Search - about-us

 
 
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2002

Jewelry 'middle market' slipping away

Following the pattern seen in Japan's clothing and accessories industries, in which ultra-expensive designer bags by Louis Vuitton are snatched up with as much vigor as cheap clothing from Uniqlo stores, the "middle market" is rapidly disappearing from the nation's gemstone and jewelry industry.
Japan Times
Events
Feb 19, 2002

Swim meet to spotlight river filth

OSAKA -- Anyone for a dip? The Dotonbori River has been running through the center of Osaka's bustling Namba district since it was diverted as a waterway in the early 16th century. But the filth in the river makes the idea of holding a swimming tournament in it sound like a joke.
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2002

Kansai kids plan to kick off World Cup runup in May

OSAKA -- Japanese and foreign children from the Kansai region will take part in their own version of the World Cup soccer finals here in May as part of festivities leading up to the actual event, according to organizers.
EDITORIALS
Feb 19, 2002

Economic revival vital to alliance

Tuesday's summit meeting in Tokyo between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush helped further strengthen personal rapport and mutual understanding between the two leaders. Mr. Koizumi reconfirmed that the U.S. president is a strong supporter of his structural reforms. Similarly,...
BUSINESS
Feb 19, 2002

Patent Law update aims to protect Net companies

The government plans to revise the Patent Law to enhance protection of intellectual property rights held by Internet firms, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2002

Bush's blooper temporarily lifts dollar

The dollar temporarily rose against the yen Monday after U.S. President George W. Bush confused currency markets by saying he had talked about "devaluation" with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2002

Comedian avoids prison time for drug use

The Tokyo District Court on Monday sentenced TV comedian Masashi Tashiro to two years in prison, suspended for three years, for illegal drug use and other offenses.
LIFE / Travel
Feb 19, 2002

Back to nature on Yakushima Island

If you live in urban Japan, probably the only sky you see is sliced up by powerlines; trees grow in tiny parks hemmed in by concrete buildings and polluted expressways. Whatever happened to Japan's traditional love of nature?
BUSINESS / TAKING STOCK
Feb 19, 2002

Luring individuals to stocks a key challenge

Individual investors turned net buyers of stocks for the first time in four months in January.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2002

Celebration of folk traditions keeps national identity alive for Peruvian

TSU, Mie Pref. (Kyodo News) Her family's playing of the traditional Peruvian folk song "El Condor Pasa" for a Japanese audience helps Rosa Ochante Muray keep her national identity alive.
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Feb 18, 2002

No surprise investors shun 'homely' Japan

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- For a nation to be competitive in the global era, above all it has to be attractive. That, argues my colleague Stephane Garelli, author of the annual IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY), is the ultimate criterion in determining how nations compete in the global era. Attractiveness...
EDITORIALS
Feb 18, 2002

The danger of a triple sell-off

Financial markets continue to send warning signals about Japan's economy. The most worrying is the possibility of a "triple fall" in shares, securities and yen rates. Investors here and abroad, increasingly nervous about the risk of holding Japanese assets, are selling off their holdings.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2002

Bush arrives in Tokyo, keeps hard line on 'axis'

U.S. President George W. Bush arrived in Tokyo on Sunday afternoon for his first visit to Japan since his inauguration last year, on the first leg of a six-day tour of East Asia that will also take him to South Korea and China.
BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2002

Japan back to No. 1 in shipbuilding

Japan regained the title of the world's No. 1 shipbuilder in 2001, beating out rival South Korea for the first time in three years, according to industry data.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2002

Beijing's newfound reticence says much

WASHINGTON -- As U.S. President George W. Bush travels to East Asia to hold summit meetings with the leaders of Japan, South Korea and China, he does so against a backdrop of dramatically improved U.S.-Chinese relations. Tensions between the two countries have eased considerably since the initial period...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2002

Will Blair err as Icarus did?

LONDON -- No European leader rode higher in the reaction to the Sept. 11 attack in New York than Tony Blair. The British prime minister immediately rallied to the American cause, enunciated the need to fight terrorism in ringing tones and committed troops to fight in Afghanistan. At last he had emerged...
EDITORIALS
Feb 17, 2002

Open food-supply system needed

Five months have passed since the first case of mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) was confirmed in Japan. The use of meat and bone meal, which is suspected to have transmitted the disease, has been banned, and testing for all cows has been introduced. But Japanese livestock farmers,...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 17, 2002

Unfounded fears of language pollution

SANTA MARIA, California -- Imagine ending up in jail for signing a petition requesting that your university offer foreign-language courses. It would be difficult to conceive of in most parts of the world, but it happened in Turkey. Seventeen Kurds were accused by a special security court of "promoting...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 17, 2002

North Korea through different prisms

SEOUL -- In his State of the Union address, U.S. President George W. Bush has managed to disappoint South Korea and enrage North Korea at the same time by lumping the latter with the likes of Iraq and Iran. As the president begins a Northeast Asian rain-check sojourn with stops in Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing...
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2002

Police seize 890 fake bills from Osaka truck driver

OSAKA -- Osaka Prefectural Police have seized about 890 fake bank notes from the home of a 30-year-old Osaka truck driver who was arrested earlier this week on suspicion of using counterfeit 1,000 yen bills, police sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2002

Anthropologist uses food for cross-cultural communication

SUITA, Osaka Pref. -- Both as an explorer and an anthropologist, Naomichi Ishige has visited more than 100 countries since his days as a Kyoto University student.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 17, 2002

Japan living in 'Third World' in tennis terms

Naoko Sawamatsu had no intention of offending anyone in Japanese tennis, but when asked about her take on the future of women's tennis in this country, her usually smiling face stiffened. She sat still for a few seconds, her eyes unfocused and hands toying with her cell phone straps.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2002

Serious crimes by teens rising: poll

Many teenagers and adults believe the number of serious crimes committed by teenagers is on the rise, according to a government survey on juvenile delinquency released Saturday.
COMMUNITY
Feb 17, 2002

We hold competition to be self-evident

Sibling rivalry, rivals in love, factional rivals, rivalry between nations: There seems to be no level of our lives not riddled with rivalry. Like its relatives, competition and conflict, rivalry is found in all societies and cultures.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Feb 17, 2002

Great sake only a hop, skip and a jump away

There are a plethora of pubs in Tokyo where you can enjoy good sake, but all too often we only read about those in the center of town. The truth, of course, is that there are plenty of great venues outside the Yamanote loop and beyond. Here are a few worth the short or midrange trip:
COMMUNITY
Feb 17, 2002

Japan and competition: You gotta have 'wa'?

Third-century Chinese visitors to Japan were struck by the easygoing equanimity of Japanese women. "All men of high rank," they reported, "have four or five wives; others, two or three. The women are faithful and not jealous."

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’