Search - 2000

 
 
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2001

Fifth Foreign Ministry official fired

The Foreign Ministry on Thursday fired an official who had been indicted earlier in the day for allegedly padding hotel bills and swindling the government out of public money, Deputy Vice Foreign Minister Kyoji Komachi said.
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2001

Unemployment stays at 5%

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at a record-high 5 percent for the second consecutive month in August, sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Sep 28, 2001

Isuzu sells base in restructuring effort

In a bid to accelerate its restructuring, Isuzu Motor Ltd. said Thursday it has sold its headquarters building and land in Tokyo to Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 27, 2001

Buffaloes clinch pennant in grand style

Pinch-hitter Hirotoshi Kitagawa crushed a "sayonara" grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday, giving the Kintetsu Buffaloes their first Pacific League crown in 12 years.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Sep 27, 2001

Counting down to environmental doom

An English friend, teasing, once asked whether Americans have a sense of irony. We certainly do, I replied, though perhaps less so than the English who, for generations, never saw the sun set and now live in darkness much of the year.
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2001

Government's outstanding debt reaches 557.19 trillion yen

The Japanese government's outstanding debt stood at a record-high 557.19 trillion yen at the end of June, up from 538.39 trillion yen at the end of March, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 26, 2001

A kiss in the darkroom

When I spoke with curator Michiko Kasahara about the Tokyo Museum of Photography's new exhibition, "A Kiss in the Dark," the first thing she wanted to explain was the show's intriguing title. Her catalog essay expands:
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2001

Ministry names new chief of Asian affairs

The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday named Hitoshi Tanaka, director general of the economic affairs bureau, as head of the bureau in charge of Asian and Oceanian affairs.
BUSINESS
Sep 25, 2001

37% of temporary workers desire regular employment: survey

Thirty-seven percent of temporary workers in Japan want to become permanent employees mainly because their current wages are low, according to a survey released recently by a temporary workers' association.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 23, 2001

Fact and fiction meet in re-creation of Ainu past

HARUKOR: An Ainu Woman's Tale, by Katsuichi Honda. Translated by Kyoko Selden. University of California Press, 2000, 315 pp., $19.95 (paper). When I was a university student in Kyoto during the 1960s, Katsuichi Honda was the most glamorous adventurer-journalist of the day.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2001

Obituary: Lee Chang Sok

Lee Chang Sok, a South Korean resident of Japan who served in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II and sued for payment of a war pension, died at a Kyoto hospital Friday morning, his family said. He was 75.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2001

Troubled youngsters turn to friends, not family

Young people are more likely to turn to friends in times of trouble than their parents or teachers, with most youngsters both dependent on and fearful of their peers' opinions, according to a government survey released Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2001

Global summit to issue call to arms against disease

Japan will host an international symposium early next month to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in the fight against AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
BUSINESS
Sep 21, 2001

Vodafone unit to launch Japan Telecom takeover

British cellular operator Vodafone Group PLC will today launch an agreed takeover bid over Japan Telecom Co. through a wholly owned subsidiary and take full control of the nation's third-largest operator with up to a 66.7 percent stake, Vodafone announced Thursday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2001

Kawasaki Heavy, IHI torpedo tieup

Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. have called off their plan to integrate shipbuilding operations, the two companies announced Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2001

Transport ministry seeks to privatize public bodies

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry on Wednesday unveiled a plan to privatize four public corporations under its jurisdiction.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 19, 2001

History still on hold as Buffs righty sizzles

OSAKA -- Hisashi Iwakuma fired a two-hitter as the Kintetsu Buffaloes scored a key 5-0 victory over the Seibu Lions at the Osaka Dome on Tuesday night, boosting their lead in the Pacific League to 11/2 games, and keeping the dream of going worst to first in just one season alive.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2001

Half of imprisoned gangsters plan return to mob: poll

Almost half of all gangsters currently imprisoned hope to return to their organizations after their release, according to a recent Justice Ministry survey.
JAPAN / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Sep 19, 2001

Foreign firms slowly influence job-for-life market

As foreign companies have increased their presence in Japan in recent years, many have found it difficult to hire quality local staff.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2001

Hokkaido farm shipped 72 suspect cows

Seventy-two cows have been shipped since 1996 from a farm in the town of Saroma, Hokkaido, where a 5-year-old cow suspected of having mad cow disease was born, according to the farm ministry, which on Tuesday banned the use of cow meat and bone meal for use in cattle feed.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2001

Slayer of elderly land holder gets 15-year term

OSAKA -- An executive of a real estate firm was sentenced to 15 years in prison for murdering an 81-year-old woman who refused to vacate her house, which stood in the middle of a condominium construction site.
Events
Sep 18, 2001

Kobe airport foes marshall forces

KOBE -- Although construction began on controversial Kobe airport two years ago, citizens opposed to the facility continue pursuing all avenues to try to stop it, including new public disclosure laws and the upcoming mayoral election.
Events
Sep 18, 2001

Slice of U.S. pie reveals dreams aren't in the sky

KYOTO -- In 1996, Akiko Hirano was finally ready to fulfill her dream of earning a diploma at a U.S. university. So the 47-year-old boarded a flight to Connecticut to chase a higher education.
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2001

BOJ steps in to boost dollar

The Bank of Japan on Monday went on a dollar-buying spree to stem further falls in the U.S. currency in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2001

Vodafone ready to make grab for Japan Telecom

British mobile phone giant Vodafone Group PLC has begun final preparations to conduct a takeover bid of Japan Telecom Co. so it can establish management control over the Japanese telecommunications firm, industry officials said Sunday.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 16, 2001

Wreaking revenge by living well

SO CAN YOU, by Mitsuyo Ohira. Translated by John Brennan. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2000, 223 pp., 1,300 yen When I first set eyes on "So Can You," I wasn't sure what kind of book to expect. On the cover was a photo of a kind-faced, bespectacled woman in a plaid blazer who could easily pass for...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 15, 2001

Finding market niches to make really good books

Ivan Vartanian makes books. He is not a publisher, nor a commonplace packager. Rather he identifies a niche in the market, lines up the most suitable backing, and then physically puts the book together himself under the company name Goliga Books. All within the constrains of a tiny apartment in Tokyo's...

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?