Search - 2004

 
 
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2007

Unseated champ Takeru Kobayashi practices whole dog

Takeru Kobayashi prepares for the annual Nathan's International July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest the same way an Olympic athlete would prep for a track meet.
EDITORIALS
Jul 23, 2007

Ruling for fair trading

The Tokyo District Court on Thursday sentenced Mr. Yoshiaki Murakami, a former maverick fund manager, to two years in prison for insider stock trading. The prison term, without a suspension, shows that the judiciary is determined to deal severely with illegal trading activities to ensure sound and equitable...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 22, 2007

Ochoa making a splash in return to Japan with Carp

"He looks good in red, doesn't he?" asked Hiroshima Carp manager Marty Brown about his new center fielder, Alex Ochoa, prior to a game at Tokyo Dome last week.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2007

Glitch postpones August launch of lunar orbiter

The space agency has announced the August launch of its lunar orbiter will be postponed due to a technical glitch, delivering another setback to the much-delayed probe.
EDITORIALS
Jul 22, 2007

Passing of the JCP architect

Mr. Kenji Miyamoto, who died Wednesday at the age of 98, embodied the history of the Japanese Communist Party both before and after World War II. The charismatic leader put the party on a realistic policy path, helping the party gain some influence in Japan's politics.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 22, 2007

Mobilizing the populace 'World War II-style' to judge their fellow citizens

Yoshikazu Ebisu seems an unlikely advocate for judicial reform. The 59-year-old illustrator first gained notoriety in the 1970s for his crude caricatures and moved on to variety shows in the late '80s, where his bumbling slob persona was the perfect target for insult comics. After he was arrested for...
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2007

Court rules Chongryun property not tax-exempt

The Tokyo District Court rejected a lawsuit Friday filed by a limited partnership company operated by and on behalf of the pro-Pyongyang group Chongryun seeking exemption from fixed asset taxes on its headquarters and two other properties in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2007

White collar criminals on notice

The actual prison time handed down Thursday to flamboyant fund manager Yoshiaki Murakami and to Livedoor Co. founder Takafumi Horie in March appear to signal that white collar criminals now face much harsher punishments, some legal analysts say.
EDITORIALS
Jul 18, 2007

Flagging quake resistance

The fierce earthquake that struck Niigata and Nagano prefectures Monday reminded both the government and the public of the need to make Japan more resilient toward earthquakes. The magnitude-6.8 quake was focused about 60 km southwest of the city of Niigata and some 17 km below the bottom of the Sea...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jul 18, 2007

Putting 'rarity' into context

Stepping outside this morning, I heard a skylark singing above the open field adjacent to where I live. It's a rare event for me, but perhaps you hear skylarks all the time. Then again, perhaps you have never heard that silvery cascade of notes pouring endlessly from high in the sky.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 17, 2007

Hinomaru, 'Kimigayo' express conflicts both past and future

To some they are symbols of national pride, to others icons of a militaristic past. "Kimigayo," the national anthem, and the Hinomaru, the national flag, have been perpetual sources of controversy because of their contentious historical backgrounds. Following are some basic questions and answers about...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 15, 2007

No care in the world for caregivers as profit is all that matters

Scandals are coming so fast and furious now it seems eons ago when nursing care provider Comsn Inc. was busted by the government for inflating the number of employees on its payroll. Actually, it was only last month, and at the time the media could only concentrate on the particulars, namely Comsn's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 13, 2007

First Lady of blues

She recently came close to death; now, about to headline the Japan Blues & Soul Carnival, Koko Taylor talks about her 50-year career — and the future of blues
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 13, 2007

Asobi Seksu

In a country with no shortage of sexual fetishes, any group whose name translates into "playful sex" in English is bound to go over well in Japan. While Asobi Seksu's vocalist/ keyboardist Yuki Chikudate and her male cohorts are likely no strangers to praise from lustful showgoers longing to gain carnal...
SOCCER
Jul 9, 2007

Osim: Japan motivated to repeat as champion

HANOI, Vietnam — Ivica Osim and captain Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi put on a united front Sunday after questions were raised over a poor attitude permeating the Japan squad ahead of its first Asian Cup finals game.
SOCCER
Jul 8, 2007

Osim lashes out as storm causes concern

HANOI, Vietnam — Another storm is brewing in Vietnam — and it's got nothing to do with Typhoon Toraji which lashed parts of the country this week.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 8, 2007

How the West lost its nerve with Russia

MOSCOW — Nation-states are built on ethnic and territorial unity, and their histories and political development are grounded in a sense of collective identity. Empires emerge when a national group considers its existence inside its territorial borders either risky or ineffective, and embarks on a forced...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 6, 2007

Crystal Kay is all yours

"I've been on the Crystal Kay train," says the R&B diva sitting across the table. Twenty-one-year-old Crystal Kay isn't speaking figuratively, or in some sort of existential code; she's referring instead to Tokyo's Yamanote Line, whose carriages were recently plastered inside and out with her visage...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 6, 2007

An American Idol takes direct action for charity

Taking place this weekend in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, International Heart Expo 2007 is a charity event that aims to take "direct action" to support children in developing countries. Volunteers from Japan and abroad will participate.
SOCCER
Jul 5, 2007

Japan's Asian hopes hit by Bando injury

Japan suffered a further setback ahead of the Asian Cup when Gamba Osaka striker Ryuji Bando was ruled out of the finals with a hamstring injury.
JAPAN
Jul 5, 2007

'Japan's Condi Rice' known for courting controversy

OSAKA — New Defense Minister Yuriko Koike, 54, is a world traveler fluent in Arabic and English and considered one of the Diet's leading experts on the Middle East.

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