Search - 2002

 
 
COMMENTARY
Jul 20, 2006

Japan's anti-North Korea complex

Japan's fevered reaction to North Korea's recent missile tests should not surprise. It is yet another example of the emotional way that an otherwise admirable nation finds it hard to separate causes from effects.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 20, 2006

Senegal is calling

Time and again Western journalists ask superstar Senegalese pop singer Youssou N'Dour, arguably the most successful African musician in history, the same question: Why, despite selling hundreds of thousands of records in the West and collaborating with artists such as Peter Gabriel, Sting, Wyclef Jean...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2006

Obituary: Naotaka Makino

Naotaka Makino, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and credited with reforming high school baseball, died Tuesday of pancreatic cancer at a hospital in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, his family said. He was 95.
EDITORIALS
Jul 19, 2006

Hope of the marketplace

The Bank of Japan's lifting of its zero-interest rate policy last week represents an end to an extraordinary policy that continued for five years and four months. With its decision, which marks a step toward normalization of the nation's monetary policy, the central bank has signaled that the Japanese...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2006

Better schools trump caste preferences

BOMBAY -- The United States has long been divided over what it calls "affirmative action," a system of racial preferences intended to overcome the lingering consequences of slavery and discrimination against black Americans. India is now becoming divided in much the same way, and for much the same reason...
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2006

Space-bound ex-Livedoor exec 'Dice -K' hit for huge tax dodge

Daisuke "Dice-K" Enomoto, a former executive of Livedoor Co. who has been training to become the first Japanese space tourist, is suspected of failing to declare some 3 billion yen in income from stock deals, sources said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 15, 2006

Mr. Putin takes center stage

Leaders of the G8 countries — the United States, Britain, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Russia — will gather in St. Petersburg over the weekend for their annual summit. In the beautiful city, which Emperor Peter the Great founded in 1703 as his "window on the West," Russian President...
BUSINESS
Jul 15, 2006

Rich, elderly to gain most from interest rate hike

The Bank of Japan's interest rate hike Friday will likely increase interest income by about 420 billion yen, and the wealthy and elderly will benefit the most, according to a private think tank.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 15, 2006

Matchmaker looks to cash in on population woes

For the government, the declining birthrate and delayed marriages are its biggest headaches as the graying of Japan accelerates.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2006

4 billion yen awarded for Atsugi base noise

The Tokyo High Court ordered the government Thursday to pay 4.04 billion yen in compensation for noise pollution suffered by 4,865 people living near U.S. Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Kanagawa Prefecture, the highest amount ever awarded for air base or airport noise.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Jul 14, 2006

Fine-tuning Washington's wines

Last month's column on the recent success of wines made from grapes grown in eastern Washington state's high desert generated a large amount of reader feedback. Most questions ran along the lines of, "If the Washington desert is such a great place for viticulture, then why weren't they growing grapes...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 14, 2006

A little Fukuoka in Akihabara

'It's too easy for bands to play [in Tokyo] really. There are so many places to play, and everything is divided into convenient categories," says Hajime Yoshida of the Japanese punk band Panic Smile. "Bands from outlying cities have a tougher attitude than Tokyo bands."
EDITORIALS
Jul 14, 2006

Moral boost for Mr. Putin

Russia's most wanted man is dead. Shamil Basayev, the leader of Chechen rebels who has masterminded acts of terror that have claimed hundreds of lives, was killed this week in an explosion. His death is a victory for the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a blow to the cause Basayev headed;...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 13, 2006

Firm pioneers dealing with belongings of departed

With more than 4 million people over 65 living alone and many dying a solitary death, a niche business has emerged in dealing with the belongings of those who pass away.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2006

Osaka activist's arrest lays bare yakuza ties with 'burakumin'

On the night of Jan. 26, 1985, four hit men from the Ichiwa-kai crime syndicate drove up to an apartment complex in Suita, Osaka Prefecture.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jul 12, 2006

Guinea pigs hail 'mystical experience'

What was the most spiritually meaningful moment in your life?
SOCCER
Jul 9, 2006

New life ahead for Nakata

When Hidetoshi Nakata announced his retirement on his Web site July 3, it shocked the soccer world.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2006

Tunnel workers get 69 million yen

The Tokyo District Court ordered the government Friday to pay 69.3 million yen in compensation to victims of pneumoconiosis who worked on tunnel projects ordered mainly by the state.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2006

Spending cuts, deferring sales tax hike, get nod

The Cabinet on Friday approved an economic policy guideline for 2006 aimed at shoring up the government's woeful finances with spending cuts and tax revisions, but leaves the dreaded consumption levy hike for a later administration to deal with.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 7, 2006

Foreign carmakers cash in as the rich get richer

One Sunday in June, a man in his 30s visited the spacious BMW showroom in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward.
EDITORIALS
Jul 7, 2006

Reaction to reckless action

North Korea test-fired seven missiles into the Sea of Japan on Wednesday in defiance of international calls, direct and indirect, that it refrain from such a reckless action. The launches not only provoked the international community but also push Pyongyang into further isolation, which won't make conditions...
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 7, 2006

Zidane fires France into final

MUNICH -- Zinedine Zidane made sure his last game as a professional will be the World Cup final.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2006

Pyongyang fires seven missiles into Sea of Japan

North Korea fired six ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan early Wednesday and another one in the evening, drawing economic sanctions from Japan and intensifying international concern about its nuclear weapons and diplomacy with the United States.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2006

North's missile threat

The following is a chronology of the events surrounding North Korea's missile program:
EDITORIALS
Jul 5, 2006

Explanations only deepen suspicion

A South Korean man believed to have been kidnapped by North Korea 28 years ago was allowed to meet his mother and sister last week at Mount Kumgang in North Korea. Mr. Kim Young Nam (also known as Kim Chol Jun) is thought to be the man who married Ms. Megumi Yokota of Niigata, who was kidnapped by North...

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