search

 
 
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2000

Mori-Putin talks stay at impasse

Japan and Russia began negotiations Monday in Tokyo on sovereignty over Russian-held islands off Hokkaido but failed to narrow their differences, making a peace treaty, the conclusion of which has been targeted for year's end, appear as distant as ever.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2000

Chinese man nabbed for '99 robbery

A 28-year-old Chinese man has been arrested on suspicion of robbing a Tokyo inn of about 12 million yen in cash and other valuables in March 1999, police said Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2000

Mitsui Marine named in fraud claim

The president of a Tokyo construction firm has filed a criminal complaint against an employee of Mitsui Marine & Fire Insurance Co. and one of the insurer's former agents on suspicion of fraud, sources close to the case told Kyodo News on Monday.
BUSINESS
Sep 5, 2000

NCB not afraid to ask state to buy loans: execs

Nippon Credit Bank will not hesitate to ask the government to buy back loss-incurring loans if necessary, top executives said Monday, as the newly privatized bank began its first day of operations.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2000

Serial killer may be after Western women

A serial killer who preys on attractive Western women may be on the loose in Tokyo, according to a well-known Japanese criminologist and psychiatrist who has advised the family of Lucie Blackman.
BUSINESS
Sep 5, 2000

Nomura ties up with JAL on point plan

Nomura Securities Co. will tie up with Japan Airlines Co. to give JAL mileage points to customers who trade securities online, Nomura officials said Monday. The offer, open to members of Nomura Home Trade who are also registered with the JAL Mileage Bank, begins Oct. 1.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2000

Cram school slapped for taxes

Tax authorities have filed a criminal complaint with public prosecutors against the medical preparatory school group Tecom on suspicion of hiding about 950 million yen in revenues and evading more than 300 million yen in taxes, industry sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2000

Double-murder appeals rejected

The Tokyo High Court dismissed appeals Monday filed by both a defendant and the prosecution over the indefinite prison term the man received for murdering two employees and perpetrating other crimes.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2000

Last of the evacuees leave Miyake

The remaining evacuees from Miyake Island stare at the island's landscape from a Tokyo-bound ferry Monday afternoon. The last 406 remaining residents of Miyake left the volcanic island on Monday and were expected to arrive at a Tokyo pier later Monday night.
BUSINESS
Sep 5, 2000

Some data rosy but others in wilting trend

The Tokyo stock market has been firming back since early August as the deterioration of the supply and demand balance has peaked out amid increased expectations for upward revisions of corporate earnings projections.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2000

Intended mob target unfazed by wiretap law

KOBE -- When the controversial wiretapping legislation was passed in the Diet last year, supporters claimed society as a whole would benefit because police would be able to track organized crime more efficiently.
BUSINESS
Sep 5, 2000

Sky Perfect wins rights to air 2002 World Cup

Sky Perfect Communications Inc. said Monday that it has won exclusive satellite broadcasting rights in Japan for the 2002 World Cup soccer championship.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2000

Snow Brand to end compensation

Snow Brand Milk Products Co., at the center of a food-poisoning scandal involving its milk, will cease compensating retail agents for falling sales toward the end of this month, company officials said Monday.
BUSINESS
Sep 5, 2000

Bandai to spin off its network division

Bandai Co., a major toy maker, will spin off its network division and turn it into a subsidiary later this week to raise the efficiency of its network entertainment business, the firm announced Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2000

Posts ministry to up night deliveries

Faced with intensifying competition from parcel delivery companies, the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry announced Monday that state-run postal services will begin night delivery services of parcel and express letters on holidays and Sundays, starting Oct. 1.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2000

Agency to unveil stricter requirements for diesels

As part of efforts to improve the dismal air quality in Japan's major cities, the Environment Agency will announce today that diesel automobiles will have to meet stricter standards beginning in 2002, Agency officials said Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2000

DPJ lawmaker held over fraud

Prosecutors on Monday arrested House of Representatives member Joji Yamamoto on suspicion of fraud in connection with the alleged misuse of 20 million yen of his former secretary's state-paid salary, investigative sources said.
BUSINESS
Sep 5, 2000

Palm, DoCoMo to offer wireless Internet access

Palm Computing K.K., the Japanese unit of personal digital assistant leader Palm Inc. of the United States, will join hands with NTT DoCoMo to offer wireless Internet access via PDA terminals from next spring, it was learned Monday.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 5, 2000

NHL's Crisp pumped for Japan games

Former NHL player and coach Terry Crisp shakes hands with Nashville Predators hopeful Yujiro Nakajima in Tokyo on Monday in front of the Stanley Cup. If the Nashville Predators put on half the show that Terry Crisp did Monday afternoon, the National Hockey League has nothing to worry about.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2000

Fuji's first snow early this year

Mount Fuji, Japan's tallest mountain at 3,776 meters, had its first snowfall of the season Monday, eight days earlier than usual and about one month earlier than last year, the Meteorological Agency reported.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2000

One hostess's whirlwind tour: nothing she'd care to repeat

Brigid came to Japan from Australia on a holiday visa expecting to spend three months talking to sleazy men in hostess clubs -- but in a safe and supportive work environment where the remuneration made it all worthwhile.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2000

A sea of troubles for Russia

While many questions remain unanswered about the recent sinking of the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk, the disaster has exposed some of the grave problems that afflict Russia today. It attracted much attention worldwide because it caused many people to ponder the life-or-death situation that the Kursk...
CULTURE / Books
Sep 5, 2000

Asia takes capitalism on its own terms

ASIAN VALUES, WESTERN DREAMS: Understanding the New Asia, by Greg Sheridan. Allen & Unwin, 1999, 326 pp., 14.99 British pounds (paper). A lot of people thought -- hoped, really -- that the Asian economic crisis would end all that nonsense about "Asian values." The region's stumbles were supposed to...
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2000

Miyake schoolchildren get fresh start in western Tokyo

Schoolchildren from Miyake Island began the new school term Monday at Akikawa High School in Akiruno, western Tokyo, where all 356 of the young evacuees are staying in dorms.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2000

Groups back after trips to disputed north isles

Former Japanese residents of four Russian-held islands near Hokkaido bid farewell Sunday to their hosts at Etorofu Island. NEMURO, Hokkaido (Kyodo) Two groups of Japanese -- comprising 107 people in all -- returned to Nemuro port in eastern Hokkaido on Monday from separate visa-free trips to Russian-held...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 5, 2000

Making love is making freedom

TABOU: Scenario, by Nagisa Oshima. Traduit du japonais par Nathalie Cazier et Katsuko Tsuchiya. Paris: Petite bibliotheque des Cahiers du Cinema, 2000, 144 pp., FFr69. This is a bilingual edition (French and Japanese, printed back to back) of Nagisa Oshima's scenario for the film "Gohatto," which was...
CULTURE / Music
Sep 5, 2000

Rock 'n' roll high school back in session

The music of the Donnas is cleverer and more enjoyable than most of the retro-pop I've heard lately. Though it's high-school kids who compose the group's fan base, it's boomer music critics who've become their champions. They like these girls from Palo Alto, Calif., because they say they're the first...
SOCCER / J. League
Sep 5, 2000

JFA, Troussier closer to contract

The Japan Football Association has reached agreement on the conditions of re-signing its contract with Japan manager Philippe Troussier and is likely to complete the signing later this week before the Frenchman leaves for Sydney with the Japan Olympic team, JFA secretary general Kenji Mori said Monday...

Longform

Capsule hotels were created as a way to deal with the amount of overwork employees tend to do in Japan. Can't commute home? Then spend the night in an tiny, affordable sleeping space.
Japan wakes up to the market for a proper sleep