Search - 2003

 
 
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 10, 2007

Pro-Taiwan, not anti-China

TAIPEI — In 2003, while still serving as U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia, I was asked by Taiwanese reporters what the U.S. view would be on the proposal for Taiwan to hold a national referendum with the 2004 election. My convoluted answer could have been summarized more concisely...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 20, 2007

Upping the fear factor

The government and media would have you believe that Japan has lost its mantle as a safe country. Apparently we live amidst a spree of heinous crimes. Accurate? Not very, according to a new academic study. But before we get to that, let's take stock of one alleged cause of this "crime wave," this decade's...
Japan Times
LIFE
Jan 7, 2007

Bordeaux breaks the bank

Heralded as an exceptional vintage, premier crus 2003 Bordeaux wines are now on the market, much to the delight of wine enthusiasts -- albeit at surprisingly high prices that may rather dilute that delight.
BUSINESS
Oct 12, 2006

Recent ills involving Sony goods

August 2006 -- Sony lithium ion batteries installed in computers of Dell Inc. and Apple Computer Inc. may potentially overheat and catch fire. Other major computer makers subsequently announce the same problem with their Sony batteries.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 10, 2006

There's an art to saving country life

Just a few hours north of Tokyo's seemingly endless sprawl is the mountainous region of Echigo-Tsumari in Niigata Prefecture. Like so many other rural parts of northern Japan, it is a rugged, isolated, aging and economically stagnant place where elderly men and women can be found doubled over in terraced...
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2006

Change to allow foreign political funds

Running for office doesn't come cheap. Politicians need money for posters, vans, venues for speeches and meals for volunteers. The problem for aspirants to office is that political donations are falling, and corporate money in particular is dwindling fast.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 30, 2005

'Secret' dolphin slaughter defies protests

Japan's annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins began Oct. 8 in the traditional whaling town of Taiji on the Kii Peninsula of Honshu's Wakayama Prefecture. These "drive fisheries" triggered demonstrations, held under the "Japan Dolphin Day" banner, in 28 countries. The protests went almost entirely...
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2005

Marubeni fined 100 million yen for evading taxes

Tax authorities have found that Marubeni Corp. intentionally concealed about 600 million yen in income over three years through March 31, 2003, sources close to the case said Saturday.
BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2005

Market value of state pension schemes rose in '03 stock rally

The market values of Japan's two public pension schemes grew in fiscal 2003, which ended in March 2004, thanks to a stock market rally, the government said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2005

Ex-Mitsui officials held in diesel filter scam

Tokyo police on Tuesday arrested two former Mitsui & Co. employees and a former executive of a Mitsui subsidiary on suspicion of fabricating test data to obtain official approval for a diesel particulate filter.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2005

Burglary-slaying suspect extradited

Police said Thursday they have arrested a South Korean man handed over to Japan under a bilateral extradition treaty in connection with a series of burglaries in Tokyo in 2003 and his possible involvement in a robbery-murder.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2005

Birthrate yet again falls to record

Japan's total fertility rate sank to 1.28 in calendar 2004, marking an all-time low for the fourth straight year, with the number of babies born in the year also falling to a record low 1.11 million, the government said Wednesday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 22, 2005

Rambo comes marching home

"I broke down on the flight back from Vietnam, went crazy, shouting, screaming. It took several men to restrain me. . . . For years it was all I could think about, going home. Then when it finally happened, I snapped."
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 21, 2005

Stock, flow of economy provide key insight into monetary policy

More attention is being focused on Japan's monetary policy, given the changing economic environment at home and overseas.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 20, 2005

Who says you can't teach old baseball teams new tricks?

"New" is the watchword for Japanese baseball in 2005.
COMMENTARY
Feb 21, 2005

Pyongyang toeing 'red line'

North Korea shocked the world with its announcement Feb. 10 that it will "indefinitely" stay away from the six-party talks on its nuclear arms program and that it already has nuclear weapons.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 19, 2005

With spring training near, end of line for George, Peta here?

With just 13 days remaining until the start of spring training, it appears George Arias and Roberto Petagine may have reached the end of the line in their productive careers in Japanese pro baseball.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jan 9, 2005

Keiko Sakai: Conundrum Iraq

One year ago this month, an advance team from Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) arrived in Iraq on a mission -- so the Japanese public was told -- to help rebuild the wartorn country. The rest of the main contingent of 600 troops soon followed.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2004

Heart surgeon under suspicion of malpractice

Three patients with defective heart valves died between January and March 2003 after undergoing operations performed by the same cardiac surgeon at Tokyo Medical University Hospital, informed sources said Saturday.
Dec 12, 2004

Heart surgeon under suspicion of malpractice

Three patients with defective heart valves died between January and March 2003 after undergoing operations performed by the same cardiac surgeon at Tokyo Medical University Hospital, informed sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2004

Japan's prisons bursting at the seams

The nation saw 61,534 people incarcerated as of the end of 2003, topping the 60,000 mark for the first time since 1960.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2004

Gang-rape ringleader gets 14 years

The Tokyo District Court sentenced the former leader of a Waseda University club to 14 years in prison Tuesday for masterminding the gang-rapes of three female students in 2001 and 2003.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2004

Tourists get cheaper shinkansen tours

Budget-minded travelers from overseas wanting to ride Japan's famous but pricey bullet trains can now get a break from Tokaido Shinkansen Line operator Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) and leading travel agency JTB Corp.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2004

Radio-set watches try to keep time with Swiss

Japanese watch makers, long overshadowed by luxury Swiss brands, have found their niche: radio-controlled watches.
JAPAN / BY THE NUMBERS
Jul 30, 2004

Antitheft devices now not just for luxury cars

A few years ago, car-security devices were found mainly in luxury vehicles. But as crimes involving vehicles increase, security gadgets are becoming more widely used, even in economy cars.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2004

Asia seizing new opportunities in Africa

In the Senegalese city of Thies, a new enterprise, "Senbus," is assembling 30-seat buses for the domestic and regional markets. The first units of this first vehicle factory in Senegal rolled out the plant's doors in September 2003, thanks to a partnership between Senegalese investors and Tata International,...

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?