Search - (2006-01-27)

 
 
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Oct 18, 2008

Western Conference wide open after Evessa lose three key players

Until proven otherwise, the Osaka Evessa are the elite team in the Western Conference and the bj-league as a whole.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2008

Filipino bar hostess visa scam snags top official

Senior Vice Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Masatoshi Kurata was embroiled in a scandal Friday over his alleged role in arranging visas for Filipino women to enter Japan and perform at "charity concerts," but who in fact ended up working as bar hostesses.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2008

Job crunch seen upping suicides

Job losses caused by the global credit crunch may prompt more people to kill themselves in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, according to a researcher who studied suicide rates during Asia's currency crisis a decade ago.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 17, 2008

Dosh

When you are given the name Martin Luther King Chavez Dosh, it's a safe bet that you're in for a pretty atypical upbringing that likely won't result in punching the clock as a typical 9-to-5er.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2008

'Anime' biz taps new inspiration

Astro Boy, created by animation pioneer Osamu Tezuka, is a superhero robot with a soft, adorable face, a feature that partly explains his global fame.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Oct 17, 2008

Meet a band 35,000 years in the making

When The Cro-Magnons played at this year's Fuji Rock Festival, you could have sworn the Big Quake had hit, with its epicenter at the main Green Stage. The ground shook, minor tsunami were recorded in the streams running through the site and squirrels fell unconscious from trees as about 15,000 punters...
EDITORIALS
Oct 15, 2008

Japan as a tourist destination

Japan's newly formed Tourism Agency, whose formation was announced Oct. 1, will have a lot of work to do. Even with the variety of appealing and fascinating sites nationwide, establishing a tourist infrastructure is no easy task. Most other countries in Asia have long since built a network for tourism,...
BUSINESS
Oct 15, 2008

Steps set to keep TSE stable

The government announced a package of measures Tuesday to stabilize the volatile stock market, including suspending sales of government-held shares.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 15, 2008

Fighters find ways to get job done

OSAKA — Lately, it seems for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
COMMENTARY
Oct 13, 2008

Charge up to the fast lane

During a recent visit to China's Zhejiang University, which honored me with the title of visiting professor, I was surprised to learn that faculty members drive their own cars, many of them expensive models by my standard. A professor in his late 40s was driving a ¥10 million Audi; a 30-year-old instructor...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 12, 2008

Austria's fear and loathing still democratic

NEW YORK — Two far-right parties, the Austrian Freedom Party and the Movement for Austria's Future, won 29 percent of the vote in the latest Austrian general election — double their total in the 2006 election.
EDITORIALS
Oct 12, 2008

Refugees in Japan

This year the number of applicants for refugee status in Japan has increased to its highest level ever — nearly 1,000 people — according to the Japan Association for Refugees. This indicates an improving system and an expanding view of how to handle refugees coming to Japan. Last summer the government...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 12, 2008

Ryu Murakami mistakes consumption for labor

A friend used to call TV Tokyo the "ramen and golf channel." He was referring to the station's penchant for programming centered on food shows and sponsored sports events, which don't cost as much to produce as drama series or celebrity- laden variety shows. However, the station's tightwad image was...
BASKETBALL
Oct 11, 2008

Goya eager to make positive impact for Evessa

Point guard Takanori Goya was the No. 1 pick in the bj-league's 2006 draft. After two losing seasons, he was traded to the Osaka Evessa.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2008

Combating the piracy plague

SINGAPORE — The confrontation between foreign warships and well-armed pirates off the coast of lawless Somalia is a dramatic reminder to Asia of the importance of safeguarding busy channels used by international shipping.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Oct 11, 2008

Buffs, Fighters ready for PL Climax Series showdown

The first stage of the Pacific League Climax Series matches two teams that will contest strength against strength to decide which team will advance to face the Seibu Lions in the second stage.
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2008

1,500 fed-up Kyushu citizens sue to evict yakuza HQ

KURUME, Fukuoka Pref. — The yakuza's reputation for unpredictability and violence keeps journalists away, but a deadly turf war between two rival gangs in Kyushu has made the mob reluctant media fodder.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 11, 2008

Takashimaya, H2O plan merger within three years

Takashimaya Co., Japan's third-biggest department store chain, plans to merge within three years with smaller H2O Retailing Corp., which operates the Hankyu and Hanshin department stores.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Oct 11, 2008

Newton fired up to play in Okinawa

His bj-league resume is as impressive as anyone's in the circuit's brief history. Three championship seasons are his crowning achievement — so far.
BASKETBALL
Oct 10, 2008

Lakestars set to tip off against champ Evessa

Halloween is three weeks away, but Lake Biwa-area basketball fans will receive an early October treat this year.

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