Search - 2003

 
 
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2004

State to push for child-care leave at all companies

In the latest effort to arrest the nation's falling birthrate, a government task force Friday approved a new five-year plan that includes numerical targets and the introduction of child-care leave at all companies.
Dec 25, 2004

State to push for child-care leave at all companies

In the latest effort to arrest the nation's falling birthrate, a government task force Friday approved a new five-year plan that includes numerical targets and the introduction of child-care leave at all companies.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2004

Lawmaker to quit Diet over court ruling

A Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker said Thursday that she would resign from the Diet in response to the Supreme Court's dismissal of an appeal by campaign workers for her and another DPJ member of the House of Representatives over campaign violations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 22, 2004

Bang a gong for . . .

The '60s Live! Award: Tie between Art Garfunkel and David Crosby, both of whom were busted for marijuana possession.
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2004

Finance Ministry requests 3.8% cut in foreign aid

Amid the nation's continued tight finances, the Finance Ministry proposed Monday a 3.8 percent cut in foreign aid in fiscal 2005 for the sixth straight year of decrease in the initial budget.
Dec 21, 2004

Finance Ministry requests 3.8% cut in foreign aid

Amid the nation's continued tight finances, the Finance Ministry proposed Monday a 3.8 percent cut in foreign aid in fiscal 2005 for the sixth straight year of decrease in the initial budget.
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2004

Parents deny medical care for children

Nearly 20 percent of hospitals with pediatric departments responding to a survey said that parents had refused last year to allow their children to receive medical treatment recommended by doctors, it was learned Sunday.
Dec 20, 2004

Parents deny medical care for children

Nearly 20 percent of hospitals with pediatric departments responding to a survey said that parents had refused last year to allow their children to receive medical treatment recommended by doctors, it was learned Sunday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 17, 2004

Giants give Nishi deadline to re-sign

The Yomiuri Giants demanded Wednesday that free-agent infielder Toshihisa Nishi decide by Monday whether to re-sign with the Central League team or pursue a career in the major leagues, club representative Hidetoshi Kiyotake said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2004

Japan gets intellectual on property rights

From the witness stand, patent manager Hiroshi Ikeda of Asia Manufacturing Co. stares at a copy of a critical e-mail. In it, AMC managers instruct engineers to procure 10 samples of a golf club grip marketed by Sports Grip Co. of the United States for "reverse engineering."
JAPAN
Dec 7, 2004

Rightwinger who shot Nagasaki mayor in trouble again

A senior member of a rightwing group who served prison time for shooting a Nagasaki mayor was arrested Monday for allegedly defaming a female lawyer, police said.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 5, 2004

Telephone fraud is criminally dumb at the end of the line

Misfortune for some can be entertaining to the rest of us. Microwaved poodles and death-by-sexual-dalliance often have such a ridiculous aura about them that we tend not to identify with the victims because the stupidity inferred precludes any feelings of sympathy.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 4, 2004

Knives out for Kofi Annan

One would think that the cheerleaders for waging war on Saddam Hussein's Iraq, on the thoroughly discredited grounds that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, would have retreated into a period of quiet introspection. In fact, it is as difficult to find any trace of embarrassment, humility or...
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2004

Recycling of household appliances 'going smoothly'

YASHIRO, Hyogo Pref. -- A Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. plant that recycles household appliances in the town of Yashiro, Hyogo Prefecture, attracts 10,000 visitors annually.
JAPAN / BY THE NUMBERS
Dec 3, 2004

1 yen entrepreneurial startup fee sound too easy?

Setting up companies in Japan is getting easier as the government tries to encourage more people to become entrepreneurs.
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2004

UFJ, Misawa Homes reportedly to seek IRCJ aid

UFJ Bank and Misawa Homes Holdings Inc. are finishing preparations to seek help from the Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan to restructure the struggling home builder, sources close to the move said Saturday.
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2004

34 sectors' CO 2 output up 1%: industry lobby

Carbon dioxide emissions from Japan's 34 major industrial sectors rose 1 percent in fiscal 2003 from the previous year to 502.39 million tons, for a second straight yearly rise, the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) said Friday.
BUSINESS
Nov 27, 2004

Once 'poor food,' cereals now healthy choice

Barn grass, millet, foxtail millet and other cereals, regarded as "poor food" at a time when people had little rice to eat, are becoming more popular with health-conscious women.
JAPAN
Nov 26, 2004

Bic Camera searched over unpaid overtime

The Tokyo Labor Bureau on Thursday searched the offices of discount electrical appliance retailer Bic Camera Co., which is suspected of failing to pay employees for overtime.
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2004

'Howl's Moving Castle' conjures up box-office record

Famed director Hayao Miyazaki's latest animated film, "Howl's Moving Castle," chalked up 1.48 billion yen in box-office revenue and attracted an audience of 1.1 million people in its first two days of release.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2004

Ex-Rengo exec to avoid prison time over dental bribes

The Tokyo District Court sentenced a former vice president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) to a suspended one-year prison term Friday for accepting bribes from the nation's main dental lobby while serving on a government advisory panel.
BUSINESS
Nov 16, 2004

Kumagai Gumi, Tobishima scrap planned merger

Struggling second-tier construction companies Kumagai Gumi Co. and Tobishima Corp. will scrap their planned April 1 merger, the two companies announced Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2004

Doctor hits immigration center health care

For more than three years, Dr. Junpei Yamamura has visited the Higashi-Nihon Immigration Center in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, once a month.
Japan Times
Features
Nov 7, 2004

Love her or hate her...

Nahoko Takato became famous on the night of April 8 this year, when the Arab satellite broadcaster Al-Jazeera aired video footage of her and two other Japanese held blindfolded at gunpoint in Iraq.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2004

Suzuki fined, handed two-year term

The Tokyo District Court on Friday sentenced former House of Representatives lawmaker Muneo Suzuki to two years in prison and fined him 11 million yen for accepting bribes, falsifying a political funds report and perjury.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2004

Panel OKs sanctions on North

A Liberal Democratic Party panel studying North Korea's abduction of Japanese nationals stepped up the pressure on Pyongyang on Friday by approving an interim report that outlines steps for imposing economic sanctions on the reclusive state.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2004

No letup in suffering of Iraqi innocents

NEW YORK -- Recent information on the consequences of the Iraq war on civilians and children only confirms a devastating picture of the situation. According to an article in the medical magazine The Lancet, there have been more than 100,000 civilians deaths since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. The...

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?