Search - 2005

 
 
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2005

Japan Tobacco posts record profit

Japan Tobacco Inc. said Monday its group net profit in the first half of fiscal 2005 rose 34.6 percent from a year earlier to 101 billion, yen a record for the second straight first-half period.
EDITORIALS
Oct 31, 2005

Rengo's uphill battle

The process that saw Mr. Tsuyoshi Takagi elected to the presidency of Rengo (the Japanese Trade Union Confederation), Japan's largest labor organization, symbolizes the current situation that Japanese workers and labor unions find themselves in.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 30, 2005

A war of obstinacy and misery

BURMA: The Forgotten War, by Jon Latimer. London: John Murray: 2005. 610 pp., £9.99 (paper). The ambitions and fanaticism of officers all too often imperil the men they lead into battle. The story of Imperial Japan's invasion and occupation of colonial Burma in World War II reveals just how many soldiers...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 30, 2005

The freedom found in anominity

A MAN WITH NO TALENTS: Memoirs of a Tokyo Day Laborer, by Shiro Oyama, translated by Edward Fowler. Ithica/London: Cornell University Press, 2005, 140 pp., $21.00 (cloth). Toward the end of his account of what life is like at the bottom of Japan's social structure, Shiro Oyama (a pseudonym) observes...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 29, 2005

Contrast in Liverpool's performance an ongoing mystery

LONDON -- There are many unanswered questions in the world.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2005

Lawmakers, bureaucrats get wage cuts

The Diet on Friday enacted a ruling bloc-proposed 1.7 percent wage cut for lawmakers and a government-proposed 0.1 percent wage reduction for central government employees.
BUSINESS
Oct 29, 2005

Panasonic maker sees solid first half

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Friday it posted a group net profit of 64.41 billion yen for the first half of fiscal 2005, a year-on-year increase of 15 percent.
BUSINESS
Oct 29, 2005

Nissan reports record profit on strong sales, lower costs

Nissan Motor Co. reported Friday that it posted a record group operating profit of 411.5 billion yen for the first half of 2005, up 2 percent from the same period the previous year.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 28, 2005

Ryan Adams and The Cardinals: "Jacksonville City Nights"

Ryan Adams has got to be the busiest man in show business -- nearly 12 albums in since his debut with Whiskeytown in 1996, here comes "Jacksonville City Nights," the second of three planned releases for 2005. Earlier this year he released his first album with The Cardinals, the excellent "Cold Roses,"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Oct 28, 2005

Psychedelic radar 10.28

Saturday, Oct. 29
BUSINESS
Oct 27, 2005

Exports, imports soar to record high values

Japan's exports and imports hit record highs in value in the first half of fiscal 2005, while the customs-cleared trade surplus fell sharply as soaring crude oil prices inflated the value of imports, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2005

First-half net profit up at Kao

Kao Corp. said Monday its consolidated net profit in the April-September first half of the 2005 business year rose 1.9 percent over the same period the previous year to 38.49 billion yen.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 25, 2005

Yamaha's electric cycles, Toshiba's 'Wearable Star' series, Naoto Fukasawa's Aroma Pot, AU's Penck, the Boing collection

When it comes to the promotion of design in Japan, there's hardly any honor more significant than the annual Good Design Award. Developed by the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization (JIDPO), each year the Good Design Award heralds the best of the best. In its 49th year, and with over 30,000...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Oct 24, 2005

Government's policy yardstick should be based on per capita GDP, not GDP

Finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 advanced and emerging economies expressed strong concern Oct. 16 that high oil prices could decelerate growth and destabilize the global economy as they wrapped up their annual meeting on the outskirts of Beijing.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 23, 2005

With satellite, cable TV you can get your fill of pro baseball

Readers John Rucynski of Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, and Ken Smith of Tokyo e-mailed this column and, respectively, wanted to know why the Pacific League Stage 2 playoff games between the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Chiba Lotte Marines were not televised, and why NHK BS-1 did not carry live Games 5...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 23, 2005

Japanese emperors: Between the people and the gods

ENIGMA OF THE EMPERORS: Sacred Subservience in Japanese History, by Ben-Ami Shillony, Global Oriental, 2005, 312 pp., (cloth). This well-researched and scholarly study by Ben-Ami Shillony of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem will interest not only students of Japanese history but also all those concerned...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 22, 2005

Henry confirms status as best player in Premier League

LONDON -- There can be little doubt that Chelsea has the best team in England, breaking records almost for fun. But for all its many qualities, Chelsea does not have the Premiership's best player, and the return of Thierry Henry in Arsenal's 2-0 win over Sparta Prague last Tuesday underlined his true...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 22, 2005

Sex inequality slows growth

NEW YORK -- A growing number of countries have adopted population and development policies to meet the health-care and education needs of women, including their reproductive health needs. In spite of that, gender inequality persists in most countries around the world. According to the United Nations...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Oct 21, 2005

Psychedelic radar 10.21

Saturday, Oct. 22
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2005

Blue Planet winners urge more CO2-cutting efforts

and Gordon Hisashi Sato, winners of the 2005 Blue Planet Prize, congratulate each other Wednesday at a news conference in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Oct 20, 2005

Car show highlights environmental technology

CHIBA -- The 39th Tokyo Motor Show opened to the media Wednesday at the Makuhari Messe convention center here, with futuristic concept cars and vehicles sporting the latest technologies -- particularly those that make them more environmentally friendly.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 20, 2005

GM vows to retain alliances with Suzuki, Isuzu

CHIBA -- General Motors Corp. remains committed to working closely with Suzuki Motor Corp. and Isuzu Motor Ltd., despite speculation it may sever capital alliances with the automakers to accelerate realignment in the global auto industry, a senior GM official said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2005

Envoys overseas get 2.9 million yen for housing; here they get 200,000 yen

Foreign Ministry officials stationed overseas are granted an average of 2.9 million yen in housing benefits a year while ministry officials in Tokyo get only 200,000, yen according to a document endorsed Tuesday by the Cabinet.
COMMUNITY
Oct 19, 2005

Tomorrow's bikes on display today at Makuhari

With 133 motorbikes and scooters on display from Japan's four major manufacturers, and 57 more from eight overseas makers, eye candy abounds at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show. This year's show features 29 world premiers and 37 Japan premiers. Here are just a few of the many highlights.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2005

First-half bankruptcies below 6,500

The number of corporate bankruptcies in the first half of fiscal 2005 dropped below 6,500 for the first time in 14 years on a half-year basis, Tokyo Shoko Research said Monday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2005

MMC seeks salvation in flagship Outlander SUV

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. on Monday launched the new Outlander sport utility vehicle, its first all-new model in nearly 2 1/2 years, which it hopes can revitalize the struggling automaker.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 18, 2005

Ministry missive wrecks reception

Between Oct. 7-11, the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT), Japan's largest convocation of language educators, held its annual meeting in Shizuoka, a pleasant city between Tokyo and Osaka.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2005

On the precipice in Iraq

WASHINGTON-- How are things going in Iraq? The short answer, unfortunately -- based on Brookings' Iraq Index and my own assessments -- is not very well. There is still considerable hope, and much that does go well in Iraq. But on balance, there is more reason for worry than optimism right now.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 16, 2005

Revitalized Chiba Lotte franchise alive and well in Makuhari

Most Japanese fans of Major League Baseball are pulling for a Chicago-St. Louis World Series, hoping to see a match-up of the "Guchi Brothers," former Japan Pacific League rivals Tadahito Iguchi of the White Sox and So Taguchi of the Cardinals.

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