Search - 2003

 
 
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2006

Japan hopes to launch two more satellites to aid spying on North Korea

Japan plans to send two more spy satellites into orbit by March 31, 2007, to strengthen the monitoring of movements in North Korea, notably its missile and nuclear development facilities, according to government sources.
EDITORIALS
Jan 7, 2006

Plug the fundraising loopholes

Political funds flowing into the coffers of political parties and political organizations nationwide in 2004 totaled 290.8 billion yen, down 9.8 percent from 2003. Of that amount, revenue collected by local party chapters and organizations came to 152.7 billion yen, a decrease of 16.3 percent from the...
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2006

Income disparities rising in Japan

During the period of high postwar economic growth, most people in Japan came to consider themselves part of a middle class.
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2005

Japanese banks follow manufacturers into China

With the promise of large profits overwhelming any concerns about the political tension between Tokyo and Beijing, Japanese companies continue to expand in China. And following behind them are Japanese banks.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 26, 2005

Suguri bound for Olympics

Fumie Suguri clinched a spot for the Winter Olympic Games in Turin after coming from behind to win her fifth title and first in three years at the figure skating national championships Sunday, edging teenage sensation Mao Asada with a solid free skate.
BUSINESS
Dec 23, 2005

U.S. expects sluggish beef exports in '06

U.S. beef exported to Japan is estimated to total about 100,000 tons in 2006, one-third the level prior to the ban imposed in December 2003, the president and CEO of the U.S. Meat Export Federation said Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2005

JH execs Uchida, Kaneko plead not guilty

A former vice president and a former board member of Japan Highway Public Corp. pleaded not guilty Friday to charges they were involved in rigging bids for steel bridge projects undertaken by the now-defunct government highway builder-operator.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2005

War Hussein's fault: Koizumi

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi argued Thursday that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein triggered the 2003 invasion of his country and Japan was justified in supporting the U.S.-led multinational force that launched the "pre-emptive" attack.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

Mental woes sidelined record 3,559 teachers

A record 3,559 public school teachers took leaves of absence due to mental illness in fiscal 2004, according to a government survey released Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2005

U.S. lifts import ban on Japanese beef

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday the partial lifting of its four-year-old import ban on Japanese beef, while welcoming Tokyo's decision the previous day to resume imports of U.S. beef after a two-year ban.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2005

Ban on U.S. beef lifted, but don't expect import flood, just price turmoil

The government on Monday approved the resumption of U.S. beef imports, lifting a two-year ban that has been in place since the discovery of mad cow disease in what had been one of Japan's biggest sources of low-cost beef.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2005

Japan, Japanese abroad still targets for terrorism: police

Japan and Japanese nationals overseas could still be the targets of terrorism as the al-Qaida terrorist network continues to condemn nations that supported the use of force against Iraq in 2003 and to call for "jihad," or holy war, the National Police Agency said Tuesday in an annual report on security....
Japan Times
Features
Dec 11, 2005

Korean school strives to keep its homeland culture alive

When I first laid eyes on Tokyo Chosen Dai-Ni Shokyu Gakko (Tokyo Korean No.2 Elementary School) in the downtown Edagawa district of Koto Ward, it looked like any other school in Japan.
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2005

Japan productivity lowest in G7

Japan's labor productivity in 2003 was the lowest among the Group of Seven advanced economies for the 10th year in a row, according to results of a survey released by a think tank Wednesday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 29, 2005

Opening the kimono to everyone

Maia Maniglier fell in love with kimono in 2001, when she was convinced to let a Tokyo kimono stylist dress her for a reception at the French Embassy. Kanji Nakashima impressed the skeptical French woman, who had lived in Japan since 1989, by dressing her both stylishly and comfortably.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Nov 28, 2005

Tax reforms must sustain positive economic cycle

The Japanese economy is on the path toward a full-scale recovery driven by the private sector. The next major challenge for the nation is to its rebuildfiscal health, which is now the worst among the key industrialized countries.
Japan Times
Features
Nov 27, 2005

Is it so hard to see the forest for the trees?

By C.W. NICOL
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2005

Probe collects asteroid sample

The Hayabusa space probe apparently succeeded in landing Saturday on an asteroid and collecting surface samples in an unprecedented mission to bring the extraterrestrial material back to Earth, but afterward showed signs of trouble, the space agency said.
COMMENTARY
Nov 23, 2005

Neocons absconded with round five

BRUSSELS -- The six-party talks, which initially began in August 2003 to resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, reconvened in Beijing on Nov. 9, then adjourned three days later inconclusively. Defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 21, 2005

Takahashi wins in Tokyo

Sydney Olympic champion Naoko Takahashi overcame a career-threatening leg injury to win the Tokyo International Women's Marathon in a dramatic comeback to full marathon racing on Sunday.
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Nov 20, 2005

DU vet: 'My days are numbered'

Gerard Matthew has broad shoulders and beefy hands. He's built like a bear. Yet as sturdy as this 31-year-old may look, he is a very sick man.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2005

Firms raided in Narita bidding probe

Prosecutors searched the offices of several electrical machinery makers Thursday over allegations that the companies rigged bids for projects at Narita airport.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2005

Koizumi, Bush stress strong ties

KYOTO -- U.S. President George W. Bush, in reaffirming his close personal ties Wednesday with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, praised the latter's recent election win as a model for democracy and underscored that the close Japan-U.S. relationship is important for all of Asia and beyond.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2005

Japan imports illegally caught tuna: WWF

Japan has imported thousands of tons of bluefin tuna caught by Turkey in the Eastern Atlantic in violation of international agreements, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.
COMMENTARY
Nov 14, 2005

Beijing appears more apt to seek flu help

HONG KONG -- China's appeal to the World Health Organization for help to determine whether three cases of "pneumonia caused by unknown factors" in Hunan province could have been the result of the H5N1 virus indicates that Beijing is taking the threat of bird flu seriously.

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