Search - 2003

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 1, 2004

A testament to the love of Gainsbourg

A week before her concert appearance in Tokyo, I call Jane Birkin. That's Jane -- heavy breathing on the raunchy 1969 Serge Gainsbourg classic, "Je t'aime . . . moi non plus" -- Birkin.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 1, 2004

The answers without the questions

ZEN SAND: The Book of Capping Phrases for Koan Practice, by Victor Sogen Hori. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2003, 764 pp., $37.00 (cloth). Back in 1947 when I was sitting with Dr. Suzuki Daisetsu, he gave me my first and last koan -- the one about Nansen Fugan's cat. The eminent Zen master Nansen...
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 1, 2004

Tough opener for Marinos

Defending league champion Yokohama F. Marinos will entertain Nabisco Cup holders Urawa Reds in the pick of opening-day matches on March 13 as the J. League released the fixture list for the first stage of the 2004 season on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 1, 2004

China-Southeast Asia relations blossom

SINGAPORE -- Chinese worldwide ushered in the Year of the Monkey on Jan. 22. The outgoing Year of the Goat had been excellent for China -- despite the outbreak of SARS last winter -- and a relatively good year for Southeast Asia.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2004

Lower House panel OKs Iraq dispatch

The special Lower House committee on Iraq issues on Friday approved the contentious dispatch of Self-Defense Forces units to Iraq, despite last-ditch resistance from opposition parties.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2004

Jobless rate slides under 5% threshold

Japan's unemployment rate dropped to 4.9 percent in December, falling below the 5 percent threshold for the first time since June 2001, the government said Friday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 31, 2004

Sasaki clears waivers; Giants not interested

The Yomiuri Giants on Friday said the team is not interested in acquiring right-handed closer Kazuhiro Sasaki, who cleared waivers Thursday and was released by the Seattle Mariners.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2004

Bad-loan balance of 129 banks falls by 3.7 trillion yen

The combined balance of bad loans at Japan's 129 banks dropped by a net 3.7 trillion yen to 31.6 trillion yen during the April-September period, the Financial Services Agency said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2004

Diet business resumes with apology by Koizumi

Diet business reopened Thursday after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi retracted an earlier remark about the security situation in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah.
SUMO
Jan 30, 2004

Maru: Sumo needs Japanese yokozuna

Former yokozuna Musashimaru believes the absence of a Japanese wrestler at sumo's highest rank of grand champion is contributing to the continuing slide in popularity of the national sport.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 30, 2004

If it's got eight legs, eat it

TOTTORI -- Ever felt like traveling just to gratify your tastebuds? To Italy for real pizza, for example, or to India for authentic curry. Well, if your craving is for crustaceans, then you can look rather closer to home. Delicious snow crabs are now in season, and there's no better place to sample them...
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2004

Movie revenues hit record high

Movie revenues in Japan hit a record 203.2 billion yen in 2003, the Motion Pictures Producers Association of Japan said Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 29, 2004

Nishiguchi to start camp on farm

Seibu Lions right-hander Fumiya Nishiguchi, who spent most of last season on the disabled list with an injured leg, will start spring training on the club's farm team, officials of the Pacific League team said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2004

Wholesalers' sales up 0.1%

Wholesaler sales edged up 0.1 percent in 2003 from the previous year to 452.14 trillion yen, marking the first rise in three years, the government said Wednesday.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 29, 2004

Scott's sacking by Nets was no shock

NEW YORK -- For a while there, I thought the Nets' latest farce would never end.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2004

Stablemaster payout overturned

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday overturned a lower court ruling ordering the master of the Tatsunami sumo stable in Tokyo to pay his father-in-law 175 million yen for the inheritance of the stablemaster title.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2004

Two Tokyo teens held for dealing Ecstasy

Police said Tuesday they have arrested two teenage boys for allegedly selling Ecstasy to a female high school student in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2004

FSA to launch probe into major bank loans

The Financial Services Agency will conduct special inspections of major banks to assess their loans to big borrowers, Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2004

Regional economies earn second straight upgrade

The Finance Ministry on Tuesday upgraded its quarterly assessment of the nation's regional economies for the second time in a row.
BUSINESS
Jan 27, 2004

Kanebo, Kao again delay integration accord

Kanebo Ltd. and Kao Corp. said Monday they have again postponed signing a formal agreement to integrate their cosmetics businesses.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2004

Rengo facing crisis over 'shunto'

The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) faces a crisis this spring. Management has suggested that there may be decreases in basic wages and that annual spring labor campaigns for higher wages are dead.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 25, 2004

Ota skates away with gold at Four Continents event

Yukina Ota of Japan won the overall women's title at the Four Continents figure skating championships in Hamilton, Ontario on Friday. Canadian champion Cynthia Phaneuf took second spot after winning the free-skating section of the event.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 25, 2004

Embracing the beauty and the beast

The Chicago band Califone and Tucson-based singer-songwriter Howe Gelb will be coming to Japan next month to do a club tour together. Both artists record for the same Chicago indie, Thrill Jockey, which has a licensing deal with the Japanese company Headz, and they both happen to have time to kill in...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 25, 2004

To give proves easier said than done

JAPAN'S "CULTURE OF GIVING" AND NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, by Akira Matsubara and Hiroko Todoroki, translated by Richard Forrest. Tokyo: Coalition for Legislation to Support Citizen's Organizations, 2003, 45 pp., free (paper). Japan's transformation is proceeding quietly, slipping beneath media radar screens...
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2004

Doctors paid to 'lend' names to other hospitals

Doctors paid to 'lend' names to other hospitals
MORE SPORTS
Jan 23, 2004

Shimizu to run in Tokyo Marathon

Koji Shimizu, who finished 21st in the men's marathon at last summer's World Championships, and Takayuki Nishida are among the 11 Japanese invitees who will compete in the upcoming Tokyo International Marathon, organizers said Thursday.

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