Search - (2006-01-27)

 
 
EDITORIALS
Dec 11, 2008

Education loan accountability

The Japan Students Services Organization (JASSO), a student loan provider under the wing of the education ministry, is suffering from a high delinquency rate on loan payments. Starting in fiscal 2010, it will tell all new borrowers that it will report long-term delinquent borrowers to an organization...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2008

Asylum claims nearly double

The number of people seeking asylum in Japan is surging toward a new record, and the government is grappling to deal with the flood, a nonprofit support organization has warned.
BASKETBALL
Dec 10, 2008

Ishibashi named Grouses' new coach

Former Japan national team center Takatoshi Ishibashi has been named the new head coach of the Toyama Grouses, the bj-league team announced on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2008

Hong Kong exports boost farmers

Japan's agriculture has long had a global reputation for protectionism and weak price competition for rice grown in its rural areas.
EDITORIALS
Dec 9, 2008

Budget in disarray

The government has adopted a basic policy for the fiscal 2009 budget compilation. It will maintain budget caps introduced in 2006 by the Koizumi administration, which include a 3-percent annual cut in public-works spending and a ¥220 billion reduction each year in the natural growth of social security...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2008

Thailand turns: next stop Banana Republic

BANGKOK — "Thailand's future is up for grabs," proclaimed the eminent Thai scholar Thitinan Pongsudhirak last week just before the country's Constitutional Court ruled, in effect, that the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and its two smaller coalition partners are "illegal," and hence must disband because...
BUSINESS / JAPAN-U.S. SYMPOSIUMS
Dec 8, 2008

Obama victory opens door to broader relations

The election of Barack Obama as the next U.S. president offers opportunities for broader cooperation between Japan and the United States, which focused on the military aspects of the alliance during the eight years of the Bush administration, experts told a recent symposium in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2008

Aso losing grip on power as LDP faces crisis over budget problems

Prime Minister Taro Aso signaled last week his readiness to depart from austere fiscal policies ardently defended by then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his successors.
EDITORIALS
Dec 7, 2008

World AIDS Day

Dec. 1 marked the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. While there may be more to celebrate now than two decades ago, 25 million people have died of AIDS since then. UNAIDS/WHO estimates 33 million people are living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, while Africa alone has 11 million AIDS orphans. During 2007,...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 7, 2008

Slugger Woods hoping for one more chance in Japan

The Chunichi Sports is reporting former Chunichi Dragons first baseman Tyrone Woods wants to continue playing in Japan.
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2008

Osaka governor only has eyes for China

OSAKA — A year ago, when Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto announced his candidacy, he made saving the prefecture from bankruptcy his priority.
EDITORIALS
Dec 5, 2008

Political theater of the absurd

It is tempting to call Thai politics a comedy, but to be more accurate, it has descended into farce — if not tragedy. The machinations that have paralyzed the country has undermined a once thriving and vibrant democracy. The Bangkok elites' determination to disregard the will of the Thai majority shows...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 5, 2008

'Kill'

Mamoru Oshii is a world-class animation director, but his films, from the 1995 dystopian SF "Ghost In the Shell" to this year's air-war epic "The Sky Crawlers," are not for the masses. Instead they often explore heavyweight themes that appeal to anime otaku (ultrafans), from the dissolving boundaries...
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2008

Aso to break with Koizumi reforms

With the economy in recession and public approval ratings low, Prime Minister Taro Aso signaled Wednesday that Japan must depart from the reformist fiscal policies pursued by former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his successors.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 4, 2008

An audience with Miyazaki, Japan's animation king

Hayao Miyazaki says he doesn't like giving interviews, but the Oscar-winning, megahit-making animator has strong opinions he isn't shy about sharing, as a packed room of reporters learned when he appeared at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Tokyo on Nov. 20.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 4, 2008

One wicked tale from the other Japanese puppets

Founded in 1635 by Youki Magosaburo I, Youkiza is the oldest marionette theater in Tokyo and the only remaining troupe among the five theaters from the Edo Period (1603-1867) — three kabuki and two marionette — that were officially recognized and financially supported by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Designated...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 4, 2008

Pink thrills: Japanese sex movies go global

As the last wave of vengeful female ghosts inspired by "Ring' "s Sadako fade from cinema screens worldwide, either in their original J-horror manifestations or the obligatory Hollywood remakes, more adventurous foreign-film fans have begun turning their heads Eastward in search of a new frisson. Their...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 3, 2008

Temps in manufacturing feel full brunt of slump

The deepening recession is worrying workers nationwide, particularly temporary employees in the manufacturing industry.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear