Search - 2004

 
 
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 1, 2004

Dodgers coach Colborn feels right at home in Japan

Thrilled to be back in Japan last month as the pitching coach on the 2004 Major League Baseball All-Star Japan Tour was Jim Colborn, former pitching instructor for the Orix BlueWave and currently mentor to the mound staff of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
EDITORIALS
Nov 29, 2004

Heading for higher taxes

The latest report from the government's Tax Commission has a sobering message: In the long run, taxes in Japan have nowhere to go but up. As the commission's chairman, Mr. Hiromitsu Ishi, points out, there is no way to avoid tax increases in order to put the nation's fiscal house in order.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 28, 2004

A clever yarn crafted from a hoax

MY LIFE AS A FAKE, by Peter Carey. Faber & Faber, 2004, 276 pp., £6.99 (paper). One of the most stunning acts of literary criticism in modern times was perpetrated in an Australian magazine called Angry Penguins during World War II. It consisted of a small body of faux experimental poetry, purporting...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 28, 2004

Kanye West

The term "old school" can be taken several ways on Kanye West's "The College Dropout," easily the overground hip-hop album of 2004. The once and future producer of Jay-Z, West obviously makes a lot of money so he doesn't have to convince anyone that his lack of higher education didn't hold him back....
MORE SPORTS
Nov 27, 2004

'Godzilla' returns home after heartbreak season

Even after living every boy's dream of hitting cleanup for the New York Yankees in the 2004 season, Hideki Matsui isn't happy.
BUSINESS
Nov 27, 2004

Recuperating Kanebo chalks up 358 billion yen net profit in first half

Kanebo Ltd., which is rehabilitating under the state-backed Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan, on Friday reported a group net profit of 358.11 billion yen for the first half of fiscal 2004.
BUSINESS
Nov 26, 2004

Tax panel pushes hikes in 2005

The Tax Commission recommended Thursday that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi raise both income and residential taxes in fiscal 2005 in what would be the first significant tax increases in six years.
BUSINESS
Nov 26, 2004

As bad-loan worries finally recede, banks turn attention to weak profits

Major Japanese banks are finally set to bid farewell to the bad-loan problems that have dragged down the country's financial sector, not to mention the economy as a whole.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2004

Fuso trucks made this month to join recall for faulty hubs

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp. announced Wednesday it will issue recalls possibly in mid-December for about 130,000 large vehicles to replace front- and rear-wheel hubs, including vehicles produced this month.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 24, 2004

Kiyohara set to stay

Disgruntled veteran Yomiuri Giants slugger Kazuhiro Kiyohara indicated Tuesday he will stay with the Central League club next season.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 24, 2004

Lonely days in Fukuoka

The imminent sale of the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks baseball team to the Softbank Internet company may yield great results down the road but, right now, the elimination of the "Daiei" name seems to have cast an atmosphere of sabishisa (loneliness) over the city and the entire northern Kyushu area.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2004

Nonlife insurers report sharp fall in earnings

Major nonlife insurers reported sharp drops Monday in first-half earnings because of hefty claims filed during a record typhoon season.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2004

Latest EU expansion poses more economic problems than benefits

Despite the political significance of completing the reunification of Cold War-divided Europe, this year's enlargement of the European Union creates few near-term economic benefits and poses major challenges for the region, an expert with a British institute told a recent symposium in Tokyo.
Features / WEEK 3
Nov 21, 2004

Lolitas' bard is sitting pretty

The morgue-like, air-conditioned lobby of Tokyo's Keio Plaza Hotel is the haunt of businessmen in crisp black suits who sip $10 coffees and nod along to conversations that never rise above a murmur. But the studied cool is broken when Novala Takemoto swishes in, drawing faces in his direction like sunflowers...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 21, 2004

A boy detective of Old Edo

THE GHOST IN THE TOKAIDO INN, by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler. New York: Puffin Books, 2001, 214 pp., $6.99 (paper). Other books by same authors:
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 21, 2004

Daring to break the rules: Japan's first modern novelists

TWO JAPANESE NOVELISTS: SOSEKI & TOSON, by Edwin McClellan. Tuttle, 2004, 166 pp., 1,500 yen (paper). Even if they do recognize the man, Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) for many non-Japanese is no more than the prim blue gent in the mustache that once peered out from the 1,000 yen bill. Yet Soseki is the...
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2004

Fiscal panel calls for tax increases

An finance advisory panel Friday recommended the government drastically cut spending and increase revenue by raising taxes in order to restore Japan's fiscal health -- a prerequisite to ensuring a sustained domestic demand-led economic recovery.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2004

Profit picture brightens for TV Asahi

TV Asahi Corp. said Friday its group net profit swelled 216.3 percent to 3.47 billion yen in the first half of fiscal 2004 from a year earlier.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2004

Asbestos use still widespread in Asia, as are its ills: expert

Asia needs to ban the use of asbestos and conduct studies on people who have become ill from exposure or asbestos-related diseases will never end, according to a specialist.
BUSINESS
Nov 19, 2004

Sanrio to issue BTM 20 billion yen in new shares

Sanrio Co. said Thursday it will issue about 20 billion yen worth of new shares to Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and other firms to prop up its capital base.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 19, 2004

Banks looking to cash in on end of brokering ban

Japanese mega-banking groups are stepping up efforts to launch one-stop financial shops that provide financial services across the board, ranging from banking services to sales of stocks, bonds, mutual funds and insurance policies.
BUSINESS
Nov 19, 2004

Mitsubishi, Itochu to be stakeholders in Isuzu

Mitsubishi Corp. and Itochu Corp. will buy stakes in truck maker Isuzu Motors Ltd., the two trading companies said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2004

National rice target to fall in 2005

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry plans to pare its rice output target for 2005 to 8.51 million tons, down 60,000 tons from 2004, ministry officials said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 16, 2004

International voyage of dance

More than 120 top contemporary dancers from 11 nations will take part in Dance Biennale Tokyo 2004, Nov. 15-28.
CULTURE / Art
Nov 16, 2004

Design Festa 2004

An explosion of creativity is set to go off in Tokyo on Nov. 13 and 14, as 5,500 artists, many visiting from abroad, converge on Japan's largest art festival -- Design Festa Vol. 20.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Nov 13, 2004

Jol hoping to put a foot in Tottenham's revolving door

LONDON -- Tottenham Hotspur appointed a new man to take charge of the first-team this week -- so, no change there then.

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