search

 
 
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 7, 2004

'Setsubun': devils out, mystery sushi in!

When I woke up, there was a large sushi roll sitting on the "genkan" step in my house. "Hmm," I eyed it suspiciously, then decided to leave it there and instead took the newspaper from the mail slot and headed to the living room.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2004

Mobile phone subscribers topped 80 million in January

The number of subscriptions to mobile phone services in Japan topped 80 million in January for the first time, the Telecommunications Carriers Association said Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

Government eyes crackdown on bribery overseas

A government panel approved a draft bill Friday that would allow the government to punish Japanese nationals working abroad who were involved in bribing foreign public servants, regardless of whether their parent companies in Japan were involved, officials said.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2004

Ashikaga Bank poised to ax 300 employees

The nationalized Ashikaga Bank has formalized a rehabilitation plan that will see some 300 of its 2,800 workers cut within two years, the Financial Services Agency said Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

Mandatory oil-spill insurance eyed

Japan might make it mandatory for ships of 100 tons or more to be insured against oil spills -- a move that would bar many North Korean vessels from entering Japanese ports.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2004

Japan crosses the Rubicon

HONOLULU -- Japan has crossed the Rubicon, with surprisingly little opposition at home or abroad, by starting to dispatch armed soldiers to Iraq in their first deployment to a combat zone since World War II.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 7, 2004

Williams withdraws

Top-seeded Venus Williams was forced to pull out of the Toray Pan Pacific Open on Friday with an injured leg, while defending champion Lindsay Davenport overwhelmed Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova to advance to the semifinals.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 7, 2004

Two Myers-Briggs analysis sessions change lives

Californian-born Terri Nii of KNT Co. appears to have found a most agreeable and satisfying balance in her life.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2004

Iraq safety apparently a foregone conclusion

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda entered the fray Thursday over an alleged draft of a report concluding the security situation in Iraq was safe even before an advance team had handed in its findings.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2004

Bird flu here linked to '96 China strain

The bird flu virus that has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of chickens in Japan and Vietnam is closely related to the one discovered at a goose farm in China's Guangdong Province in 1996, Japanese researchers said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2004

Metal detectors greet snow festival goers

SAPPORO -- The 55th Sapporo Snow Festival opened Thursday amid tightened security due to the Iraq dispatch of Self-Defense Forces troops, most of whom are based in Hokkaido.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2004

Japan, China will meet ahead of six-party talks

Japan and China will hold a vice-ministerial security dialogue in Tokyo ahead of the Feb. 25 six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear threat, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2004

Diet curbs smoking in line with beefed-up health law

The Diet enacted a law last year to protect people from lifestyle-related illnesses, including cancer and other diseases caused by passive smoking, and now lawmakers have taken steps to protect themselves, removing all ashtrays from around the plenary chambers of both houses.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Feb 6, 2004

Player power and disloyalty becoming endemic in English game

LONDON -- There is a new game sweeping English football and the rewards can run into millions for the lucky winners.
EDITORIALS
Feb 6, 2004

Little hope for six-nation talks

The six-nation talks, aimed at finding a negotiated solution to halting North Korea's nuclear development, are scheduled to resume in Beijing on Feb. 25 after a six-month interlude. Since the resumption of the talks has been struggling to make headway along a slippery road, we would like to hope that...
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2004

Serious crimes linked to online dating up 37%

Serious crimes, including murder, robbery and rape, linked to online dating sites rose 37 percent in 2003 from the year before to 137 cases, the National Police Agency said in a report Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2004

Juvenile crime rates rose in 2003

A total 212 children under 14 were taken into police custody over serious crimes in 2003, up 47.2 percent from the previous year.
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2004

Sales of imported vehicles dip 1%

Sales of imported motor vehicles fell 1 percent in January from a year earlier to 15,334 units.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2004

H.K. passport holders granted visa-free access

Japan will grant visa-free access to Hong Kong passport holders starting April 1 as part of the government's effort to bring in more foreign tourists.
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2004

Toyota on course for annual net profit of record 1 trillion yen

Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday its group net profit in the October-December quarter jumped 59.7 percent from a year earlier to 286.4 billion yen due to brisk global sales and cost-cutting efforts.
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2004

Yahoo to launch online insurance

Leading Internet portal operator Yahoo Japan Corp. said Thursday it will launch an online insurance business in Japan through an alliance with major U.S. insurance broker Aon Corp.
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2004

BOJ keeps monetary policy intact

The Bank of Japan's policy-setting panel left its monetary policy unchanged Thursday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2004

U.S. beef ban now claims Sukiya 'gyudon'

Fast-food chain Zensho Co. stopped serving "gyudon" -- bowls of rice topped with seasoned beef -- Thursday after it exhausted its beef inventory following the government's ban on U.S. beef.
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2004

Government to help firms issuing bonds in Southeast Asia

The government plans to establish a new guarantee system to help domestic companies issue bonds in local currencies in Southeast Asia, a government official said Thursday.

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