search

 
 
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2004

Reincarnated banks pitch brighter, better service

With their long lines and officelike interiors, typical Japanese banks can be a turnoff for customers.
Japan Times
Dec 31, 2004

Lightning strike alters teen's life in a flash

It was summer 1996: A typhoon was approaching Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, and a thunderstorm advisory was in effect.
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2004

Shinsei shareholder to spread stake

New LTCB Partners C.V., Shinsei Bank's largest shareholder, will distribute 61 percent of its 65 percent stake in the bank to shareholders by the end of next March, Shinsei Bank said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / READERS' FUND
Dec 31, 2004

Group helps finance poor Filipino kids' schooling

PAG-ASA Group Japan has been helping to school poverty-stricken children in Paco and Muntinlupe in and near Manila through financial aid since 1989.
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2004

Year of shattered ideals

This year was widely expected to be a pageant of democracy. Elections were scheduled around the world, and they went off, almost without exception, without a hitch. That happy outcome was the brightest result in a year colored by disappointment. The year 2004 may well be remembered for the many promises...
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2004

Probe sheds light on Seibu Railway share shenanigans

Former Kokudo Corp. Chairman Yoshiaki Tsutsumi sold up to 3 billion yen in shares of subsidiary Seibu Railway Co. to each of three buyers before a report-falsification came to light in October, according to the buyer companies.
Japan Times
Dec 31, 2004

Princess Nori's engagement announced

Princess Nori, the only daughter of Emperor Akihito, will marry Yoshiki Kuroda, a Tokyo Metropolitan Government employee, the Imperial Household Agency said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2004

Scope of trust operations broadened

A revised law took effect Thursday that expands the scope of assets that can be put in trust and broadening the range of trust business operators.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2004

Laying a foundation for a new East Asia

SINGAPORE -- Optimism for East Asian integration and community building ran high at the conclusion of the 10th ASEAN Summit on Nov. 30 in Vientiane, Laos, and the back-to-back meetings between the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its Asia-Pacific partners -- China, Japan, South Korea,...
Dec 31, 2004

Donations welcomed for tsunami survivors

The Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia, Osaka, is accepting all forms of assistance for survivors of the earthquake off Sumatra Island and subsequent tsunamis that hit South and Southeast Asia on Sunday.
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2004

Daiei may exit Okinawa, Shikoku

Daiei Inc. might shut down all of its stores in Okinawa, Shikoku and the Chugoku region based on a revival plan mapped out by the Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan, sources said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 30, 2004

Mr. Yushchenko's work begins

Opposition party candidate Viktor Yushchenko has won Ukraine's presidency. At least, that's what a count of nearly 100 percent of the ballots shows following last weekend's rerun of the November runoff election. It is still unclear, though, whether Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych will accept the results....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2004

Tokyo area gets its first snowfall

The Tokyo area's first snow of the winter fell Wednesday. The Meteorological Agency said the snowfall came four days earlier than usual and two days later than last year's. By later in the day, the snow had given way to rain.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2004

Doraemon handler calls FCC copycat

The Japanese agency for a popular cartoon series featuring the robotic cat Doraemon has sent a complaint to a U.S. government agency over its use of a "quite similar" character on its Web site.
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2004

Groups welcome tsunami relief funds

The massive earthquake off Indonesia's Sumatra Island and subsequent tsunamis that hit South and Southeast Asia on Sunday have left untold numbers of dead in devastated beach resorts and coastal communities in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Rugby
Dec 30, 2004

Inventive approach from Toshiba's coach is rewarded with Top League crown

The Toshiba Brave Lupus players may well have made some last-minute additions to the New Year cards they sent out this year following last Sunday's two Top League games.
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2004

Individuals made 30% of trades in '04: brokers

Widespread use of the Internet for stock trading has lured more individuals to the market.
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2004

IRCJ to set up new Daiei management team in May: Saito

The Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan plans to set up a new management team for ailing retailer Daiei Inc., IRCJ President Atsushi Saito said Wednesday.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 30, 2004

Japan gripped by obsession with pure love

2004 was the year of jun-ai (pure love), epitomized by the huge popularity of Yon-sama (the reverential nickname for Bae Yong Joon, star of the hit Korean drama "Winter Sonata") and a craze for sentimental love stories that gripped the nation from Hokkaido to the Okinawa.
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2004

Realtors form strategic partnership

Struggling condominium builder Towa Real Estate Development Co. said Wednesday that Mitsubishi Estate Co. will become its largest shareholder under an agreement to create a "strategic partnership."
Japan Times
Dec 30, 2004

Tokyo area gets its first snowfall

The Tokyo area's first snow of the winter fell Wednesday. The Meteorological Agency said the snowfall came four days earlier than usual and two days later than last year's. By later in the day, the snow had given way to rain.
COMMENTARY
Dec 30, 2004

Enough of grievance politics

DUBAI/LONDON -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been in the Middle East recently, asserting that the Israel-Palestine dispute is "the most important issue facing the world today."

Longform

A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?