search

 
 
EDITORIALS
Oct 21, 2004

Bracing for an ugly two weeks

The U.S. presidential election is less than two weeks away. With both candidates running neck and neck, the election is still too close to call. Poll watchers worry that the victor will not be known even after the polls close: dysfunctional voting machinery and legal challenges may hold up results for...
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2004

Study to focus on surge in bear attacks

The Environment Ministry plans to conduct an emergency survey to discover what has prompted a surge in bear attacks across the country since the summer.
CULTURE / Books / THE BOOK REPORT
Oct 21, 2004

New life patterns for a new age

The end of the high-growth period and of the go-go bubble years has brought both new opportunities and great uncertainty as the old social system based on lifetime employment crumbles and even the outlines of its successor system remain hazy. Such uncertainty no doubt played a role in propelling novelist...
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2004

Coalition parties look to ban prepaid mobile phone sales

The Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, New Komeito, decided Wednesday to submit legislation to the current Diet session to ban sales of prepaid mobile phones, which are often used in fraud crimes.
BUSINESS
Oct 21, 2004

NTT subscription fees to be halved

The two fixed-line regional telephone units of NTT Corp. plan to cut subscription fees by half in January in the face of increasing competition, sources said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2004

Typhoon kills 21, leaves trail of havoc

At least 21 people were dead Wednesday as massive Typhoon Tokage churned north across the Japanese archipelago after hitting Kochi Prefecture.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Oct 21, 2004

On the woodland trail of sprites and fungal delight

Common sounds in the hill forests of northern Japan these days are the thin "tsiping" calls of Black-faced Buntings elusively flitting through the dwarf bamboo, as enormous numbers of them head south to milder climes.
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2004

Post office worker accused of starving daughter to death

The 47-year-old mother of a 16-year-old girl who died of extreme weakness in 1999 has been arrested on suspicion of starving her to death, according to local police.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2004

Koizumi backs revisions to law on funds control

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi voiced hope Wednesday that the Political Funds Control Law will be revised during the ongoing extraordinary Diet session.
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2004

JAL hijacker's wife appeals ruling

The wife of one of the radicals who hijacked a Japan Airlines plane to North Korea in 1970 appealed Wednesday the suspended sentence she received from the Tokyo District Court for violating the Passport Law.
BUSINESS
Oct 21, 2004

Struggling Daiei expected to appoint managing director as next president

Ailing retail giant Daiei Inc. is likely to name Managing Director Toshio Hasumi as the successor to Kunio Takagi, who will step down as president Friday to take responsibility for the firm's financial problems, informed sources said Wednesday.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Oct 21, 2004

Cutting back on 3-pointers is not a good idea

NEW YORK -- Can't say I'm the least bit surprised the NBA's deep thinkers are considering banning the 3-point shot until the last five minutes of regulation; and, what, long distance field goals only will count as three points in the last 30 seconds of overtime?
BUSINESS
Oct 21, 2004

Yahoo Japan profit jumps 46% on robust ad revenue

Yahoo Japan Corp. said Wednesday its second-quarter net profit jumped 46 percent to 8.64 billion yen, buoyed by continued growth in advertising revenue.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2004

Osaka eyes putting its homeless to work

OSAKA -- Facing central government cutbacks in financial aid to the homeless, Osaka officials are teaming up with the local business community to create a new program that will put some of Osaka Prefecture's estimated 7,700 homeless to work.
COMMENTARY
Oct 21, 2004

Exacerbating Pakistan's democratic predicament

ISLAMABAD -- A decision by Pakistan's ruling party to push a bill through Parliament that would extend President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's tenure as head of the influential military establishment as well as give him wide-ranging powers marks a new setback for the nuclear-armed South Asian country's troubled...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Oct 21, 2004

Disabled children at regular schools: inclusion isn't easy

When we moved to Japan and enrolled our sons in local schools, both they and I had a lot to learn. Every day was a challenge, and I was so focused on the basics that I missed a lot of things that should have been obvious. Like the fact that there was a disabled child in my son's kindergarten.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Oct 21, 2004

Candidates focus on battleground states

WASHINGTON -- Regardless of what you thought of the idea before the debates came off, chances are you will have to admit that the 2004 U.S. presidential debates provided a rare and welcome opportunity to get a better understanding of the two candidates, U.S. President George W. Bush and Massachusetts...
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2004

Empress seeks help for Princess

Empress Michiko marked her 70th birthday Wednesday by urging palace officials to help her troubled daughter-in-law to recover from a stress-related illness.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2004

Power of opinion rising in Muslim Asia

SINGAPORE -- Three major political events in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Bandar Seri Begawan the past month could have profound effects on the rising power of civil society and of party and public opinion in Southeast Asia.
BUSINESS
Oct 21, 2004

Kokudo withheld info in rail share deal

Kokudo Corp. sold some of its shares in Seibu Railway Co. without telling buyers that the railway firm's stock ownership conditions met delisting standards, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 21, 2004

ANA mulls hike in domestic fares

All Nippon Airways Co. President Yoji Ohashi said Wednesday the carrier is thinking about hiking domestic airfares to cope with soaring oil prices.

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