Search - 2002

 
 
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Nov 14, 2003

Constant in-fighting by Dutch leaves little energy for opponents

LONDON -- If Euro 2004 was to be decided on the basis of back-stabbing, internal politics, racism, disharmony and picking the wrong team, then Holland would have no rival.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2003

Xenophobia aside, Japan said to need foreign labor

OSAKA -- Although immigrant labor can play a key role in creating economic growth and vitality in Japan, serious debate on the issue has been stymied by traditional reluctance to welcome foreigners, sensationalized media coverage of the rise in crimes by foreigners and xenophobic comments by rightwing...
BUSINESS
Nov 14, 2003

Beerlike drink shipments may fall

Shipments of "happoshu," the low-malt cousin of beer, are expected to post their first year-on-year fall in 2003, according to industry data released Thursday.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Nov 13, 2003

Tokyo best place for NBA games

It was great to see the NBA back in Japan, after a four-year absence, a couple of weeks ago.
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2003

Eco-friendly cars to take big bite out of tax revenue

Revenue prefectures get from car taxes will plunge 18.4 billion yen next fiscal year because of a tax break for low-emission vehicles, the home affairs ministry said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2003

Bilateral talks must include abductions: Fukuda

Bilateral talks over compensating North Korea for Japan's colonial rule of the peninsula must also include the abduction issue, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2003

Government health facilities being used as holiday homes

Government rest facilities built for the sick are instead being used as holiday homes, a public auditors' report released Wednesday shows.
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2003

Marubeni to raise cash via preferred share issue

Struggling trading house Marubeni Corp. said Wednesday it will raise 75.5 billion yen by issuing preferred shares through third-party allotment mainly to financial institutions.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2003

Convenience shop killer appeals term

A 35-year-old man who killed a convenience store manager last year has appealed his life sentence to the Supreme Court.
BUSINESS
Nov 11, 2003

Deflation still Koizumi's bane

With the ruling coalition having won Sunday's House of Representatives election, albeit with a smaller majority, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is expected to stick with his structural reform agenda.
BUSINESS
Nov 11, 2003

Olympus posts record first-half profit

Robust sales of digital cameras helped Olympus Corp. post a record profit in the fiscal first half to Sept. 30.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION 2003
Nov 11, 2003

NCP to disband, merge with LDP

The New Conservative Party will disband and join the Liberal Democratic Party, party executives said Monday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 9, 2003

Down Under at its fun-filled best

Australia has never really needed any ploys to lure travelers to this vast country. The natural beauty of the rain forests in the north, deserts in the dry interior and mountains in the south, all surrounded by some of the greatest beaches in the world, are more than enough reasons to take a trip Down...
EDITORIALS
Nov 8, 2003

A sense of diplomatic uncertainty

During his two and half years in office, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has faced a series of major diplomatic challenges, including the U.S. strike on Afghanistan, the war in Iraq, the nuclear-weapons program in North Korea and the abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents. In a way,...
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2003

Pension crisis brings on number crunchers

The future of Japan's public pension system remains uncertain, and polls indicate the issue is a key concern of voters ahead of Sunday's House of Representatives election.
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2003

Ministry denies twins citizenship

The Justice Ministry will not accept the birth notification documents for a Japanese couple's twin boys born to an American surrogate mother in the United States last fall, officials said Friday.
BUSINESS
Nov 8, 2003

Takeda posts record first-half profit

Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd. reported Friday a record first-half profit, powered by robust sales of its four mainstay drugs.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2003

Yamaha Motor sees profit drop

Yamaha Motor Co. said Thursday its group operating profit fell 9 percent year-on-year to 37.29 billion yen in the fiscal first half partly due to a stronger yen.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2003

Roads to stay state-owned despite panel's entreaties

The nation's debt-laden expressways will remain government-owned despite recommendations that they be privatized.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2003

Bad loans at major banking groups decline 13%

The combined balance of bad loans at the seven major banking groups appears to have dropped by 13 percent to 18.1 trillion yen during the six months to Sept. 30, according to banking sources.
BUSINESS
Nov 6, 2003

Toyota enjoys record first half

Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday its group net profit logged a year-on-year surge of 23 percent in the first half, hitting a best-ever 524.46 billion yen, on record sales.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Nov 6, 2003

"The Goose Girl," "The Tiger Bone Thief"

"The Goose Girl," Shannon Hale, Bloomsbury; 2003; 383 pp. Once upon a time, two German brothers published a collection of children's stories inspired by popular European folk tales. The stories of the Brothers Grimm became fairytale classics, and many of them -- Cinderella, Snow White, Little Red Riding...
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2003

Record 12 Japanese held in China airport drug busts

A record high 12 Japanese have been arrested at Chinese airports this year for allegedly smuggling drugs, according to the Foreign Ministry.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2003

'Loan Shark King' plea held till mob probe ends

A former gangster dubbed the "Loan Shark King" said during his first trial session Wednesday he was putting off entering a plea on charges of lending money at exorbitant interest rates.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami