Search - 2000

 
 
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2001

Disputes with foreign staff increase

Reflecting the prolonged economic slump, a record number of foreign workers and their Japanese employers consulted the Tokyo Labor Bureau in 2000 for advice on labor-related disputes, bureau officials announced Thursday.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 1, 2001

Japan debuts with 3-0 victory

NIIGATA -- Japan got off to a good start in the Confederations Cup, beating Canada 3-0 in a Group B game Thursday night at Big Swan Niigata Stadium.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2001

Soon-to-merge insurers report increased profits

Sumitomo Marine & Fire Insurance Co. and Mitsui Marine & Fire Insurance Co. -- two major nonlife insurers scheduled to merge in October -- on Wednesday reported higher group profits for fiscal 2000.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2001

NHK enjoys 11th straight profit year

Japan Broadcasting Corp. reported Wednesday its operations in fiscal 2000 were in the black for the 11th consecutive year, with revenue exceeding costs by 22.3 billion yen.
COMMENTARY / World
May 31, 2001

Smokers' deadly paradise

For Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Hal Boyle, it wasn't too difficult to tell a man from a woman. "If it always offers you a cigar, it's a man," he quipped. "If it always is asking for a cigarette, then waits for a light, it's a woman."
JAPAN
May 31, 2001

Tobacco industry 'Insider' takes his campaign to Japan

Educational and grassroots activities will be crucial if Japan is to successfully reduce the nation's relatively high number of smokers and incidence of lung cancer -- one of the leading causes of death in this country, said scientist and tobacco educator Jeffrey Wigand.
SOCCER / J. League
May 31, 2001

Troussier wants all charges to take on leadership role

NIIGATA -- Japan manager Philippe Troussier is asking for better decision-making, strong leadership and commitment to the game from each of his players in the Confederations Cup, which begins Group B action Thursday in Japan.
EDITORIALS
May 31, 2001

Courage in South Asia

This week marks the third anniversary of Pakistan's nuclear tests. Those blasts followed India's own tests by a few days. Although both governments denied that the explosions posed a threat to regional peace and stability, the tit-for-tat exchanges marked a dangerous escalation in the situation in South...
JAPAN
May 31, 2001

New curriculum sees parents push English for infants

Second of two parts Staff writer Yukiko Wada left her Tochigi home at 8 a.m. one Saturday with her 2-year-old daughter, Hinami. While their journey to Tokyo's Eifuku-cho in Suginami Ward seemed a bit long, it became worthwhile when they encountered an American acquaintance near their destination.
JAPAN
May 30, 2001

Life sentence upheld for killer extortionist

The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court-imposed life prison term for a man convicted of murdering the wife of a Yamaichi Securities Co. legal adviser in 1997.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2001

MMC to cut up to 1,200 jobs

Struggling automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Tuesday it will introduce an early retirement program to phase out up to 1,200 jobs.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2001

Haseko marks first pretax profit in three years

Housing contractor Haseko Corp. said Tuesday it registered a consolidated pretax profit in fiscal 2000 for the first time in three years, helped by brisk demand for condominiums.
CULTURE / Art
May 30, 2001

Double-formed print visions

The first solo exhibition in Japan by print artist Sean Caulfield is currently on show at Session House Garden in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward.
JAPAN
May 29, 2001

No regrets about organ donation: husband

A man whose wife was pronounced legally brain dead has recounted the difficult experience of watching a loved one die, but said he has no regrets about his decision to donate her organs to transplant patients.
BUSINESS
May 29, 2001

China's quarantine steps not retaliatory: ministry

Japan believes that China's tightening of quarantine measures in April was not made in retaliation for import curbs Japan imposed on some of its farm products, Japanese Trade Ministry officials said Monday.
JAPAN
May 29, 2001

Schools pushed to observe flag, anthem in apparent about face

When the Hinomaru and "Kimigayo" were recognized in law in 1999, the government assured the people that they would not be forced to observe them, apparently in light of the long-standing controversy over the symbols.
BUSINESS
May 29, 2001

Debt-waiver puts Hazama in the black

Hazama Corp. said Monday its group net balance in fiscal 2000 swung back into the black as a one-time gain from a 105 billion yen debt-waiver wiped out most of its extraordinary losses.
COMMENTARY / World
May 29, 2001

Slyly, China extends its reach

Since early April, three Chinese vessels have been conducting marine research operations in the East China Sea, on the Japanese side of the midway line between Japan and China. These activities are based on a memorandum that the Japanese and Chinese governments exchanged in February. In accordance with...
JAPAN
May 28, 2001

Police hand Sogo chief to prosecutors

Tokyo police on Sunday sent Hiroo Mizushima, former chairman of the failed Sogo Co. department store chain, to prosecutors on suspicion of concealing personal assets to avoid court-ordered seizure by creditors.
BUSINESS
May 28, 2001

A successful model for privatizing Japan's special-purpose entities

In revitalizing the Japanese economy with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at the helm, Japan should look to France as a model for privatizing its special-purpose entities in light of years of debate and analysis that have resulted in little action.
JAPAN
May 27, 2001

Mizushima blows smoke in questioning

Hiroo Mizushima, the arrested former chairman of failed department store operator Sogo Co., told police he asked a relative to keep 100 million yen in cash at his home out of "fear (it) might be lost in a fire," police said Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 27, 2001

The quest for sleep

It's 5 a.m. and you've spent the past hour staring at the ceiling.
EDITORIALS
May 26, 2001

Help the world's poorest citizens

Politicians and pundits like to remind us that we live in an age of unprecedented prosperity, Japan's "lost decade" and the trillions of dollars of paper wealth that has vanished as a result of the current downturn in global stock markets notwithstanding. But for more than 600 million people -- one-tenth...
JAPAN
May 26, 2001

Police set to arrest former Sogo chief suspected of hiding personal assets

Police have obtained a warrant to arrest Hiroo Mizushima, 89, the former chairman of failed department store operator Sogo Co., on suspicion of hiding personal assets from creditors, police sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2001

Lower fees drag Wowow into red

Satellite broadcaster Wowow Inc. said Friday it fell into the red for the first time in six years in fiscal 2000 due to cuts in subscription fees and growth in costs for adding subscribers.
JAPAN
May 26, 2001

Human rights watchdog planned

The Justice Ministry's Council for Human Rights Promotion released a package of proposals Friday that includes establishment of an independent organ to beef up measures to counter abuses.
JAPAN
May 26, 2001

Net overseas assets rise above 133 trillion yen

Japan's outstanding balance of net assets abroad came to 133.47 trillion yen at the end of last year, a 57 percent increase from the year before and the second-largest total on record, the Finance Ministry said Friday.

Longform

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