Search - 2003

 
 
BUSINESS
May 26, 2005

Kansai airport turns first profit

The operator of Kansai International Airport said Wednesday it posted its first-ever full-year profit in fiscal 2004, thanks to an increase in international flights and a reduction in interest payments on debts.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 26, 2005

Mining the Earth's problems for drama

'It starts with the Earth. How can it not?"
BUSINESS
May 25, 2005

ATMs need to take foreign cards: critics

The inability of most automated teller machines at Japanese banks to accept foreign credit cards has long irritated tourists and short-term foreign residents in a country where cash still plays a key role in everyday life.
EDITORIALS
May 24, 2005

Breaking the legislative logjam

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's campaign to privatize the postal-services system has entered a crucial stage now that the Lower House has set up an ad hoc committee on government-sponsored privatization bills. The establishment of the panel attests to the prime minister's resolve to get the package...
Japan Times
Features
May 22, 2005

Retirees lead the way back to nature

Yoshishige Nagayama started farming when he retired nine years ago at age 60.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
May 21, 2005

Johnson gets ready for night out in Tokyo

Rugby fans, collectors of sports memorabilia, lovers of sporting trivia and those that enjoy the dry sarcastic humor made famous by British comedians over the years are in for a treat on June 10 at Tokyo's Westin Hotel.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 20, 2005

Man United-Arsenal F.A. Cup final promises to be a belter

LONDON -- The joke doing the rounds as the F.A. Cup final between Arsenal and Manchester United approaches is that the kickoff should be put back from3 p.m. until after the 9 p.m. watershed.
BUSINESS
May 20, 2005

Daikyo sees red after following state-backed reconstruction

Struggling condominium builder Daikyo Inc. said Thursday it fell into the red in the business year that ended March 31, affected by its withdrawal from noncore businesses under a state-backed reconstruction plan.
BUSINESS
May 19, 2005

TSE wants firms' governance details

TSE wants firms' governance details Tokyo Stock Exchange President Takuo Tsurushima said Wednesday the nation's largest bourse plans to require TSE-listed firms to submit detailed corporate governance reports.
MORE SPORTS
May 19, 2005

Okamoto to join Hall of Fame

Ayako Okamoto will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Fla., golf sources said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
May 18, 2005

Roppongi's art gallery boom

Roppongi, which used to be chiefly known as a pick-up party pit for Tokyo's ex-pat population, has recently begun to emerge as a contemporary art center. Spurred by the Mori Art Museum's opening in 2003, the neighborhood now presents the possibility of a short walking tour of new and interesting art...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 14, 2005

'Double standard' beef plan may fuel consumer anxiety

Although the Japanese government is poised to exempt cattle 20 months or younger slaughtered in the United States from screening for mad cow disease, local governments here plan to continue checking all slaughtered cattle.
COMMUNITY
May 14, 2005

Extraordinary Ainu strut their stuff in Scotland

Val Aldridge is the researcher of the exhibition "The Extraordinary: A People Called Ainu," which opened at Scotland's Perth Museum and Art Gallery in April and will run through to the end of the year. It is hoped that it will generate some interest in July when the Group of Eight summit takes place...
COMMENTARY
May 14, 2005

How the U.S. courts a diplomatic fiasco

LOS ANGELES -- The government of North Korea is difficult to deal with, no matter who you are. Just ask China's leaders. After all, they are Pyongyang's closest ally and yet they probably find dealing with leader Kim Jong Il not a whole lot more fun than their testy cross-strait exchanges with Taiwan's...
BUSINESS
May 14, 2005

Machinery orders grew 6.5% in '04

Core private-sector machinery orders grew 6.5 percent in fiscal 2004 from the previous year, marking a second straight yearly rise, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2005

'Indoor dogs' on rise as small pets become part of the family

"Beware of Dog" signs are becoming increasingly rare as a growing number of people choose to keep their pets inside with them and not outside to guard the house.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2005

Card-crime victims scrutinized

Victims should be held partly responsible if they lose money due to behavior that leads to lost or stolen bank cards, a Financial Services Agency panel studying bank card-related crimes said in an interim report Friday.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2005

Takara, Tomy agree to merge in 2006

Takara Co., Japan's No. 2 toy maker, and Tomy Co., the third-largest, said Friday they have agreed to merge March 1 next year.
SOCCER / World cup
May 11, 2005

JFA accepts Thailand as venue for qualifier

Japan's soccer association said Tuesday it has accepted FIFA's choice of Bangkok as a new venue to play the June 8 World Cup qualifier between Japan and North Korea.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 10, 2005

Swallows knock down Hawks to end skid

Noriyuki Shiroishi delivered a "sayonara" hit in the 11th inning Monday as the Yakult Swallows of the Central League defeated the Softbank Hawks of the Pacific League 3-2 in interleague play and ended a five-game losing streak.
EDITORIALS
May 10, 2005

The crimes of Mr. Taylor

West Africa appears to be a political tinder box. Real democracy is a distant dream and the life span of governments is determined more frequently by bullets than by ballots. Not only are there civil wars in several countries but the combatants (on both sides) commit atrocities against civilian populations....
BUSINESS
May 10, 2005

Chairman quits but JAL is back in black

Japan Airlines Corp. said Monday that Isao Kaneko will resign as both chairman and board member at the end of this month and become an adviser to the company.
SUMO
May 9, 2005

Asashoryu starts tourney with easy win

Grand champion Asashoryu hauled down komusubi Kotomitsuki on Sunday for a convincing win on the first day of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
SUMO
May 8, 2005

Can anybody beat Asashoryu?

The big question heading into the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament is not if grand champion Asashoryu will win yet another title, but whether the Mongolian grappler will be handed a single loss during the 15-day meet.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 3, 2005

Shakeup in the lending business

O Kobayashi was stunned last year when he found that his mortgage applications had been rejected by two banks.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go