Search - 2005

 
 
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 29, 2006

Children's welfare in the doghouse

This past week the nation was shocked by the news of yet another small child who died at the hands of abusive and negligent adults.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 27, 2006

Bloc Party

Like Franz Ferdinand the year before, in 2005 Bloc Party were pegged by the British press to be the breakout act of the year. A solid prediction, the London quartet's first full length, "Silent Alarm," was met with worldwide acclaim, turning BP into bona fide stars at home and establishing sizeable fan...
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2006

Sony apologizes for defective batteries

Sony Corp. Vice President Yutaka Nakagawa apologized Tuesday for causing concern among customers over problems with its lithium-ion batteries that have led to a massive worldwide recall.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 2006

The rising wealth of nations

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut -- The new Penn World Table, Version 6.2, comparing standards of living across countries, has just been released. The latest figures are for 2004, and, because of data lags, not all countries are included. Yet these numbers are valuable because they are of exceptional quality and...
EDITORIALS
Oct 24, 2006

An altered state of recovery

The Cabinet Office said in its monthly economic report for October that the current economic expansion, now in its 57th month, has tied Japan's longest "boom" of the postwar period, which occurred during the second half of the 1960s. With the current economic recovery expected to continue, it is certain...
BUSINESS
Oct 22, 2006

L.A. mayor makes tourism pitch

Visiting Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa engaged in a tourism campaign Friday and Saturday designed to attract more Japanese travelers to the West Coast city.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 12, 2006

Beijing challenges the West in Africa

PRAGUE -- Ever since the Berlin conference of 1883, which Belgium's King Leopold II called "the sharing of Africa's cake," the West has assumed exclusive rights over sub-Saharan Africa. But, while centuries of struggle to end colonial rule and apartheid have not changed this much, now Western influence...
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.
BUSINESS
Oct 12, 2006

Hitachi announces bid for control of Clarion

Hitachi Ltd. said Wednesday it will launch a tender offer on Oct. 25 to acquire a controlling stake in Clarion Co., a leading maker of car audio and navigation equipment, to boost the group's sales in the growing car information systems market.
BUSINESS
Oct 11, 2006

Businesses welcome Chinese thaw but remain cautious

The business community greeted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Sunday summit in Beijing with Chinese President Hu Jintao, billed as a fence-mending effort by the two countries, with a sigh of relief.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 8, 2006

With a month to go, baseball season here far from over

Do you think the professional baseball season ends in Japan in October?
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2006

Aeon good partner for Daiei but road ahead is still rocky

With Daiei Inc. expected to take Aeon Co. as its business partner, analysts say Daiei still faces a big challenge to turn its business around.
BUSINESS
Oct 5, 2006

U.S. beef hard sell as concern lingers, Aussies fill void

Michal Small has been waiting eagerly for the return of U.S. beef to Japan, but it seems the American will have to wait a while longer before the Roppongi Hills restaurants she frequents start serving the fare again.
EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2006

Dearth of life-giving kidneys

A man who received a kidney for transplant from a living donor at Tokushukai Hospital in Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture, and a woman close to him have been arrested on suspicion of giving cash to the donor for the donor's left kidney. Since monetary exchange between a patient and donor threatens the ethical...
COMMENTARY
Oct 2, 2006

Weakness prods Pyongyang

Though impoverished and starved, North Korea owns nuclear arms and is developing long-range ballistic missiles, thus posing a growing military threat to the Asia-Pacific region.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 30, 2006

Buffaloes linked with move for Collins

Katsuhiro Nakamura is no longer in the Orix Buffaloes' plans, and the franchise's third manager in its three-year existence is likely to be a foreigner, according to reports in the Japanese media.
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...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 24, 2006

Softbank's Saito better statistically than Matsuzaka, Kuroda

We mentioned here last week that major league scouts visiting Japan think Chunichi Dragons outfielder Kosuke Fukudome is the best Japanese position player in the Central or Pacific Leagues, but who is the best pitcher?
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 23, 2006

Sony takes center stage at Tokyo Game Show

CHIBA -- The nation's biggest game exhibition kicked off at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba on Friday as industry officials and media reporters took a peek at the next-generation video-game consoles before they hit the stores later this year.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2006

Political career of Shinzo Abe

Major events in Shinzo Abe's career:
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 21, 2006

Only good designs

If there's anything that design has taught us in recent years, it's that without it, the world around us would certainly be a much less interesting place.
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 19, 2006

Toyota chasing German luxury makes

The launch Tuesday of Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus LS model will be an important gauge of success for the Lexus marque in Japan's fiercely competitive luxury car segment.
JAPAN / LASTING IMPACT
Sep 17, 2006

Timeline of Asahara's court saga

Following is a chronology of events linked to the trial of Aum Shinrikyo cult founder Shoko Asahara:
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2006

Murakami now plans court battle

Yoshiaki Murakami, the founder of Japan's best-known investment fund, intends to plead not guilty to insider trading charges despite admitting to them at the time of his indictment, judicial sources said Saturday.

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake