Search - 2004

 
 
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2002

As plasma-display TVs come down in price, sales go up

After an inauspicious debut just a few years ago, plasma-display TVs have become one of the hottest home appliances around.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 31, 2002

Will Ham hire foreign skipper in Sapporo?

Nikkan Sports newspaper, in its July 24 edition, ran a story speculating who would be the manager of the Nippon Ham Fighters when the team moves to Sapporo in 2004. The headline read, "Oya ka? Gaikokujin ka?" meaning it could be former Yokohama BayStars manager and Yakult Swallows catcher Akihiko Oya...
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2002

Sharp bucks trend with plan to hire 130 midcareer staff

Sharp Corp. will hire 130 midcareer workers this year, despite a general trend among consumer electronics companies to downsize amid stagnation in the information technology sector, company officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2002

PET bottle collection rises to 40.1%

Collection of used polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles in fiscal 2001 rose to 40.1 percent of the total produced during the year, the Environment Ministry said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2002

Diet clears the way to redraw electoral districts

The Diet passed a bill Wednesday aimed at redrawing electoral districts in an effort to correct the imbalance in the value of votes cast in rural and urban areas.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2002

Panel mulls closed-door patent hearings

A government panel on judicial reform will consider a proposed revision to the Code of Civil Procedure that would allow oral arguments on patents and other intellectual property rights to be held behind closed doors in court, panel sources said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / HONING ENGLISH
Jul 20, 2002

Japan experiments with Super English Schools

Principal Katsutoshi Wakabayashi gives a speech in English through the school's public address system at Gunma Prefectural Chuo High School every Wednesday morning, and all notices around the school are now in English.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 19, 2002

Fighters, Diamondbacks form partnership

The Nippon Ham Fighters, who are scheduled to move to Sapporo for the 2004 season, will be getting a little help setting up shop up north the team announced Thursday in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 19, 2002

Rise of Indian hawk threatens peace hopes

When newly appointed Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani recently said that he had no faith in Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, his words could not be brushed aside as they once might have been. Advani's recent promotion to his new post is believed to signal the rise of hawks in...
COMMENTARY
Jul 18, 2002

Terrorism exacts a high price

HONOLULU -- The war on terrorism will be with us for a long time; honest observers admit the fight will never end. New technologies have permanently altered the balance of power between states and individuals. It is just too easy to commit terrorist acts. The rising number of incidents and the increasing...
BUSINESS
Jul 17, 2002

DBJ looks to help firms restructure

The Development Bank of Japan said Tuesday it has launched a special lending mechanism to help midsize companies implement drastic operational reforms as part of the government's policy to reinvigorate the economy.
BUSINESS
Jul 12, 2002

FTA with Chile just isn't in the cards

Widely known as a feverish operagoer, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi may politely but disappointingly tell an exasperated Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, "Please wait patiently until the fat lady sings."
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Jul 11, 2002

Factors in U.S., Japan cloud stock outlook

Fears of another huge terrorist attack in the U.S. shrank after Independence Day on July 4. But terrorism is just one of many bearish factors affecting stocks.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2002

Envoy seeks to boost Greece's profile

The new Greek ambassador-designate to Japan is eager to enhance his country's image and perception among Japanese during his tenure, especially through promoting the 2004 Olympics in Athens and through the country's assumption of the European Union presidency in the first half of 2003.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 5, 2002

Swallows swoop ends Tigers' winning streak

Roberto Petagine hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning and Kevin Hodges threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings Thursday as the Yakult Swallows beat the Hanshin Tigers 2-0 in the Central League.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 4, 2002

The Cyprus connection: How Milosevic evaded arms sanctions

NICOSIA, Cyprus -- On Dec. 27, 1998, a Yugoslav named Drakomir Stojkovic flew from Belgrade to Cyprus's Larnaca airport on a private jet carrying bags stuffed with 35 million deutsche marks -- worth roughly $17 million.
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Jul 2, 2002

Success in first round weakened Japan's motivation

The World Cup ended Sunday night with Brazil claiming its fifth World Cup title following a monthlong soccer festival which has seen quite a few surprises, including first-round exits by France and Argentina and cohost South Korea's fine run into the semifinals.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 30, 2002

Ramen reborn as noodles nouveaux

Could ramen, Japan's answer to the greasy spoon, go gourmet? It started out simple -- this dish of Chinese-style noodles in soup was conjured up by cooks in Yokohama's Chinatown in the 1920s. Its present association with drab 24-hour diners and poor nutrition gives it a low rank in the food hierarchy:...
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2002

Sunken mystery ship's arms up the ante

The powerful weapons found aboard the mystery ship that sank in the East China Sea in December after a shootout with the Japan Coast Guard suggest that the authorities charged with policing and defending the nation's waters face a new challenge.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 28, 2002

Turks can go home with heads held high

SAITAMA -- "We came to the World Cup to make an impact. I think we've achieved our goal and I am proud of my players," Turkey coach Senol Gunes said after his side fell to Brazil 1-0 in the semifinals on Wednesday night at Saitama Stadium 2002.
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2002

New pollution-reduction plan set up

Senior ministry officials involved with antipollution policy agreed on a new pollutant reduction plan Thursday for Japan's three most contaminated bodies of water, the Environment Ministry said.
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2002

Mitsubishi Heavy develops reusable polymer screw

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Wednesday it has developed a recyclable polymer screw that "remembers" its original shape and becomes smooth when heated, allowing it to be easily removed from household electric appliances.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Jun 25, 2002

Sour grapes do injustice to South Korea

Who on earth would have predicted a World Cup semifinal between South Korea and Germany this time last month?
BUSINESS
Jun 25, 2002

Snow, Lotte forge deal to sell ice cream

Struggling dairy products maker Snow Brand Milk Products Co. said Monday it has signed an agreement with confectioner Lotte Co. to jointly set up a firm to manufacture and sell ice cream.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2002

In danger of becoming white elephants

There is a growing trend among prefectural governments to distance themselves from Kasumigaseki, the seat of the nation's bureaucracy, as moves accelerate to decentralize the national government and a recent ban, issued in response to a series of scandals, prevents lawmakers from wining and dining ministry...
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2002

Most national universities find reform plan confusing

Administrators at 81 out of 90 public universities in Japan are confused by a government plan to turn national universities into independent administrative entities in fiscal 2004, according to a recent survey by the Japan Association of National Universities.
BUSINESS
Jun 20, 2002

S&P upgrades Bpi rating on JAS

Standard & Poor's Corp. said Wednesday it has upgraded its Bpi rating on Japan Air System to B-plus-pi, while maintaining the BB long-term rating on Japan Airlines, with which JAS will integrate its operations.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Jun 20, 2002

Politics of homeland security

WASHINGTON -- The specter of terrorism that has hung over America since Sept. 11 has created an enormous public demand for security. Homeland security has become a massive governmental program, a political issue, a growth industry, a rationale for all sorts of governmental spending and constitutional...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 19, 2002

PL directors OK Fighters' move

The Pacific League's board of directors on Tuesday approved the move of the Nippon Ham Fighters to Hokkaido for the 2004 season when the team will take up residence at the Sapporo Dome and be known as the "Sapporo Nippon Ham Fighters."

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.