Search - 2002

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
May 29, 2002

And the 'nice try' award goes to . . .

It is my sad duty to report that the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards Japan, held May 24 at the Tokyo International Forum, was a less than spectacularly successful affair.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 26, 2002

Wartime suffering that didn't count

JAPAN'S COMFORT WOMEN: Sexual Slavery and Prostitution During World War Two and the U.S. Occupation. By Yuki Tanaka. Routledge, London, 2002, 212 pp. $24.95 This is by far the best book available on this sordid chapter in Japan's history. Yuki Tanaka's sophisticated and textured assessment of Japan's...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 25, 2002

Secret funds have oiled wheels for decades

The practice of using the Cabinet secretariat's discretionary funds for "Diet affairs" -- buying off both ruling camp and opposition lawmakers to ensure important legislation gets passed smoothly -- dates back decades, according to Upper House member Sadao Hirano.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 25, 2002

Hawks snap skid, back in PL race

Tadahito Iguchi scored on a wild pitch in the eighth inning Friday and Daiei snapped a five-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over Nippon Ham at the Fukuoka Dome.
BUSINESS
May 24, 2002

Seiyu shareholders go for Wal-Mart deal

Shareholders of Seiyu Ltd. approved the retailer's plan to come under the wing of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of the United States, allowing the world's largest retailer to take a stake of up to 66.7 percent in Seiyu.
BUSINESS
May 24, 2002

Issue more bonds, forget promise: Aso

The government should issue additional bonds to finance possible tax cuts, even if the move would bring bond flotation above the 30 trillion yen ceiling set by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the top policymaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said Thursday.
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
May 21, 2002

Fans getting feisty at World Cup ticket no show

With the World Cup getting ever closer, soccer fans are getting increasingly worried about the whereabouts of their tickets.
BUSINESS / TAKING STOCK
May 21, 2002

Stock rebound brings hope of stability

The recent rebound on Wall Street could presage a more stable market in the near term.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 19, 2002

A lost textile art gains ascendancy

THE WORLD OF ROZOME: Wax-Resist Textiles of Japan, by Betsy Sterling Benjamin. Kodansha International, 2002, 224 pp., $49.95 (paper) If the art of "rozome" (wax-resist dyeing) were a moon in the sky, it would be full and glowing brightly. Having waned in importance as a textile-patterning process at...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 19, 2002

Preserving spaces fit for living

JAPANESE COUNTRY STYLE: Putting New Life Into Old Houses, by Yoshihiro Takishita. Forward by Peter M. Grilli. Preface by Sachiko Amakasu. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2002, 168 pp., more than 200 color and b/w photographs, floor plans, maps, etc; a bilingual edition. 4,800 yen (cloth) In this stimulating...
SOCCER / World cup
May 18, 2002

Troussier pulls squad shocker

Riding the shinkansen from Kobe to Tokyo with Philippe Troussier on May 3, Japan's soccer coach said there would be no surprises when he announced his World Cup squad on May 17.
SOCCER / World cup / COHOSTING
May 18, 2002

Beyond the limits of normalcy

Can Japan and South Korea work together to put on the 2002 World Cup?
BUSINESS
May 18, 2002

Yamaha group net balance in red

Yamaha Corp. said Friday its group net balance fell into the red in fiscal 2001 due chiefly to appraisal losses on its securities holdings.
BUSINESS
May 18, 2002

Mitsui O.S.K.'s group profit dips

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. said Friday its group net profit fell 3.6 percent in fiscal 2001 due primarily to higher sales costs, lower transportation fees and the sluggish global economy.
BUSINESS
May 18, 2002

Nippon Yusen group profit down

Major shipping firm Nippon Yusen K.K. said Friday its group pretax profit for fiscal 2001 fell 29.7 percent from the previous year to 50.11 billion yen, as the firm was hit by a sharp reduction in freight charges.
BUSINESS
May 18, 2002

Ajinomoto net balance in the black

Ajinomoto Co. said Friday its group net balance returned to the black in the year that ended March 31 due mainly to increased sales of pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements. Consolidated net profit in fiscal 2001 came to 31.44 billion yen, a turnaround from the previous fiscal year's loss of 11.55...
SOCCER / World cup / COHOSTING
May 17, 2002

A history of hate thy neighbor

Like most Asian countries, South Korea had never really considered bidding for the World Cup.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
May 17, 2002

Dinosaurs walking the earth once more

A full-length model of the skeletal structure of the seismosaurus will make its world debut at "The Greatest Dinosaur Expo 2002" to be held this summer at Makuhari Messe in Chiba.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 16, 2002

Expansion in Japan unlikely

Dear Wayne Graczyk: I'm writing to express support for the move of the Nippon Ham Fighters to Sapporo. I think this would be good not just for the Fighters and the city of Sapporo, but for all of Japanese baseball.
JAPAN
May 16, 2002

Ministry warns of drastic increase in pension premiums

Company employees will be forced to pay about a quarter of their salaries as pension premiums in fiscal 2025 if current pension levels are maintained, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2002

Mitsubishi Heavy jumps out of the red

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Wednesday that its group net balance returned to the black in fiscal 2001, chiefly due to a reduction in material costs and a weakened yen.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2002

Trading house Mitsubishi logs 34.6% profit drop

Trading house Mitsubishi Corp. said Wednesday its group net profits in fiscal 2001 plunged 34.6 percent, primarily due to a 51.5 billion yen fall in securities sales.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2002

Mitsubishi Pharma profits up 229%

Mitsubishi Pharma Corp. said Monday that its group net profit soared 229.4 percent to 8.99 billion yen in fiscal 2001 due to cost-cutting and the U.S. government's authorization of a resumption of shipments from a U.S. plant.
BUSINESS / TAKING STOCK
May 14, 2002

Tokyo market has lots of room to recover

The benchmark Nikkei average has been moving between 11,000 and 12,000 for nearly two months in the absence of strong incentives to drive the market either up or down.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2002

Core machinery orders declined 6.2% in March

Core private-sector machinery orders fell 6.2 percent in March, reverting to minus territory after rising in February for the first time in three months, the Cabinet Office said Monday.
SOCCER / World cup
May 13, 2002

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

"Passion" is the story of Japan soccer team coach Philippe Troussier, his struggle to make it as a player and manager and his travels around France, Africa and Japan. In the book, Troussier also details his philosophy and thinking as he prepares for the World Cup in June. In this, the ninth of 10 exclusive...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 12, 2002

Poetry that's music to the ears of millions

POEMS OF THE GOAT, by Chuya Nakahara, translated by Ry Beville. American Book Company, Richmond, VA, 2002, 77 pp., $15/2500 yen (paper) Why do some writers get translated and others -- better, more deserving -- remain obscure? This is a question that Ry Beville, a young Virginia native, asked himself...

Longform

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