Search - 2003

 
 
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 25, 2004

New Center for Creative Arts up and running

Anyone passing the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo's Moto Azabu in recent months may well have wondered about the flag reading "RBR -- New Center for Creative Arts" flying from the building opposite. Also the steady flow of visitors -- every age, color, race and creed.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Sep 25, 2004

Senate control up for grabs on election day

WASHINGTON -- The meandering pattern of the presidential race has captured the attention of most Americans. But there are other important stakes that will be decided on Nov. 2, including 33 seats in the U.S. Senate and all 435 members of the House of Representatives.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Sep 23, 2004

Good stuff, people and advice on how to tailor your consumption

It's back-to-school time again, and whether you are going back, sending your child off, or just getting swept up in the streams of backpack-wielding kids, change is in the air. Time for new books, new people and new gossip, and time to clear the desk even if only for a place to rest your head.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Sep 23, 2004

Putin's bloodless coup d'etat

MOSCOW -- In what amounts to a coup d'etat five years after he came to power in August 1999, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a number of measures annihilating the fragile system of checks and balances constructed during President Boris Yeltsin's tenure in the 1990s.
EDITORIALS
Sep 22, 2004

Landmark power transfer in China

The resignation of Mr. Jiang Zemin as chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), the country's top military post, completes the transfer of power from Mr. Jiang to his successor, Mr. Hu Jintao. The handover is a landmark in modern Chinese politics, but its political impact is unclear. Mr....
COMMENTARY
Sep 21, 2004

Anwar release burnishes Badawi's image

HONG KONG -- Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has unexpectedly taken a meaningful stride away from the authoritarian rule of former Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohammad. As a result, the charismatic former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will now be free to influence the course of Malaysian...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 20, 2004

Despite reforms, future looks grim without consumption tax hike

In the "Okuda Vision (Japan 2025)" report released in January 2003, Keidanren used a simulation to present the medium to longer-term prospects for Japan's fiscal and social security systems. We made it clear that the measures which would be needed to maintain the sustainability of national and local...
Japan Times
Features
Sep 19, 2004

Cream-puff heaven is open to all

First it was Chinese dumplings that got the theme park treatment at Ikebukuro Gyoza Stadium in 2002. Then, last year, up popped Ice Cream City. So, what was to be this year's gastronomic addition to the menu of attractions at Namco Namja Town in Sunshine City?
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 19, 2004

Suffering survivor's guilt

PURPLE SUN, by Lawrence McAuliffe. Hinesburg, VT: Upper Access Books, 2003, 233 pp., $12.95 (paper). In this short work, a U.S. Marine named Billy Kern cracks up and deserts his unit to remain behind in Vietnam after the war. Twenty-eight years later, a master sergeant and officer who knew him go back...
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2004

San-Ai Oil to buy Exxon Mobil unit Kygnus Sekiyu

Oil retailer San-Ai Oil Co. said Friday it will purchase Kygnus Sekiyu K.K., an oil distributor affiliated with Exxon Mobil Corp., in December.
Rugby
Sep 17, 2004

Rugby's top stars hoping to help Top League live up to its name

Toutai Kefu, Matt Cockbain, Jaco van der Westhuyzen, Tony Brown, Leon MacDonald. Besides being a who's who of some of the biggest names to have played in the Super 12 in recent years they are also just a few of the world-class players who will be turning out this year in Japan's Top League.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2004

Ministry issues wake-up call on food self-sufficiency target

The government target of raising Japan's food self-sufficiency ratio to 45 percent by fiscal 2010 is a pipe dream, the farm ministry said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Sep 15, 2004

SESC targets Citibank over bond misdeeds

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission said Tuesday it has urged the Financial Services Agency to take punitive administrative action against the Tokyo branch of Citibank over violations of Japanese security law.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 14, 2004

'Historic' Japan-Mexico FTA said beneficial for both sides

The free-trade agreement between Japan and Mexico due to be signed this week in Mexico City will be a landmark treaty benefiting both sides, according to the Mexican ambassador.
Japan Times
Features
Sep 12, 2004

Heights of cleanliness

What must it be like to stand on top of the world's highest mountain? To battle through driving snow and across deadly glaciers, to scale icy rock walls and risk falling thousands of meters while being hit full-on by raging, freezing winds -- aware that an avalanche could, at any moment, swat you into...
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2004

Latest economy data show growth slowing

Japan's economy grew 0.3 percent in real terms in the April-June period from the previous quarter, the government said Friday, marking a surprise downward revision from the initially reported expansion of 0.4 percent.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Sep 11, 2004

Will Souness be able to make a difference for Newcastle?

LONDON -- There is a famous line by Groucho Marxo where he says he would never be a member of a club that would have him as a member.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 10, 2004

Eagles counting on Owens to put them over top

NFC East Joe Gibbs and Bill Parcells have five Super Bowl wins between them. Tom Coughlin took an expansion franchise in Jacksonville and had it in the AFC championship game in its second year.
BUSINESS
Sep 9, 2004

Sojitz to receive 370 billion yen capital injection from financial institutions

Struggling trading house Sojitz Holdings Corp. officially announced Wednesday it will get a 370 billion yen capital injection from financial institutions, including UFJ Holdings Inc. and UBS AG, to clean up its balance sheet.
EDITORIALS
Sep 8, 2004

North Korea's ticking time bomb

Many North Koreans continue to escape from their impoverished and repressive country. Last week, 29 escapees took refuge at a Japanese school in Beijing. Shortly afterward, they were taken to the Japanese Embassy for identification and questioning before being transferred to a third country. The South...
BASKETBALL
Sep 7, 2004

Tabuse signs agreement with Suns

Japanese point guard Yuta Tabuse reached a contract agreement with the Phoenix Suns for the upcoming season, NBA Japan said Monday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2004

U.S. visa cut pushing translation firm to Asia

A recent cut in the number of U.S. visas given to foreign technical experts has convinced a U.S. translation-services company to expand its business in Japan and other parts of Asia, MultiLing Corp. President Michael Sneddon said in Tokyo this week.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2004

Shinsei Bank to buy Showa Leasing

Shinsei Bank might buy Showa Leasing Co. possibly this year, sources said Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 3, 2004

Labour seeks a constituency

LONDON -- A ruler can obtain power only with the help of his own people. He uses them to fight against those who revolt against his party. They fill his administrative offices and he appoints them to prestigious and lucrative positions. They help him to achieve his ascendancy. This is true so long as...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2004

Unavoidable as death, beer taxes

Since ancient times, alcohol has been an important source of tax revenue for rulers.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2004

UFJ told to explain data disparities

Britain's Financial Services Authority has ordered UFJ Holdings Inc., which is listed in London, to report by mid-September on the huge gap between its earnings projection and actual results for fiscal 2003, UFJ officials said Wednesday.

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