told ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers Monday.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 9, 2003

Inheritance, noise woes and pet travel

More on death tax More now on inheritance or death tax. Alastair had heard that "death tax" is very high in Japan and was wondering if this was the case.
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2003

'Basic plan' for Iraq dispatch to omit specifics

The basic plan for sending Japanese ground troops to Iraq for reconstruction assistance, which the Cabinet is expected to approve Tuesday, will omit specifics such as a time frame for the dispatch, Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2003

High court for intellectual property considered

The government is studying the creation of a high court devoted exclusively to creations of the mind.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 2, 2003

Green cards, tenant rights and sewing

Immigration worry Dear Lifelines; My wife and I are returning in January from the U.S.; I am a U.S. citizen and she is Japanese. We had lived in Japan together for 7 years prior to my 2 year U.S. assignment. (I am a regular employee of the Japan branch office.)
COMMENTARY
Dec 1, 2003

Iraq and economy top political agenda

The special session of the Diet that was convened on Nov. 19 following the Nov. 9 general election came to an early close Nov. 27. On the question of the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq, which is the most important issue at the moment, fierce debate unfolded between Prime Minister Junichiro...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Nov 29, 2003

Carol Smith-Wright

This year the International Ladies Benevolent Society marks its half century of uninterrupted philanthropic activities on behalf of organizations and people in need, mostly in Japan. Principally through its annual ball and its Christmas Fair, ILBS raises money that it donates to approved institutions...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Nov 27, 2003

Feral goat

* Japanese name: Yagi * Scientific name:Capra hircus * Description: Feal goats are smaller and stockier than their domesticated relatives. Males (billies) weigh 30 to 45 kg, females (nannies) 25 to 35 kg; they are 60 to 70 cm high. The color varies from white to dark brown, black or gray, and while...
BUSINESS
Nov 27, 2003

Radiant male clerks look to tempt female shoppers

Women are facing a cunning new strategy aimed at loosening their purse strings -- attractive young men working as clerks in cosmetics and women's clothing departments.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 23, 2003

State gambles with the future of 'discarded' kids

Last month there were two news stories about legal complications arising from the conception of children through special medical procedures. In one, a surrogate mother in California gave birth to twins who were the product of a Japanese man's sperm and the egg of a third-party Asian-American woman. In...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 22, 2003

Gardener puts down roots for budding business

As a highly qualified gardener and horticulturalist, Bernd Kestler has a great idea: collaborating with homeowners who want outdoor spaces designed to suit their lifestyles, or established gardens maintained, in much the same way a personal trainer works with individuals who want a new body image or...
COMMENTARY
Nov 17, 2003

Japan's milestone election

Japan took a major step toward a two-party system when the opposition Democratic Party of Japan made big gains in the Nov. 9 Lower House election. The poll will be remembered as a milestone in Japanese political history for this reason and because it was the first Japanese election to be fought over...
EDITORIALS
Nov 15, 2003

SDF dispatch plan needs a review

The worsening security situation in Iraq is raising serious doubts about Japan's plan to send troops for humanitarian and reconstruction aid. It looks as if the whole country is slipping into a new "war," with terrorists and guerrillas stepping up attacks on occupation troops as well as civilians. Reinforcing...
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2003

State flip-flops yet again on SDF dispatch

The escalating violence in Iraq has forced the government to once again step back from its on-again, off-again schedule for an SDF mission to the country.
BUSINESS
Nov 14, 2003

European business group makes pitch for robust deregulation

The European Business Community in Japan called Thursday for an improved investment climate through drastic deregulation to achieve Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's pledge to double foreign direct investment by 2008.
BUSINESS
Nov 11, 2003

JDC, Pony Canyon eye movie rights

Japan Digital Contents Inc. has come up with a new way to acquire Hollywood movie copyrights.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Nov 8, 2003

Keiichi Kurosawa

"English music in its most primitive form was essentially group music. The old divisions were church, secular and concert music. . . . The madrigal flourished best in the Tudor period. Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I composed madrigals."
COMMENTARY
Nov 4, 2003

True structural reform tied to end of bureaucratic rule

The biggest question in the Nov. 9 Lower House election is which side should take power -- a coalition headed by the Liberal Democratic Party or an alliance led by the Democratic Party of Japan. Also at stake is whether Japanese politics will be able to extricate itself from bureaucratic control.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2003

Stores start yearend gift campaigns

Major department stores across the country on Saturday started their campaigns for the annual "oseibo" end-of-year gift-giving season, hoping to recover some of the losses incurred during the prolonged economic slump.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2003

Single moms find favor with ministry

The health ministry plans to give preferential treatment to single mothers when hiring part-time workers, officials said Thursday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Oct 25, 2003

F.W. Rustmann

In 1992, F.W. Rustmann founded CTC International Group. This initiative, he reports, represented "an effort to fill the growing need for U.S. corporations to collect business intelligence and to protect their proprietary information. CTC is a pioneer in the field of business intelligence and a recognized...
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2003

Spacecraft technicians tutored in art of soldering

Japan's space agency is giving special soldering iron training to technicians who manufacture parts for H-IIA rockets to help them improve the quality of their work.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 12, 2003

Young Japanese silently reject salaryman lifestyle

Government facilities are depressing places, but none are as depressing as your neighborhood unemployment office. That's why, in Japan, unemployment offices have been given the cheery, infantilized name "Hello Work," a term that conjures up visions of company presidents waiting at the entrance with job...
EDITORIALS
Oct 11, 2003

Antiterror debate deserved better

The Upper House of the Diet on Friday passed a key bill extending by another two years the special antiterrorism law. The debate proceeded without a hitch by skirting an essential discussion. The central question -- what roles Japan should play in the international fight against terror -- was not thoroughly...
COMMENTARY
Oct 9, 2003

Small states seek bigger say

LONDON -- The meeting of European Union member states in Rome to begin discussing a possible new constitution has opened on a discordant note. The smaller countries of Europe do not like the way things are going. The worries are not just those of "the usual suspects" -- the British, Danes and Swedes....
BUSINESS
Oct 8, 2003

Forex reserves hit new record on interventions

Japan's foreign-exchange reserves hit a record high at the end of September, rising $49.79 billion to $604.87 billion due to massive currency market interventions, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2003

Mizuho outlook brighter following Nikkei surge

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. said Monday it has raised its earnings forecast for the fiscal first half, citing the recent stock market advance, lower-than-expected credit costs and special tax returns.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan