Search - 2003

 
 
BUSINESS
Jul 16, 2009

Kansai airport has worst June since '03

Kansai International Airport, Japan's second-busiest international gateway, had its biggest monthly drop in passengers since 2003 in June.
COMMENTARY
Jul 1, 2009

Tough to thwart North Korean arms exports

The cargo ship Kang Nam 1 has long been on a watch-list of North Korean vessels suspected of illicit trading. But it recently emerged from the shadows at the center of a cat-and-mouse game in Asian waters, tracked by U.S. warships, maritime reconnaissance planes and satellites under a United Nations...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2009

Farm consultant cultivates seeds of opportunity

The ranks of farmers, crop acreage and yields are all shrinking and Japan's food self-sufficiency rate remains one of the lowest among major developed nations.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 14, 2009

Brewers' Macha making most of second shot managing in majors

Take a look at the standings in the various divisions in Major League Baseball, and you will find the usual high-profile, big-market teams at or near the top.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 12, 2009

Samurai get put through paces

Anyone who knows anything about musicals knows they require endless rehearsals in order to be staged successfully. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers didn't just jump up and glide around a sound stage as the cameras rolled; they had to practice each step of those seemingly effortless dance routines over...
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2009

Tokyo office vacancies climbing

Tokyo's office vacancy rate rose to a four-year high in May as companies in the capital slashed spending and jobs.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 5, 2009

Striving for a more simple life

The paintings in "The Naxi Lifeworld: Native Painters in Northwestern Yunnan" by Zhang Yunling (b. 1955) and Zhang Chunting (b. 1958) proffer a simple and honest way of life, steeped in the seasons, nostalgia, and the pictographic Dongba script of the Naxi people of China's Yunnan and Sichuan provinces....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 29, 2009

Forget Michelin, it's a Pellegrino

This year's string of accolades hasn't affected the modesty of chef Yoshihiro Narisawa. After earning a star in the 2009 Michelin Guide, Les Creations de Narisawa debuted at no. 20 on San Pellegrino's list of best restaurants in the world. Selected by fellow chefs as well as food critics and other experts,...
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 8, 2009

Sweet wines starting to trickle out of Romania

Since ancient times, wave upon wave of foreign conquests have washed over Romania, changing — sometimes obliterating — parts of the region's cultural identity.
COMMENTARY / World
May 6, 2009

Russia applies a politically correct legality

MOSCOW — Colonel Yuri Budanov is a convicted rapist and murderer. After serving half his prison sentence for the rape and murder of an 18-year-old Chechen, Elsa Kungayeva, he was released last December.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 5, 2009

Mean streets feared under Tokyo's new safety law

Last month a group of activists called Dystopia Tokyo called a protest against what they described as a "Draconian" new city ordinance by conservative Gov. Shintaro Ishihara.
EDITORIALS
Apr 24, 2009

Tokyo by-law threatens freedoms

Street performances are fun for many people and give character to streets and communities such as Tokyo's Shibuya, Harajuku, Akihabara and Kichijoji areas. But now such activities may be restricted or banned due to a revision of the Tokyo metropolitan by-law for "the building of safe and secure communities,"...
BUSINESS
Apr 10, 2009

JAL may seek DBJ funding as bond redemptions loom

Japan Airlines Corp., Asia's most indebted carrier, said Thursday it may seek funds from state-run Development Bank of Japan to repay debt as widening losses make it harder for the carrier to borrow from bond markets.
LIFE / CLOSE-UP
Apr 5, 2009

Hiroshi Mikitani: Retail revolutionary

On a bitterly cold mid-February day, in the midst of an even harsher economic climate, Hiroshi Mikitani — founder, president and CEO of one of Japan's largest online retailers, Rakuten Inc. — shook off a slight cold to announce at a concise news conference that in fiscal 2008 his company had achieved...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2009

JR bans smoking at Tokyo-area stations

April marks the beginning of the business year, and for Tokyo-area train stations, a breath of fresher air.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2009

172 teachers lose suit over 'Kimigayo'

The Tokyo District Court rejected a damages suit Thursday filed by 172 teachers who were punished for refusing to sing the "Kimigayo" national anthem at school events.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Mar 26, 2009

Okada reaps the benefits as Hasebe builds on potential

Shunsuke Nakamura and Yasuhito Endo will be expected to provide the artistry in Japan's World Cup qualifier at home to Bahrain on Saturday, but no player can build a cathedral without someone to carry the bricks.
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Mar 24, 2009

Designers, artists take stage for direct route to the people

An unusual mix of designers, architects, painters, and non-artists gathered last month at SuperDeluxe, an event space in Tokyo's Nishi Azabu. They had one thing in common — something they wanted to show and talk about.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2009

Activist views homeless in realistic light

Social activist Makoto Yuasa caused a stir by bringing poverty out into the open when he teamed up with unions and nonprofit organizations to open a tent village for jobless people in Tokyo's Hibiya Park over the yearend holidays.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 27, 2009

'The Life Before Her Eyes'

A woman's life isn't easy at 17 years old, and it doesn't get much better at 32, even when the woman is equipped with shimmering blonde hair and dazzling outfits that look they jumped straight out of a Ralph Lauren ad.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Feb 17, 2009

Kanagawa Prefecture can be Japan's clean-air trailblazer

Dear Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa,
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Feb 16, 2009

Germans, Japanese have good reasons for shunning equities

S tock markets around the world are really beginning to feel the effects of the financial crisis of 2008, with some industry watchers estimating that as much as $30 trillion of total market capitalization has been lost worldwide since 2007. This is hurting investors everywhere, big and small.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 31, 2009

Car crazy and lovin' the fast lane

Simon Sproule appreciates the benefits of globalization. "The world has globalized so much since I left the U.K. in 1998 that I can get access to British media or Marmite on toast almost anywhere, anytime," he says, referring to the popular yeast extract spread.

Longform

Eme-Ima Kitchen is one of over 10,000 kodomo shokudō in Japan. A term first used in 2012 to describe makeshift eateries offering free or cheap meals to disadvantaged kids, it now refers to a diverse range of individuals, groups and organizations working to provide not only food but a sense of belonging to both children and adults.
Japan’s ‘children’s cafeterias’ are booming — but is that a good thing?