Search - 2005

 
 
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2006

Hashimoto brought a rare passion to politics during his long career

Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, who died Saturday at age 68, was a passionate, tough politician with a great deal of policy expertise.
COMMENTARY
Jul 3, 2006

Will India-China border talks ever end?

NEW DELHI -- For 25 years, India has been seeking to settle by negotiation with China the disputed Indo-Tibetan frontier. Yet, not only have the negotiations yielded no concrete progress on a settlement, but they also have failed so far to remove even the ambiguities plaguing the long line of control....
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 2, 2006

Desperate Giants bring in Japan veteran Arias from Mexico

Not sure what to make of the Yomiuri Giants signing infielder George Arias just three days prior to the June 30 Japan pro baseball deadline for acquiring new foreign players.
CULTURE / Books
Jul 2, 2006

Journeys across turbulent waters

MAD ABOUT THE MEKONG: Exploration and Empire in South-East Asia, by John Keay. HarperPerennial, 2006, 294 pp., £8.99 (paper). The long-lasting conflict in Vietnam made the name of the Mekong familiar to people in other countries, but to those who live along its banks and tributaries it is known simply...
EDITORIALS
Jul 2, 2006

Touching base before stepping down

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush have reaffirmed not only their five-year "very friendly relationship" but also the strong ties between the two nations in a meeting at the White House, their 13th summit -- which may be their last.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2006

Japan's population now world's grayest

The proportion of people age 65 and older in Japan reached the world's highest at 21 percent in 2005, surpassing Italy's 20 percent, the government said Friday in a preliminary report.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 29, 2006

Clay captures the motion of organic forms

Seeming to peer out the window of the gallery is a brightly colored red and blue polka-dot blob. For a moment the amorphous shape looks like it is slowly crawling up the wall, till further inspection suggests that the piece is actually still -- or is it? Such is the work of Japanese ceramic artist Chiho...
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2006

Toshiba shareholders OK poison pill

Toshiba Corp. shareholders approved measures to fend off hostile takeover bids at their annual meeting Tuesday, company officials said.
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2006

Japan, Brunei kick off FTA talks

Japan and Brunei kicked off their first round of official negotiations Monday in Tokyo aimed at sealing a bilateral free-trade agreement, with Tokyo aiming during the five-day run to win tariff cuts on its industrial goods exports and a stable supply of natural resources from the Southeast Asian country....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2006

Warner Japan taking greater interest in local movie scene

Warner Entertainment Japan Inc., a subsidiary of U.S. media giant Time Warner Inc., plans to acquire more Japanese films and increase local production of movies in response to the growing popularity of domestic films, said William Ireton, who was named president of the company in May.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 27, 2006

On dual citizenship, pensions

Dual citizenship Reader S. doesn't recall ever reading anything in the Lifelines column on dual citizenship.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2006

Landlords get crash course on dementia

Condominium managers will be required to take courses starting next month on how to handle residents with senile dementia.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 27, 2006

Righting a wrong

In July 2005, Doudou Diene, a special representative of the United Nations' Commission on Human Rights, came to Japan at the invitation of the Japanese government.
EDITORIALS
Jun 26, 2006

Keeping an eye on the beef

Japan agreed last week to lift its ban on imports of American beef after the United States accepted Tokyo's demand for stricter safety checks. Imports will resume only after Japanese experts have checked the 35 U.S. meatpackers authorized to process beef for export to Japan. Even after imports resume,...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 25, 2006

Giants looking to bring in late comers with 'Heat Up' ticket promotion at Tokyo Dome

Discounts for tickets to Yomiuri Giants home games?
SPORTS / MULLY'S MISSIVES
Jun 25, 2006

Zico never at a loss for an excuse

DORTMUND, Germany -- Zico has come up with all manner of excuses during his four years in charge to explain away shoddy performances from Japan, and the Brazilian was trotting them out at an almost daily rate in Germany during the World Cup.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 25, 2006

Tokyo's ring of steel

Who would have thought that something that chases its tail all day for a living could be so incredibly important to the workings of a major metropolis?
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 25, 2006

Jun'ichiro Tanizaki: new realities from screen fiction

SHADOWS ON THE SCREEN: Tanizaki Jun'ichiro on Cinema and "Oriental" Aesthetics, translated and edited by Thomas LaMarre. Ann Arbor: Center for Japanese Studies, The University of Michigan, 2005. 410 pp., photos XIX, $25 (paper). The eminent novelist Jun'ichiro Tanizaki was celebrated for his ambivalence...
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2006

Dai-ichi Life failed to pay 115 million yen

Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co. did not pay some 115 million yen in dividends to its policyholders in a total of about 47,000 cases between fiscal 1984 and fiscal 2005, company officials said Saturday.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2006

Schools taking anticrime steps

Over 90 percent of elementary schools have implemented measures to help protect their students from crime, including "hazard maps," according to an education ministry survey.
SOCCER / J. League
Jun 23, 2006

Adilson named Iwata manager

Jubilo Iwata said Thursday they have named former defender Adilson as manager, following the resignation of Masakuni Yamamoto, who took responsibility for his side's lackluster performance this season.
EDITORIALS
Jun 23, 2006

Downshifting in Iraq

The government announced Tuesday that Japan will withdraw its Ground Self-Defense Force troops from southern Iraq, ending their 2 1/2-year noncombat mission. It is fortunate that, so far, not a single GSDF member has been injured or killed during this time and that the GSDF troops have not had to fire...
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2006

Ah, no kids afoot: Empty trains, work till you die

There has been a great deal of hand-wringing in the media and government about Japan's population implosion. A breakdown in the pension system, soaring health-care costs, slower economic growth and a looming labor shortage are just a few of the dark clouds on the horizon.
BUSINESS
Jun 22, 2006

Fitch keeps Hankyu ratings intact

Fitch Ratings said Wednesday it has decided to keep the credit ratings of Hankyu Holdings Inc. unchanged because the burden stemming from the tender offer for Hanshin Electric Railway Co. shares has stayed within the anticipated level.
BUSINESS
Jun 21, 2006

Insurer Mitsui Sumitomo faces FSA sanctions

The Financial Services Agency is considering ordering Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. to suspend sales of nonlife insurance policies as well as medical insurance products at all of its outlets for about two weeks as punishment for its nonpayment of insurance claims, FSA sources said Tuesday.

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake