Search - 2005

 
 
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2006

Exec allegedly paid to stop probe

complaints about the taxation probe, but I was not asked to do anything specific and did not do anything," Tanaka was quoted by his office as saying. "I understand the donation was made as a token of congratulation on my victory in the general election" in September. Meanwhile, Sugiyama also denied the...
EDITORIALS
Jul 1, 2006

Revitalizing Japanese agriculture

The fiscal 2005 white paper on agriculture, made public last month, covers the first year of the implementation of the nation's basic plan for food, agriculture and agricultural communities that was adopted in March 2005. The plan is based on the 1999 basic law, which spells out four fundamental goals:...
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2006

Plastic recyclers can't compete with China

Many Japanese companies that produce materials recycled from used plastic bottles are on the verge of bankruptcy as more and more of their raw material ends up in China and may soon be finding their way to India as well.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 17, 2006

Indoor play centers pricey but safe havens for kids

Parents often want their kids to play indoors because of bad weather, the threat of sunburn or other environmental factors, and increasingly, because of the fear of crime.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 15, 2006

Japan bashing then, China bashing now

LONDON -- Pressure on China today to push up the value of the yuan against the dollar is eerily similar to the pressure on Japan 30 years ago to make the yen appreciate. Back then, "Japan bashing" came to mean the threat of U.S. trade sanctions unless Japan softened competitive pressure on American industries....
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2006

Prince Hotels falls further into red

The reorganized Seibu Group said Wednesday its Prince Hotels chain had a net loss of 37.2 billion yen in fiscal 2005, an increase from the previous year's loss of 32 billion yen.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 6, 2006

Murakami arrested over insider trading

Outspoken investment fund manager Yoshiaki Murakami was arrested Monday for alleged insider trading linked to his investment fund's purchase of Nippon Broadcasting System Inc. shares between late 2004 and early 2005.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 4, 2006

The boys in blue got better things to do than ticket you

Local authorities nationwide started implementing a new policy to crack down on illegal parking last Thursday. Most people welcome stricter enforcement, since it presumably means safer streets and a smoother traffic flow. But there are many who don't like the new system, in particular people who operate...
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2006

Recovery raises tax revenues to 49 trillion yen

Tax revenues could reach 49 trillion yen in fiscal 2005, about 2 trillion yen more than previously forecast, thanks to the continuing economic recovery, Finance Ministry sources said Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2006

An 'OPEC' with nuclear weapons?

LONDON -- When I was in Moscow a few months ago I got into an argument with a retired high-level NATO official.
EDITORIALS
May 15, 2006

Apolitical support to Africa

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi recently visited Ethiopia and Ghana to underscore Japan's continuing efforts to help Africa fight AIDS and other diseases, eliminate poverty and solve conflicts. His visit to sub-Saharan Africa was the first by a Japanese leader since Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori went...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
May 14, 2006

Home and away

AUSTRALIA Respect brings harmony without being workaholic
BUSINESS
May 11, 2006

Toyota sets new record profit

Toyota Motor Corp. reported Wednesday a record group net profit of 1.37 trillion yen for fiscal 2005, up 17.2 percent over the previous year and the fourth straight yearly rise, thanks to brisk sales overseas, particularly in North America.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 2, 2006

How to kill a bill

On Oct. 12, 2005, the Tottori Prefectural Assembly approved Japan's first human rights ordinance, a local law forbidding and punishing racial discrimination.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2006

Jobless rate at seven-year low of 4.3%

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate averaged 4.3 percent in fiscal 2005, down 0.3 percentage point from fiscal 2004 and the lowest in seven years, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2006

MMC cuts last DaimlerChrysler tie

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will dissolve its engine-production venture with DaimlerChrysler AG by selling its entire stake in the equally owned firm to the German-American automaker, according to MMC officials.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2006

FTC to probe 11 firms over shady bids

The Fair Trade Commission is expected to open criminal investigations into 11 major water-treatment plant makers that were raided by the antitrust watchdog in August for allegedly rigging local government bids, sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2006

Over 4 million foreign tourists visited last year

The number of foreign tourists visiting Japan hit a record 4.37 million in 2005, up 13.8 percent from the previous year and surpassing 4 million for the first time, a government-affiliated organization said Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2006

Japan struggles with the right-to-die issue

The revelation in late March that a Toyama Prefecture surgeon shut off the life support of six patients and let them die has raised once again the issue of how to treat the terminally ill.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 2, 2006

Accepting apologies is not so easy

JAPANESE APOLOGIES FOR WORLD WAR II: A Rhetorical Study, by Jane W. Yamazaki. London: Routledge, 2005, 256 pp., £65 (cloth). POLITICS, MEMORY AND PUBLIC OPINION: The History Textbook Controversy and Japanese Society, by Sven Saaler, Munich: Deutsches Institut fur Japanstudien, 2005, 202 pp., 28 euro...
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2006

New traffic plan aims to cut deaths to 5,500 per year

The government said Tuesday it has drawn up a five-year plan for bringing traffic deaths under 5,500 a year by calendar 2010.
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2006

New chief vows to steady JAL

Japan Airlines Corp. should restructure itself into an airline that can consistently make an operating profit of at least 100 billion yen so it can survive in volatile business conditions, the troubled carrier's incoming president said in an interview with The Japan Times.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2006

Quarter GDP revised to 1.3%

The economy grew by a real 1.3 percent from October to December 2005 from the previous quarter, revised downward from the 1.4 percent rise reported initially, as capital spending declined, particularly among businesses, the government said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 9, 2006

Turbulent times for JAL

The drama started Feb. 10, when four board members of Japan Airlines Corp.'s international operations unit visited JAL President Toshiyuki Shinmachi with a petition carrying the signatures of some 50 managers. They urged him and two other executives to take responsibility for the JAL group's poor business...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 9, 2006

Young, fresh and traditional Japanese artists

Some people complain that poetry has never been the same since poets were absolved of their obligations to rhyme and rhythm. The same people also think that since the 1968 scrapping of the Hollywood Production Code that regulated sexual content, movies have lost a lot of their sexual sizzle.
BUSINESS
Mar 7, 2006

Capital spending jumps 9.5%

Capital spending rose 9.5 percent in the October to December quarter of 2005 on an all-industry basis compared with the previous year, the Finance Ministry said Monday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 5, 2006

Attention divided between WBC and NPB preseason

Kind of a strange atmosphere in Japan's yakyu world this week with the World Baseball Classic attracting a lot of attention, as it should but, at the same time, the 12 Central and Pacific League teams have concluded their spring training camps and are into the exhibition season, preparing for Opening...

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building