Search - 2002

 
 
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2004

JAL hoping for revival with JAS under its wing

The Iraq war and the outbreak of SARS have dealt a severe blow to Japan Airlines System Corp., the holding company of Japan Airlines Co. and Japan Air System Co.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 25, 2004

Male-killers on the loose

Things are never what they seem. Men certainly aren't, according to the American writer Marilyn French: "Whatever they may be in public life, whatever their relations with men, in their relations with women, all men are rapists, and that's all they are."
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2004

Health ministry ties lung cancer drug to 444 deaths

Some 444 people are thought to have died from the side effects of the lung cancer drug Iressa, which Japan approved in July 2002, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2004

Discrimination's blatant signs, not roots, easy target

A few years ago, lawsuits by foreigners against businesses that barred their entry gained public attention, and while the litigation may have faded from memory, not so the discrimination they fought -- just see the signs.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 24, 2004

He loves me, he loves me not

Hana to Alice Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Shunji Iwai Running time: 135 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] "Shunji Iwai has a shojo manga (girls' comic) sensibility," producer Takenori Sento once explained to me.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2004

Hokkaido police skimming tip of iceberg?

After earlier denials, Hokkaido police officially came clean and admitted in early March that one of the force's stations had misappropriated funds meant for rewarding informants.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2004

318 universities offer foreign languages

A total of 318 universities in Japan offered course work in English or other foreign languages in fiscal 2002, up from 256 the previous year, according to a survey released Tuesday by the education ministry. The figure equals about 46 percent of the nation's universities, according to the Education,...
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2004

Fast Retailing set to exit fruit, vegetable market

Fast Retailing Co. said Monday it will terminate its fresh food business after abandoning hope of turning a profit from selling premium vegetables.
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2004

Troops in Iraq set to get down to business

The Ground Self-Defense Force troops deployed to the city of Samawah in southern Iraq will commence their humanitarian aid mission later this month.
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2004

Woman to take Cabinet Office post

The government has unofficially named former university professor Hiroko Ota as a senior economic official at the Cabinet Office in charge of analyzing Japan's economic health, officials said Monday.
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2004

Pension role model a shirker herself

While reproaching the nation's youth last year in a government-sponsored TV commercial for not paying into the financially pinched mandatory National Pension System, popular actress Makiko Esumi was keeping her own dark secret.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2004

New coalitions of the willing seek change

While I was in London in January, The Guardian newspaper ran a front-page story about an independent evaluation of some of Britain's leading international charities that tried to help southern Africa avoid a food crisis in 2002-2003. The evaluation concluded that the charities had overstated the seriousness...
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2004

Bulgarian envoy pushes bilateral trade

Bulgarian Ambassador to Japan Blagovest Sendov said Friday that reinvigorating economic and trade relations with Japan is his current priority.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2004

10% of wealthy households don't pay pension premiums

Around 10 percent of households of self-employed people with an annual income of at least 10 million yen have not paid premiums for the national pension system, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2004

Takefuji bugging fallout continues

Tokyo prosecutors on Friday charged the former chairman of consumer loan firm Takefuji Corp. with defaming a freelance journalist who wrote an article about the firm's wiretapping of his phone line.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2004

Changing a regime beats regime change

BRUSSELS -- North Korea is changing, embracing the market. Colorful stalls that sell all manner of mundane goods, from food to flowers, are blossoming along Pyongyang's streets. The local Tong-Il market is thronged with customers haggling and buying a cornucopia of products. Another new market in central...
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2004

Surgeons involved in fatal malpractice cases suspended

The health ministry on Thursday temporarily suspended three surgeons involved in a fatal malpractice case at a Tokyo hospital in 2002 and another at a hospital in Saitama Prefecture in 2000 from practicing medicine, effective April 1.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2004

Japanese packing bags for spring vacations

Japanese are headed for the beach.
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2004

MTFG set to raise stake in Acom to over 15%

Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. will spend more than 100 billion yen next month to raise its stake in consumer financing firm Acom Co. to over 15 percent from the current 2.2 percent, MTFG officials said Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2004

Future of Taiwan at stake in elections

NEW YORK -- No less than the future of Taiwan is at stake in the presidential election Saturday. If President Chen Shui-bian is re-elected, Taiwan's move toward becoming an independent state will accelerate and the Taiwan-China impasse will harden. If the Lien Chan/James Soong ticket wins, China will...
EDITORIALS
Mar 19, 2004

A victory for terrorists in Spain

Terrorists won an important victory last week in Spain. A series of bombs exploded in trains and rail stations in Madrid, killing some 200 people and injuring nearly 1,500 others. Al-Qaeda has taken credit for the savage attacks, saying Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's support for the war against terror...
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2004

Panel floats suspension for surgeons

A health ministry panel recommended Wednesday that two surgeons involved in a fatally botched prostate cancer operation in November 2002 be suspended from practicing medicine for two years.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2004

Blood centers get creative to lure donors

Mitsuko Kobayashi often gave blood at local Red Cross centers as a young girl, because her mother said she should try to help people. But after giving birth two years ago, she found such trips difficult with a child in tow.
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2004

Poultry imports from Netherlands banned over flu

Japan banned poultry imports from the Netherlands on Wednesday following the European country's discovery of two suspected bird flu cases.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 17, 2004

Cabrera breaks forearm

Seibu Lions first baseman Alex Cabrera broke his right forearm Tuesday and will need at least six weeks to recover, team officials said.
EDITORIALS
Mar 16, 2004

A sad day for Korean democracy

Even by the rough and tumble standards of South Korean politics, the events of last week were tumultuous. On Friday, the South Korean Parliament impeached President Roh Moo Hyun. President Roh is likely to prevail in this squabble with the opposition, but the unprecedented move has introduced new uncertainties...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2004

Japanese airlines grapple for slice of China pie

China became the focus of grave concern among international airlines a year ago, when the SARS epidemic led to a dramatic decline in travelers to the country.

Longform

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