Search - 2002

 
 
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Sep 19, 2003

Outrage by managers on diving never includes own players

LONDON -- Robert Pires is unique.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2003

More support urged for foreign students

The government and universities need to improve the support system and quality of education for the increasing number of foreign students in Japan, an advisory panel of the education ministry said Thursday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2003

Yamaha Motor eyes big bio-business growth

Yamaha Motor Co. has developed a photosynthesis technology capable of mass-producing a type of rare phytoplankton used in fish farming.
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2003

Starbucks looks to hot food for Japan sales boost

Starbucks Coffee Japan will offer hot food items at its outlets next month in an attempt to woo back customers, the company said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 18, 2003

One year after the Pyongyang summit

Wednesday marked the first anniversary of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's historic visit to North Korea, during which he met face to face with General Secretary Kim Jong Il. The meeting produced a joint declaration calling for, among other things, an early normalization of relations between the two...
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2003

National divorce rate hits another record high

Japan's divorce rate hit a new record high last year, reflecting an increasing number of middle-aged and older couples who are parting ways.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 18, 2003

Who will be the CL (and Tigers) MVP?

Congratulations to the Hanshin Tigers for winning the 2003 Central League pennant. It took a while to wrap it up, but it's always better when a team clinches the flag at home as the Tigers did on Sept. 15, a full one month and three days prior to the Oct. 18 start of the only post-season play in this...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2003

Pyongyang given ultimatum on anniversary of summit

The government's top spokesman reiterated Wednesday that Japan will not resume normalization talks with North Korea unless it allows the family members of abductees who returned last year to also come to Japan.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 18, 2003

Ito joins L'Aquila

Flyhalf Hiroaki Ito has joined five-time Italian league champion L'Aquila, rugby sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2003

10% of public school students eligible for welfare

The prolonged economic slump has extended into the nation's classrooms, with around 1.15 million public elementary and junior high school students qualifying for financial aid in fiscal 2002.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2003

New Mazda chief sets sights on U.S., China

Mazda Motor Corp. is gearing up to gain ground on rivals, especially in the United States and China, according to President Hisakazu Imaki.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2003

Soga talks of family she left behind

MANO, Niigata Pref. -- Hitomi Soga, who returned to Japan last year for the first time since being abducted to North Korea in 1978, said Tuesday she is filled with the pain of being separated from her husband and children.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2003

Koizumi hints at October election

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi suggested Tuesday he may dissolve the House of Representatives next month because holding simultaneous Lower and Upper House elections in summer "is not a good idea."
EDITORIALS
Sep 15, 2003

Looming specter of tax hikes

The government's budget deficit continues to swell at an ominous pace. According to an estimate by the Finance Ministry, the total amount of bond issues in fiscal 2004 may exceed 41 trillion yen -- a sum roughly half the size of the budget. The figure could be revised downward, possibly to less than...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2003

Counting down to victory, Hanshin fans warned Dotombori River is full of toxic sludge

As ardent Hanshin fans count down to the roaring Tigers' much-awaited baseball title, environmentalists wary of the revelers' ultimate expression of rapture -- a dive into Osaka's Dotombori River -- warn that the waterway is full of toxic sludge.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 14, 2003

Poetry: a language without borders

KIYOKO'S SKY: The Haiku of Kiyoko Tokutomi, translations by Patricia J. Machmiller & Fay Aoyagi. Illinois: Brookes Books, Decatur, 2002, 128 pp., $16 (paper). SELECTED HAIKU, by Takaha Shugyo, translations by Hoshino Tsunehiko & Adrian Pinnington. Tokyo: Furansudo, 2003, 108 pp., $16 (paper). These two...
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2003

598 Japanese abandoned in China after war to sue government this month

Another 598 Japanese who were abandoned in China at the end of World War II will sue the government later this month, bringing the total number of plaintiffs seeking compensation to more than 1,200 -- about half of the roughly 2,400 war-displaced orphans who have returned.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2003

Justice Ministry reports first death row hanging of 2003

The Justice Ministry on Friday reported the execution of a death-row inmate, a scenario that may provoke criticism both domestically and abroad.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2003

Online group united by anger

In an age of increasing disenchantment with political parties, both among voters and electoral candidates, there is one group whose level of support is still growing.
COMMUNITY
Sep 13, 2003

Blue-eyed singer brings heart of Japan to world

Greg Irwin looks back to the year 2000 and can hardly believe how his life has turned around. "I was ready to quit singing doyo. I was not happy in my personal life. I was questioning living in Japan and my career seemed to have hit the glass ceiling."
BUSINESS
Sep 13, 2003

Hino, Isuzu to delay merger of bus units

Hino Motors Ltd. and Isuzu Motors Ltd. said Friday they will delay the full merger of their bus-manufacturing operations until October 2004.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 13, 2003

Shop until you drop: Eriksson may be next on Chelsea's list

LONDON -- Sven-Goran Eriksson quits his job as head coach of England to become manager of Chelsea where he takes over from Claudio Ranieri.
BUSINESS
Sep 13, 2003

Saks Fifth Avenue to open in Japan

The Japan unit of upscale U.S. department store Saks Fifth Avenue said Friday it will open its first Japanese outlet in Tokyo in the fall of 2005.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2003

LDP's Yamasaki appeals libel ruling

Taku Yamasaki, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, on Thursday appealed a lower court decision rejecting his defamation suit against a magazine.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2003

Political donations sink to record low

Political donations plunged to a record-low 24.3 billion yen in 2002, down 24 percent from the previous year in a reflection of the ongoing economic slump, according to a government report released Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2003

It's time for Japan to stake wind power claim: advocate

A favorable wind is blowing for renewable energy these days amid mounting environmental concerns and fears of over-reliance on exhaustible fuels.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Sep 11, 2003

'War on Terror' veils assaults on the environment

Alread two years have passed since terrorist attacks in New York and Washington shook America and shocked the world. Today, the repercussions of those tragedies continue to impact American lives in ways never imagined. For environmentalists, one of the most disturbing consequences has been the Bush administration's...

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