Search - 2003

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 28, 2004

Should Buddhist art be left in the temples?

The most poignant work in Kyoto National Museum's "Treasures of a Great Zen Temple, The Nanzenji: Commemorating the 700th Memorial Year of Emperor Kameyama" is a hand scroll titled "Prayer for the Prosperity of Zenrinzenji [Nanzenji]" from the hand of Emperor Kameyama himself.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2004

FSA discloses results of special audit

The Financial Services Agency said Tuesday it upgraded 23 borrowers that have loans with Japan's 11 major banks, and downgraded 26 others.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2004

Accused Softbank data extortionist says he just wanted a reply

A man accused of stealing client data and trying to extort money from Softbank BB Corp. denied in court Monday that he had intent to extort and said he only wanted the firm to respond to him.
BUSINESS
Apr 27, 2004

China, consolidation end steel industry slump

After years of being in a slump, Japan's steelmakers are again enjoying strong demand, buoyed by China's red-hot hunger for everything used to make buildings, bridges and other social infrastructure.
BUSINESS
Apr 24, 2004

Mitsui O.S.K. lifts earnings forecast

Shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. said Friday it has raised its earnings forecast and dividend payment plan for fiscal 2003 as a market recovery and progress in cost cuts boosted its business.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2004

Repercussions for MMC could be terminal: analysts

The sudden decision by DaimlerChrysler AG to halt further financial support to ailing Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has forced the Japanese automaker to drastically reconsider its restructuring program, analysts said.
BUSINESS
Apr 23, 2004

Individual traders boost earnings of online brokerages

Online brokerages' earnings surged in fiscal 2003 due to active trading by individual investors during the recent stock market rally.
BUSINESS
Apr 23, 2004

Teething troubles aside, merit-based pay catching on

Corporate Japan's shift toward performance-based pay has been beset by difficulties.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 21, 2004

A universe far beyond manga as we know it

Realism no Yado Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita Running time: 83 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] Foreign manga fans are always praising manga's scope as compared with that of American comics stuck in a narrow superhero...
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2004

Sony revises projections upward

Sony Corp. on Tuesday revised upward its projections for group profits and sales for fiscal 2003 due to greater profits in the United States and foreign-exchange gains.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2004

Help Japan by using more homegrown wood: report

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry released an annual forestry report Tuesday calling for greater use of domestically produced lumber to help Japan's ailing forestry industry.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 18, 2004

Beijing Ripper goes chop-chop; New York whodunit has a rap

CHINESE WHISPERS, by Peter May. London: Coronet Books, 2004, 402 pp., £6.99 (paper). MURDER IN CHINA RED, by Dean Barrett. New York: Village East Books, 2003, 260 pp., $11.95 (paper). Honolulu Detective Charlie Chan made his literary debut in Earl Derr Biggers' 1925 novel "The House Without a Key."...
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2004

Teijin develops new technology for recycling PET bottles

Major textile and chemical maker Teijin Ltd. has developed advanced technology for recycling plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate.
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2004

Bankruptcies fall for second straight year

The number of corporate bankruptcies in fiscal 2003 fell 16.6 percent from the previous year to 15,790, down for the second straight year, Teikoku Databank Ltd. said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Apr 12, 2004

Disillusionment over Iraq

LONDON -- In March 2003, British Prime Minister Tony Blair apparently believed that there was an imminent threat that Iraq might use weapons of mass destruction. A majority of British voters were accordingly persuaded that Britain was probably justified in taking part in an attack on the tyrannical regime...
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2004

College gang-rape trio get up to 32 months

Three members of a now-defunct social club made up of students from elite universities received prison terms of up to 32 months Thursday for gang-raping a coed last April, allegedly along with 10 other male accomplices.
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2004

Japan Post let billions in taxes slide

Japan Post said Thursday it and its predecessor failed to collect 15.16 billion yen in withholding tax on postal savings interest in the three years through fiscal 2003 by illicitly applying its tax-exempt small savings system for the elderly and disabled to noneligible customers.
BUSINESS
Apr 3, 2004

Summer bonuses set to rise 0.5%

Employees at Japanese corporations are likely to see their summer bonuses rise 0.5 percent this year from 2003 levels, Mizuho Securities Co. said Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2004

Nintendo trims earnings estimate

Nintendo Co. said Thursday it has revised downward its fiscal 2003 earnings estimates because it suffered a larger-than-expected 68 billion yen exchange loss due to the yen's appreciation against the dollar.
Events
Mar 31, 2004

South Korean economy bedeviled by serious woes: writers

While Japan's economy may finally be bidding farewell to the "lost decade" of the stagnant 1990s, growth in South Korea, once noted for its rapid recovery after the 1997 Asian crisis, is slowing down amid serious problems like mounting household debts.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 28, 2004

History behind a rocky democracy

INDONESIAN DESTINIES, by Theodore Friend. Cambridge: Belknap/Harvard University Press, 2003, 628 pp., $35 (cloth). INDONESIA: People and Histories, by Jean Gelman Taylor. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003, 420 pp., $39.95 (cloth). These two books complement each other nicely and contribute greatly...
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2004

Deflation maintained grip on Tokyo in fiscal '03

A key gauge of consumer prices in Tokyo edged down 0.3 percent in fiscal 2003 for the fifth straight annual decline.
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2004

Land prices off for 13th year but pace of decline is easing

Average land prices fell in the 2003 calendar year for the 13th straight year.
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2004

Mitsubishi Fuso's recall likely to include city buses

The imminent recall of large vehicles by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. is likely to include city buses excluded from its initial recall plan.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2004

Ex-governor's daughter handed suspended term

The Tokyo District Court handed a suspended prison term Wednesday to the daughter of a former Saitama governor for violating the Political Funds Control Law.
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2004

Personal financial assets up 1.6%

The outstanding balance of Japan's personal financial assets rose in 2003, marking its first gain in three years, the Bank of Japan said Monday.

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