Search - 2005

 
 
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2007

Activist investors impact annual meetings

Steel Partners, Ichigo Asset Management and other investors in Japanese companies are doubling their involvement at annual meetings as overseas shareholders lead a drive for higher returns.
EDITORIALS
Jun 28, 2007

A bid to shake up U.S. politics

There is still a year and a half before the next U.S. presidential election, but campaigning is already intense. Even though there is no shortage of candidates from the two main parties, attention is now focusing on an as-yet undeclared candidate who may run as an independent. His denials notwithstanding,...
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Jun 27, 2007

Finding a final resting place for retired mobile phones

No self-respecting person is going to toss out their address book into the street for one and all to peruse at their leisure. It would invite too horrendous a violation of privacy. So, it is only natural that we are loathe to trust our retired "keitai" to the tender mercies of the communal trash, especially...
COMMENTARY
Jun 26, 2007

China aims for bigger share of South Asia's water lifeline

NEW DELHI — Sharpening Asian competition over energy resources, driven in part by high growth rates in gross domestic product and in part by mercantilist attempts to lock up supplies, has obscured another danger: Water shortages in much of Asia are beginning to threaten rapid economic modernization,...
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2007

Mitutoyo execs receive suspended terms

The Tokyo District Court gave four former executives of precision instrument maker Mitutoyo Corp. suspended prison sentences Monday for illegally exporting devices that could aid the production of nuclear weapons.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2007

Tobacco watch on public health policy

BANGKOK — A powerful consensus is emerging among health advocates and public officials around the world that the tobacco industry should not have any influence on public health policies.
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...
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2007

Investors OK non-Japanese on Toyota board

Jim Press, the top man of Toyota's North American operations, got the go-ahead from shareholders Friday to become the first non-Japanese member of the automaker's board of directors.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 23, 2007

Tuffy gives fans delight on, off field

As he walked back from the outfield after wrapping up his pre-game fielding practice, fans found him, ran down to the first row of the stands and yelled, "Tuffy! Give me your autograph!"
SOCCER
Jun 22, 2007

Osim leaves door ajar for Hide

Japan coach Ivica Osim has left the national team door wide open for Hidetoshi Nakata should the superstar make a sensational return to professional soccer.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2007

Four Stories rises in Osaka's 'cultural desert'

OSAKA — For the Kansai region's foreign residents, a night out in Osaka has not usually meant a literary experience. Unlike neighboring Kyoto, with its reputation as a mecca for foreign artists, writers and poets, one did not usually walk into an Osaka bar or restaurant expecting to hear quality short...
EDITORIALS
Jun 22, 2007

Water fit for drinking

Some 3.4 million people abroad die annually of diseases caused by drinking polluted water. Fortunately, drinking water in Japan is virtually free of pollution and pathogens thanks to the efforts of the 60,000 local government people employed in city water supply services.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 22, 2007

Simpler treaty for EU's silent majority

LUXEMBOURG — At the European Union's summit this week, debate will center on whether to go forward with a "mini" EU Constitutional Treaty. That debate is the result of the rejection of the draft treaty by French and Dutch voters in 2005. But those "no" votes have obscured the fact that 18 of the EU's...
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jun 21, 2007

Yano, Rawl pursue new path to sporting success

The first real innovator in human history invented the wheel, ushering in an era of lighter workloads and easier trips. Others have made notable contributions: Thomas Edison perfected the light bulb; Johannes Gutenberg gave us the printing press; and Wilbur and Orville Wright demonstrated that airplanes...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 21, 2007

Soundtrack of the summer: Yosuke Yamashita

Known for almost 40 years for his bass-less, eponymous trio and half that time for his New York Trio, pianist Yosuke Yamashita offers listeners a change by bringing his New Quartet to Noto. Yamashita, 67, will play with bassist Akira Yanagihara, alto saxophonist Yuya Yoneda and drummer Takumi Ogasawara,...
MORE SPORTS
Jun 20, 2007

Togura makes strong impression on national team

KAWASAKI— Eight years ago, the first American football World Cup kicked off, and Kazuya Togura did not know about the sport.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2007

Japan hopes coral plan keeps disputed EEZ claim above water

Fisheries officials have launched a coral-growing project around two Pacific Ocean islets to bolster a reef and Japan's claims in a territorial dispute with China.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 19, 2007

Second Life, second lingo

There probably aren't many English teachers in Japan who go to work carrying a samurai sword, dressed in battle armor, with a large Stars and Stripes strapped to their back. But happily for Chris Flesuras, in 3-D virtual world Second Life little is impossible.

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