Search - people

 
 
COMMENTARY
Jul 16, 2003

Parties gear up for elections

The political situation in Japan is already heating up in anticipation of a period of turbulence in the fall. The current ordinary session of the Diet has been extended until July 26, and it seems certain that the bill concerning Japan's support for the reconstruction of Iraq, the focal point of the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 16, 2003

Ennosuke soars with two-in-one tale

For his 33rd annual summer season at the Kabukiza Theater in Ginza, Ichikawa Ennosuke is this month presenting not one but two kabuki classics: "Yotsuya Kaidan (The Ghost Story at Yotsuya)" and "Chushingura (The 47 Loyal Retainers)." There's a catch, though -- he's fashioned them into a single, three-act...
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2003

Security cameras aid in crime fight, but at a cost

The key clue that led to the apprehension of a 12-year-old Nagasaki junior high school student for the July 1 murder of a 4-year-old boy was the image captured by a shopping arcade security camera of the youth walking with the victim near the scene of the slaying.
COMMUNITY
Jul 15, 2003

Test your criminal smarts

How clued-in are you when it comes to protecting your home and valuables against intruders? The following is a translation excerpted from an online check produced by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Correct answers to the questions are given at the bottom.
BUSINESS
Jul 15, 2003

Longer home-loan tax breaks sought

The land ministry plans to seek an extension of tax breaks for housing loans in light of weak economic activity, a senior ministry official said.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2003

GSDF may get guerrilla combat training

The Defense Agency has started deliberations on whether to train Ground Self-Defense Force troops to fight guerrillas and terrorists and dispatch them along with other GSDF personnel to Iraq, sources said Monday.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 15, 2003

Hold the fort

Over dinner not long ago, I noticed a friend wasn't wearing one of his prized antique wristwatches.
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2003

Mice bring alien pathogens into ports

Mice carrying alien pathogens have taken up residence in Japanese ports, apparently after arriving inside freight containers from foreign countries, according to a three-year study by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2003

Individual debtors may get a break

The Justice Ministry plans to relax the regulations for indebted individuals seeking court-mandated rehabilitation, ministry officials said Saturday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 13, 2003

Music and (some) words by Bob Dylan

Speaking of inspiration -- the creative kind -- people have long wondered where it comes from and how it works. Maybe the American composer Aaron Copland came closest to an answer when he said, "Inspiration may be a form of superconsciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness -- I wouldn't know. But I...
COMMENTARY
Jul 13, 2003

Shabby cause to shed blood

The bad news is that the Japanese government wants to send troops to Iraq. Tokyo's rush into overseas military involvements is far stronger than anyone would have imagined possible even a few years ago.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 13, 2003

Misogynistic politicians get away with the gaffes

The recent series of verbal gaffes committed by Japanese politicians has whet the media's appetite for high-calorie, low-nutrition "gotcha" quotes.
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2003

Debate rages over juvenile crime age limit

In spite of the debate over the existing legal framework for crimes committed by juveniles in the wake of a 12-year-old boy admitting to murdering 4-year-old Shun Tanemoto in Nagasaki, experts have mixed views over whether the age at which juveniles can be held criminally responsible should be lowered...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 13, 2003

Opportunity knocks for women in Japan's climate of change

With the days of the Asian Tigers long gone, and Japan Inc. now more of a pussy cat gone belly up, the talk is no longer about the world's second-biggest economy taking over the world, but about the profound structural changes that will be necessary just to keep it afloat.
EDITORIALS
Jul 13, 2003

What the Bijanis died for

It was the saddest, yet most inspiring image of the week: two vibrant, intelligent 29-year-old sisters dead of uncontrollable bleeding following the surgical separation of their congenitally joined skulls. When the deaths of Ladan and Laleh Bijani were announced Tuesday, strangers in cities from Tehran...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 13, 2003

Classical rarities prove to be a hit

The maestros of the world generally conduct the music of others, but a Japanese record label has scored a minor hit with a CD of piano pieces that conductors themselves composed.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2003

Behead parents of boy suspect, minister says

Yoshitada Konoike, state minister in charge of deregulation zones and disaster management, said Friday the parents of the 12-year-old youth suspected of slaying a 4-year-old boy in Nagasaki should be dragged through the streets and beheaded.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 12, 2003

Business Japanese using Braille method

I have learned business Japanese through trial and error, which is very similar to the Braille method of learning to parallel park your car.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jul 12, 2003

All's fair in love and sumo

Here's how my mind works . . .
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2003

Saitama governor's daughter held

Saitama Gov. Yoshihiko Tsuchiya's eldest daughter was arrested Thursday evening on suspicion of hiding 113 million yen in donations paid to her father's political fund management body over five years.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2003

ODA spending to aid prosperity, home security

Japan will use its official development assistance in ways that enhance its own security and prosperity, according to a government draft of the revised ODA charter released 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