Search - 2002

 
 
JAPAN
May 14, 2004

COMJAN 'abduction' list grows -- despite lack of evidence

OSAKA -- On the afternoon of Feb. 1, 2003, 42-year-old Naruki Okita, operator of a small marine transport company in Taisho Ward here, showed up near the docks of Izumi Kita with his luggage in tow.
JAPAN
May 14, 2004

COMJAN 'abduction' list grows -- despite lack of evidence

OSAKA -- On the afternoon of Feb. 1, 2003, 42-year-old Naruki Okita, operator of a small marine transport company in Taisho Ward here, showed up near the docks of Izumi Kita with his luggage in tow.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 14, 2004

DPJ names 33 pension delinquents; LDP mum

The Democratic Party of Japan said Thursday that 33 of its 244 Diet lawmakers did not pay mandatory premiums for the nation's basic pension system, leaving the Liberal Democratic Party as the only major party still refusing to disclose the payment records of its members.
JAPAN
May 14, 2004

Hospitals tied to HCV fiasco to be mostly named before '05

The health ministry said Thursday it will disclose the names of all 7,004 hospitals believed to have stocked blood products contaminated with the hepatitis C virus -- but not until year's end.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2004

Ripplewood expresses interest in MMC

Ripplewood Holdings LLC is interested in investing in troubled Mitsubishi Motors Corp., according to sources.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2004

Daiei, while still ailing, now deemed 'out of intensive care unit'

Once a month, bank officials in charge of struggling Daiei Inc.'s financial affairs hold a meeting to assess how well the leading supermarket chain is rebuilding.
JAPAN
May 13, 2004

Mitsubishi Fuso faces release delays

The transport ministry will not certify any new truck or bus from Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp. equipped with the firm's latest F-type wheel hub until the hub's safety is confirmed, according to ministry officials.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2004

McDonald's Japan chief quits after two years

McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan) said Wednesday its president and chief operating officer, Yasuyuki Yagi, has stepped down to "mark a new chapter" for the company.
JAPAN
May 12, 2004

Militant bomber's sentence stands

The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday upheld a 20-year prison term for former militant Yukiko Ekita for attempted murder and violation of the explosives law in a series of bombings targeting large companies in the 1970s.
JAPAN
May 12, 2004

Militant bomber's sentence stands

The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday upheld a 20-year prison term for former militant Yukiko Ekita for attempted murder and violation of the explosives law in a series of bombings targeting large companies in the 1970s.
JAPAN
May 12, 2004

Police raid computer whiz's office

Police on Tuesday raided the office of an elite computer engineer who was arrested a day earlier on copyright-related charges for developing and offering software that allows people to swap movies and video games.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 12, 2004

War criminals' poems uncovered

The themes found in a newly uncovered collection of traditional Japanese verse would be familiar to any reader here: the melancholy passing of the seasons, fleeting beauty, the inevitability of death.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 11, 2004

Insurance, pension cash and divorce

Health Insurance I have been in Japan for almost 6 years and I have paid into the social health insurance system during my 3 years on the JET Program. After I had finished JET, I dropped out of the system and have not enrolled in the national health insurance system.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 11, 2004

Kan falls on his sword over failure to pay pension fees

Naoto Kan announced Monday that he will resign as chief of the Democratic Party of Japan over his past failure to pay mandatory state pension premiums.
COMMUNITY / Issues
May 11, 2004

Kidnap crisis poses a new risk

When five Japanese were taken hostage in Iraq last month, huge public concern for their safe return quickly gave way to hostility and a campaign of vilification. A disastrous public appeal by the families of three of the hostages for the withdrawal of SDF troops from Iraq encouraged the government to...
JAPAN
May 11, 2004

Dog malpractice death fetches 810,000 yen

Two veterinarians accused of malpractice that led to the death of a pet dog were jointly ordered to pay approximately 810,000 yen Monday in compensation to the dog's owners.
Japan Times
Features
May 9, 2004

Bridging cultures with books

Whether their parents read them fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, or even encouraged them to explore Lewis Carroll's Wonderland, most Japanese have been exposed to overseas literature from an early age, and many go on to discover the likes of Tolkien, L.M. Montgomery, Michael...
MORE SPORTS
May 9, 2004

Kitada jumps ahead

Unheralded Rui Kitada took full advantage of a rare slump on the back nine by overnight leader Yuri Fudo on Saturday to jump into the lead heading into the final round of the Nichirei Cup World Ladies.
JAPAN
May 9, 2004

Tokyo, Pyongyang mull Koizumi visit

Japan and North Korea are considering whether Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi can visit Pyongyang to pick up the relatives of Japanese abductees, in an effort to reach a breakthrough on the abduction issue, informed sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
May 8, 2004

Ex-Takefuji employee gets suspended term for wiretapping

A former employee of consumer loan company Takefuji Corp. was sentenced Friday to a suspended three-year prison term for wiretapping two journalists in 2000 and 2001.
JAPAN
May 8, 2004

Bureaucracy, politics in Hosoda's blood

A former bureaucrat at the then Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Hiroyuki Hosoda, the newly appointed chief Cabinet secretary, entered the world of politics following in the footsteps of this father, Kichizo, who served as transport minister.
JAPAN
May 8, 2004

Changes eyed for vehicle-recall system

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry has unveiled measures to fundamentally revise the existing vehicle-recall system.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2004

JAL group posts 88.6 billion yen net loss

Japan Airlines System Corp. said Friday it saw a huge decline in revenue and profit in fiscal 2003 due to the Iraq war and the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?