Search - 2003

 
 
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 5, 2004

Language schools fight image war

Students at the Japanese-language school Tokyo Nichigo Gakuin are encouraged to speak their minds, and to do so as fluently as possible.
EDITORIALS
May 4, 2004

Google-eyed on Wall Street

The announcement that Google, the company that created the No. 1 Internet search engine, is about to go public has investors the world over in a lather. While the fever recalls the heady days of the Internet bubble, the clamor surrounding the offering speaks to a deeper hunger: a desire for markets to...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 3, 2004

Will intervention-happy BOJ see new risks as danger or deja vu?

Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui has entered his second year at the helm of the central bank, and in an economic climate radically different from the time when he first took up the job.
JAPAN
May 2, 2004

U.S. looks to expand Japan's military role

OSAKA -- On Nov. 19, 1953, then U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon mounted the podium at a special meeting of the Japan-America Society in Tokyo.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 2, 2004

Scripting Yazujiro Ozu: Avoiding sentimentality to reveal pathos

TOKYO STORY: The Ozu/Noda Screenplay, by Yazujiro Ozu & Kogo Noda, translated by Donald Richie & Eric Klestadt, introduction by Richie. Stone Bridge Press, 2003, 144 pp., $12.95 (paper). The opening scene in Yazujiro Ozu's 1953 film "Tokyo Story" takes place not in the nation's capital but at the Inland...
JAPAN
May 2, 2004

ING employee in more hot water

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is expected to serve a fresh arrest warrant later this month on a former employee of ING Securities (Japan) Ltd. suspected of embezzling more than 1 billion yen worth of securities, police sources said Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 2, 2004

A battle for 'the fate of the world'

At approximately 6:20 p.m. on May 7, 1954, the shooting had stopped everywhere but at one last outpost, called strongpoint Lily, where a handful of Moroccan soldiers under a French major, Jean Nicolas, still held out.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2004

Terrorists taken out inspire replacements

HONOLULU -- The good news is that the United States and its allies have captured or killed 3,500 to 4,000 terrorists since the hijacked airliner assaults on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001. The bad news is that the terrorists are being replaced as fast as they are eliminated, especially in...
JAPAN
May 2, 2004

Resona starts form-free currency service

Resona Bank has launched a currency exchange service at its Narita airport branch that does not require users to fill out forms, bank officials said Saturday.
JAPAN / History
May 2, 2004

U.S. looks to expand Japan's military role

OSAKA -- On Nov. 19, 1953, then U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon mounted the podium at a special meeting of the Japan-America Society in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2004

Listed firms' combined profit soaring

The combined group pretax profit of all firms listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange is likely to have set a record for the year to March 31 by eclipsing 20 trillion yen, a research institute said Friday.
JAPAN
May 1, 2004

Listed companies replacing regular staff with part-timers

Listed firms cut the number of employees on their regular payrolls by an annual 3.4 percent on average during the three-year period through fiscal 2003, according to a Cabinet Office survey.
JAPAN
May 1, 2004

UNESCO heritage bid challenged over gender bias

The government's bid to have a sacred area in western Japan registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site is being challenged by those who claim it reinforces gender discrimination.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2004

Women edge men in Japanese fun gauge

Japan may still be a man's world, but women are -- finally -- starting to have more fun.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Apr 30, 2004

Abramovich learning that money can't buy the Premiership

LONDON -- In the year of the comeback it should be no surprise if Chelsea manages to overturn the 3-1 first-leg deficit when it meets Monaco in the Champions League semifinal, second-leg match at Stamford Bridge next week.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2004

Gray city's parks green escapes

No plans for the Golden Week holidays? Spending a relaxing day in a park under blue skies may be just the ticket for weary urbanites.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2004

Tax officials suspect Ebara hid 540 million yen

Plant engineering firm Ebara Corp. has been accused of hiding 540 million yen in income over three years through fiscal 2002, including roughly 300 million yen in suspected slush funds, it was learned Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2004

Nippon Steel swings into the black

Nippon Steel Corp. said Wednesday its group net balance swung into the black in fiscal 2003 on brisk sales to automobile, ship and industrial machinery makers, as well as on strong exports.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2004

Industrial production rises for second straight year

Japan's industrial production rose an unadjusted 3.4 percent in fiscal 2003, marking a second straight yearly rise, the government said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2004

Rightist pleads guilty to spree of terror

The leader of an ultrarightist group pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges that he and members of his group conducted terror attacks against members of North Korean-related organizations and others in 2002 and 2003.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2004

Yamaha posts record net profit of 40.1 billion yen

Yamaha Motor Co. said Wednesday that it posted a record consolidated net profit of 40.1 billion yen for fiscal 2003, which ended in March, up 57 percent from the previous year.
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Apr 29, 2004

'Little blighters' that drive me barking mad

Two years ago, we transplanted 20 cherry saplings cloned from an ancient and historical tree (see Old Nic's Notebook; May, 1, 2003) here where I live in Kurohime, Nagano Prefecture. We then raised the saplings with loving care in our own little nursery for six years, before replanting them at the entranceway...
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2004

Honda posts record profit on strong overseas sales

Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday its net group profit grew 8.8 percent to a record 464.3 billion yen in fiscal 2003, due in part to robust sales overseas.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2004

Sharp reports record earnings for fiscal '03

Sharp Corp. on Tuesday reported record earnings for the year that ended on March 31, powered by strong sales of liquid crystal panel TVs and camera-equipped cell phone handsets.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2004

Small firms said creating new business

Small and midsize companies have contributed to the creation of new businesses, particularly in the services sector, despite the economic doldrums of recent years, the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency said in an annual white paper released Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Apr 27, 2004

Nissan saw profit reach record level in fiscal '03

Nissan Motor Co. said Monday it posted a record group operating profit of 825 billion yen for fiscal 2003, up 11.9 percent from the previous year.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2004

Mitsubishi Fuso exec grilled over false report

Investigative authorities have questioned Takashi Usami, former chairman of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp., over an alleged false report issued in connection with a fatal accident caused by a defective vehicle in 2002, informed sources said Sunday.

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