Search - 2003

 
 
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2004

Ex-Rengo exec to avoid prison time over dental bribes

The Tokyo District Court sentenced a former vice president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) to a suspended one-year prison term Friday for accepting bribes from the nation's main dental lobby while serving on a government advisory panel.
BUSINESS
Nov 16, 2004

Kumagai Gumi, Tobishima scrap planned merger

Struggling second-tier construction companies Kumagai Gumi Co. and Tobishima Corp. will scrap their planned April 1 merger, the two companies announced Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2004

Doctor hits immigration center health care

For more than three years, Dr. Junpei Yamamura has visited the Higashi-Nihon Immigration Center in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, once a month.
Japan Times
Features
Nov 7, 2004

Love her or hate her...

Nahoko Takato became famous on the night of April 8 this year, when the Arab satellite broadcaster Al-Jazeera aired video footage of her and two other Japanese held blindfolded at gunpoint in Iraq.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2004

Suzuki fined, handed two-year term

The Tokyo District Court on Friday sentenced former House of Representatives lawmaker Muneo Suzuki to two years in prison and fined him 11 million yen for accepting bribes, falsifying a political funds report and perjury.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2004

Panel OKs sanctions on North

A Liberal Democratic Party panel studying North Korea's abduction of Japanese nationals stepped up the pressure on Pyongyang on Friday by approving an interim report that outlines steps for imposing economic sanctions on the reclusive state.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2004

No letup in suffering of Iraqi innocents

NEW YORK -- Recent information on the consequences of the Iraq war on civilians and children only confirms a devastating picture of the situation. According to an article in the medical magazine The Lancet, there have been more than 100,000 civilians deaths since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. The...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 3, 2004

Stocking of new Sendai team just part of busy NPB offseason

Get ready, fans, for what promises to be a whirlwind, action-packed offseason with an extra-hot hot stove league or, as they say here in Japan, the "hot hibachi" league. Going to be a heckuva offseason.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 3, 2004

Automakers focus on disabled drivers at 38th motor show

MAKUHARI, Chiba Pref. -- Automakers over the last decade have expanded their lineup of vehicles catering to the needs of disabled people and the elderly.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 31, 2004

At-home dads

Kazuyuki Yamamura is a tall, good-looking man in his 30s, who was also good at his job. In fact, not so long ago he bought a house for himself, his wife and their kindergarten-age daughter in a leafy suburb of Tokyo. Then, unexpectedly, his company found itself in choppy financial waters -- and he was...
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2004

State aims to boost sales of soccer lottery tickets by lowering the odds

The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry will try to boost sales of soccer lottery tickets by increasing the chances of winning and selling tickets on the Internet, beginning April 2006.
EDITORIALS
Oct 28, 2004

Dealing with a murderous past

The 1970s in Cambodia is described as one of the darkest periods in modern history. That was when the Communist Pol Pot regime, or the Khmer Rouge, exterminated nearly 2 million people during its rule from 1975 to 1979. Now, a quarter of a century since the regime collapsed, some of its former leaders...
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2004

Dental body tied to Ishihara faction

The scandal-tainted Japan Dental Association gave 10 million yen in political donations last December to a Liberal Democratic Party chapter headed by former transport minister Nobuteru Ishihara, according to the 2003 political funds report released Wednesday by the Tokyo election board.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2004

Bleak outlook for Myanmar democracy

After days of speculation over the fate of Myanmar Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt, the country's official media announced that he was permitted to retire for health reasons. The reasons given were usual for someone who had been removed from the inner circle.
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2004

UFJ execs grilled over alleged block of FSA probe

Prosecutors on Monday questioned three former executives of UFJ Bank on suspicion of obstructing a government inspection, according to investigative sources.
COMMENTARY
Oct 25, 2004

ODA looks wasted on China

This year Japan marks the 50th anniversary of the official development assistance program it launched after getting out of the postwar economic chaos. The Foreign Ministry's 2004 white paper on ODA boasts that Japan, now one of the world's largest ODA providers, has made major contributions to the economic...
Japan Times
Features
Oct 24, 2004

The cat's whiskers of Kawaii

At 10 a.m. last Saturday, the moment the doors of the Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district were opened, a small scrum of people rushed in, headed straight to the escalators and then up to the fifth floor.
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Oct 14, 2004

New options raise the stakes in the 'Name that Baby' game

Since middle names are not used in Japan, the parents of a newborn need only agree on one name for their offspring. This is probably just as well: Choosing a kanji name involves a whole host of complex considerations, and while some couples settle on a name written in kana (Japan's phonetic script),...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 14, 2004

Crisis that hangs on hearsay

LONDON -- I am rapidly approaching the age of retirement. I am already cutting back on my activities, slimming down my portfolio of work and deciding what activities are wastes of time.
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2004

10 million have missed pension payments, audit finds

Some 10 million people -- roughly 45 percent of those registered with the National Pension System -- failed to pay at least one month of premiums in fiscal 2002 or fiscal 2003, the Board of Audit said Sunday.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2004

Extortionist gets four years for Softbank scam

The Tokyo District Court sentenced a self-styled rightwinger to four years in prison Tuesday for attempting to extort billions of yen out of Softbank Corp.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2004

Gadget helps bathroom-bashful

When Naoko Ito uses a public bathroom, she cringes in embarrassment at the thought other patrons can hear the sounds coming from her stall.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji