Search - 2005

 
 
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Mar 18, 2007

Thousands in grip of new exam fever

Whether because they are bored, driven to absorb as much of life's wonder as they can, or because they regard certificates as legups on the career pole, many Japanese of all ages are flocking to fonts of knowledge on everything from kanji (Chinese written characters), to shochu (low-class distilled spirits)...
CULTURE / Books
Mar 18, 2007

Joking aside, the recovery offers a lifetime opportunity

The Japanese Money Tree: How Investors Can Prosper from Japan's Economic Rebirth, by Andrew Shipley. Pearson Education, 2006, 245 pp., $24.99 (cloth) Derided during the 1990s by foreign fund managers as "the sick man of Asia," Japan's weak growth performance after the economic bubble burst made it the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 17, 2007

Blues band does its bit for Internet freedom

It's early for Mac (Makoto) "The Knife" Okuyama and Mark "The Spark" Schwarz to be up and about, especially since both have the day off from filling their rice bowls.
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2007

Toyota frets U.S. political backlash: Okuda

The former head of Toyota acknowledged Wednesday the successful carmaker was worried about a possible political backlash in the United States to his company's booming success there in stark contrast to struggling U.S. rivals.
EDITORIALS
Mar 15, 2007

Off the TSE hook

The Tokyo Stock Exchange has decided not to delist Nikko Cordial Corp., the nation's third-largest brokerage, from the Tokyo bourse despite its false reporting of earnings. The TSE's explanation -- that the brokerage's misconduct was "not black enough" -- makes the public wonder whether the exchange...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 15, 2007

In dark woods

The Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine in Kyushu is a peaceful, tranquillity-filled spot detached from the bustle of big cities like Fukuoka, a half-hour drive away. It has been a place of worship since it was built on the grave of Michizane Sugawara, a beloved high-ranking Heian Period official who died in exile...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 14, 2007

What's 'separate' about humankind?

In a sense, I'm a mind reader. In writing this, I believe that you think that I want you to think that I intend to persuade you of something I believe. Got that?
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2007

Teacher traces aversion to 'Kimigayo' to the war

Toru Kondo is a good man.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2007

Fujiya warns of 6.7 billion yen net loss from safety scandal

Scandal-tainted confectioner Fujiya Co. said Tuesday it expects to post a group net loss of 6.7 billion yen for the business year ending this month, reversing its initial forecast of an 800 million yen net profit, due to food safety problems that forced it to shut down production.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 13, 2007

Japan is obliged to accept refugees, so why so few?

In 1981, Japan signed the U.N. 1951 Conventions Relating to the Status of Refugees and in 1982, it inked the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees and enacted the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law. Signatories are obliged to give refugees due recognition and protect their basic...
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2007

Horie didn't like his job, he was just good at it

to try to increase its value, just like any shareholder would," he said between frequent glances at his cell phone. Livedoor shares were trading at around 700 yen shortly after a stock split and before the firm was raided in January 2006 for alleged accounting fraud. By the time Livedoor was delisted...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2007

United vision of justice can defeat terror

BRUSSELS -- Three years ago this month simultaneous bomb attacks struck trains in Madrid. Islamist terrorists killed 191 people and wounded over 2,000. Last month the suspects went on trial in a Spanish court.
COMMENTARY
Mar 13, 2007

Dealing with climate change

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol, and the 20th anniversary of the publication "Our Common Future," by the United Nations Brundtland Commission, the landmark report that called for "sustainable development" -- meeting the needs of the present without compromising...
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2007

Sex slave history erased from texts; '93 apology next?

Former education minister Nariaki Nakayama takes pride in an achievement he and about 130 fellow members of the Liberal Democratic Party took the past decade to accomplish: getting references to Japan's wartime sex slaves struck from most authorized history texts for junior high schools.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 11, 2007

Signing of Matsuzaka likely helping interest in Japanese baseball grow overseas

I thought there was going to be an increased interest in Japanese baseball in other countries, particularly in North America, after Hideo Nomo made it big with the Los Angeles Dodgers 12 years ago in 1995.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Mar 11, 2007

What happens when blog bullies get hot under the collar

In April last year, Jiji Press technology reporter Tsuruaki Yukawa felt as if he had enemies all around him.
EDITORIALS
Mar 11, 2007

Long road to rehabilitation

The announcement last June by Yubari, Hokkaido, a former coal-mining town now known for the Yubari brand of melon, that it had effectively gone bankrupt sent shock waves throughout the nation because many cities, towns and villages face a similar financial crisis. The city has adopted, and the government...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Mar 11, 2007

Jimmy Wales: Power to the Wikipeople

An Internet search for almost anything these days will likely lead you straight to Wikipedia, the worldwide online encyclopedia.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 11, 2007

What will happen to all that Japanese boomers' cash?

Hurry! Don't miss out! Yamaha, the giant musical-instrument manufacturer, is offering three-month ukulele courses! Or, the more adventurous can avail themselves of the services of travel agents at JTB who are promoting a six-day tour -- or an eight-day rongubakeeshon (long vacation) tour of Hawaii, where...

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight