Search - 2005

 
 
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2006

Mizuho exec admits stealing data for mob

Tokyo police arrested a Mizuho Bank official Wednesday on suspicion of embezzlement for allegedly leaking customer information to a company linked to the mob.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2006

Pressure prizing open door for refugees

Last year, Japan's contribution to the United Nations refugee agency was second only to the United States.
BUSINESS
Feb 8, 2006

Suntory revives nostalgic blend for retiring baby boomers

For businesses from banks to high-end stereo makers, the expected mass retirement of the baby boomer generation beginning next year represents the birth of a huge consumer base with relatively deep pockets and a lot of free time.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2006

Centrair seeks to revive expo-style traffic

Nearly one year after opening, Central Japan International Airport outside Nagoya is struggling to attract more passengers.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2006

JAL reports 23 billion yen group net loss

Japan Airlines Corp. reported Monday a group net loss of 23 billion yen for the first three quarters of fiscal 2005, slumping from a net profit of 79.2 billion yen it logged in the same period the previous year.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Feb 6, 2006

Source: Saito to sign with Dodgers

Japanese right-handed pitcher Takashi Saito is likely to sign a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers shortly, baseball sources said Sunday.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2006

Health ministry to set specific nonsmoking goal

The health ministry has decided to set a numerical target to lower the ratio of smokers as part of a national health campaign, officials said Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Feb 6, 2006

Containing a growing divide

The growing economic gap in Japanese society under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reform policy is emerging as a major national political issue. Critics in the opposition camp as well as the ruling coalition charge that deregulation and intensified competition have divided society into winners and...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 5, 2006

Painting a fascinating picture of the 'noble savage' debate

OMAI: The Prince Who Never Was, by Richard Connaughton, Timewell Press, 2005, 270 pp., £16.99 (cloth). It may not be true that, as the adage has it, every picture tells a story, but if pictures have any tales to tell, then Joshua Reynolds' portrait of Omai has a richer and stranger one than most.
EDITORIALS
Feb 4, 2006

End of an era at the Fed

Mr. Alan Greenspan ended his 18-year tenure as chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board this week, stepping down after the Fed raised interest rates to their highest level in nearly five years.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2006

Livedoor four face new charge

Prosecutors appear ready to serve fresh arrest warrants in mid-February on four now-former Livedoor Co. executives, including ex-President Takafumi Horie and former Chief Financial Officer Ryoji Miyauchi, on suspicion of falsifying the company's 2004 financial statements, investigative sources said Friday....
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2006

Diet passes 4.5 trillion yen extra '05 budget

The Diet passed a 4.52 trillion yen supplementary budget Friday for the current fiscal year through March and is preparing to take action on the budget for fiscal 2006, which is scheduled to begin in April.
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2006

Livedoor tied to faked transactions

Former Livedoor Co. executives are now suspected of booking fictitious transactions and revenues in 2005 as well as those earlier reported for the year to September 2004, investigative sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Feb 3, 2006

Matsushita profits up 39% despite heater fiasco

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Thursday robust sales of plasma display panel TVs and digital cameras boosted its earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2005, raising its net profit by 39 percent to 49.3 billion yen.
BUSINESS
Feb 3, 2006

New games bring more people to video consoles

There may be no monsters to slay or racing cars to spin, but new video games that claim to stimulate the brain or translate languages are being snapped up by a new crowd of gamers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 3, 2006

M.I.A. terrorizes the dancefloor

Maya Arulpragasam sighs into the phone. I've asked her if journalists have accurately depicted her life story, and she seems tired of the question.
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2006

Nissan issues all-new Moco in bid to tap minicar shift

Nissan Motor Co. launched a fully remodeled version of the Moco minivehicle Wednesday that is being supplied by Suzuki Motor Corp. on an original equipment manufacturing basis.
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2006

Sharp's third-quarter profit climbs to record 26 billion yen

Sharp Corp. said Wednesday its net profit jumped 26 percent to a quarterly record of 26.26 billion yen for the three months through December, driven by continued strength in its liquid crystal display TV sales.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2006

Police collar 'quack-upuncturist'?

An self-styled acupuncturist and his assistant were arrested Wednesday for allegedly practicing medicine without a license in Tokyo, police said.
BUSINESS
Feb 1, 2006

Extra budget clears Lower House

The House of Representatives approved a 4.52 trillion yen fiscal 2005 extra budget Tuesday after a Lower House panel was forced the day before to delay the planned passage when debate was disrupted for hours over the beef import issue.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 31, 2006

Hospital death exposes 'tip of malpractice iceberg'

Loyd Cummings tried to ignore his headache when it began on Aug. 7, 2003. But the electronic technician, who was working in Japan on U.S. Navy radars, eventually collapsed from an aneurysm -- a bulge in a vein in his head.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 30, 2006

Fighters, Diaz agree to contract

After originally agreeing to a one-year deal with the Hiroshima Carp, former Chicago White Sox prospect Felix Diaz instead will be joining the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, the club announced Sunday.

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.