search

 
 
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 22, 2002

'Tommy' Suharto trial also tests judiciary

JAKARTA -- The youngest son of former Indonesian President Suharto went to trial for murder Wednesday. The case is probably the most important test yet of the credibility of Indonesia's legal system. Hutomo Mandala Putra, better known as Tommy, stands accused of masterminding the murder of a Supreme...
BUSINESS
Mar 22, 2002

Culture clash arises out of FTA deliberations

Japan and Mexico have made it halfway through what for Japan remains an unexplored tunnel and are beginning to see a glimmer of light.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 22, 2002

Takeda to take up keirin cycling

Japanese speedskater Toyoki Takeda is set to play a double act on the ice and cycling track, after passing an entrance examination for a keirin cycling school Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 22, 2002

Apple increases price of iMac by 20,000 yen

Following a recent rise in computer component prices, Apple Computer Inc. has decided to increase the price of its iMac computer by 20,000 yen in Japan and $100 in the United States, effective immediately, Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive officer, revealed Thursday.
LIFE / Language
Mar 22, 2002

A brief history of the comic strip

Herge was not the first to create comic art. There were many artists who came before him. They all played a part in the evolution of the comic strip as we know it today. But, where did it all really begin?
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Mar 22, 2002

Students give seniors a rousing send-off

My first-grader sighed at the dinner table the other night. "Sakamoto-kun is graduating soon," he said sadly. Who? I had never heard of anyone by this name. "He's one of the sixth-graders," my son explained. "He showed me a magic trick and helps me at school."
LIFE / Language
Mar 22, 2002

The boy who's been everywhere

Over the last 73 years, this boy's been everywhere. He's zoomed to the moon in a red-and-white checkered rocket, trekked snow-covered Tibet in search of the yeti and has been saved at the last minute from being sacrificed to the Sun God by angry Aztecs. For all his hair-raising adventures, he hasn't...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 22, 2002

Brand power key to profits, U.S. professor advises

Japanese manufacturers have long considered the quality of their products to be their greatest strength.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Mar 22, 2002

Asian hive bee

* Japanese name: Nihon mitsubachi * Scientific name: Apis cerana * Description: Asian hive bees are social insects. Hairy and bullet-shaped, they have well-developed tongues and back legs with special hairs that mesh together to form a flexible basket for carrying pollen. Bees are very strong and are...
EDITORIALS
Mar 21, 2002

Lengthy rule results in corruption

The re-election of Mr. Robert Mugabe as president of Zimbabwe augurs ill for the future of the southern African republic and for the regional stability of southern Africa as a whole. Mr. Mugabe has governed the former British colony since it became independent in 1980, pushing an ambitious program of...
SUMO
Mar 21, 2002

Asashoryu takes down Maru

OSAKA -- Asashoryu was too quick for Musashimaru to catch Wednesday as the sekiwake dragged the burly yokozuna down to his first loss of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament.
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 21, 2002

Troussier to test new players in friendly

OSAKA -- Taking advantage of the absence of injured and European-based players, Japan coach Philippe Troussier plans to test out new players in Thursday's friendly against Ukraine, the first of eight warmups ahead of the World Cup.
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2002

Sanyo Electric expects lower earnings

OSAKA -- Sanyo Electric Co. said Wednesday it has revised its profit outlook downward for the year to March 31, primarily due to smaller-than-expected sales.
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2002

FSA scolds firms over short selling

The Financial Services Agency on Wednesday ordered five securities houses to improve their business practices regarding short selling.
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2002

Balance of shares sold short logs first fall in three weeks

The balance of shares sold short turned lower for the first time in three weeks last week, reflecting a growing wave of buying to cover short positions.
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2002

Pay-scale freeze may extend to '03

The chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association on Wednesday said if deflationary pressure continues in Japan, no pay-scale increases will be possible, even after 2003.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Mar 21, 2002

Americans continue to rally behind President Bush's war on terrorism

WASHINGTON -- The last week began with ceremonies marking the six-month anniversary of the terrorist attack on the United States. President George W. Bush took advantage of the occasion to project his program for the next phase of the war on terrorism.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Mar 21, 2002

Confused responses cloud vital issues of ecology

Sept. 11, 2001, a date now etched indelibly in our memories, provided an awfully pertinent lesson in human actions and human responses. Shock, fury, anger; all were reasonable, acceptable emotional responses to horrendous acts of terrorism.
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2002

If you don't need cash you don't count

A 0.2 percentage point drop in January's unemployment rate may be due to a new requirement that prevents some job-seekers from declaring themselves unemployed.
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2002

Nonlife insurers to share payments for terrorism incidents

The Marine and Fire Insurance Association of Japan plans to set up a fund to help its members distribute payments over terrorist-related incidents, Hiroyuki Uemura, chairman of the group, said Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 21, 2002

Fundamentals of good education

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been the most vocal of European leaders in his attacks on fundamentalism, but it seems that only Islamic forms of fundamentalism are worthy targets. Christian fundamentalism -- which teaches that the world is only a few thousand years old and was made in seven days...
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2002

Four lenders to take over Chogin banking operations

The government on Wednesday approved the establishment of four new credit unions to take over the banking operations of six failed credit unions accused of diverting funds to North Korea.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 21, 2002

Blooms tell curious tale of two cities

Ninet years ago, on March 27, 1912, passersby on the northern bank of the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. may have been surprised to see two elegant ladies digging holes. They may have been even more surprised had they known that the women were Helen Taft, wife of U.S. President William Howard Taft,...
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2002

JAMA says sales of autos will rise

Fiscal 2002 will see 5.86 million autos sold domestically, up 0.1 percent from the current fiscal year, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2002

February surplus plummets 11.3%

The nation's customs-cleared trade surplus plunged 11.3 percent to 776.8 billion yen in February from the previous year mainly due to slack shipments of information technology goods, according to a preliminary report released by the Finance Ministry on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2002

BOJ keeps policy unchanged as fears of crisis seen fading

The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy unchanged Wednesday, as fears of an imminent crisis faded due to some gains in share prices.
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2002

LDP releases job-boosting proposals

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday released a set of employment-boosting proposals, including a call for government subsidies to companies that have introduced work-sharing schemes to maintain job numbers.

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’