Search - 2003

 
 
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 2, 2003

Giants pitcher Kudo to get hefty pay cut

Yomiuri Giants lefty Kimiyasu Kudo, who turned 40 in May, will be given a 20 million yen pay cut, the Central League club said Monday.
BUSINESS / FRONT-RUNNERS
Dec 2, 2003

Casio electronic dictionaries put paper lexicon out to pasture

If Casio Computer Co. has its way, the heavy paper dictionary will be a thing of the past for most consumers.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2003

Contest gets kids to use cell phones for school projects

High school students have found that camera-integrated mobile phones are not only good for exchanging e-mail messages and snapshots but also for carrying out their school projects.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2003

State seizes Ashikaga Bank shares

The government completed procedures Monday to seize all shares in Ashikaga Bank and temporarily nationalize the insolvent regional lender.
COMMENTARY
Dec 1, 2003

Iraq and economy top political agenda

The special session of the Diet that was convened on Nov. 19 following the Nov. 9 general election came to an early close Nov. 27. On the question of the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq, which is the most important issue at the moment, fierce debate unfolded between Prime Minister Junichiro...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 30, 2003

Power and glory of temple ruins

ANGKOR: Celestial Temples of the Khmer Empire, text by Ian Mabbett, Eleanor Mannikka, Jon Ortner, John Sanday and James Goodman; photos by Jon Ortner. New York: Abbeville Press, 2003, 289 pages, $95 (cloth).
MORE SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Nov 29, 2003

Top League looking to emulate World Cup final

While the rest of the world was watching the final stages of the action Down Under at the Rugby World Cup, it was business as usual for the players in the Top League.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 29, 2003

Sensible plan for South Korea

WASHINGTON -- Even those who admire U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld rarely consider his diplomatic skills among his strongest suits. Capable of being charming and engaging in person, he tends to come across less well when sniping at allies across oceans over the chief foreign policy issues...
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2003

Shinsei Bank reports net profit rise

Shinsei Bank said Friday its group net profit rose 28.6 percent in the fiscal first half of 2003 from a year earlier to 34 billion yen.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Nov 28, 2003

Duff acquisition paying immediate dividends for Chelski

LONDON -- Somewhere on this planet the man working for Decca Records 40 years ago who told the Beatles they wouldn't make it and should try another career, may still be alive.
BUSINESS
Nov 28, 2003

Japanese youths jobless, unworried

Many unemployed Japanese youths have no intention of finding a job, according to a recent Cabinet Office report.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 26, 2003

Matsui, the Yankees and the PL's new free-agent trend

Hot stove league time, fans. Or should that be the hot hibachi league here in Japan? Lots going on during the off-season, so let's take a look at a few interesting happenings from last week.
BUSINESS / FRONT-RUNNERS
Nov 26, 2003

Matsui Securities owes success to efficient online trading service

A Tokyo-based securities house that posted first-half operating revenue of just 10 billion yen happens to be one of the nation's strongest brokerages, as its profit margin was 50 percent.
EDITORIALS
Nov 24, 2003

Between a rock and a hard place

China continues to grow at a blistering pace. It is emerging as one of the drivers of the global economy, sucking in exports from its neighbors and providing returns for investors. Increasingly, however, there are concerns that China is overheating: Growth is bound to stall as the business cycle asserts...
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2003

Financial Services chief vows to avert bank crisis

Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka tried to offer assurances Sunday that the government would do everything it can to avert a financial crisis if some banks are found to have serious problems after releasing their midterm business results.
SPORTS
Nov 23, 2003

England wins Rugby World Cup

SYDNEY - The unerring boot of Jonny Wilkinson had been the talk of the 2003 Rugby World Cup to date and in a fitting end to an epic final it was his magical right-footed drop goal that won England the William Webb Ellis Trophy for the first time in Sydney on Saturday night.
Events / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Nov 23, 2003

Kobe German school to host Christmas market

Deutsche Schule Kobe, a German school in the city's Nada Ward, is hosting a Christmas market between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Nov. 29.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 23, 2003

N. Korea: where NGOs fear to go

PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS: The NGO Experience in North Korea, edited by L. Gordon Flake and Scott Snyder. Praeger Publishers, 2003, 176 pp., $45 (cloth). Pity the poor nongovernmental organizations trying to work in North Korea. They face a monumental challenge -- aiding a society that is starving and...
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2003

Mitsui Chemicals sees profit plunge

Mitsui Chemicals Inc. said Friday its group net profit tumbled 71.3 percent in the fiscal first half of 2003 to 3.71 billion yen due to extraordinary losses.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2003

Earnings results leave everyone sweating at TSE

The number of companies that announced their earnings results for the first half of fiscal 2003 peaked Friday at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, leaving the TSE press club packed with perspiring reporters and company officials.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2003

Contractors see mixed results in first-half earnings

Four major construction companies reported mixed group earnings results Friday for the fiscal first half of 2003.
EDITORIALS
Nov 21, 2003

On a slow but steady track

Japan's economy, though beset by uncertainties, is recovering steadily. That is the message of the latest government report on the gross domestic product (GDP), which was published last week by the Cabinet Office. In the third quarter, July through September, the real GDP -- excluding effects of falling...
MORE SPORTS
Nov 21, 2003

All Blacks take third place after uninspiring playoff

SYDNEY -- New Zealand outclassed a largely second-string French team 40-13 at the Telstra Stadium in Sydney on Thursday to claim third place in the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2003

Starbucks Japan profit sinks 58%

Starbucks Coffee Japan Ltd. said Thursday its profit for the first half of fiscal 2003 plummeted 58 percent to 93 million yen due to costs associated with closing unprofitable stores.
BUSINESS
Nov 19, 2003

Tepco hurt by fallout from nuclear reactor closures

Tokyo Electric Power Co. posted an 86.85 billion yen net profit in the fiscal first half of 2003, down 44 percent from a year earlier.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2003

Shiatsu to soothe the nervous Chihuahua?

Dog owners will readily say that just being around their pets helps ease their stress. But beyond petting and feeding, how can owners return the compliment and relieve their animals' tension? Or else just pamper them to the max?
BUSINESS
Nov 19, 2003

Restore Japanese confidence in nuclear power: IEA

The International Energy Agency urged Japan on Tuesday to restore public confidence in nuclear energy in light of its plans to increase its nuclear power output by 30 percent by 2010.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji