Search - special

 
 
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 23, 2003

Chips with everything makes for a hi-tech mess

If you think that your computer, being such a modern, hi-tech device, is -- or surely must be -- environmentally friendly, then think again.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 23, 2003

Move over MP3; purists demand 'lossless'

There's a whole industry built around the MP3 data-compression format, but did you know that by using MP3s to burn music CDs, you lose part of the original recording as the data compressor does its work?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 22, 2003

Leading the way

In 1995 Tomomi Nishimoto was regularly sneaking into an auditorium to watch an esteemed Bolshoi maestro rehearse. Seven years later, she was appointed the first Japanese chief conductor of Russia's state-run Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra Millennium.
BUSINESS
Jan 22, 2003

Mizuho group plots huge fundraising effort as losses jump to 1.9 trillion yen

The Mizuho Financial Group said Tuesday its fiscal 2002 losses will hit 1.9 trillion yen, a nine-fold jump from estimates issued in November, after its two banks swallow more than 2 trillion yen in loan-loss provisions.
SUMO
Jan 21, 2003

Injured Takanohana retires from sumo

Yokozuna Takanohana brought an illustrious but injury-plagued sumo career to an end Monday after his comeback bid ended in failure at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2003

Japan avoids China's steel import curbs

China has acceded to Japan's request that it exclude Japanese products from its emergency three-year curbs on steel imports, steel industry sources in Beijing said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 21, 2003

Tasks for the newly opened Diet

Economic revival is the main theme of the 150-day regular Diet session that opened on Monday. One of the first items to be discussed is a supplementary spending package for fiscal 2002 designed to shore up the sluggish economy. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's policy speech, scheduled for delivery...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jan 20, 2003

Hike in consumption tax center of lobby's vision

The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) on Jan. 1 released a grand vision aimed at reviving Japan into a vigor- ous and attractive nation.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Jan 19, 2003

Perseverance, positive outlook carrying Inamoto

Scoring an important goal obviously affects the outcome of a game. But it also sometimes changes the scorer's career -- as in the case with Japan and Fulham midfielder Junichi Inamoto.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 19, 2003

Amateurish TV? Well let it be, just let it be

The Jan. 16 issue of Shukan Bunshun carries an article that lists and describes the 10 worst TV specials broadcast during the New Year's holidays. Coming up with a Worst 10 is not difficult, since practically any special broadcast during the New Year's break could qualify for a list of the 10 Worst Programs...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 19, 2003

Facts are first casualty in U.S. march to war

WAR PLAN IRAQ: Ten Reasons Against War on Iraq, by Milan Rai. Verso, 2002, 240 pp., $15 (paper) When Richard Butler, head of the first U.N. weapons inspections team in Iraq, said in 1997 that "Truth in some cultures is kind of what you can get away with saying," he was referring to the regime of Iraqi...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 18, 2003

Rachel Walzer

The play now in rehearsal for a Tokyo presentation "reflects in its crudeness the state of our world today," Rachel Walzer said. Preparing for her role in "What the Butler Saw," she has "strong opinions about this farce. In it, nothing is sacred, and it seems to offend everyone under the sun. Yet beneath...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 18, 2003

Starting the year with a 32-person cold

It's January, when you see many Japanese people wearing surgical masks. No they are not doctors on call. Those people have "pulled the wind," as the Japanese say: They have caught a cold. They wear the masks either to contain their germs and avoid spreading them to others, or, more likely, to hide their...
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2003

Survey exposes school quake fears

Fewer than half of Japan's school buildings are quake-resistant, according to a Cabinet Office study released Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jan 16, 2003

LucasArts gives till it hurts

I have not finished the game "Star Wars Bounty Hunter," and I doubt many people will. But that doesn't make it a bad game.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2003

Ministry plans to increase support to care providers

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry plans to increase payments from the nursing-care insurance system to private care providers by 30 percent beginning April 1, according to a proposal unveiled earlier this week.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 16, 2003

LeBron's new wheels really no big deal

NEW YORK -- What's all the frenzy and fury about LeBron James cruisin' around Akron in his new whip, a Hummer H2 purchased by mom, "To Son, With Love?"
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 14, 2003

Pension posers, recycling visas, and a re-entry tip-off

New year, new faces Happy New Year from Tokyo. Congratulations to two new leaders in the community; Mr. Lance Lee, the new president of The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, and Mr. Larry Blagg, the new president of The Tokyo American Club. They don't come any better. We wish them the best. Also,...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2003

Britain's far right poses a rising threat

BRUSSELS -- The press in England has had a field day over the past 20 years chronicling the rise of the Continent's far right. The first chance came in the early 1980s with the emergence of France's National Front led by Jean-Marie Le Pen, a man who believes the Americans built the gas chambers in the...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2003

DDT our best weapon in war on malaria

NEW YORK -- A serious debate is raging over the use of DDT to combat malaria. As one of the world's most serious tropical diseases, malaria kills more than a million people a year -- most of them young children. To a great extent, success in controlling malaria is owed to the use of DDT in spraying houses...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2003

Thais create Buddhist studies landmark

CHIANG MAI -- Against a background of terror, conflicts and violence worldwide, during times when consumerism and materialism have been elevated as never before on pedestals surrounded by a divine aura, a small group of modest but dedicated Thai scholars, monks and nuns have worked quietly and efficiently...
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Jan 13, 2003

Learning from living things, often the hard way

Since I write this column at home, school holidays are always a problem. It's impossible to get any work done with my kids hanging around. One day during the recent winter holidays, I complained about feeling pressured. The deadline for today's column was looming, but I didn't even have a topic.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jan 13, 2003

Bee hawkmoth

* Japanese name: Sukibahoujyaku * Scientific name: Hemaris radians * Description: Bee hawkmoths belong to the moth family Sphingidae. They are large moths (wingspan 37-40 mm) able to fly at high speeds (hence the name hawkmoth). Caterpillars are bright green and recognizable by the black spine on the...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 12, 2003

Ueda leads Hall inductees

Toshiharu Ueda, who as manager led the Hankyu Braves to three consecutive Japan Series Championships, was inducted into the Japanese Hall of Fame along with four other notable contributors to the game, baseball officials announced Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 12, 2003

A price on their heads

Help wanted: Able-bodied, handsome men required to wine and dine as many women as their schedules permit; some extracurricular cosseting may be called for. Educational requirements: None. Salary: Enough to make a salaryman gag.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 12, 2003

It's no joke scripting a sitcom in Japan

When the six cast members of the hit American comedy series "Friends" recently agreed to a 10th season, no one was really surprised, even though the six had implied that the present season would be their last.
BUSINESS
Jan 11, 2003

Asahi Mutual cans Millea tieup plans

Struggling Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Co. announced Friday it has scrapped plans to team up with the Millea Insurance Group, saying it may look for another partner.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 10, 2003

Buffs open vault for Nakamura

OSAKA -- Norihiro Nakamura signed a free-agent deal with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes on Wednesday, becoming the highest-paid Japanese baseball player with an estimated annual salary of 500 million yen for 2003 plus incentives.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2003

Abduction suspect gathered military info

A Korean resident in Japan suspected of having been involved in the abduction of a Japanese national in 1977 is also believed to have gathered military information for North Korea, investigative sources said Thursday.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years