Search - 2003

 
 
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2009

Activist against dolphin slaughter visits Taiji to show its nice side

OSAKA — The central figure in "The Cove," a controversial and shocking documentary about the annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, is back in Taiji on the first day of the annual dolphin hunt with a film crew.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Sep 1, 2009

Meet Mr. James, gaijin clown

If you want to sell stuff, it helps to have a recognizable mascot representing your company. Disney has Mickey Mouse, Sanrio Hello Kitty, Studio Ghibli Totoro. These imaginary characters grace many a product and ad campaign.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2009

Interest high among foreign media in 'historic' election

The Democratic Party of Japan's landslide victory election has stirred interest among foreign media, who generally view the ousting of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled almost without interruption for 54 years, as a positive sign of change.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Aug 29, 2009

Ex-NCAA star Abdul-Rauf signs with Kyoto Hannaryz

Ex-NBA shooting guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, who rose to national prominence as one of college basketball's most prolific scorers, will play for the expansion Kyoto Hannaryz this season, the team has announced.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Aug 27, 2009

Political shift gives hope to gays

The possible power shift in Sunday's general election signals change for many, and one minority interest group is daring to hope it will bring about the biggest change yet.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Aug 27, 2009

Fierce battles rage for Tokyo seats

The 2005 Lower House election was a bitter experience for candidates on the Democratic Party of Japan's ticket who ran in Tokyo's 25 single-seat constituencies.
EDITORIALS
Aug 25, 2009

Homegrown food production

Japan's food self-sufficiency rate in calorie intake improved by about 1 percentage point to 41 percent in fiscal 2008, for the second straight annual rise. But, as farm minister Shigeru Ishiba said, one cannot hail the rise once various factors are taken into consideration.
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 23, 2009

Japan's creeping natural disaster

In October 2010, government officials from almost every country in the world will meet in Nagoya for the 10th Conference of Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10). The aim of the Convention, which came into effect in 1993, is simple but momentous: To maintain the richness of life on...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2009

State taps taxis for bond-sale campaign

Japan is expanding efforts to attract buyers to the nation's growing debt load, flooding the backs of taxi cabs for the first time with pamphlets in the hopes of getting retirees to invest more money in bonds.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2009

Suzuki sides with DPJ, sees dual polls in '10

SAPPORO — Muneo Suzuki, leader of Hokkaido's New Party Daichi, said elections for both chambers of the Diet could be held simultaneously next year if the opposition camp secures a huge win in the Aug. 30 House of Representatives poll.
EDITORIALS
Aug 19, 2009

Relief measure falls short

On Aug. 6, the 64th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Prime Minister Taro Aso signed an agreement with representatives of Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic-bombing survivors who had filed lawsuits seeking recognition as sufferers of radiation-related illnesses. Under the agreement, plaintiffs...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2009

Third World potential seen in jute bag biz

Eriko Yamaguchi, founder of Motherhouse Co., which has manufactured and imported bags and other goods made of jute in Bangladesh since 2006, is determined to help developing countries out of poverty.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 18, 2009

TOEIC: Where does the money go?

In a country of test-takers, the Test of English for International Communication has become one of Japan's most recognized exams. In 2008, people in Japan paid ¥4,040 — or slightly less if their company or school paid a ¥100,000 membership fee — to take the TOEIC Institutional Program (IP) at their...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 14, 2009

Playwright Tomohiro Maekawa finds the uncanny in the mundane

In February this year, 35-year-old Tomohiro Maekawa's reputation was given a boost when he was nominated in both the best-playwright and best-director categories of the prestigious Yomiuri Theater Awards. Although Maekawa didn't walk away with an award; the nominations, coming just six years after he...
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2009

JAL told to share more runs

Japan Airlines Corp., Asia's most indebted carrier, should expand code-sharing agreements with other airlines to boost passenger traffic without the cost of operating new routes, the civil aviation chief said Tuesday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 11, 2009

TOEIC no turkey at 30

The Test of English for International Communication turns 30 this year. In three decades it has risen from humble beginnings to become one of the best-known tests in Japan. In December 1979, 3,000 people sat the first TOEIC. In 2008, people in Japan took it 1.7 million times. Many were repeat customers;...
COMMENTARY
Aug 9, 2009

Pariahs of Asia and their nukes

LONDON — It is generally agreed that North Korea and Burma have the two most oppressive regimes in Asia. They rule over two of the poorest countries in the continent, and that is no coincidence whatever.

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