Search - 2003

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 5, 2006

Departing director created a new platform for contemporary art in Tokyo

It would have been difficult to find a more dramatic backdrop for last week's press conference announcing that Mori Art Museum's British-born director David Elliott will be leaving after October, and that his second-in-command, Fumio Nanjo, will take over the helm of Japan's largest privately endowed...
EDITORIALS
Oct 5, 2006

JAL flying through stormy skies

The international and domestic operations units of Japan Airlines Corp., the nation's flag carrier, merged Oct. 1. The merger means the complete reorganization of JAL and a new start for the airline. But the new JAL faces rough times ahead.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 3, 2006

Repression belies rhetoric in Georgia

TBILISI -- In recent weeks, leaders of various opposition organizations in Georgia, such as Antisoros and Fairness, have been jailed on unfair accusations of plotting a coup on behalf of Russia. But the wave of political repression merely reflects President Mikhail Saakashvili's desperate effort to cling...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Oct 3, 2006

Transport minister wants road taxes to be spent on more than just roads

Gas and vehicle taxes should not be spent only on road construction but also on protecting the environment, including maintaining the nation's forests, according to the new minister of land, infrastructure and transport.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2006

Abe looks to compel schools to push 'patriotism'

As the extraordinary Diet session began Friday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe laid out his legislative agenda and left political observers speculating over the government's apparent tilt to the right and its push for "patriotism."
BUSINESS
Sep 30, 2006

Young and tech-savvy, India's market remains largely untapped

Japanese companies increasingly look to India for business opportunities, but they have yet to fully tap the potential of one of the world's fastest-growing economies with its vast pool of skilled human resources, said participants in a recent symposium in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2006

Give Yasukuni a miss: New Komeito

must step on the accelerator for structural reforms . . . but when the LDP goes too far, we need to (say) wait a minute" and hit the brakes, he said. Although Abe has not clearly stated if he will visit the shrine again, he did go to in April while serving as chief Cabinet secretary, a trip that was...
BUSINESS
Sep 30, 2006

Economy looks strong as Abe takes reins

Japan got a double dose of good economic news Friday with the release of healthy industrial production and consumer price figures that underline continued recovery of second-largest economy in the world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 29, 2006

J-cool factor struggles to woo NYC

For someone who stands to gain from the hot topic of Japan's "Gross National Cool," Taeko Baba ought to be the last to pop the phenomenon's bubble.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2006

Abe may be Ozawa's target of opportunity

The battle is officially on -- Liberal Democratic Party President Shinzo Abe vs. Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2006

Ozawa retains DPJ helm, is hospitalized

and Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama during a party convention Monday in Tokyo. YOSHIAKI MIURA PHOTO
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2006

Ethnic minorities hope for better life post-Koizumi

Members of ethnic communities have expressed hope that the new administration, slated to be launched Tuesday by Shinzo Abe, will help improve their living conditions.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2006

Profiles of new LDP leadership

Hidenao Nakagawa Veteran politician Hidenao Nakagawa ascended to the position of secretar general, or second in command, of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party despite scandals still dogging him.
COMMENTARY
Sep 25, 2006

Sticky bureaucratic fingers

It used to be said that Japanese bureaucrats were first rate while politicians were third rate. That's no longer true, as evidenced by an appalling spate of scandals involving slush funds in the central and local governments.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2006

Restaging of legendary folk concert draws 35,000

Some 35,000 people gathered Saturday for an open-air concert at Tsumagoi resort in Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture, featuring a reunion of the performers in a legendary 1975 show.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 24, 2006

Softbank's Saito better statistically than Matsuzaka, Kuroda

We mentioned here last week that major league scouts visiting Japan think Chunichi Dragons outfielder Kosuke Fukudome is the best Japanese position player in the Central or Pacific Leagues, but who is the best pitcher?
EDITORIALS
Sep 24, 2006

Right to a minority opinion

The Tokyo District Court last week ruled illegal the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education's policy of forcing school teachers to sing the national anthem "Kimigayo (Your Reign)" during school ceremonies. The court ruled that the policy violates Article 19 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom...
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2006

Last M-V rocket delivers satellite to observe the sun

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on Saturday launched the SOLAR-B observation satellite into orbit, where it will study the sun's magnetic field.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 23, 2006

Award-winning docudrama 'From a Silk Cocoon'

It is 1986, the year that the U.S. government passes the Civil Liberties Act for providing financial reparation and an apology to all Japanese-Americans incarcerated in internment camps during World War II.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 22, 2006

Oh gets released from hospital

Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh left Keio University Hospital on Thursday after an extended rehabilitation following an operation to remove his stomach earlier in the year.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2006

Top court upholds death sentence in Miyazaki murders

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the death sentence of Kieko Ishikawa, a 49-year-old woman convicted of killing and robbing two women in the late 1990s, dismissing her appeal.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2006

Tougher financial sanctions on North being sought

have testified that billions of yen in cash have been sent to North Korea in this manner. One Japanese man living in Osaka, who worked for two decades at a North Korean-funded trading company in Japan, said Tuesday's ban will have only a short-term effect.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2006

Tokyo teachers win anthem fight

The Tokyo District Court on Thursday ordered the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to pay 12.03 million yen, or 30,000 yen each, in compensation to 401 teachers who objected to a city directive obliging them to stand and sing the national anthem at school ceremonies.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2006

Political career of Shinzo Abe

Major events in Shinzo Abe's career:
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 21, 2006

Only good designs

If there's anything that design has taught us in recent years, it's that without it, the world around us would certainly be a much less interesting place.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2006

Numerical goals established to ensure better-built houses

The government has set numerical goals to improve the durability and quality of houses.

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