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 Kanako Takahara

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Kanako Takahara
Kanako Takahara is a staff writer who has covered national politics, diplomacy, business and the economy at The Japan Times. A graduate of Sophia University, she is currently a national news editor.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2004
Panel OKs sanctions on North
A Liberal Democratic Party panel studying North Korea's abduction of Japanese nationals stepped up the pressure on Pyongyang on Friday by approving an interim report that outlines steps for imposing economic sanctions on the reclusive state.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2004
U.S. pressure on North may sideline abductee resolution
U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to increase pressure on North Korea over the Pyongyang nuclear threat in his second term -- something Japan does not want, experts say.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2004
Tokyo can expect stronger ties, demands
George W. Bush's re-election to another four years in the White House will ensure that strengthening the U.S. security alliance with Japan remains a major component of bilateral ties.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2004
Japan wants to interview Yokota's spouse
Tokyo might ask Pyongyang at bilateral talks next week for an interview with the North Korean husband of Japanese abductee Megumi Yokota, Ichiro Aisawa, senior vice foreign minister, said Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2004
Pyongyang turns over records of two Japanese
North Korea has provided medical records and other documents pertaining to two of the eight Japanese it admitted kidnapping and claimed died in the Stalinist state, ahead of bilateral talks starting Nov. 9, Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2004
Japanese hostage found dead in Iraq
A five-day hostage crisis ended in tragedy Sunday as the government said a decapitated body found in Baghdad earlier in the day was that of Shosei Koda, a 24-year-old Japanese taken captive by a militant group in Iraq last week.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2004
Confusion reigns over Iraq hostage
The government was thrown into confusion Saturday over the fate of a Japanese man who had been taken hostage by militants in Iraq threatening to kill him unless Japan withdraws its ground troops from the country.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2004
Foreign Ministry says it tried to warn Koda to get out of Iraq
The Foreign Ministry, in charge of ensuring the safety of Japanese citizens overseas, is powerless to stop them from entering Iraq, despite a series of kidnappings there involving Japanese and other people this year.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2004
WFP better able to monitor food aid in North
The executive director of the World Food Program said Tuesday in Tokyo that while some restrictions remain, his organization has become slightly freer to monitor the distribution of food aid in North Korea.
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2004
Machimura, Powell agree to boost military discussions
Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell agreed Sunday to hold strategic talks at the ministerial level to discuss the security situation in the Asia-Pacific region.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2004
Tentative accord reached on U.S. beef
Japan and the United States on Saturday agreed in principle to resume U.S. beef imports as early as next spring, although a final accord on specific conditions for lifting the ban was left to further negotiations.
BUSINESS
Oct 23, 2004
Japan-U.S. beef talks to continue
Japan and the United States remained divided Friday over Tokyo's ban on U.S. beef imports, but agreed to continue discussions on the matter Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2004
Cash for Iraq in short supply at confab
Donor countries on Thursday renewed their vow to support Iraq's reconstruction and the political process for a parliamentary election in January, but few offered fresh contributions to the war-torn country as they wrapped up a conference in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Oct 14, 2004
Iraq asks donor states to boost aid
Iraq's deputy prime minister on Wednesday called on the international community to increase the flow of aid and speed up the implementation of projects to help rebuild the war-torn country.
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2004
Violence in Iraq holding back foreign aid
When Mohammad Ali-Hassan, the governor of Al-Muthanna Province in southern Iraq, visited Tokyo last week, he thanked Japan for the aid it has given to his province, where Ground Self-Defense Force troops have been deployed.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2004
Aid should be flowing through grassroots groups: NGO
Japan should disperse more of its official development assistance for Iraq through nongovernmental organizations so people can receive aid more quickly, according to a senior member of a Tokyo-based NGO.
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2004
U.S. to resume helicopter flights
Japan on Tuesday gave the green light for the U.S. military to resume flights of CH-53D helicopters in Okinawa Prefecture, and the U.S. forces said the flights would resume as early as Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2004
Japan must open door to foreign workers, panel head says
The government needs to look at the broader picture and actively work to open the domestic labor market to unskilled workers so Japan is not alienated from the global community.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2004
Missing pin caused copter crash: report
A missing cotter pin caused the U.S. Marine Corps helicopter crash on a university campus near the Futenma Air Station in Okinawa in August, according to a U.S. investigation report submitted Tuesday that laid the blame on poor maintenance.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2004
Japan reports 50 years of its ODA amounted to $221 billion
Japan has provided some $221 billion in official development assistance to 185 nations since 1954, the Foreign Ministry said Friday in releasing its annual white paper on ODA.

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