Search - 2003

 
 
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 9, 2004

Afghanistan three years on

WASHINGTON -- Three years after the Bush administration led a remarkably quick and bold military operation to overthrow the Taliban regime, how are things going in Afghanistan? The short answer is that there has been considerable progress. But that is largely because things were so bad under the Taliban,...
Rugby
Sep 17, 2004

JRFU'S new ruling puts players' lives at risk

At the press conference to launch the start of the second year of the Top League, which kicks-off this weekend, Japan Rugby Football Union Chairman Tetsuo Machii admitted that the game's image had suffered in recent years.
EDITORIALS
Aug 24, 2004

Japan's changing labor structure

Japan's employment situation is improving thanks to the economy's recovery, which in part has been fueled by corporate efforts to deal with changing economic realities. To reduce personnel expenses, companies have been increasingly turning to the recruitment of cheaper "nonregular employees," such as...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2004

Secondhand personal computer market expanding

The secondhand personal computer market is rapidly expanding as sharp growth in demand for new PCs sends relatively new ones to the used market.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Aug 20, 2004

The Gathering 2004 preview

After dozens of hours of copious, nail-biting research, I have deduced that there is absolutely no connection whatsoever between Respect for the Aged Day and the ending date for Gathering 2004, except that vigorous dancing has been medically proven to reverse the aging process.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2004

Migrants' remittances home exceed ODA

Elisa Rey puts a wad of yen into a small, brown envelope at her home. Far away in Peru, her monthly remittances -- set aside from her job in an electronics factory south of Tokyo -- have already built a house that few could dream of in her poor suburb of Lima.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 14, 2004

A 'Steamboy' timeline

1995 After enjoying international success with his debut feature "Akira" (1988), Katsuhiro Otomo comes up with the idea for his second feature, "Steamboy," from an animated short, "Cannon Fodder." One of three segments in his 1995 animation omnibus "Memories," "Cannon Fodder" tells an Orwellian tale,...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 12, 2004

Death-penalty debate rages anew in India

MADRAS, India -- India is once again hotly debating capital punishment. This time the discussion has been provoked by the death sentence given to Dhananjoy Chatterjee, who was convicted of raping and murdering a 14-year-old schoolgirl. Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has stayed Chatterjee's hanging...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2004

Recovery shows benefits of letting foreigners in

Like many other Japanese investors, Hiroo Sato got burned a decade ago when the nation's speculative bubble burst. These days, he's finally getting some of his money back via a rebounding stock market.
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2004

Recovery helped state trim bond issuance

The government's issuance of bonds in fiscal 2003 is thought to have been 1.1 trillion yen less than the amount forecast, with the economic recovery having boosted tax revenue, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2004

Fuso can't get fix on earnings outlook

Scandal-tainted Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp. said Wednesday it is unable to make earnings projections for the current fiscal year.
BUSINESS
Jun 26, 2004

Internet, TV shopping shift firms' focus toward mail-order market

A growing number of retail corporations that once sold mostly over the counter are concentrating more on the mail-order market, made popular by the Internet and television shopping programs.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 10, 2004

Campo hits out at disco-dancing robots, penny-pinching unions

It's probably fair to say that David Campese is not exactly at the top of the International Rugby Board's Christmas card list. Or for that matter the Australia Rugby Union's.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 8, 2004

Hidden plight of detainees

'What did I do to the Japanese people," asks Merdem Yousif. "I came to Japan because I thought the people would be warm-hearted. It was my big mistake. I should have gone to another country."
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 31, 2004

Numbers show road to recovery fraught with inflationary risk

The preliminary GDP figures Japan released May 18 show that the gross domestic product in the January-March quarter expanded 1.4 percent (5.6 percent annualized) in real terms over the previous quarter. Compared with the same period in 2003, first-quarter GDP grew a robust 5.4 percent. The GDP has now...
EDITORIALS
May 28, 2004

Banks and their 'debt of gratitude'

It appears that most of Japan's top banks are making good progress toward cleaning up their nonperforming loans. They may not be out of the woods yet, but their latest financial reports indicate that they are on track to meeting a government target for bad-debt reduction in fiscal 2004, which ends March...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
May 28, 2004

World Sports Awards a great but flawed concept

Don't you hate it when you are presented with something that is sold as being all-encompassing, only to find out is it not?
BUSINESS
May 26, 2004

Japan Telecom sale precipitates loss for Vodafone

Vodafone Holdings K.K. on Tuesday reported a net loss of 100 billion yen for the year that ended March 31, due mainly to losses stemming from the sale of its fixed-line unit.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 21, 2004

Toyota freshens image, goes after younger drivers

With video games, baby strollers and manicure kits to welcome visitors, dealers at a Toyota showroom in suburban Tokyo are working to convince buyers that today's models have nothing to do with their parents' boring old cars.
JAPAN
May 21, 2004

Fresh coverup scandal rocks Mitsubishi Fuso

Mitsubishi Fuso Bus & Truck Corp. became embroiled in another defect-coverup scandal Thursday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 19, 2004

Hanshin's relief trio has Tigers in hunt for repeat in CL

The Hanshin Tigers have a reputation of winning the Central League pennant once every other decade. Their last three titles came in 1964, 1985 and 2003, and their fans surely do not want to wait until 22-something for the next championship.
BUSINESS
May 19, 2004

Aussie, N.Z. lamb treading here now that U.S. beef can't

SYDNEY (Kyodo) As diners throughout Japan stare longingly into their empty bowls of "gyudon" beef on rice, sheep farmers in Australia and New Zealand are counting their blessings.
BUSINESS
May 18, 2004

Current account surplus hits record 17.27 trillion yen

The current account surplus rose to a record 17.27 trillion yen in fiscal 2003, up 29 percent from the previous year, the Finance Ministry said Monday.
JAPAN
May 18, 2004

UFJ Holdings faces 100 billion yen net loss

UFJ Holdings Inc., one of Japan's top four banking groups, will probably book a net loss of some 100 billion yen for 2003, with its loan-loss charges having swelled to about 1 trillion yen, banking sources said Monday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 14, 2004

Fate of luxury sedan market reflects changing face of society

Popular cars may be a reflection of social values, and if so, the waning popularity of Japanese luxury sedans -- once a salaryman status symbol -- indicates values are shifting.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2004

JAL group posts 88.6 billion yen net loss

Japan Airlines System Corp. said Friday it saw a huge decline in revenue and profit in fiscal 2003 due to the Iraq war and the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2004

IY Bank logs first net profit since launch

IY Bank said Friday it posted a net profit of 5 billion yen in fiscal 2003, the firm's first profit since it started operating three years ago.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2004

Cost cuts push ANA back into black

All Nippon Airways Co. said Friday it returned to the black for the first time in three years in fiscal 2003 due to rigorous cost-cutting that offset the negative effects of the Iraq war and severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.