search

 
 
SOCCER / World cup
May 14, 2003

Nigeria pulls out of Kirin Cup due to fears over SARS

Nigeria canceled plans to play in the three-nation Kirin Cup 2003 soccer tournament in June because of concerns about SARS.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 14, 2003

New Pornographers: "Mass Romantic"

In the liner notes of the New Pornographers' debut album, "Mass Romantic," the anonymous band member who wrote them betrays confidence that the record is a good one while continually confessing that most of the details -- such as who played what on which track -- are not clear. The album was recorded...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 14, 2003

Bulletins from life in a box

Once, people had more time to think about the meaning of life -- or its meaninglessness. Poor students brooded over their ambitions in 4 1/2-tatami rooms, undistracted by computers and 3G keitai. People dreamed of a peaceful future while huddling sheltered during the war. Long, long ago, some may have...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 14, 2003

Papa John DeFrancesco: "Jumpin"'

After Joey DeFrancesco's Hammond B-3 organ became a favorite with a new generation of soul-jazz fans in the '90s, part of the spotlight fell on Joey's teacher -- his father, "Papa" John.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 14, 2003

A new Kanjuro takes the bunraku stage

Yoshida Minotaro (real name: Miyanaga Toyomi) is rare among today's bunraku practitioners as he comes from the family of the prominent puppeteer Kiritake Kanjuro II, who died in 1986 at age 66, four years after he was designated a living national treasure. Minotaro was 33 years old at the time of his...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 14, 2003

Grrrls grrrls grrrls

A few weeks ago, Courtney Love placed an ad in the Village Voice for a new set of backing musicians. She not unreasonably specified that they had to be able to play their instruments. Not just that, but they had to be female. And not just female -- but "goddesses."
BUSINESS
May 13, 2003

IC tags may displace book bar codes

Publishers and bookstores are considering replacing bar codes on books with ultra-thin integrated circuits combined with flat antennas, called IC tags, to prevent shoplifting and facilitate market research.
EDITORIALS
May 13, 2003

Streamlining state subsidies

In a move toward greater local autonomy, a government panel has submitted a report to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi calling for large cuts in state subsidies to local governments, including a reduction in government payments for public education. Currently the central government pays half of the salaries...
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2003

From Myanmar to Mae Sot

MAE SOT, Thailand F rom a distance, the textile factories near Mae Sot, Thailand, loom like fortified castles. The main buildings resemble fully encased airplane hangers. Cement walls enclose the compounds, though sometimes these, in a decorative touch, are plastered with white stucco. Entrance is via...
BUSINESS
May 13, 2003

Nikon 2002 figures deeper in red

Nikon Corp. said Monday it fell deeper into the red with a consolidated net loss of 8.14 billion yen in fiscal 2002, against a loss of 6 billion yen the previous year.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2003

World must find peaceful solutions to WMD problem

BRUSSELS -- The international community was deeply divided on how to effectively deal with the potential threat of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Evidence that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein continued to maintain such an arsenal has yet to emerge from the rubble of the recent conflict.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2003

Financial panel agrees on need to help insurers

A government advisory panel on financial affairs agreed Monday on the need to aid troubled life insurers but was divided over a plan to allow them to cut yields guaranteed to policyholders.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2003

Olympus posts record earnings

Olympus Optical Co. reported Monday record-high sales and profits on a consolidated basis for fiscal 2002, driven by its popular digital cameras and steady growth in medical equipment sales.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2003

Sogo, Seibu to merge operations in June

Struggling department store operator Sogo Inc. announced Monday that it will integrate its operations with Seibu Department Stores Ltd. on June 1 under a new holding company, Millennium Retailing Inc.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2003

Nippon Keidanren to back political donations

The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) said Monday it will resume coordinating political donations from member companies and associations beginning next year.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2003

Mobile-phone output logs increase

Domestic shipments of mobile phones, including car phones, surged 58.4 percent in March from a year earlier to 4.96 million, logging their fifth straight monthly increase, an industry association said Monday.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2003

Dam Politics

Poverty haunts the people of Myanmar but those who live in remote, landlocked Karenni State are among the poorest of the poor. Karenni, Myanmar's smallest state, is also the least populated with less than 250,000 inhabitants, many of them landless. Communication is poor and there is little employment....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 13, 2003

Fingerprint IDs touted as leading security option

Have you ever forgotten your PIN number when attempting to withdraw cash from a bank ATM? If so, you are a target user for fingerprint identification systems.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 13, 2003

Off-the-wall fiction feeds weird ideas about Japan

If you review novels set in Asia, as this writer does, it follows that you read a lot of books. To call some of them "terrible" may be putting it kindly.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2003

Coddling of Asian bond marts urged

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa and Jamaludin Mohamed Jarjis, Malaysia's second finance minister, agreed Monday that Asia's bond markets should be nurtured to stabilize regional currency swings and bolster economic growth, according to a ministry official.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 13, 2003

Entering the Dragon Palace, English-language driving schools and craft experience

Dragon palace Following on from news of the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo, a reader asks why Meguro Gajoen's Dragon Palace is closed most of the year.
COMMUNITY
May 13, 2003

Write your own Japanese potboiler

1. Someone falls victim to a horrible murder in a U.S city. The solution lies in a cryptic message written on: a samurai sword; a Satsuma vase; a netsuke; an ancient scroll; a jade amulet; or an Astro-Boy comic book.
COMMENTARY
May 12, 2003

A rocky British partnership

LONDON -- Prime Minister Tony Blair has staked his reputation on achieving a significant improvement in British public services. Under previous Conservative Party administrations, public services were allowed to run down as public expenditures were reduced.
EDITORIALS
May 12, 2003

A great leap forward in China?

Back-to-back calamities are forcing China's leaders to adopt new approaches to governance. A government accustomed to ruling without challenge is now under pressure to restore public confidence in its leadership. Hopes that this might lead to more broad-based political reform are premature, however....
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
May 12, 2003

Jordan has nothing to complain about

LOS ANGELES -- This is all you need to know about Michael Jordan's latest career move: Nixon left Washington with more credibility.
MORE SPORTS
May 12, 2003

Sorenstam claims Nichirei Cup

Annika Sorenstam fired a 4-under-par 68 Sunday to win the Nichirei Cup, her last tournament before taking on the men in the PGA Tour's Colonial.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
May 12, 2003

Flush with victory in Iraq, Bush sets his sights on defending the White House in 2004

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush last week became the first American president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to declare victory in a foreign war. FDR named May 8, 1945, V-E Day for victory in Europe, and Aug. 14, 1945, V-J Day for victory over Japan. Bush proclaimed May 1, 2003, V-I Day, in grand...

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