Search - 2003

 
 
EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 2005

Perception of safe beef

The government lifted a ban on imports of U.S. and Canadian beef last week. The ban had been in force for Canadian beef since the discovery in May 2003 of a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), popularly known as mad cow disease, in that country. The ban on U.S. beef followed in December of...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 22, 2005

Elemental expressions

Art comes in many forms, but all those forms have in common their intimate dependence on light (something to bear in mind on this, the shortest day of the year). Without this miraculous form of energy you wouldn't know the difference between an Old Master canvas, an Abstract Expressionist work or an...
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2005

Nissan woos women with curvy new sedans

In an effort to attract new female drivers, Nissan Motor Co. on Wednesday unveiled a revamped Bluebird Sylphy sedan aimed specifically at the needs of women in their 40s.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2005

Seibu Railway shareholders OK reorganizing plan

Shareholders of Seibu Railway Co. endorsed a plan Wednesday to reorganize the company's group operations under a holding firm.
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2005

China puts off trilateral telecom meeting

China has notified Japan that it will postpone a trilateral ministerial meeting also involving South Korea on information and communications because of a delay in preparations, officials said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2005

Stalker-killer's life term upheld

The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday upheld a life sentence for a man who stalked and played a part in the slaying of a 21-year-old woman who had broken off a relationship with his brother.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2005

Making a difference in Aceh

BRUSSELS -- The European Union's successive waves of industrial, social, economic and monetary integration have come and, mostly, gone. The cutting edge of political debate within the EU now centers on an emerging Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2005

Top court rules Daiwa abused tax deduction system

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that tax authorities were correct in 1995 by imposing additional taxes on interest earned by Daiwa Bank in overseas deals, overturning lower court rulings.
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2005

Murakami's prison term upheld

The Tokyo High Court on Monday upheld a lower court-imposed 26-month prison term and 72.8 million yen fine for former Labor Minister Masakuni Murakami for taking bribes from KSD, an organization that provides industrial accident liability insurance to small businesses.
EDITORIALS
Dec 19, 2005

Small step toward 'one East Asia'

The concept of an East Asian Community -- a broad regional grouping that would bring together countries in East Asia and other areas in economic, political, security and other fields of common interest -- took a formal step toward realization last Wednesday at a summit meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Leaders...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 18, 2005

Batista's number didn't justify his massive salary

The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, as you read here in these pages, will pay a whopping 525 million yen (almost $4.5 million) to buy out the second year of the contract of third baseman Tony Batista, ending the Japan career of "Mr. Nonchalant."
Japan Times
Features
Dec 18, 2005

Festive fun with forgotten Futa

It's 9:58 on a chilly Wednesday morning, and it looks like I am the first of the day's visitors to Chiba Zoological Park.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2005

Specialty exams abound for those who want certification

A wide range of extraordinary examinations are given in Japan to promote tourism or to ensure that local culture will be handed down safely from one generation to the next.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2005

Population now on track to start shrinking in 2006, not 2007: report

Japan's population will start shrinking next year and not in 2007 as was earlier projected and could be half of what it is now in a century, if the birthrate continues to decline at the current pace, according to a government report released Friday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 16, 2005

Advocate for the elderly

Next year Japan will take another step forward toward strengthening the protection of the weaker members of society. The Diet has passed a law to prevent cruel treatment of the aged and to assist those taking care of them. Preparations are being made for implementing the law in April. Enactment of the...
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2005

Road deaths near 50-year low

The number of traffic accident deaths for the 11 months to November fell by 394 from the same period last year to 6,200, with the annual figure expected to remain below 7,000 for the first time since 1956 if the current pace persists for the rest of the year, the National Police Agency said Thursday....
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 16, 2005

Broadcaster screenslatest co-productions

There has never been greater attention on Asian cinema. The Sixth NHK Asian Film Festival, taking place Dec. 17-25 in Shibuya, Tokyo, continues its mission to support promising filmmakers in Asia following on the heels of Tokyo International Film Festival, Tokyo FILMeX and South Korea's Pusan Film Festival,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 16, 2005

Stripping it down, thriving on basics

Born in 1970 into an acting family -- his father is butoh master Akaji Maro and his brother is rising star Nao Omori -- Tatsushi Omori served as an assistant director for Junji Sakamoto and Kazuyuki Izutsu before working for producer/director Genjiro Arato on "Akame Shijuha-taki Shinju Misui" in 2003...
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2005

ANA, JAL engine repairs to cost carriers 9.5 billion yen

All Nippon Airways Co. and Japan Airlines Corp. will replace parts in engines made by Pratt & Whitney of the United States in their Boeing 777s for about 9.5 billion yen due to incidents involving engine trouble earlier this year, the airlines said Thursday.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 15, 2005

Pullouts weaken men's G.P. field

This year's figure skating Grand Prix Final will feature only five competitors in the men's event after a series of withdrawals, the Japan Skating Federation said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

Cops turn to forensic analysis to catch gropers

Stumped for years by blatant suspects, police are using forensic analysis to hunt down gropers on crowded trains by matching tiny fabric fibers from the perpetrator's palm with the victim's clothes.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

Reactors needed for Kyoto goals, expert says

Japan should promote nuclear power and renewable energy sources to replace fossil fuels to fight global warming, a Canadian scientist said Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 15, 2005

Director Koki Mitani and the gentle indecision of Japanese juries

When 44-year-old writer/director Koki Mitani was young, he got so excited watching "Twelve Angry Men," a classic American jury-room film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Henry Fonda, that he wanted someday to make his own original version.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

JAXA to delay Hayabusa return as probe enters spin

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will delay until 2010 the return of a star-crossed space probe sent to collect samples from an asteroid after a thruster problem put the probe into an unexpected spin, a JAXA official said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2005

Yoshinoya to have 'gyudon' back next month

With the government partially lifting its two-year import ban on U.S. beef, the fast-food restaurant chain Yoshinoya D&C Co. is preparing to resume its mainstay "gyudon" beef-on-rice dishes next month.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji