search

 
 
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 17, 2004

Sea Day -- For good or bad, a holiday

Happy Sea Day! Monday, July 19, is Sea Day, a national holiday when we are supposed to go out and enjoy the sea. But for me, this has not been a good year with the sea. First, on a yachting trip from Japan to Guam, the boat turned over in the Pacific Ocean and we had to be rescued. More recently, I sprained...
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2004

Pension bills littered with errors

The government acknowledged Friday that pension reform legislation enacted by the Diet last month contained as many as 40 technical flaws, and reprimanded bureaucrats in connection with the fiasco.
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2004

Kabuki to be nominated for UNESCO heritage list

Japan decided Friday to nominate kabuki for recognition by UNESCO for entry to the list of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2004

Asia seizing new opportunities in Africa

In the Senegalese city of Thies, a new enterprise, "Senbus," is assembling 30-seat buses for the domestic and regional markets. The first units of this first vehicle factory in Senegal rolled out the plant's doors in September 2003, thanks to a partnership between Senegalese investors and Tata International,...
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2004

Jenkins should confess, plea-bargain: Baker

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker suggested to senior lawmakers of the ruling coalition Friday that Charles Jenkins, an alleged U.S. Army deserter to North Korea, should seek a plea bargain, officials said.
COMMENTARY
Jul 17, 2004

A tale of two occupations

HONG KONG -- History did not repeat itself in Iraq as the Americans naively expected. While it has become obvious that U.S. intelligence reports and analysis were deficient in the runup to the war, less attention has been paid to the fact that the United States occupied Iraq imbued with a dubious historical...
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2004

UFJ, MTFG agree to start merger talks

UFJ Holdings Inc. and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. -- two of Japan's four major banking groups -- said Friday they have agreed to start merger talks, aiming to integrate their operations during the first half of fiscal 2005.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jul 17, 2004

Benjamin Lee

Six years ago when the Chen Kaige movie "First Emperor" was being made in China, celebrity photographer Benjamin Lee went along from Tokyo for the filming. "I had the chance to meet the producer, and in an interesting way followed the crew around," he said. He did more than look on. He spent six months...
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2004

Japanese women outlive everyone: poll

The life span of Japanese women, already the longest in the world, grew to an average 85.33 years in 2003.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2004

Kurdish asylum-seekers stage sit-in in Shibuya

Two Kurdish families are staging a sit-in outside the United Nations University in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward over the Justice Ministry's rejection of their applications for refugee status.
BUSINESS
Jul 17, 2004

Report says Japan must be more open to outside world

Japan needs to carry out further structural reforms to take greater advantage of economic globalization, according to the government's annual white paper on the economy.
COMMUNITY
Jul 17, 2004

Designing and touring Japanese gardens in U.K.

Robert Ketchell, a designer of Japanese gardens and a guide to gardens in Japan, is at full stretch when we first talk. He is off to meet Princess Anne in Spalding, on Lincolnshire's east coast, where she is due to visit a garden he and his business partner, Jacquie Blakeley, have created.
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 16, 2004

Takahara likely out of Games squad

Hamburg SV striker Naohiro Takahara is most likely to be left out of Japan's squad for next month's Athens Olympics, Kozo Tashima, head of the Japan Football Association technical committee said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2004

Young delegates at symposium stress value of peace

Young people across the globe need to better appreciate the value of peace, which they so often take for granted, foreign students who are studying Japanese said during a symposium in Tokyo earlier this week.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2004

Jenkins coming to Japan this weekend for treatment

Charles Jenkins, an alleged U.S. Army deserter to North Korea who reunited with his Japanese wife, former abductee Hitomi Soga, last week in Jakarta, will come to Japan over this extended weekend and be hospitalized, government sources said Thursday.
OLYMPICS
Jul 16, 2004

JOC adds 68 members for Athens

on Thursday added 45 athletes and 23 officials in athletics, equestrian and beach volleyball to the country's delegation for next month's Athens Olympics. The additional 68 members brought the total of delegates to 463, including 276 athletes and 187 officials, who will make the trip to Athens for the...
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2004

Suzuki aide in fund scam sees suspended term upheld

The Tokyo High Court on Thursday upheld a suspended 16-month prison term for a former aide of ex-House of Representatives member Muneo Suzuki convicted of funds misuse and bid-meddling.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 16, 2004

A year of flower power

Looking for places to go this summer? Well, if you want something unique then head for Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka Prefecture.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2004

Former LDP lawmaker held over embezzlement

Tokyo prosecutors on Thursday arrested a former lawmaker of the Liberal Democratic Party and served fresh warrants on two former executives of the Japan Dental Association for allegedly embezzling 30 million yen from the industry group.
BUSINESS
Jul 16, 2004

Obituary: Michio Morishima

Renowned economist Michio Morishima, professor emeritus at the University of London and Osaka University, died at a hospital in Britain on Tuesday, Osaka University said Thursday. He was 80.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2004

Hashimoto linked to shady 100 million yen from dental group

A former Japan Dental Association chairman tied to an embezzlement scandal sent a 100 million yen check from the coffers of the group's political arm to former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto prior to the 2001 House of Councilors election, investigative sources said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2004

Miyake islanders can return home in '05

The village authority of Miyake Island, 180 km south of Tokyo, will lift a nearly four-year-old evacuation order on islanders by early next year, despite ongoing volcanic activity there, village officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2004

Publisher must pay redress over suicide

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling ordering Bungeishunju Ltd. to pay 9.2 million yen in damages to the family of an archaeologist who killed himself in 2001 because of reports in the publishing company's weekly magazine.
EDITORIALS
Jul 16, 2004

A functional defense and more

Japan's Self-Defense Forces, which came into existence 50 years ago, was described at the time as "armed forces with no war potential." Although that remains essentially true, the SDF is no longer a "passive" organization devoted only to national defense. As this year's defense report, issued earlier...
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2004

Extra squadrons pitched for U.S. Yokota Air Base

The United States has informally proposed integrating a U.S. air base on Guam into the U.S. Yokota Air Base outside Tokyo, government sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2004

U.S. won't seek immediate handover: Baker

Washington plans to pursue a case against accused U.S. Army deserter Charles Jenkins, though it may not demand his immediate handover if he comes to Japan, the U.S. ambassador said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 16, 2004

MTFG exec sees mutual benefits from UFJ merger

The chairman of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi said Thursday he sees a planned merger between Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. and UFJ Holdings Inc. as being mutually beneficial.
BUSINESS
Jul 16, 2004

MMC seeks 'beneficial' alliances

Struggling automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is discussing alliances with automakers at home and abroad to reduce its reliance on DaimlerChrysler AG, according to MMC President Hideyasu Tagaya.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight