Search - news

 
 
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2004

82.18 trillion yen budget drafted

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki on Monday proposed a draft budget for fiscal 2005 worth 82.18 trillion yen, up 0.1 percent from the initial 2004 budget, as higher debt-servicing costs outpaced cuts in discretionary spending.
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2004

Honda hopes to boost worldwide sales by 8%

Honda Motor Co. said Monday it hopes to boost its worldwide sales by 8 percent to 3.4 million vehicles in 2005 by fully remodeling the popular Civic series and introducing new models.
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2004

Government targets 1.6% growth in '05

The economy is projected to grow 1.6 percent in real terms in fiscal 2005 on the back of steady personal spending and growth in overseas economies, the government said Monday.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 19, 2004

Gang of Four

The news that Gang of Four is reuniting has been acknowledged happily by folks who grew up with the lads from Leeds back in 1979. Younger folks who love the band but want them to remain in the history books seem less pleased. Fans of The Futureheads, one of the many new British bands that shamelessly...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2004

Taiwan's citizens voted their pocketbooks

HONOLULU -- Prudence suggests that not too much be read into the surprisingly inconclusive results of Taiwan's legislative election because, fundamentally, little has changed and the confrontation with China will continue to jeopardize the security of East Asia.
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2004

Skymark soars into the black with 1.3 billion yen profit

Skymark Airlines Co. said Friday it posted its first-ever full-year profit, thanks to a flight increase made possible by a fleet expansion.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2004

Tokyo to grant Lee entry by year's end

Japan said Thursday it will issue an entry visa to former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui for a private trip by the end of the month, in a move that could further aggravate its already strained relationship with China.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2004

Don Quijote outlet hit by arson again

SAITAMA -- A Don Quijote outlet was hit Wednesday by arson for the second time in three days.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2004

High court convenes, snubs sex slave appeal, calls it a day

A cry of outrage tore through the public gallery as the Tokyo High Court dismissed an appeal by four Chinese women who were forced to serve as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during the war.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 15, 2004

Godzilla is dead, long live Godzilla

What do most non-Japanese, Western or otherwise, know about Japanese films? About Japanese pop culture, period? More than they did a decade ago certainly, but let's get real: Go to a typical family gathering in America — blue state or red, it doesn't much matter — and ask those assembled for the...
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2004

Tokyo, Washington sign missile-tech exchange agreement

Japan and the United States signed a pact Tuesday allowing "comprehensive cooperation" on transfers of technologies related to missile-defense systems.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 15, 2004

Zico calls up Nagata

Japan coach Zico has called up Kashiwa Reysol defender Mitsuru Nagata for Thursday's home friendly with Germany to fill the gap in his backline, the Japan Football Association said Tuesday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 15, 2004

2005 schedule reflects big changes in Japanese baseball

The 2005 Japan pro baseball schedule was released last week, and one look at the table gives you an idea there will be a whole new ball game next season. Three separate slates were unveiled, one for each of the Central and Pacific Leagues as usual, with Japan's first-ever interleague calendar tacked...
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2004

MMC won't release new rehab plan until next month to 'redefine strategy'

Struggling automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Tuesday it will postpone the release of its new rehabilitation plan until the end of January.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 15, 2004

Nagashima's son named adviser

The Yomiuri Giants said Tuesday they have named Kazushige Nagashima, son of former manager and star player Shigeo Nagashima, as a special adviser for the team.
EDITORIALS
Dec 14, 2004

Signs of an economy losing steam

Japan's economy last entered an expansionary phase in February 2002. Thirty-three months later, in October 2004, it was losing steam. It would not be surprising if the recovery ended that month, as upswings in Japan's business cycles since the end of World War II have lasted, on average, about the same...
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2004

Poll: 64.5% object to ending blanket testing for mad cow

Some 64.5 percent of people surveyed by Kyodo News object to the government's plan to drop blanket testing for mad cow disease, which would give the green light to resuming imports of U.S. beef.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2004

Disaster broadcasts via cell phone eyed

More than a year has passed since terrestrial digital broadcasting services began a new TV era in Japan, with the services spreading to rural prefectures.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2004

'Tankan' likely to be a downer: experts

The Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan" business sentiment survey is expected to show a decline in confidence among major manufacturers for the first time in 21 months, according to a recent poll of economists.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 12, 2004

Give Japan's royal diplomacy a chance

Something is amiss within Japan's Imperial household. For nearly a year now, the Crown Princess Masako has suspended her official functions for "health reasons." The public knew next to nothing about the details of her disposition or the effectiveness of treatment, for reasons that included the extreme...
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2004

Ishihara eyes fishermen as pawns in spat over EEZ

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will subsidize fishing around Okinotorishima Island to emphasize that the area is within Japan's exclusive economic zone, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara said Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2004

Petition supports Kurdish refugees

A petition with more than 60,000 signatures supporting asylum for two Kurdish families from Turkey who staged a 72-day sit-in outside the United Nations University this summer was handed to the Justice Ministry on Friday.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat