Search - 2003

 
 
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2005

Business confidence crumbled last quarter

Business confidence at Japan's large manufacturers deteriorated sharply in the January-March quarter.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2005

Traffic fatality figures 3.5% better

The number of people who survived the first 24 hours but died within 30 days of a traffic accident fell 3.5 percent from the previous year to a record 1,134 in 2004, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2005

Interest in diversification grows ahead of 'payoff' deadline

What is the best way to diversify your assets in an economy with rock-bottom interest rates, faltering bank security and Friday's termination of the government's full guarantee on savings accounts?
MORE SPORTS
Mar 21, 2005

Japanese cheerleader achieves NFL dream

In the summer of 1994, Tomoko Kojima was watching an NFL preseason game in San Diego as a part of her home-stay program. But it wasn't the Chargers or the visiting San Francisco 49ers that caught her attention. Instead, she couldn't keep her eyes off the cheerleaders.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 16, 2005

Arakawa, Ando, Suguri strive to continue Japan's world reign

MOSCOW -- Heading into the World Figure Skating Championships in Moscow, Japan's women skaters, once so dominant, are now a question mark.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Mar 10, 2005

Will the 'Brave Blossoms' soon be drinking champagne?

It's often said that it is a brave man who owns up to being wrong.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 4, 2005

Waking up to China's threat

NEW YORK -- On Feb. 19, Japan and the United States issued a joint statement that maintaining peace and security in the Taiwan Strait is a common strategic objective. This was nothing extraordinary except for the fact that Japan, for the first time, joined the U.S. in voicing public concern about China's...
EDITORIALS
Mar 3, 2005

Increase pressure on North Korea

Talks with North Korea are deadlocked on two make-or-break issues: that country's nuclear weapons program and its past abduction of Japanese nationals. Last month, declaring that it has nuclear weapons, Pyongyang threatened an indefinite boycott of the six-party talks. It also refused to discuss the...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2005

Insurers race to get into medical policies as population ages

The risk of getting sick may soon be more important than the risk of dying, according to the life insurance industry.
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Feb 20, 2005

Sit down and be counted!

One chilly Friday morning last month, high-school teacher Noriyuki Ishida had probably the most stressful experience of his 35-year career.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 19, 2005

Diaspora bridges China and ASEAN

SINGAPORE -- On Feb. 9, the start of the Year of the Rooster, ethnic Chinese communities across Southeast Asia took stock of their progress and their future in the shadow of China's peaceful development and its strengthened status within the region of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations....
BUSINESS
Feb 17, 2005

DHL poised to grab ever-increasing share of Asia-Pacific mart -- especially China

DHL, the world's leading international express and logistics company, is flying high over China, stepping up infrastructure investment geared to capitalize on fast-growing intra-Asia/Pacific trade, in particular Japan-China trade.
BUSINESS
Feb 16, 2005

With ANA back in black, next chief eyes new overseas routes

Chicago, Delhi, Bombay and Moscow.
BUSINESS
Feb 9, 2005

Japan closer to lifting ban on U.S. beef

Japan moved a step closer to partially lifting a ban on U.S. beef imports after a government panel on Tuesday accepted U.S. assurances that a specific grade of U.S. beef would be free of mad cow disease.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Feb 4, 2005

Gunners misfiring a year after record-setting season

LONDON -- Manchester United's 4-2 win over Arsenal at Highbury on Tuesday was not just a victory, it was further proof that the Premiership champion needs a significant overhaul.
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2005

Yoshinoya plans 'gyudon' sales for one day only

Yoshinoya D&C Co. said Tuesday it will serve "gyudon" bowls of beef-on-rice for one day only on Feb. 11 to mark the first anniversary since the popular dish disappeared from the chain.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 30, 2005

Bellamy, Diouf, Savage put stain on game with actions

LONDON -- In the coming weeks members of the Football Writers' Association will start to give serious consideration to their choice for Footballer of the Year.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2005

CPI declines for the fifth straight year as deflation continues to dog economy

The key gauge of consumer prices in Japan fell 0.1 percent in 2004, marking a fifth straight yearly decline and underscoring that the economy is still beset by deflation, the government said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2005

Road injuries hit record high in 2004

A record 1,183,120 people were injured in traffic accidents nationwide in 2004, virtually unchanged from 2003.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 26, 2005

Baseball luminaries give Eagles GM Kuehnert big send off

More than 200 people attended the "Marty Kuehnert-Shi Iwai GM Shunin to Saranaru Nippon Yakyu Kai no Hatten o Negau Kai" (Party to Congratulate Mr. Marty Kuehnert on His Appointment as General Manager and Praying for the Success of Japanese Baseball) at a Tokyo hotel on Friday, Jan. 21, in honor of the...
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2005

Japan mulled buying cruise missiles for pre-emptive self-defense: Ishiba

The government considered arming itself with Tomahawk cruise missiles to pre-empt ballistic missile attacks but gave up because it would contradict the postwar policy of not maintaining an offensive capability, former Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba said Monday.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2005

JR East to safeguard tracks against quakes

East Japan Railway Co. said Monday it will spend at least 50 billion yen to 60 billion yen during four years from fiscal 2005 on antiquake measures such as reinforcing elevated lines.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2005

Lowered standards eyed for foreign-language tour guides

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry plans to review the highly competitive certification exams for professional foreign-language guides in a bid to boost the number of certified guides available to tourists, officials said Saturday.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2005

Japan could 'clam down' on N. Korea

called on consumers to stop buying North Korean asari because the littleneck clams are Japan's top import from the country. The tiny shellfish are commonly served up in home-cooked meals and miso soup.
Japan Times
JAPAN / 10 YEARS AFTER
Jan 18, 2005

City's new face conceals unhealed wounds, a sense of communities lost

KOBE -- A decade after the massive Kobe earthquake, there remains little visible trace of the damage to this port city.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 14, 2005

Morientes fired up to join Liverpool

LONDON -- Last summer Liverpool sold Michael Owen to Real Madrid for £8 million, the England striker becoming the third choice behind Raul and Ronaldo at Bernabeu Stadium.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2005

NPA considers sex-offender tracking system

The National Police Agency set up a team Thursday to discuss creation of a system under which police would be able to keep track of convicted sex criminals.

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