Search - 2005

 
 
BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2006

Business sentiment hits two-year high

Business confidence at large manufacturers rose to a two-year high in the three months through September, according to the Bank of Japan's latest "tankan" survey, despite forecasts by economists it would either remain flat or slightly decline.
EDITORIALS
Oct 3, 2006

Minamata's latest chapter

This year marked the 50th anniversary of the official recognition of Minamata disease, a symbol of postwar industrial pollution in Japan. But the episode of massive organic mercury poisoning is not a thing of the past. On Aug. 11, a group of 100 people who have not been officially recognized as sufferers...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Oct 3, 2006

"Each Little Bird That Sings," "The Girl With the Broken Wing"

"Each Little Bird That Sings," Deborah Wiles, Harcourt; 2006; 247 pp.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Oct 2, 2006

Lobbying the potent EU, whose influence is borderless

Companies doing business in Europe are well aware of the European Union. But what some might yet not be so aware of is how important the EU institutions in Brussels and elsewhere can become for their business. What you don't know can hurt you a lot indeed. Consider the following:
BASKETBALL
Sep 30, 2006

Tokyo Apache re-sign 'Helicopter'

The Tokyo Apache announced Friday that they have re-signed John Humphrey for the upcoming 2006-07 season.
EDITORIALS
Sep 30, 2006

Being a father in Japan

A comparative survey on parenting in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the United States, France and Sweden by the National Women's Education Center, Japan, underscores problems that Japanese fathers must deal with. The problems range from the few hours they spend with their children, and their dependence...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 29, 2006

Omi defends shelving sales tax hike talk

The new finance minister's statement Wednesday that discussion to raise the consumption tax will only begin next fall has sparked speculation that he will not carry out the last administration's long-term plans to cut the debt and that it's a ploy for his party to fare well in next summer's Upper House...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 29, 2006

J-cool factor struggles to woo NYC

For someone who stands to gain from the hot topic of Japan's "Gross National Cool," Taeko Baba ought to be the last to pop the phenomenon's bubble.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 28, 2006

An Asian woman becomes aware

Thirty-one year-old playwright, director and actor Keishi Nagatsuka has been turning heads since he staged his first productions while still a student at Waseda University. In 1996 in Tokyo, he founded the Asagaya Spiders company, which has received glowing critical acclaim and regularly plays to full...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 28, 2006

Celebrating civilizations

The Islamic world is home to one of the richest and most important musical traditions on Earth. It doesn't hurt that it also spans an incredibly vast area, stretching west to Morocco and east as far as Indonesia, and that it contains an intricate tapestry of races, languages and cultures, or that it...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 27, 2006

Marines rough up Matsuzaka; Lions fail to grab No. 1 seed

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. At least Daisuke Matsuzaka has the playoffs.
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2006

Pioneer sues Samsung over patent

Pioneer Corp. said Monday it has filed a lawsuit with a U.S. district court in Texas against Samsung SDI Co. and several other Samsung group companies over an alleged infringement of patents related to plasma display panel technology.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2006

Success elusive so far in China summit talks

Japan and China took a break from sub-Cabinet-level talks Monday in Tokyo apparently without having agreed on an early resumption of summits after Shinzo Abe becomes prime minister.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2006

Some hospitals OK blood for kids over parents' objections

Three out of four hospitals that have guidelines on Jehovah's Witness patients have said they would give young children blood transfusions even if their parents opposed such procedures on account of their faith, according to a survey released Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 25, 2006

Sticky bureaucratic fingers

It used to be said that Japanese bureaucrats were first rate while politicians were third rate. That's no longer true, as evidenced by an appalling spate of scandals involving slush funds in the central and local governments.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2006

Justice minister still refuses to sign execution orders

Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura has expressed his unwillingness to give the go-ahead for executions before he steps down next Tuesday with the outgoing Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, according to sources.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2006

Horigome tabbed as next Supreme Court chief justice

The government has decided to appoint Yukio Horigome, a Supreme Court justice, as the next chief justice, replacing Akira Machida who will retire Oct. 15, government sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2006

Talks open with China to lay summit groundwork

and Japanese officials open two days of policy talks in Tokyo on Saturday. KYODO PHOTO
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 24, 2006

Japan needs a Willy Brandt

BERLIN -- Junichiro Koizumi will resign as the Japanese prime minister at the end of this month and be replaced by Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe. Koizumi became prime minister in April 2001. After more than five years as prime minister, Koizumi's political record is checkered: He achieved big successes...
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2006

575 defense workers took unauthorized trips: agency

A total of 575 Defense Agency employees, including Self-Defense Forces personnel, have traveled abroad without informing their superiors, agency officials said Friday.

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