Search - 2005

 
 
MORE SPORTS
Apr 22, 2005

Colts, Falcons to battle in Japan

Following a one-year absence, NFL action will return to Tokyo this summer.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 26, 2005

Iwakuma determined to help Eagles soar in Sendai

Hisashi Iwakuma started playing baseball as an elementary school first grader at the age of 6, by throwing a ball against a wall in a game of catch with himself and dreaming of becoming a professional. Now, at age 24, he is arguably the best pitcher in Japanese pro baseball.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 13, 2005

Fuji TV in a Horie to distance itself from IT man

Next month, Fuji TV will launch another batch of up-to-the-minute trendy drama series. Among them is one called "Koi ni Ochitara/Boku no Seiko no Himitsu (Falling in Love/The Secret of My Success)" starring SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi as a young man who, after his small family-run factory goes bankrupt,...
EDITORIALS
Feb 28, 2005

Look for VAT hike on the agenda

It appears that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is pushing the consumption-tax issue onto the political agenda. During a Lower House plenary session earlier this month, he said, in effect, that the value-added tax should be increased as part of overall social security reform. Until recently, Koizumi...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Jan 28, 2005

2004: Year of the bounce; Serious Sirius

Calamitous. The world was a bouncin' in 2004.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2005

Hike in Tokyo-Seoul exchanges eyed

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed hope Tuesday that exchanges of people between Japan and South Korea will top 5 million this year, the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2005

NHK boss exits as viewers stop paying

Faced with a rising number of people refusing to pay viewer subscription fees due to embezzlement scandals, NHK President Katsuji Ebisawa tendered his resignation Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 28, 2004

Another step in bureaucratic reform

Bureaucratic reform is part and parcel of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's structural reform agenda. As he puts it aptly, the basic idea is to "let the private sector do what it can do." Bureaucratic reform is also about decentralization: "letting local governments do what they can do."
COMMENTARY
Dec 28, 2004

An updated stab at security

Japan's new National Defense Program Outline has three major objectives: dealing with "new threats" such as terrorism, introducing a missile defense system and participating in "international peace cooperation activities."
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2004

Finance Ministry requests 3.8% cut in foreign aid

Amid the nation's continued tight finances, the Finance Ministry proposed Monday a 3.8 percent cut in foreign aid in fiscal 2005 for the sixth straight year of decrease in the initial budget.
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2004

82.18 trillion yen budget drafted

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki on Monday proposed a draft budget for fiscal 2005 worth 82.18 trillion yen, up 0.1 percent from the initial 2004 budget, as higher debt-servicing costs outpaced cuts in discretionary spending.
Dec 21, 2004

Finance Ministry requests 3.8% cut in foreign aid

Amid the nation's continued tight finances, the Finance Ministry proposed Monday a 3.8 percent cut in foreign aid in fiscal 2005 for the sixth straight year of decrease in the initial budget.
EDITORIALS
Dec 18, 2004

Putting off unpalatable choices

It is axiomatic to say that the taxes people pay represent the most basic cost of maintaining autonomy and democracy. That's why the tax code should be written by national legislators, not government bureaucrats. But tax reform is almost always controversial, as evidenced by the fiscal 2005 tax reform...
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2004

Komeito decides to back cut in tax breaks

The ruling coalition basically agreed Monday on halving the fixed-rate income tax cuts during fiscal 2005 and abolish the cuts in fiscal 2006, senior ruling party lawmakers said.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2004

LDP panel wants tax cuts ended in fiscal '06

The Liberal Democratic Party's tax panel is moving to propose abolishing tax reductions in fiscal 2006 on condition that the economic recovery is maintained, political sources said Saturday.
Dec 12, 2004

LDP panel wants tax cuts ended in fiscal '06

The Liberal Democratic Party's tax panel is moving to propose abolishing tax reductions in fiscal 2006 on condition that the economic recovery is maintained, political sources said Saturday.
BUSINESS
Dec 10, 2004

Think tanks see big profit for large companies in '04

Japan's large corporations are expected to post double-digit profit growth for fiscal 2004, according to updated forecasts issued Thursday by two private research institutes.
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2004

No change in sight for ultraeasy monetary policy, maintains Fukui

Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui said Friday it is too early for the central bank to reverse its ultraeasy monetary policy, despite its forecast that closely watched consumer prices will edge up slightly in fiscal 2005.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 16, 2004

Firms learn from VCR war, seek early mortal blow

Japanese electronics makers are waging battles in various digital home appliance sectors, aware that those who claim initial victories will likely remain dominant.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 6, 2004

Kuehnert to head Rakuten team

Internet services company Rakuten on Tuesday introduced American Marty Kuehnert as the general manager of the company's new professional baseball club.
BUSINESS
Oct 2, 2004

BOJ report may forecast deflation end

The Bank of Japan might forecast in its upcoming biannual economic outlook report that the nation's deflationary pressure will end in fiscal 2005, sources said Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2004

Toward ASEAN integration

SINGAPORE -- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has begun a more promising phase of its integrative process in the face of three formidable challenges:
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2004

Foreign ministry wants aid increase

The Foreign Ministry will seek a 15.3 percent increase to the foreign aid budget for fiscal 2005, it was revealed Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Aug 3, 2004

Nuclear sword of Damocles

NAGASAKI -- The end of the Cold War didn't end the threat of nuclear annihilation. An increasing number of experts worry that the dangers posed by those weapons of mass destruction are increasing as the nuclear nonproliferation regime is increasingly stretched and frayed. The 2005 Review Conference of...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 23, 2004

Many questions remain over merger of Buffaloes, BlueWave

July 7 is the date for the big meeting in Japanese baseball. Owners of the 12 Central and Pacific League teams are to get together to decide what will happen with regard to the proposed merger of two PL clubs, the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes and the Orix BlueWave.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past