Search - news

 
 
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 25, 2007

Our world is being driven by denial

As an environmental columnist, one question that repeatedly comes to mind is, "How much denial is humanly possible?"
COMMENTARY
Jul 25, 2007

The death of Iraq's Christian community

WASHINGTON — Although Islam long has been in the ascendancy in Iraq, the so-called Assyrians, who speak a neo-Aramaic language, predate the rise of Islam. Today, however, the Iraqi Christian community faces possible extermination.
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2007

KDDI announces fee cuts; could spur industry price war

KDDI Corp. said Thursday it plans to cut its basic monthly mobile-phone fees by 50 percent starting in September if users sign a two-year-contract — a decision that could trigger an industry price war.
MORE SPORTS
Jul 7, 2007

Japan, France kick off gridiron championship

KAWASAKI — Two-time defending champion Japan will kick off the international American football competition against France as the two nations take on each other on Saturday, the opening day of the 3rd IFAF World Championships at Kawasaki's Todoroki Stadium.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2007

Sales tax hike would need voter OK via Lower House poll

If the government hopes to raise the 5 percent consumption tax, it will have to gain voter approval in the next House of Representatives election, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2007

Voter litmus test last thing Abe needs now

Scandals, from corruption to suicide, have been the hallmarks of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's first ordinary Diet session, which ended Thursday with support for his Cabinet at its lowest ebb.
BUSINESS
Jul 3, 2007

Citibank Japan opens with eye on retirees

Citibank Japan Ltd., a new subsidiary formed Sunday by U.S. financial giant Citigroup Inc., has kicked off operations targeting wealthy retail banking customers, the company said Monday.
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2007

Hawker's parents get show of support from suspect's family

and mother Julia look on during a news conference Friday at the British Embassy in Tokyo. SATOKO KAWASAKI PHOTO
COMMENTARY
Jun 29, 2007

Chief executive who serves two masters

This is the first in a series of columns on the political and economic status of Hong Kong. On Sunday, the former British crown colony will mark its 10th anniversary as a special province of China.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jun 29, 2007

Taste receptors bow to flavor god

It used to be said that the human tongue perceived flavor in the form of four basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Then a Japanese scientist, Ikeda Kikunae (1864-1936), detected a rich, satisfying taste common to meat, cheese and Japanese dashi (stock) — among other things — which couldn't...
COMMENTARY
Jun 25, 2007

Ways to steer public opinion

Since last year, moves by the government to sway public opinion in favor of its policies have come to the fore one after another. On June 6, the Japan Communist Party revealed that the Ground Self-Defense Force's intelligence security unit had gathered information on the activities of organizations and...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 24, 2007

Big breasts, funny hair, anything dumb — the way to go on TV

Last spring, TV tarento Rei Kikukawa made news when she appeared in a bra commercial. TV commercials are the bread-and-butter of most tarento (media stars), and Kikukawa has done her fair share, but since gaining stardom she's managed to avoid overt exploitation of her sex appeal. That's because she...
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2007

LDP lawmakers claim Nanjing Massacre death toll only 20,000

A group of about 100 lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said Tuesday that after a monthlong review they have determined the number of people killed by Japanese troops during the Nanjing Massacre of 1937 has been grossly inflated.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jun 10, 2007

Shiraishi credits sailing career to mentor Tada

"Ask yourself when you last spent a single day with no human contact — then multiply this by 100!" — VELUX 5 OCEANS pre-race press release.
BASKETBALL
Jun 7, 2007

Orimo welcomes move to new team in Sapporo

He'd been a total stranger to the place for his entire life. But now Takehiko Orimo gets a huge welcome there as a messiah — and he intends to be one.
BUSINESS
Jun 6, 2007

TBS affiliates say no to Rakuten

Local broadcasters affiliated with Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. voiced strong opposition Tuesday to Internet mall operator Rakuten Inc.'s bid to make TBS an affiliate.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2007

Political pressure puts press freedom to test

, director of the Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organization, announces during a news conference on March 7 the formation of a new subcommittee to prevent fabricated information from being broadcast by TV stations. KYODO PHOTO
JAPAN
May 28, 2007

Media, NGOs help China become environmentally aware

The media and nongovernmental organizations are beginning to play a role in shaping China's environment protection policies as awareness of the costs of its rapid growth spreads among policymakers as well as the public, a group of Chinese journalists told a recent symposium in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 27, 2007

Baby hatch gives rise to empty moralizing

Every year the national Parent-Teacher Association conducts a survey to find out which television shows people either want or don't want their children to watch. Two programs always make it to the top of the disapproval list: "London Hearts," a variety show hosted by the coarse comedy duo London Boots,...
COMMENTARY
May 26, 2007

Gordon Brown too arrogant?

LONDON — The new tenant of Number 10 Downing Street is now all set to move in. With remarkable ease the new British prime minister, Gordon Brown, replaces the old one, Tony Blair, and life goes on in Britain as before.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
May 24, 2007

Wildlife corridors, the key to conservation

HAZARIBAGH, Jharkhand, India — As a new environmental consciousness becomes more entrenched, the focus for conserving the so-called "flagship species" such as the great predator tigers and bears, and also elephants, has shifted. When India's Project Tiger was started in the 1970s with the purpose of...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 23, 2007

Can 'organic' feed us all?

Having experienced firsthand the waste, power abuse and nepotism that malign the United Nations from within, I am not usually a fan of its conferences.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb