Search - 2004

 
 
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2003

JTB, Shinchosha in publishing tieup

Travel agency JTB Corp. said Wednesday it has agreed to forge a publishing-sector alliance with publishing house Shinchosha Co.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2003

Japan will fight lower tariffs at WTO talks

Japan will oppose a proposal to cut tariffs and expand import quotas at global trade talks next week, agriculture minister Yoshiyuki Kamei said Tuesday.
JAPAN / AFTER 2 1/2 YEARS
Sep 2, 2003

Koizumi's failings linked to inflexible fiscal policy

Some economists compare it to trying to lose weight by fasting when the real solution is exercise, while others talk about repairing an airplane's altimeter when it's the engine that needs attention.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FRONT-RUNNERS
Sep 2, 2003

Matsushita hopes to pad DVD lead with new Diga recorder

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. on Monday released the latest in its Diga series of DVD recorders, hoping to consolidate its position as the nation's No. 1 shareholder in the rapidly expanding market.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2003

Toyota puts new Prius hybrid on sale

Toyota Motor Corp. launched a redesigned Prius in Japan on Monday as part of a drive to spearhead the development of environmentally friendly technology.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2003

Japan's lesson for Europe

LONDON -- At some point last year, it became fashionable to compare the economic plight of Germany and, by extension, the euro zone as a whole with the situation in Japan. As recession bit into the country that used to be Europe's motor and as the 12-nation euro area began recording declining growth...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 31, 2003

Enthusiasm for EU club has evaporated

PRAGUE -- When communism in Eastern Europe collapsed, the region's new democratic leaders agreed that joining the European Union -- fast -- must be their priority. "Back to Europe!" became the slogan, one enthusiastically backed by a majority of their populations. Yet eight months before that dream formally...
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2003

Ministry wants more public works

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry unveiled an expansionary budget request Wednesday for fiscal 2004, featuring a 16 percent hike in overall outlays and a larger percentage of increase for improving urban infrastructure and for expressway projects.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 28, 2003

Japan, S. Korea eye joint league

Japan and South Korea, which have been mulling the possibility of forming a joint ice hockey league, are looking to start the new league between November and January with a combined five teams participating, hockey officials said Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 27, 2003

Meiji Life, Yasuda to hire 10,000 before merger

Meiji Life Insurance Co. and Yasuda Mutual Life Insurance Co. will hire 10,000 sales representatives by the end of this year to bring their combined marketing force to 45,000 before they merge in January, Meiji Life Insurance President Ryotaro Kaneko said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Aug 25, 2003

Japan's global security role

The most important feature of Japan's latest white paper on defense is that it gives new direction to the nation's defense policy. First, the report emphasizes that developing a missile defense system is a "matter of urgent importance for defense policy."
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Aug 25, 2003

What has your political party done for you lately?

The Nippon Keidanren is working on a set of guidelines aimed at encouraging member companies to donate to political parties and evaluate their policies. I would like to provide some background on the objectives of this ongoing effort.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Aug 24, 2003

Samurais are in a league of their own

With the launch of the Top League (the new professional league for rugby union in Japan) just three weeks away and the World Cup due to start on Oct. 10, it is easy to forget that there are in fact two codes of rugby.
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2003

Chuo Mitsui Trust to close 10% of branch network

Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. is planning to close seven branches of its subsidiary Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking Co. in response to a recent order by the Financial Services Agency to improve management, officials at the financial holding company said Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2003

Making free trade work for all

MANILA -- Trade ministers from around the world will meet in Cancun, Mexico, next month to assess progress in making the ongoing series of World Trade Organization negotiations a "development round." Their success in achieving that goal will have a profound effect on the future of hundreds of millions...
EDITORIALS
Aug 21, 2003

Yasukuni issue must be resolved

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine continue to cast a shadow over Japan's relations with its Asian neighbors. In particular, China and South Korea remain critical of a Japanese head of government paying an official visit to the shrine, which is dedicated to millions of Japan's...
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2003

Victor wins clutch of Europe prizes

Victor Co. of Japan Ltd. said Wednesday it has won top prizes in three divisions in the 2003-2004 European Imaging and Sound Association awards.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2003

Seoul should join interdiction group

WASHINGTON -- This fall much attention will be focused on the start of six-party multilateral talks in Beijing to stop North Korea's nuclear-weapons program. These talks, should they take place as committed to by Pyongyang last week, are a welcome development. For the first time in more than a decade,...
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 17, 2003

New Okinawan theater completes missing link in performing arts

It is a dream come true for Tatsuhiro Oshiro, a native Okinawan and Akutagawa Prize-winning novelist and playwright.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 17, 2003

Mystery cloaks Hokkaido motifs

Art is part of what makes us human. Primitive or otherwise, though, it is not only about painting pretty pictures, but also about the complex use of symbols and forms of language.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2003

IC tags could bring fresher food

The farm ministry plans to test a computer system that uses integrated circuit shipping tags as a means of improving the distribution of perishable foods, ministry officials said Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 12, 2003

Goodwill sees record profit on outsourcing demand

Human-resources firm Goodwill Group Inc. on Monday reported a record group net profit for the year through June, thanks to strong demand for its outsourcing and nursing-care services.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FRONT-RUNNERS
Aug 12, 2003

Ajinomoto's amino acid products draw athletes, health-conscious consumers

Don't be surprised if you see Seattle Mariners sensation Ichiro Suzuki downing an Ajinomoto Co. amino acid drink in the dugout at Safeco Field during a baseball game.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 8, 2003

Kitajima eyes Athens gold medal

A year ago, he was just another of Japan's swimming prospects for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. But now, Kosuke Kitajima is a double world record holder and an Olympic gold medal contender.
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2003

Fuji TV posts 9.02 billion yen profit

Fuji Television Network Inc. said Thursday its group net profit in the April-June period came to 9.02 billion yen, or 51.51 percent of its net profit projection of 17.5 billion yen for the full fiscal year ending March 31, 2004.
BUSINESS
Aug 5, 2003

Sweden to get Toshiba mail-sorters

Toshiba Corp. said Monday it has won a $12 million contract to supply the Swedish postal service with advanced mail-sorting equipment.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2003

War notes for the leaders in Pyongyang

WASHINGTON -- In recent weeks, as the heavy global workload and overcommitment of the U.S. armed forces has become apparent, some have asked if the United States could handle a major crisis or a war in Korea these days.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2003

What will succeed the Korean armistice?

SEOUL -- One of the ironies of the Korean War, whose legacy was commemorated last Sunday, is that one cannot be sure that it is finally over. While the armistice has held for 50 years, the parties to it are still engaged in controversy, with the Korean Peninsula drifting deeper into crisis and the prospect...

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