Search - 2005

 
 
EDITORIALS
Sep 14, 2006

Beware the dangers of drunk driving

The recent deaths of three young children in Fukuoka in a car accident caused by a drunk driver has highlighted Japanese society's misplaced tolerance toward driving under the influence of alcohol and the lack of awareness among drivers that it is illegal to drive after ingesting alcohol. Even worse,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 14, 2006

Allegations of plagiarism raised by kaleidoscope installation in Echigo-Tsumari

Picasso once said, "good artists copy, great artists steal." Of course, it has never been as simple as that. Questions concerning artistic authenticity, honest or dishonest intentions and outright plagiarism have been around ever since societies began to consider artistic expression the unique product...
BUSINESS
Sep 14, 2006

Mitsubishi Motors launches new eK minivehicles

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. launched fully remodeled eK Wagon and eK Sport minivehicles Wednesday in hopes of meeting its domestic sales target of 302,000 units for this business year.
BUSINESS
Sep 13, 2006

Fibrous plants are helping cars go green on the outside

You might think bamboo, corn and kenaf -- a plant similar to jute -- would make poor materials for building modern cars, but you would be wrong. These plants are helping make auto parts that are green in more ways than one.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2006

Trouble looms as foreign labor floods in

OSAKA -- It's 2030, and Japan is facing an unprecedented social problem. For the past quarter-century, ever since the population began declining, the government has encouraged the hiring of foreign laborers. But measures to control immigration have failed, and in some towns and villages foreigners now...
BASKETBALL
Sep 12, 2006

Ex-Lions hurler Higashio named Tokyo Apache president

To make teams better and attract fans' attention, bj-league clubs would ask anyone for help -- even if it is a former baseball player.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 10, 2006

What's love got to do with it? Holding on for a while

Many modern people have probably formed their idea of romantic love through the popular arts. We know from Jane Austen novels that marrying for love is an idea that preceded Hollywood, but people still wed for many other reasons, including simple companionship, convenience and money. Nevertheless, love...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 10, 2006

TBS's "The Truth Five Years After the New York Terror Attacks" and more

The fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks in America will not go unobserved on Sept. 11. TBS has been putting together a very ambitious two-hour memorial special with the equally ambitious title "A Complete and Exclusive Visualization -- The Truth Five Years After the New York Terror Attacks" (Monday,...
EDITORIALS
Sep 9, 2006

Mr. Horie gets his day in court

Mr. Takafumi Horie, once the high-flying president of the Internet service firm Livedoor Co., who was known for his T-shirt-and-slacks attire, appeared in public this week in a suit and tie. This time he was in Tokyo District Court charged with violating the securities law. Reflecting not only public...
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2006

Abe, Aso, Tanigaki file for LDP election

to build Japan into a country which (we) can be proud of. The president of the LDP is chosen by a vote among LDP members -- LDP Diet lawmakers and more than 1 million party members who have a paid party membership for two consecutive years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 8, 2006

Taking J-rock values stateside

On the eve of the longest and perhaps most important tour of their almost decade-long career, Dir en grey were putting on a brave face.
EDITORIALS
Sep 7, 2006

Congratulations to the Imperial Family

Princess Kiko, the wife of Prince Akishino, the second son of the Emperor and Empress, has given birth to a baby boy. We congratulate the couple, the Emperor and Empress and the entire Imperial family on the birth of the boy, who is third in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne after the Crown Prince and...
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2006

Parliamentary secretary quits over bill

Masazumi Gotoda, parliamentary secretary in charge of financial services, said he resigned Wednesday to protest a draft bill to lower the ceiling on consumer loan interest charges because it would allow lenders to continue to charge up to 28 percent for nine years after the bill is passed.
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2006

Yoshinoya chief announces gradual resumption of 'gyudon' mainstay

The fast-food chain that made its fame on a rice dish topped with American beef announced Wednesday that "gyodon" will return Sept. 18 after a two-year hiatus caused by the mad cow scare.
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2006

Insurers covering more suicide debt

There were 3,649 cases of suicide in fiscal 2005 that resulted in the person's consumer loan debts being paid off by their life insurance companies, the Financial Services Agency said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Sep 6, 2006

Paper makers race to raise output in wake of failed Oji bid

Oji Paper Co. abandoned its bid to take over Hokuetsu Paper Mills Ltd. after an alliance was formed against it, forcing the company to change its strategy and giving rise to fears of a glut in the paper market.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2006

'Nagai Sanpo' wins big in Montreal

The film "Nagai Sanpo" ("A Long Walk") has won the Grand Prix at the Montreal World Film Festival, the film's distributor said Tuesday.
SUMO
Sep 5, 2006

Lights, camera, action -- 'Hakuho for Yokozuna' -- Take II!

September's Aki Basho approaches and as was the case prior to Nagoya in July, with it comes the talk of how Mongolian ozeki Hakuho will fare; whether or not he'll be performing the yokozuna dohyo-iri alongside yokozuna Asashoryu at the next tournament.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2006

Even without direct say, public influencing LDP race

, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe (center) and Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, attend an LDP regional meeting last week. KYODO PHOTO
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2006

Change needed at Yasukuni

In the Washington Post article that ran on this page Aug. 22, "Much to-do about a shrine," conservative U.S. commentator George Will suggests that Shinzo Abe, the front-runner in the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential race, stop visiting Yasukuni Shrine, the memorial for Japan's war dead, if he...
BASKETBALL
Sep 5, 2006

Even loss doesn't temper excitement of golden Greek guard Papaloukas

SAITAMA -- Theodoros Papaloukas experienced something unfamiliar at the FIBA World Championship: a loss in a title game.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 5, 2006

CL to follow PL playoff model

The Central League will introduce a three-team, two-stage playoff system next year that has gained support among Pacific League backers, the Nippon Professional Baseball executive committee decided Monday.
BASKETBALL
Sep 4, 2006

Spain thrashes Greece in final

SAITAMA -- It seemed only fitting that when the public-address announcer called out the names of the players before Sunday's FIBA World Championship final the first name he said was Pau Gasol's.
COMMENTARY
Sep 4, 2006

Declining sources of pride

The 9/11 terrorist attacks five years ago added a new page to world history, posing a new threat to global security. Following the attacks, the Bush administration in the United States demanded that the international community choose between democracy and dictatorship, between good and evil. Calling...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2006

Morality of boss's pay can't be legislated

PARIS -- Ever since 2001, when France enacted a law requiring listed companies to reveal their executives' pay packages, newspapers have had a field day denouncing greedy bosses. Not only are fixed salaries revealed, but so are bonuses, fees for serving on boards of directors, returns on stock options,...

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami