Search - 2002

 
 
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2002

Japanese housewife guide to investment

CAMBRIDGE, England -- Earlier this year Japanese and U.S. television stations carried pictures of Japanese housewives queuing up to buy kilo bars of gold, costing around $10,000 at the time. Their action and subsequently that of investors around the world have resulted in a 15 percent increase in the...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 14, 2002

Another stop on All-Star circuit for Powell

Jeremy Powell took the mound Saturday for the Pacific Leaguers in the second installment of the 2002 All-Star Series, it marked the first time in 41 years that a foreign pitcher from the Kintetsu Buffaloes had taken part in Japan's annual midsummer classic.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 14, 2002

The trouble with today's disaffected youth

Long before he said "no" to America and became the controversial governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara was one of Japan's most important postwar novelists, more influential than Mishima, if not as gifted. His most famous work, "Taiyo no Kisetsu (Season of the Sun)," is certainly the last word on youthful...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 14, 2002

Going to any lengths to avoid giving offense

Weird Tales of Self-Restraint No. 16: Heroes are Hard to Find
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY
Jul 14, 2002

Skip the jazz club, it's festival season

Most jazz people are night owls who don't get much sun, so summer festivals give the music, players and fans all a good airing out.
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 13, 2002

With the World Cup over, J. League gets back to business

The World Cup may be over, but Japan's newly converted soccer fans will still have plenty to cheer about when J. League Division One action resumes Saturday.
BUSINESS
Jul 13, 2002

Postal services log first profit since '97

Japan's mail and postal savings services in fiscal 2001 recorded profits for the first time in four years, the Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jul 13, 2002

Bankruptcies increase 4.7%

The number of corporate bankruptcies during the first six months of 2002 rose 4.7 percent from a year earlier to 9,872, the third-highest number since World War II, Teikoku Databank Ltd. said Friday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 13, 2002

Tigers dominate at All-Star Game

As George Arias rounded the bases, he was pumped, thrilled, excited. But he showed no exuberance, trotting back to the dugout in a cool, soothing manner like the picture of the Kirin Beer ad he had just hit with a monstrous 147-meter blast at the Tokyo Dome.
BUSINESS
Jul 11, 2002

Bond issuance cap may be abolished

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi suggested Wednesday he may abolish the 30 trillion yen cap on new government bond issues in the fiscal 2003 budget.
BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2002

Manufacturing key to job picture

The manufacturing sector still creates more jobs than the services industry in Japan, and prefectures with a reliance on manufacturers have lower unemployment rates than those that bank on services, the government said in an annual report Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2002

MMC plans aluminum-chassis truck

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. next year will introduce an extra-light, environmentally friendly truck that has an aluminum chassis, marking a world first for the automaker.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 9, 2002

Japan's close encounter with the West

'By reading, hearing, and by observation in foreign lands, our people have acquired a general knowledge of constitutions, habits and manners as they exist in most foreign countries. . . . Japan cannot claim originality as yet, but it will aim to exercise practical wisdom by adopting the advantages, and...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 8, 2002

Danish EU presidency plans global tasks with Japan's help

On July 1, Denmark assumed the presidency of the European Union. Today, together with European Commission President Romano Prodi, I will meet Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Tokyo at the 11th EU-Japan Summit. This summit, which has taken place annually since 1991, is an important occasion for promoting...
COMMUNITY
Jul 7, 2002

Look to the stars

Here's what the stars have in store for readers for the second half of 2002.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 7, 2002

Gone, but not forgotten

MEMORIES OF WIND AND WAVES: A Self-Portrait of Lakeside Japan, by Junichi Saga. Translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter. Illustrated by Susumu Saga. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2002. 260 pp., with 50 photos and line drawings, 2,500 yen (cloth) Junichi Saga is a physician with a general practice in...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 5, 2002

It may be the world's most popular sport, but not here in Japan

If there was any defining moment for Japanese sports last month, it surely came right after Turkey eliminated the lads in blue from the World Cup on June 18.
COMMENTARY
Jul 5, 2002

No reason to bury 'sunshine'

LOS ANGELES -- Last Saturday's fierce 21-minute naval gun battle between the two Koreas was unfortunate and tragic for several reasons -- not just for the loss of lives on both sides. The deadly duel splashed cold water on South Korea's sudden place in the sun. Its soccer team had just completed its...
MORE SPORTS
Jul 5, 2002

Hoops stars Tabuse, Takahashi out of Kirin Cup

With three of the more experienced national players out, the Japanese men's national squad preparing to face Spain in the Kirin Cup Basketball 2002 was left pondering on one word: youth.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 5, 2002

Adidas cashes in on Japan's World Cup exploits

Philippe Troussier was not the only Frenchman elated with the surprisingly good performance of the Japanese squad in the FIFA World Cup.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2002

Kim invites Emperor to South Korea

South Korean President Kim Dae Jung on Tuesday invited Emperor Akihito to visit South Korea.
BUSINESS
Jul 3, 2002

Nation must focus on better uses for IT, white paper says

Japan should aim to make more sophisticated use of information technology now that Internet access has become widespread, the government said in an annual white paper released Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 2, 2002

Cup filled to the brim

It is a truth not quite universally acknowledged that interest in the World Cup diminishes sharply once one's country's team has been eliminated, unless one is actually hosting the affair. There were thus, by Sunday night, probably just four countries in the world still tuned in to the 2002 proceedings:...
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 2, 2002

Sky the limit for Ronaldinho

YOKOHAMA -- His haircut may be a bit outdated, but make no mistake about it, Ronaldinho's game is about as vogue as they come.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jul 1, 2002

Dollar weighed down by external debts, tax cuts, skittish investors

The dollar is losing ground against major currencies and the foreign-exchange rates are reflecting the relative strengths of the economies involved.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2002

Exchange program extends to Korea

A government-sponsored summer program promoting exchanges between Japanese and Japanese-speaking foreign guests will for the first time expand its activities to South Korea, according to an official of the Japan Return Program.
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2002

World Cup home-stay program hailed as success

The 2002 FIFA World Cup, which comes to a close Sunday, offered local municipalities throughout Japan an opportunity to hold various exchange programs with visitors from in and out of the country during the one-month event.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 30, 2002

Ramen reborn as noodles nouveaux

Could ramen, Japan's answer to the greasy spoon, go gourmet? It started out simple -- this dish of Chinese-style noodles in soup was conjured up by cooks in Yokohama's Chinatown in the 1920s. Its present association with drab 24-hour diners and poor nutrition gives it a low rank in the food hierarchy:...
EDITORIALS
Jun 29, 2002

Economic policy for East Asia

The future of Japan's economy is tied to that of East Asia. China, the "factory of the world," is rising rapidly while newly industrialized countries such as South Korea and Taiwan are catching up with Japan. The challenge for this nation is to define and secure its place in this region of vast economic...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2002

Soccer teams show the power of reform

The drama of the World Cup has implications for politics in Japan and South Korea. To be sure, soccer and politics are two different games, one a competition for skill and physical stamina and the other a struggle for power and interests. Nevertheless, we can draw lessons from the performances of the...

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building