Search - 2000

 
 
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2004

'Paradise' emigrant back for lawsuit

Toru Takegama's spirits were high when he left Japan in July 1956 for the Dominican Republic under a government-backed emigration project.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2004

Mind control may have been a factor but not a mitigating one

Mind control at the hands of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara was a key defense argument for many of the 11 cultists sentenced to death and the six others handed life prison terms for carrying out Aum's heinous crimes -- an argument that had little if any effect.
BUSINESS
Feb 24, 2004

Cats files for bankruptcy amid management scandal

Pest-control firm Cats Inc. filed for bankruptcy Monday, saying it failed to obtain lenders' support after its executives were arrested for allegedly manipulating its share price.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 22, 2004

An ambassador's wild tale of the wilderness

A SIAMESE EMBASSY LOST IN AFRICA 1686: The Odyssey of Ok-Khun Chamnan, translated and edited by Michael Smithies. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 2000, 115 pp., $15 (paper). In the spring of 1686, a Portuguese vessel was shipwrecked off Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa. Though several on the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 22, 2004

Legends keep it visceral and current

Colin Newman of the English punk band Wire uses the words "interesting" and "energy" a lot when he talks about music. "Interesting" can often be a backhanded compliment, but Newman uses it literally because he tends to approach pop as an intellectual endeavor.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2004

Extradition bid for Fujimori falls on deaf ears here

Japan and Peru remained divided Friday over Lima's request that former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori be extradited, making no headway in a diplomatic dispute that has lingered for nearly a year.
COMMUNITY
Feb 21, 2004

Breathe under water with Aqua Adventure Divers

If Kevin Winchester is not covering ground on skis, or by motorbike (a mighty Honda CB1300cc, as befits a member of Tokyo Riders), he is flying high or diving deep. But don't call him sporty, or the outdoor type. "They are just things I like to do!"
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2004

Bridgestone profits double as recall woes ebb, Europe sales soar

Profits at tire maker Bridgestone Corp. nearly doubled in the fiscal year that ended Dec. 31 as sales rose in Europe and payments related to a massive U.S. tire recall three years ago declined.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2004

Web site lets locals rat on foreigners

The Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau has introduced a section on its Web site that allows people to submit information on the identity, address or workplace of undocumented foreigners in a bid to track them down.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2004

Shinsei Bank share price surges on TSE debut

Shinsei Bank shares debuted Thursday on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, marking a dramatic revival from the collapse of Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan five years ago.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2004

Upper House just the ticket for Lower House losers

There's always next time. Words of consolation, no doubt, but they hold greater meaning for those politicians who lost their Diet seats in November's House of Representatives election.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2004

Japan ignores U.S. pressure, will develop Iranian oil field

Choosing money in the face of diplomatic pressure from the U.S., the government said Thursday it has struck a long-delayed deal with Tehran to grant a Japanese consortium rights to develop Iran's huge Azadegan oil field.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 20, 2004

Yakitori for gourmets: a 1-2-3 guide

There was a time when yakitori shops were hole-in-the-wall grills, often under railway tracks, where cheapness made up for the lack of sophistication and rotgut sake or rocket-fuel shochu were the libations of choice. Much has changed, though, and "upmarket yakitori" no longer seems a contradiction in...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2004

Education reform requires balancing act

Japan is on the way to radical deregulation of the compulsory education system in hopes of bringing more diversification and competition to schools, but it will take a delicate balancing act.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2004

Koga got funds from South Korean resident

House of Representatives member Junichiro Koga, expelled from the Democratic Party of Japan for making false academic claims, received 3 million yen in donations from a South Korean resident of Japan, according to his political funds documents.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2004

Aum locations searched in runup to guru's verdict

The Justice Ministry's Public Security Intelligence Agency on Monday raided 11 locations connected with Aum Shinrikyo ahead of next week's court verdict on cult founder Shoko Asahara.
BUSINESS
Feb 17, 2004

TSE listing reflects Shinsei's return to viability

Demonstrating its successful revival, Shinsei Bank, the successor to the failed Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, will list its shares Thursday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
BUSINESS
Feb 17, 2004

Toyota approach lifts NEC's PC production

NEC Corp. has boosted per-worker output of personal computers almost sixfold in the three years since it introduced Toyota Motor Corp.'s production style, company officials have said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 15, 2004

Politicians score D-minus for education claims

The American media's resurgent interest in U.S. President George Bush's service as a fighter pilot in the Texas Air National Guard in the early '70s might seem opportunistic given its timing. The controversy over whether or not Bush fulfilled his obligation to the Guard -- records show unaccounted for...
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2004

Horse owners have no publicity rights to names: top court

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that publicity rights do not apply to animals, overturning lower court rulings ordering a video game maker to compensate horse owners for using their steeds' names in games without approval.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2004

Teacher sues over Hinomaru display

A public elementary school teacher filed a lawsuit Friday against the city of Kunitachi and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government over the compulsory display of the national flag at school ceremonies.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2004

Whistle-blower law in the pipeline

Three decades after Hiroaki Kushioka exposed a price-fixing cartel involving his employer in the trucking industry, the government is working on what would become Japan's first-ever law to protect whistle-blowers in private-sector firms and government organizations.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2004

Takefuji Corp. hid 920 million yen in income in '00

Consumer loan company Takefuji Corp. hid 920 million yen in income in fiscal 2000 by claiming to have sold bad loans to a subsidiary, and did not declare other income, sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2004

India usurps China at top of loan list

India is expected to become the biggest recipient of Japan's long-term, low-interest yen loans for the first time in fiscal 2003, taking over the position held by China since fiscal 1999, government sources said Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 11, 2004

Timeless message of divine 'Angels' rings loud and clear

They've pulled it off again! Almost exactly a year ago the team at tpt (Theatre Project Tokyo), led by the renowned American director Robert Allan Ackerman, got Tokyo theater in 2003 off to a great start with their stunningly moving production of "Bent," cast entirely from the young actors who took part...
COMMENTARY
Feb 11, 2004

SDF dispatch opens new era for Japan

The dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq marks a watershed in Japan's post-World War II security and defense policy. The SDF has joined U.N. peacekeeping operations several times since 1992. The latest deployment, though designed primarily to support humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 11, 2004

Firms catch on to potential of booming IC recorder market

Overshadowed by the red-hot sales of digital cameras and DVD recorders, another digital product has been stealthily making its way into shirt pockets and briefcases.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2004

Don Quijote chief made loan to stock suspect

The Don Quijote Co. discount store chain disclosed Monday that its president, Takao Yasuda, provided loans to a former Cats Inc. executive who has been arrested on suspicion of manipulating that company's share price.

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?