Search - 2003

 
 
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2006

Abe denies upholding pre-emptive strike as defensive right

is being attacked with missiles" from that base. He added that an overseas first strike would fall within the legal parameters of self-defense "if there is no way to defend against an attack on Japan." Those comments, which followed North Korea's test-launching of seven ballistic missiles that fell into...
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2006

Osaka activist's arrest lays bare yakuza ties with 'burakumin'

On the night of Jan. 26, 1985, four hit men from the Ichiwa-kai crime syndicate drove up to an apartment complex in Suita, Osaka Prefecture.
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2006

Officials try to defuse fallout from pre-emption issue

Monday's inflammatory remarks by Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe in the wake of North Korea's missile tests have touched off a controversy over Japan's interpretation of "pre-emptive attacks."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 12, 2006

BOJ will face flak over rate action -- or inaction

The Bank of Japan faces a tough decision at its Policy Board meeting later this week. Should it declare a formal end to its near-zero interest rate policy, adopting a more conventional monetary stance, or should it hold off until it is clear the economic stagnation that has haunted the country over the...
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2006

Mizutani gave millions to North-linked NGO

." In spring 2003, the secretary general introduced the ex-chairman to a man identified as a member of a North Korean panel on foreign economic cooperation, the sources said.
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2006

Mizutani in 2 billion yen tax dodge

Mizutani Kensetsu Co., an engineering company suspected of tax evasion, is believed to have hidden some 2 billion yen in income in the two business years to the end of August 2004, sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2006

First strike permitted if attack imminent: Abe

Japan has the right to strike a foreign missile base if the country is under imminent threat of attack, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 11, 2006

Independent judgment in doubt

The public controversy over Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui's 10 million yen investment in a fund led by maverick fund manager Mr. Yoshiaki Murakami, revealed in mid-June, has yet to die down. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party take the position that Mr. Fukui...
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2006

Public finally gets to see long-lost Okamoto mural

A long-lost mural by the late painter Taro Okamoto was shown to the public for the first time ever Saturday in Tokyo, following a yearlong restoration.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2006

Machinery exec held over taxes

Tokyo prosecutors on Saturday arrested an executive of Mizutani Kensetsu Co. and an executive of a firm with which the major heavy machinery and engineering firm does business, prosecution officials said.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2006

Japan, China likely to ink aviation deal next week

Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kazuo Kitagawa said Friday he hopes Japan and China can settle their stalled aviation talks next week.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2006

New BOJ rules ban its execs from most types of investment

The Bank of Japan adopted new rules Friday banning its executives from engaging in most types of investment, including stocks and private equity funds, in response to the public furor over personal investments BOJ Gov. Toshihiko Fukui made before he became chief of the central bank.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 7, 2006

Puffy "Splurge"

It's been 10 years since Ami and Yumi shot to fame with the million-selling debut single "Ajia no Junshin," and it's almost unthinkable that a manufactured pop duo should last so long. But Puffy's strength has always been in embracing the unpredictable, and "Splurge" is a confident, mature pop album...
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2006

Pyongyang fires seven missiles into Sea of Japan

North Korea fired six ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan early Wednesday and another one in the evening, drawing economic sanctions from Japan and intensifying international concern about its nuclear weapons and diplomacy with the United States.
BUSINESS
Jul 6, 2006

Panel to suggest BOJ asset disclosure

A Bank of Japan panel will recommend that the central bank draw up new rules requiring Policy Board members to disclose their personal assets, panel sources said Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 6, 2006

Three artists piece together contemporary Japanese art

Art since the 1960s has reveled in a directional pluralism devoid of dominant mediums or movements, with no consensus on how the range of artists and styles might add up to a more significant whole.
JAPAN
Jul 5, 2006

Kajima faces taxes on contract rebates

Kajima Corp. and other companies paid a combined 900 million yen in rebates to construction firms linked to a former executive of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. for contracts to build a pharmaceutical plant in Hikari, Yamaguchi Prefecture, according to a tax audit obtained Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 4, 2006

July rate hike seen amid rosy 'tankan'

Business confidence among major manufacturers improved in the April-June quarter and fiscal 2006 corporate capital spending is expected to post double-digit growth, the Bank of Japan's "tankan" survey showed Monday, increasing the likelihood that the central bank will raise the key short-term interest...
EDITORIALS
Jul 4, 2006

A new team in Vietnam

Vietnam has overhauled its leadership. The country's National Assembly last week affirmed the individuals selected by the congress of the Vietnam Communist Party. Members of the new team are considerably younger than their predecessors, and their common characteristic is a commitment to economic reform....
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2006

Yamazaki Baking to acquire over 60% stake in Tohato

Yamazaki Baking Co. plans to acquire a stake of more than 60 percent in struggling confectionary maker Tohato Inc., sources said Sunday.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2006

ChuoAoyama starts its partial penalty period

Leading accounting firm ChuoAoyama PricewaterhouseCoopers on Saturday suspended some of its operations through the end of August for failing to prevent Kanebo Ltd. from releasing falsified earnings reports.
CULTURE / Books
Jul 2, 2006

Journeys across turbulent waters

MAD ABOUT THE MEKONG: Exploration and Empire in South-East Asia, by John Keay. HarperPerennial, 2006, 294 pp., £8.99 (paper). The long-lasting conflict in Vietnam made the name of the Mekong familiar to people in other countries, but to those who live along its banks and tributaries it is known simply...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 2, 2006

SMAP heartthrob Takuya Kimura returns in "Hero" on Fuji TV and more

Fuji TV usually has a lock on the Monday 9 p.m. time slot with whatever drama it decides to plug into it, and this summer seems no exception. SMAP heartthrob Takuya Kimura returns in "Hero" as prosecutor Kohei Kuryu, a role he first played in the series of the same name that ran in 2001.
EDITORIALS
Jul 1, 2006

Revitalizing Japanese agriculture

The fiscal 2005 white paper on agriculture, made public last month, covers the first year of the implementation of the nation's basic plan for food, agriculture and agricultural communities that was adopted in March 2005. The plan is based on the 1999 basic law, which spells out four fundamental goals:...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 30, 2006

Lecture to celebrate Bach's 'inventions'

The NEC Early Music Lecture by Masaaki Suzuki, musical director of the Bach Collegium Japan, takes place July 1 at Tokyo Opera City Recital Hall. There will also be a cembalo performance as part of the same event.
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2006

Fukui didn't get favors: Orix chief

Orix Corp. Chairman Yoshihiko Miyauchi said Thursday neither he nor his company has ever given special treatment to Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui in connection with Fukui's personal investments.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?