Search - news

 
 
MORE SPORTS
Mar 16, 2004

Q-chan fails to make Olympic team

Naoko Takahashi's bid for a second straight Olympic gold in women's marathon was crushed when she failed to qualify for the Athens Olympics, the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) said on Monday.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2004

Hapless hikers earn Iraq police shakedown, Tokyo's wrath

Two young Japanese travelers wandering in southern Iraq earned the wrath of top government officials Friday, after they were temporarily detained and interrogated by local police.
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2004

Finance Ministry to seek expert advice

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said Friday that he will appoint seven business leaders and experts April 1 to help the ministry deal with the nation's debt-ridden finances and still-fragile economy.
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2004

Shirakawa oft visited illegal casino but says he didn't bet

Katsuhiko Shirakawa, a former home affairs minister and ex-chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, has admitted visiting an illegal casino in Tokyo under a false name -- but has denied placing any bets.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 12, 2004

Japan to face Cuba in warm up

Japan's Olympic baseball team will play Cuba in July as a warm up for this summer's Athens Olympics, Japanese baseball officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2004

Koizumi backpedals, supports certain cases of 'amakudari'

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Thursday backpedaled on his recent pledge to bar retired bureaucrats from heading semigovernmental special companies.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2004

Toyota trumpets walking robots

Toyota Motor Corp. unveiled four humanoid robot prototypes Thursday, some of which can walk and play the trumpet.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2004

Lawmaker says Tokyo should prod Pyongyang

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda urged Foreign Ministry officials Wednesday to press North Korea to come up with a date for a further round of bilateral talks.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Mar 11, 2004

Bucks not getting the praise

NEW YORK -- Two superb NBA stories of late implicate the Milwaukee Bucks, which is why you've read or heard precious little about them.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Mar 11, 2004

Bush majors in suppression of science

It comes as no surprise that U.S. President George W. Bush is calling for a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. He is simply using the age-old tactic of picking on others to save his own hide.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2004

Japan, Mexico reach broad agreement on FTA

After 1 1/2 years of sometimes bitter negotiations, Japan and Mexico agreed Wednesday on a broad accord for a free-trade pact, according to Shoichi Nakagawa, minister of economy, trade and industry.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Mar 11, 2004

War of money, words begins

WASHINGTON -- For the political junkie, we are entering the best of times, or the worst of times. Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry clinched the Democratic nomination for the presidency on March 2 (Super Tuesday), exactly eight months to the day before the general election on Nov. 2. With President George...
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2004

Yen loans to China set to be reduced by 20%

China will slip from the top of Japan's yen-loan recipient list for fiscal 2003, as Tokyo plans to reduce aid to the country by 20 percent from the previous year to about 96.7 billion yen, according to a Foreign Ministry report unveiled Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 11, 2004

Income disparities widening in China

UBUD, Bali -- China's leaders in Beijing are eager to heap blame on other countries for their past misdeeds and real or imagined affronts to the dignity of the Chinese people. But the ruling Communist Party should be cautious about casting stones at others while occupying its own glass house. China has...
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2004

IRCJ commits to 366 billion yen bailout of Kanebo

The state-backed Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan said Wednesday it has decided to bail out the country's No. 2 cosmetics maker, Kanebo Ltd., using 366 billion yen in public money.
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2004

Uniqlo stages comeback after two years in the doldrums

After suffering weak sales for nearly two years following the end of its phenomenal "fleece jacket boom," casual clothing chain Uniqlo is again enjoying strong sales.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2004

Manual on handling dead birds issued

Don't panic -- just look it up in the booklet.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2004

Security boost at Koizumi residence

Security checks were tightened Monday on visitors to the Prime Minister's Official Residence amid rising concern over terrorist attacks both at home and abroad.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2004

'Sakura' set to blossom early

The news was broadcast on every TV network and headlined in the major newspapers. It set off a flurry of phone calls to weather officials. The big story: Japan may be on its way to one of its earliest cherry blossom seasons ever.
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2004

TSE lauded for bypassing bureaucrats

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday praised a planned move by Tokyo Stock Exchange Inc. to appoint people from the private sector -- and not former bureaucrats -- to top management, saying they are more likely to "energize" Japan's largest bourse.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2004

Consumers getting jumpy about chicken

More than 60 percent of consumers who took part in a weekend telephone survey are concerned about the safety of chicken meat and eggs due to the recent outbreak of bird flu, it was reported Monday.
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2004

64% favor sanctions on North Korea

Most people responding to a recent survey are in favor of imposing economic sanctions on North Korea.

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