Search - 2003

 
 
SUMO
May 13, 2007

Asashoryu a major obstacle to Hakuho's hopes for promotion

After losing to ozeki Hakuho by a sneaky sidestep maneuver in a playoff in the spring, you can bet your bottom dollar yokozuna Asashoryu is ready to put his countryman through the proverbial wringer at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
CULTURE / Music
May 11, 2007

Elliott Smith "New Moon"

Mystery still surrounds the death of Elliott Smith. Was it his own hand that plunged a knife twice into his chest at home on Oct. 21, 2003, or someone else's? While Smith may not have left a suicide note to clear things up, he did leave an awful lot of unreleased material — like a singer-songwriter...
JAPAN
May 11, 2007

Muraoka's JDA funds acquittal overturned

The Tokyo High Court on Thursday overturned a lower court acquittal and gave one-time Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Kanezo Muraoka a suspended 10-month prison term for hiding a 100 million yen 2001 donation from the Japan Dental Association to the LDP's then top faction headed by the late Prime...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 10, 2007

Muscling in on the world of showbiz

Some of Japan's top athletes are using their talents to carve out new careers in the theater spotlight — and they have created one of the nation's most successful entertainment exports along the way
BUSINESS
May 9, 2007

Nippon Steel eyes India tieups as sector girds against takeovers

In late March, Nippon Steel Corp. President Akio Mimura was in New Delhi to attend a board meeting for the International Iron & Steel Institute.
Reader Mail
May 6, 2007

Japan-Brazil police cooperation

On April 16, in Brasilia, the Federal Police of Brazil and the National Police Agency of Japan signed an agreement to cooperate in investigations. Both countries have reasons to celebrate, as our law enforcement agencies will, from now on, be able to further cooperate to better fight crime.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 6, 2007

Karel Van Wolferen: Insights into the new world disorder

When Karel Van Wolferen released his seminal book "The Enigma of Japanese Power" in the dying months of the bubble economy, the normally staid monthly magazine Chuo Koron described its impact as akin to being struck by a bolt of lightning. For once, the hype was merited. Little before had matched the...
COMMENTARY
May 6, 2007

George Tenet's worst ever career choice

DETROIT — Four years late and half a trillion dollars short. Why didn't George Tenet tell us this stuff when it mattered — before we invaded Iraq?
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 5, 2007

Liverpool, Milan prove worthy Champions League finalists

LONDON — The Athens police, sponsors, television companies and millions of fans around the world can relax. The Champions League final will not be between Liverpool and Manchester United, a matchup that would virtually have guaranteed nasty scenes in the Greek capital between two sets of fans whose...
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2007

Can France get back on track?

MUNICH — The new president of France, be it Nicolas Sarkozy or Segolene Royal, will face a tough challenge when it comes to putting the French economy back on its feet. While the world economy is booming for the fourth consecutive year, with a historically unprecedented growth rate of about 5 percent,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 5, 2007

Initial terror turns into picture-book fascination

The color, excitement and vibrancy of Japanese matsuri festivals leap off the pages of Betty Reynolds' latest book, a welcome commission by Tuttle to fill a niche in children's publishing.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 3, 2007

'I love my contradictions'

One of Hollywood's most beloved actresses talks to The Japan Times about tough times for female-focused movies, her ability to make millions of dollars here in minutes — and the awful truth about eating pork
JAPAN
May 2, 2007

Sumo offers stable life to man from Mongolia

dashed himself against the other without a word. The hierarchy was too severe. I hit out against a younger wrestler, who made much of his seniority only because of his advanced initiation," Kyokutenho said. The communal living with some 25 Japanese wrestlers, and the sumo wrestler's stew, with unpalatable...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 2, 2007

Doctor fights for health of foreigners in detention

In summer 2005, a man from Myanmar seeking asylum in Japan was found dead in his Tokyo apartment. But because he had no family here, the results of the autopsy were not released and the cause of death remains unknown to this day.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 2, 2007

With ODA, Vietnam begins to pull itself out of poverty

QUANG TRI, Vietnam — Filled with the constant roar of motorcycle traffic, Vietnam's cities, including Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, are bustling with excitement as the country enjoys rapid economic growth.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 27, 2007

Japan finally warms to vulture culture

Time was when Japan Inc. shunned the heady world of corporate raiders as a vulture club anathema to the country's consensus culture.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2007

Tesco opens first supermarket in Japan

British retail giant Tesco PLC opened its first supermarket in Japan in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, on Wednesday, looking to challenge the notion that foreign retailers cannot win the hearts of consumers in the world's second-largest retail market.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 24, 2007

NGO startups confront major hurdles in Japan

As regular readers of this newspaper will know, reports on the human rights situation in North Korea tend to read more like a litany of inhuman wrongs.
COMMENTARY
Apr 23, 2007

Restoring the military's honor

I was disappointed by two recent moves by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration to whitewash Japan's war responsibility, although I was not really surprised. After all, Abe comes from the most conservative faction in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, as did his predecessor Junichiro Koizumi....
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Apr 23, 2007

Japan and Germany: partners in labor pain

Although the word "arbeit," meaning work, is commonly used in Germany and Japan, which adopted the word, recent debates on labor in these countries show that their attitudes toward work are markedly different.
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 22, 2007

Japanese warm to real curries and more

It's happening all over the country: Gourmands are ripping apart freshly baked naan bread and using it to mop up fiery-colored curries containing wicked concoctions of true Indian spices. Yes, authentic Indian food is now widely available all over Japan.

Longform

Ayumi Matsuki, a priestess at Yoshiwara Shrine, shows off some "o-mamori" charms. She says visitors to the shrine have increased since the NHK drama “Unbound” began airing this month.
Tracing Tsutaya Juzaburo, Edo’s media maverick