Search - 2004

 
 
EDITORIALS
Oct 26, 2006

Checking violence at school

The number of violent incidents at public elementary schools nationwide rose by 128 to 2,018 in fiscal 2005 -- a new record for the third consecutive year, according to the education ministry's report entitled "Research on Problematic Behavior."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 26, 2006

"47 Loyal Retainers" for the 40th anniversary

''My appointment by Commissioner Hayao Kawai of the Agency for Cultural Affairs to direct the Japan Arts Council came as a total surprise," says Kazuaki Tsuda, "though I must confess I am having a great time. I spent 50 years selling whisky, and now I am selling culture!"
CULTURE / Books
Oct 22, 2006

It would be a crime to underestimate the gardener

This past summer I was delighted to discover a new "ethnic detective" character named Masuo "Mas" Arai, an elderly Japanese-American gardener whose credentials include a green thumb and a nose for sniffing out criminals. The creation of Los Angeles-based journalist and author Naomi Hirahara, Arai made...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 20, 2006

IC you're old enough to buy cigarettes: new vending machines

Driven by growing concerns over potential health problems of underage smoking, the tobacco industry will introduce vending machines featuring an age-verification system in 2008 to prevent minors from buying cigarettes.
EDITORIALS
Oct 18, 2006

A more user-friendly legal system

A nationwide system now offers people easy access to legal advice and services. On Oct. 2, the services of Nihon Shiho Shien Senta (Japan Legal Support Center) or Ho Terasu (Law Terrace) became available to anyone, including those involved in civil cases or those who have been arrested on suspicion of...
EDITORIALS
Oct 15, 2006

Not all voters are equal

The Supreme Court ruled Oct. 5 that the 2004 Upper House election was carried out in a constitutional way, despite a 5.13-fold disparity in the weight of one vote between the most populated electoral district and the least populated one.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Sep 30, 2006

Rooney's slump shows striker is far from the finished article

LONDON -- Ruud van Nistelrooy was sold to Real Madrid there was a theory that the reason was because Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believed Louis Saha was a better partner for Wayne Rooney than the Dutchman.
EDITORIALS
Sep 27, 2006

Aum leader's trial finally ends

The long trial of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara ended Sept. 15 when the Supreme Court rejected a special appeal by lawyers for Asahara. The top court's decision affirmed the February 2004 ruling of the Tokyo District Court, which found the cult leader guilty of 13 criminal counts, the most serious...
BUSINESS
Sep 24, 2006

BTM UFJ hit over money laundering

U.S. financial authorities are contemplating imposing an administrative punishment on the U.S. units of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ for its allegedly lax monitoring against money laundering, sources said Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2006

Tokyo teachers win anthem fight

The Tokyo District Court on Thursday ordered the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to pay 12.03 million yen, or 30,000 yen each, in compensation to 401 teachers who objected to a city directive obliging them to stand and sing the national anthem at school ceremonies.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2006

Murakami is granted pretrial proceedings

The Tokyo District Court decided Tuesday to hold pretrial proceedings on the founder of Japan's best-known investment fund, Yoshiaki Murakami, who has been charged with insider trading, according to sources.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2006

Asahara's execution finalized

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a special appeal by lawyers for Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara, finalizing the death sentence for the man who masterminded the cult's horrific nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995.
BUSINESS
Sep 15, 2006

Mixi skyrockets in stock market debut

Shares of Mixi Inc., Japan's most popular social networking site, shot up during the company's stock market debut Thursday as buy orders swamped sell orders and more than doubled its initially offered price.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 12, 2006

Elder Manning teaches brother another lesson on gridiron

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- When Eli Manning was playing for Ole Miss, his elder brother Peyton, who already established himself as one of the top passers in the NFL, taught him how to study films and how to read the defense.
EDITORIALS
Sep 12, 2006

War on terror side effects

Five years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, the global war on terror initiated by the world's only superpower is still in a dark tunnel, and no ray of hope has yet appeared. In October that year, the U.S. started war in Afghanistan to put down Taliban Islamic fundamentalists....
EDITORIALS
Sep 9, 2006

Mr. Horie gets his day in court

Mr. Takafumi Horie, once the high-flying president of the Internet service firm Livedoor Co., who was known for his T-shirt-and-slacks attire, appeared in public this week in a suit and tie. This time he was in Tokyo District Court charged with violating the securities law. Reflecting not only public...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 5, 2006

CL to follow PL playoff model

The Central League will introduce a three-team, two-stage playoff system next year that has gained support among Pacific League backers, the Nippon Professional Baseball executive committee decided Monday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 2, 2006

A bridge to Latin America

The amount of Japanese cultural and educational activities conducted in Latin America has been flat or in decline over the last five years. The Japan Foundation, the largest Japanese nonprofit organization engaged in international cultural exchange, spent around 800 million yen on activities related...
BASKETBALL
Aug 27, 2006

Manu carries Argentina into last 8

Manu Ginobili has never shunned the spotlight. And he wasn't going to start on Saturday.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 27, 2006

'Disguised contracting' gets proper airing in media . . . with results

The main front page story of the July 31 Asahi Shimbun was about the prefectural labor bureaus cracking down on major manufacturers for improper employment practices; in particular, something called giso ukeoi, or "disguised contracting."
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2006

Sandstorm drop belies west China desertification

is a problem that needs to be treated," Diallo told reporters. "If it is not treated, it spreads." The adverse effects of desertification in western China have been visible in Japan. Sandstorms that carry the Gobi desert's "kousa" yellow sand eastward increased substantially since 2000.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2006

State glory: gulag of the Russian mind

NEW YORK -- It is now 15 years since the failed coup of August 1991 against Mikhail Gorbachev. At the time, Gorbachev's policies of perestroika and glasnost were seen by Soviet hardliners as a sellout of communist Russia to the capitalist West. But it is now clear that the KGB and the military who launched...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2006

Motorcyclists to get some help from government on parking

Hideo Sakata remembers the time of "lawlessness" when it was easy to find a place in Tokyo's Roppongi district to park his motorcycle.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2006

Office staff stressed out amid rising competition

Office workers, particularly those in their 30s, are increasingly stressed and struck by mental health problems, partly because of grueling corporate competition, a new study shows.

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.