Search - 2004

 
 
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2006

Horie allegedly OK'd bogus sales

Former Livedoor Co. President Takufumi Horie and two other former executives decided in 2004 to post 1.58 billion yen in fictitious sales from two firms under Livedoor's control, according to sources close to the investigation into alleged accounting fraud.
EDITORIALS
Feb 25, 2006

Building a suicide safety net

Every year, slightly more than 30,000 people kill themselves in Japan. Compared with other countries, the situation is particularly grim. The nation's suicide rate, calculated in terms of the number of suicides per 100,000 people, stands at 25.3 -- compared with 38.7 in Russia, 17.5 in France, 13.5 in...
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2006

Livedoor's new boss arrested

Prosecutors on Wednesday arrested Livedoor Representative Director Fumito Kumagai in connection with the alleged accounting fraud in which his former colleagues are embroiled, putting the firm one step closer to being delisted.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2006

Lower House members not quite as rich

The average value of assets held by 479 House of Representatives lawmakers elected last September is 49.78 million yen excluding equities, according to a Kyodo News survey based on declarations released Monday.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 20, 2006

Japan's falling savings rate reflects a global competition for funds

The national savings rate dropped to as low as 2.8 percent in 2004, according to a report released by the Cabinet Office last month. This is incredibly low, given the figure had been above 10 percent until as recently as 1999.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2006

At least no new wars began

The Davos-based World Economic Forum has just published the third annual report of its Global Governance Initiative. The past year was rated slightly less dangerous than 2004 but still a long way from being safe and secure. The United Nation's 60th Anniversary World Summit in September, a once-in-a-generation...
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2006

Horie, three execs charged with violating securities law

Former Livedoor Co. President Takafumi Horie and three of his former executives were charged Monday with spreading false financial information about the takeover of a publisher in 2004, prosecution sources said.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 5, 2006

How will Valentine, Hillman and Brown fare in 2006?

One-fourth of the 12 Japanese pro baseball teams in 2006 will be led by American managers. Their performances this season may dictate whether the recent trend for the Central and Pacific Leagues to hire foreign kantoku will continue or if the clubs will return to putting native Japanese in charge.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2006

Horie possibly knew of fraud

risks involved in the deals will be small, contrary to my initial expectations. "I have gotten the impression the deals will, with 99.9 percent certainty, not become public knowledge, as Livedoor has invested in the fund via five or so other funds at home and overseas, as well as through individuals."...
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2006

Livedoor overvalued publisher for gains: sources

The Livedoor Co. group deliberately overassessed the value of a publisher owned by an investment union it controlled to increase the gains made from share sales, which were then passed on to it through investor dividends, sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2006

Tokyo, Seoul ink bilateral crime pact

Japan and South Korea signed a bilateral treaty Friday to facilitate and speed up their cooperation on criminal investigations, government officials said.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2006

Nation's transport security still being tightened

Transport minister Kazuo Kitagawa and 13 counterparts agreed Friday in Tokyo to work together to fight terrorism, a threat Japan is already addressing by bolstering security to prevent attacks on its transportation networks.
JAPAN / FRAMING THE FUTURE
Jan 3, 2006

Japan's quake-preparedness quest never-ending

Amid the scores of shoddily built high-rises connected to disgraced architect Hidetsugu Aneha, the fraud scandal may have had one positive outcome -- reawakening society's sense of urgency to prepare for a major earthquake.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2006

China says Japan wanted suicide of diplomat to stay under wraps

Japan urged China not to disclose the suicide of a staff member at the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai in May 2004, saying it had been caused by job stress, the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo said in a written statement Saturday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2005

Is hiking taxes the solution to Japan's fiscal mess?

The nation has no choice but to make salaried workers pay more taxes to put its finances in order.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2005

English immersion of toddlers on the rise

Mana Kitazawa was 18 months old in September 2004 when she first started going to Poppins International Preschool in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2005

Prosecutors get papers on defense bid-rigging

The Defense Facilities Administration Agency has submitted documents tied to bid-rigging allegations over installation of electrical equipment, in response to a request from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2005

Population already contracting

Japan's population has started shrinking for the first time this year, health ministry data showed Thursday, presenting the government with pressing challenges on the social and economic front, including ensuring provision of social security services and securing the labor force.
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2005

Hiroshima murder suspect had poor life, broken home in Peru

Jose Manuel Torres Yake, a 33-year-old Peruvian of Japanese descent arrested in the murder of a 7-year-old girl in Hiroshima in November, first came to Japan under an assumed name in April 2004.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2005

Population now on track to start shrinking in 2006, not 2007: report

Japan's population will start shrinking next year and not in 2007 as was earlier projected and could be half of what it is now in a century, if the birthrate continues to decline at the current pace, according to a government report released Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2005

Record 5 million ambulance calls cast doubt on disaster preparedness

The government Friday called for establishing an effective emergency rescue system as the number of ambulance dispatches topped 5 million for the first time in 2004, exposing potential problems for the swift transfer of the sick and injured during major disasters.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 6, 2005

Genki drinks riding high

People the world over are raising a toast to the growing mainstream acceptance of energy and functional drinks.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan