Search - 2004

 
 
BUSINESS
Feb 15, 2005

Nonresidents buy record 15 trillion yen in stocks, bonds

Nonresident investors remained net buyers of Japanese stocks and bonds in 2004 for the second straight year, with net purchases reaching a record 14.99 trillion yen, the Finance Ministry said Monday.
BUSINESS
Feb 11, 2005

Machinery orders up 4.4% in '04

Core private-sector machinery orders expanded 4.4 percent in 2004 from the previous year, marking a second straight annual increase, the government said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Feb 10, 2005

More warnings of bird flu

Rising numbers of cases of avian flu in Asia are fueling fears of a global outbreak. The disease appears to be resurfacing in the region, and health officials worry that they do not have the tools to fight it. A mutation that allows the disease to pass from person to person could be the spark that sets...
COMMENTARY
Feb 8, 2005

LDP missing the big picture

How to privatize postal services is the biggest issue in the regular Diet session. The government plans to introduce a privatization package in mid-March, and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has vowed to "get it through the current session at all costs." But with many members of the Liberal Democratic...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 6, 2005

Tokyo as fragmented as its observers

KUHAKU & OTHER ACCOUNTS FROM JAPAN, by various artists, edited by Bruce Rutledge. Chin Music Press, 2004, 224 pp., 3,500 yen (cloth). TOKYO FRAGMENTS, by Ryuji Morita, Tomomi Muramatsu, Mariko Hayashi, Makoto Shiina, Chiya Fujino; translated by Giles Murray. IBC Publishing, 2004, 206 pp., 2,100 yen (cloth). "To...
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Feb 3, 2005

"Pirates!" "Mammalabilia"

"Pirates!" Celia Rees, Bloomsbury; 2004; 296 pp. Celia Rees's "Pirates!" is a gripping read from page one: It gains on you like Blackbeard's fearsome pirate ships, takes you hostage, and holds you without mercy till the last page. Her story of two young women taking to a life at sea as pirates is so...
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2005

Workforce grows 0.4%; monthly wages fall 0.7%

The number of workers on regular payrolls remained virtually unchanged in 2004, edging up just 0.4 percent from the previous year to 42.83 million.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 30, 2005

Bathhouse pushes a foreigner into the doghouse

JAPANESE ONLY: The Otaru Hot Springs Case and Racial Discrimination in Japan, by Debito Arudou. Tokyo: Akashi Shoten, 2004, 407 pp., 3,500 yen (paper). Discrimination is an all too common experience for non-Japanese residents who study, work, marry and raise families here. Many of us have come to terms...
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2005

Canon logs record net profit despite snarling competition

Canon Inc. said Friday its net profit for 2004 jumped 25 percent from a year earlier to a record 343.34 billion yen, driven by robust sales of multifunctional copiers, laser printers and digital cameras.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2005

Sony operating profit down 13% on poor electronics sales in quarter

Sony Corp. said Thursday its operating profit dropped 13 percent on a year-on-year basis to 138.2 billion yen in the October-December period, dragged down by weak sales of conventional televisions and portable audio products.
BUSINESS
Jan 27, 2005

National burden ratio likely to rise

The national burden ratio -- the portion of taxes and social welfare premiums in national income -- is projected to rise to 35.9 percent in fiscal 2005, up 0.2 percentage point from fiscal 2004, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / 10 YEARS AFTER
Jan 21, 2005

Quake-preparedness a patchwork effort

The thicket of wood houses and small shops that line the warren of alleys just east of Tokyo's Sumida River in the Higashi-Mukojima 1-chome district has been deemed "highly dangerous" by disaster-preparedness authorities.
Japan Times
JAPAN / 10 YEARS AFTER
Jan 18, 2005

City's new face conceals unhealed wounds, a sense of communities lost

KOBE -- A decade after the massive Kobe earthquake, there remains little visible trace of the damage to this port city.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 16, 2005

When details of war stories metamorphose into tall tales

ZERO OVER BERLIN, by Joh Sasaki (translated by Hiroko Yoda with Matt Alt), New York: Vertical, 2004, 346 pp., $22.95 (cloth). BLACK WIND, by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler. New York: Putnam, 2004, 532 pp., $27.95 (cloth). "Zero over Berlin," translated from Joh Sasaki's 1988 novel, is based on the premise...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 9, 2005

The occupied days of the ultimate observer

THE JAPAN JOURNALS: 1947-2004, by Donald Richie. Stone Bridge Press, 2004, 494 pp., $29.95 (cloth). In "The Japan Journals," American writer Donald Richie has acted to the letter on Rimbaud's conviction that the first study for the man who wants to be a poet "is to know himself, completely. He must search...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 7, 2005

Batista set for Hawks

The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks have reached an agreement to sign veteran slugger Tony Batista, baseball sources said on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Jan 6, 2005

Lessons from last year's landmark U.S. election

WASHINGTON -- The last election that we just endured is still being quantified and dissected. From the seemingly endless forums and reviews that have flowed since Nov. 2, we are learning a bit about how our elections are run and won.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 29, 2004

Eagles hope to soar in first year with acquisition of Iwakuma

Here is my final column of 2004, the most tumultuous year in the history of Japanese pro baseball.
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2004

Tokyo consumer prices fall for sixth consecutive year

The key gauge of consumer prices in Tokyo dropped 0.2 percent in 2004 from the previous year for the sixth straight year of decline, due mainly to falls in prices of personal computers and durable home appliances, the government said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Dec 29, 2004

Cheers to contemporary art

The years are passing too quickly for this no-longer-young critic. Lest you think me embittered, let me start this year in review on a high note by trumpeting the star of 2004, a grand old dame who looks as bright and new as the day she was born -- the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art. Built in the Bauhaus...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 26, 2004

Great goalkeeper not a necessity for a championship club

LONDON -- There is a growing suspicion that apart from having the best team in the Premiership, Chelsea also has the two best goalkeepers in England's top league.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 22, 2004

Kitajima, Asashoryu win inaugural FSAJ Sportsman of the Year honors

Kosuke Kitajima won two gold medals at the Athens Games this summer.
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.
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2004

Government targets 1.6% growth in '05

The economy is projected to grow 1.6 percent in real terms in fiscal 2005 on the back of steady personal spending and growth in overseas economies, the government said Monday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 19, 2004

Stamp of identity for artist of a troubled double heritage

THE LIFE OF ISAMU NOGUCHI: Journey Without Borders, by Masayo Duus, translated by Peter Duus. Princeton University Press, 2004, 340 pp., 36 half-tone photos, $29.95 (cloth). ISAMU NOGUCHI: Master Sculptor, by Valerie J. Fletcher, with contributions by Dana Miller and Bonnie Rychlak. London: Scala Publishers,...
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2004

Local tax grants escape financial ax

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki and Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Taro Aso agreed Saturday to earmark 16.9 trillion yen in tax grants for local governments next fiscal year, unchanged from this year, according to Finance Ministry officials.
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2004

Fiscal 2005 budget to see slight rise to 82.2 trillion yen

The government plans to increase the state budget in fiscal 2005 to 82.2 trillion yen, up slightly from the initial budget of 82.1 trillion yen requested for fiscal 2004, due partly to a rise in debt-servicing costs, Finance Ministry officials said Friday.
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
Dec 16, 2004

'Tankan' sees first slide in 21 months; recovery past peak

Business confidence at Japan's large manufacturers in the October-December quarter worsened for the first time in 21 months, and the outlook for next quarter is even dimmer, according to the Bank of Japan's closely watched "tankan" survey released Wednesday.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?