Search - 2004

 
 
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2004

Seiyu to push Olsen twins' products

A clothing line linked to Hollywood celebrity twins Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen will be sold at 90 supermarkets operated by Seiyu Ltd., beginning in August, Seiyu and U.S. partner Dualstar Entertainment Group said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Feb 4, 2004

The not-so cordial entente

LONDON -- 2004 marks the 100th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale -- the accord between Britain and France of 1904 that marked a new era of friendship, the ending of numerous disputes and, as it turned out, intimate military alliance in two world wars.
BUSINESS
Feb 3, 2004

Sony gets serious about chip production

Sony Corp. said Monday the Sony group of companies will spend 120 billion yen in fiscal 2004 to manufacture high-end semiconductors at production sites run by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., IBM Corp. and Toshiba Corp.
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2004

Koizumi to open Yankees' season

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will throw out the ceremonial first pitch when the New York Yankees begin their 2004 season March 30 in the Tokyo Dome, event organizers said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2004

Electronic toll system users on rise

The Electronic Toll Collection system, introduced in 2001 to collect highway fees without drivers having to stop, is gaining in popularity due to discounts for installing the system and reduced fees for users.
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 1, 2004

Jubilo's tough draw

Japan's Jubilo Iwata, which has been placed in arguably the toughest group for the first stage of the 2004 Asian Football Confederations Champions League, announced on Friday the schedule for six of its matches in Group E.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2004

7.15 trillion yen spent on intervention this month

Japan spent 7.15 trillion yen on currency-market intervention in January, marking a new single-month record, Finance Ministry data showed Friday.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2004

Camera sales boost Canon earnings

Canon Inc. on Thursday said its net profit grew 45 percent in 2003, buoyed by robust digital camera sales and a cost-cutting drive.
COMMENTARY
Jan 27, 2004

Changing the Constitution

Constitutional revision looms as a major political issue in Japan. It was a key agenda item at the January conventions of the two largest political parties, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan. The LDP decided to draw up a revision plan in 2005, the 50th anniversary of the...
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2004

FSA eyes 'rebuilding' of borrowers

The Financial Services Agency will strictly assess banks' ongoing plans to reconstruct struggling large-lot borrowers and may order remedial measures if little improvement is found in the borrowers' earnings conditions, informed sources said Saturday.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2004

EBank logs first monthly black ink

The online bank eBank Corp. said Friday it posted a pretax profit of 19 million yen in December, its first black ink on a monthly basis since it started operating in July 2001.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2004

Doctors paid to 'lend' names to other hospitals

Doctors paid to 'lend' names to other hospitals
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2004

U.N. official seeks help getting word out about rice

A senior official of a United Nations agency for rural development hopes Japan will play an active role in helping to increase rice production in developing countries as a way to address worldwide poverty.
EDITORIALS
Jan 23, 2004

Mr. Bush kicks off his campaign

U.S. President George W. Bush signaled the real beginning of the 2004 election campaign with his State of the Union address Tuesday night in Washington. The speech laid out key themes of the Bush re-election strategy, emphasizing the success in the war against terrorism and the brightening economic outlook....
SOCCER / J. League
Jan 21, 2004

J. League set for changes in 2005

The J. League on Tuesday finalized a plan to increase the number of first-division teams from 16 to 18 and approved a switch to a one-stage format from the current two-stage system, beginning in the 2005 season.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 21, 2004

Making a spectacle of man's inhumanity to man

"Bent" is one of the outstanding theatrical creations of the 20th century. Ostensibly about the persecution of homosexuals and Jews under Hitler's dictatorship, what the play really addresses is the power -- in even the most disempowered circumstances -- of the individual and of love.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 20, 2004

Indy Japan 300 set for April

Indy Japan 300, the third race in the Indy Car Series in the 2004 Indy Racing League season, will be held for three days beginning April 15, event organizers said Monday.
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2004

Government says economy 'recovering steadily'

The government Monday upgraded its assessment of the economy for the first time in two months.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jan 19, 2004

Japan must preserve upswing by allaying public fear with reform

Expectations are growing that Japan will finally achieve a full-scale economic recovery this year.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2004

S. Korea's recipe for economic disaster

COLOMBO -- A gathering of South Korea's leading policymakers and economists have agreed that Seoul should apply fiscal-stimulus measures through the first half of 2004. It is a great tragedy that this conclusion reflects the best judgments of mainstream economic orthodoxy, because the simple fact is,...
MORE SPORTS
Jan 18, 2004

Masuoka tops stage at Dakar Rally

Hiroshi Masuoka drove for pride in Mauritania on Friday and recorded the fastest time in the 15th stage despite seeing his hopes of winning the Dakar Rally for the third consecutive year nearly dashed.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 18, 2004

NHK's variety show, "Top Runner On Campus" and more

Comedian Takeshi Fujii is best known as the effeminate, fake-blonde TV host Matthew Minami on the popular late-night variety show "Matthew's Best Hit TV," which is featured in Sophia Coppola's movie "Lost in Translation." Fujii is doing his first serious leading dramatic role in the new series "Rampo...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 18, 2004

It takes a demon to bring out the saint

LONELY WOMAN, by Takako Takahashi, translated by Maryellen Toman Mori. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004, 192 pp., $24.50, (paper). "A female demon is no mere fanciful creature," writes Takako Takahashi in this newly translated work. "An ordinary woman can turn into a demon in an instant. She...
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2004

Tokyo questions agenda behind Pyongyang overtures

Unofficial North Korean overtures that may pave the way for Pyongyang allowing the families of five repatriated Japanese abductees to reunite in Japan have fueled expectations and doubts in equal measure here.
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2004

Isuzu foresees decline in truck output

Truck maker Isuzu Motors Ltd. said Friday it plans to produce 480,000 trucks globally in 2004, down 6 percent from the previous year amid shrinking domestic demand.

Longform

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