Search - 2003

 
 
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 25, 2005

Carp may bring in ex-player Brown to try and revive club

Hiroshima Carp manager Koji Yamamoto has announced he will be stepping down at the end of this season, and press reports have indicated the leading candidate to replace him is former Carp infielder-outfielder Marty Brown.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2005

FTC to scold Japan Highway

The Fair Trade Commission will order Japan Highway Public Corp. to come up with measures to prevent bid-rigging, sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2005

Four with mob ties held in loan scam

Four people connected with the Yamaguchi-gumi, the nation's largest underworld syndicate, defrauded Bank of Yokohama out of about 45 million yen in housing loans using a homeless man's personal data in 2003, police said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2005

Urban support seen as key for Horie

ONOMICHI, Hiroshima Pref. -- A small office in front of JR Onomichi Station attracts hundreds of visitors daily as the Sept. 11 House of Representatives election draws near.
COMMENTARY
Sep 3, 2005

Europeans sing the blues

PARIS -- According to the latest Eurobarometer, a regular survey published by Harris, less than a third of European Union residents are "very satisfied" with their lives, and only 44 percent expect things to improve in coming months.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2005

Upcoming election to put LDP-Komeito cooperation to test

Ominous clouds hung over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, New Komeito, on the eve of Tuesday's start of official campaigning for the Sept. 11 general election.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2005

1,182 'retraining sessions' at JR West

West Japan Railway Co. conducted 1,182 employee retraining sessions during a two-year period from April 2003, the longest lasting 51 days, the transport ministry's accident investigation commission said Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2005

Japanese women's life span at new record 85.59 years

The average life span of Japanese women reached 85.59 years in 2004, the 20th straight year as having the world's highest longevity, according to data for 2004 released by the health ministry Friday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 19, 2005

Collusive ripoff 'from heaven'?

The bid-rigging scandal involving major bridge builders has again brought into public view the structural collusive relationship between private enterprise and the public sector. The scope of the criminal investigation -- which originally targeted projects ordered by local bureaus of the Land, Infrastructure...
EDITORIALS
Jul 9, 2005

'Hello, fingerprint, please'

In an effort to check an increase in crimes committed by foreigners, the government is moving toward introducing compulsory fingerprinting for foreigners entering and leaving Japan -- a move that is expected to draw fire from foreign residents in Japan and possibly lead to conflicts with some foreign...
BUSINESS
Jul 7, 2005

Household income continued decline to 5.8 million yen in '03

The average income of a Japanese household dropped to 5.8 million yen in 2003, shrinking for the seventh consecutive year, according to a government survey released Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2005

'Manifesto' again holds cachet over platform

Political parties have made pledges ranging from disaster measures and local infrastructure development to education and the environment in the runup to the July 3 Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2005

Hiring of disabled people lagging

Disabled people employed in the private sector made up only 1.46 percent of the national workforce last year, falling short of the minimum rate of 1.8 percent set by the government, according to a white paper released Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
May 26, 2005

Bid-rigging at public expense

The Tokyo High Public Prosecutor's Office is conducting a sweeping investigation of a number of public engineering companies on charges of violating the Antimonopoly Law over the years by restricting fair business transactions. Public prosecutors have launched the massive investigation in response to...
EDITORIALS
May 9, 2005

Fishing for sustainable profits

The good news for Japan's fisheries is that some of its products enjoy growing demand abroad, particularly in some parts of Asia. This year's government white paper on fisheries stresses the importance of developing overseas markets and highlights a variety of export-oriented initiatives across the country....
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2005

Ex-UFJ execs in scandal avoid prison

Former UFJ Bank Vice President Kazuyoshi Okazaki, 57, was sentenced Monday to 10 months in prison, suspended for three years, for masterminding efforts to thwart government inspections in 2003.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2005

Credit card fraud -- how they do it and how to protect yourself

People walking around with their wallets sticking up out of their back pockets is a sight pickpockets in Japan are only too used to being grateful for.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2005

Filipino teen faces deportation with parents, rest of Japan-born siblings

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday overturned a ruling allowing a Japan-born Filipino girl to remain in the country.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2005

Asylum-seeker sues state for damages

A Myanmarese asylum-seeker who recently received a special residence permit filed a damages suit against the government Friday, demanding 11 million yen for being detained despite his status as a refugee, his lawyers said.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 26, 2005

Dragons favored to book return trip to Japan Series

The following is a team-by-team analysis of the 12 teams in Japanese pro baseball this season:
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2005

National wealth off for a sixth year

The national wealth slipped 2.6 percent in 2003 to 2.72 quadrillion yen for the sixth consecutive year of decline.
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2005

IRCJ names three innkeepers as last firms to receive bailout

The state-backed Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan said Thursday it will help rehabilitate three lodging companies and indicated they would be the last bailouts.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2005

Mondays see most suicides; men tend to pick 5 a.m., women noon

Mondays had the most suicides in Japan in 2003, with the most common hour being around 5 a.m. for men and around noon for women, an analysis by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed Friday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Jan 28, 2005

2004: Year of the bounce; Serious Sirius

Calamitous. The world was a bouncin' in 2004.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2005

Lower house official arrested for allegedly taking bribe

A 58-year-old official of the House of Representatives secretariat has been arrested for allegedly taking a bribe in exchange for favoring a communications equipment maker that was bidding for a state contract, police said Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Jan 5, 2005

Beijing counts on more high-speed growth in '05

HONG KONG -- Barely three years after joining the World Trade Organization, China has emerged as a major trading power, with total trade last year exceeding $1 trillion, an increase of more than 30 percent over 2003, making China the world's third-largest trading power. This is an astonishing performance...
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2004

Zoos grope to captivate visitors

Gone are the days when a new panda or elephant guaranteed a boost in zoo visitors.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight