Search - 2003

 
 
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2003

300 billion yen sought for rice reforms

The Liberal Democratic Party will request a budget of about 300 billion yen for rice policy reforms for fiscal 2004, LDP officials said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2003

Foreign bond sales drive up Nikko Cordial group net profit

Nikko Cordial Corp., Japan's third-largest securities firm, said Friday its group net profit in the first quarter of fiscal 2003 soared more than three-fold, thanks to a jump in sales of foreign bonds.
EDITORIALS
Jul 23, 2003

Can Ms. Doi restore trust in SDP?

The Metropolitan Police Department last week arrested Ms. Kiyomi Tsujimoto, a former Lower House member of the Social Democratic Party, on suspicion of misappropriating salaries paid by the government to her two public secretaries in charge of policy affairs. The MPD also arrested those former secretaries...
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2003

New traffic law a red light for 'bosozoku'

Police across the nation reported fewer cases of illegal driving by "bosozoku" motoring gangs in the first six months of the year, as well as a decline in reckless gang driving, according to the National Police Agency said.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 22, 2003

Make space, shock value and J-culture

Family line Karen writes in response to Linda Croissant's question in Lifelines (June 10) about how to get rid of stuff she doesn't want.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 20, 2003

Need to leave Japan?

YOU KNOW YOU'VE BEEN IN JAPAN TOO LONG . . . , by Bill Mutranowski. Tuttle Publishing, 2003, 120 pp., $14.95 (paper). Many foreigners will tell you that if you plan to stay in Japan long term then "for sanity's sake, get out of the country at least six times a year!" It is one of those warnings that...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 20, 2003

Taking readers to the edge

RUNNERS IN THE MARGINS: Poems by Akira Tatehata, translated by Hiroaki Sato. Vermont: P.S A Press, 2003, 103 pp., $12.95 (paper) The poet Akira Tatehata has a wide-ranging imagination as rich, and yet as controlled, as the brush of the most delicate artist. His poems are sometimes playful, sometimes...
MORE SPORTS
Jul 19, 2003

Kawaguchi hopes to make 49ers roster

Former Japan linebacker Masafumi Kawaguchi confidently vowed to make the San Francisco 49ers final roster and become the first Japanese player in the NFL as the 30-year-old Ritsumeikan University alumni heads to the Niners' training camp.
EDITORIALS
Jul 19, 2003

'Kenpo' deficit widens

Japan's health insurance system for private-sector employees (Kenpo) is sinking deeper into deficit. It is estimated that eight of 10 health insurance associations booked losses in fiscal 2002. At this rate, an increase in insurance premiums seems inevitable.
COMMENTARY
Jul 19, 2003

Hong Kong's democratic hopes vs. authoritarian fears

HONG KONG -- July 1, 2003 -- when at least 500,000 Hong Kongers marched in nonviolent protest -- will live long in memory, provided that Hong Kong remains an oasis of freedom set in China's authoritarian sea. But it was also a day that will almost certainly be expunged from the Chinese collective memory...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 17, 2003

Fuji Photo Film develops WLAN digital camera

Fuji Photo Film Co. has developed a digital camera prototype that uses wireless local area networks to allow easier access to printers and personal computers.
MORE SPORTS
Jul 17, 2003

Yamada asked to be a Buccaneer

Asahi Drink Challengers and Japan linebacker Shinzo Yamada has been invited to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' training camp, his agent announced Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 16, 2003

Worldly delights

Summer might be the time for outdoor music festivals in scenic locales, but, then again, some of us prefer air-conditioning, a bar within easy reach and a taxi home. So, thank goodness there's a couple of festivals in Tokyo, too.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 16, 2003

Jazz swinging out in the open

Jazz fans have dozens of excellent festivals to choose from throughout Japan, with lineups covering a broad base from slick, traditional-minded swing to in-your-face free jazz. At most festivals, one would have to have to be either deaf or drunk to love everything on the schedule, but part of why festivals...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jul 13, 2003

Japan gearing up for more than one RWC

It's been a busy seven days for the Japan Rugby Football Union.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 13, 2003

Join the club: Today's Japanese fads

THE IMAGE FACTORY: Fads & Fashions in Japan, by Donald Richie, photographs by Roy Garner. London: Reaktion Books, 2003, 176 pp., £14.95 (cloth). Fads and fashions are not, of course, exclusively Japanese. Still, the unself-conscious abandon with which fads and fashions are adopted in Japan assures that...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 13, 2003

Second strings

Shin Yoshida leads a double life. And everyone, including his boss, his wife and three children, knows about it.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 13, 2003

Heartfelt poetry from and inspired by Asia

EPITAPH FOR MEMORIES, by Yoko Danno. The Bunny and The Crocodile Press, 2002, 53 pp., $10 (paper). NINETY-FIVE NIGHTS OF LISTENING, by Malinda Markham. Mariner Books, 2002, 80 pp., $12 (paper).
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2003

Students test corporate waters as interns

Like many college students who gathered at a Tokyo forum earlier this month, Tomoe Yoshida believes becoming an intern at a company will help her find out what career she wants to pursue.
EDITORIALS
Jul 10, 2003

Wrong light at the end of the tunnel

Stock prices and long-term interest rates in Japan have climbed rapidly of late. On Monday, the Nikkei index hit a 10-month high of 9,795 points while yields on 10-year benchmark government bonds topped 1 percent, more than double the level of a month earlier. That is good news if it signals an upturn...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Jul 10, 2003

"Big George and the Seventh Knight," "Bang on the Door Animals"

"Big George and the Seventh Knight," Eric Pringle, Bloomsbury; 2002; 200 pp.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jul 9, 2003

Roots Music Festival 2003

This summer's Roots Music Festival at Blue Note Tokyo moves far beyond simple basics to a full flowering of diverse branches of the musical tree. The seven performers, coming from different countries, styles and backgrounds, share an improvisational spirit, but otherwise are notable for their unique...
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2003

Manufacturers plan to spend more

Manufacturers plan to spend 17.1 percent more in capital investment this year than they did in fiscal 2002 for the first rise in three years. The total figure forecast is 3.48 trillion yen.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 8, 2003

Watching the detectives

There's something to be said about Japanese police attitudes towards foreigners.
COMMENTARY
Jul 7, 2003

Little gain but lots of pain

Ever since his administration took power in April 2001, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has been asking the Japanese public to endure the pain associated with structural reform. This request is justified only when all Japanese equally share the pain.
MORE SPORTS
Jul 6, 2003

Foot injury hospitalizes Tamura

Sydney Olympics gold medalist Ryoko Tamura, who will make a bid for her sixth victory at the 2003 World Judo Championships in Osaka in September, has been hospitalized after injuring her left foot, judo sources said Saturday.
BUSINESS
Jul 5, 2003

Government eyes Japan-led IT society

The public and private sectors should make a concerted effort to build a "Japan-inspired information technology society" through use of the nation's cutting-edge technology, according to the government
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2003

Japan eyes continental shelf mineral claim

Japan is planning a huge boost in research on rare undersea minerals around the country estimated to be worth trillions of yen, and wants U.N. approval for its claims on the continental shelf, government sources said.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jul 3, 2003

When males lead to miscarriages

At temples all over Japan, there are stone statues wearing aprons and caps of red cloth. Someone once told me that the cloth was supposed to keep the statues warm at night and protect them when it rained. What my friend neglected to say was that many of these statues are dedicated to mizuko, literally...
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2003

Shiokawa seeks budget flexibility

The government plans to include funds for multiyear "model" projects in the fiscal 2004 budget, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Tuesday.

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