author

 
Menu
Search
 
August 15, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Kanako Takahara

Meta

Twitter

@jt_takahara

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 Times
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2004
Iraqi judoka arrives for Olympic warmup
An Iraqi judoka who will represent his country in the Athens Olympics next month began two weeks of training in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2004
Bolton talks tough on North's ambitions
U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton reiterated Friday that North Korea must completely abandon its nuclear program, which he maintained is exclusively for military use.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2004
BSE report set to please beef exporters in U.S.
Japan and the United States compiled a report Thursday stating that blanket testing for mad cow disease has limitations in terms of detecting whether young cows have been infected with the brain-wasting illness.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2004
Japan in 'no rush' to resume normalization talks with North
Japan is in "no rush" to resume normalization talks with North Korea, even though the conditions for returning to the negotiating table have been met, government sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2004
Jenkins should confess, plea-bargain: Baker
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker suggested to senior lawmakers of the ruling coalition Friday that Charles Jenkins, an alleged U.S. Army deserter to North Korea, should seek a plea bargain, officials said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2004
Jenkins coming to Japan this weekend for treatment
Charles Jenkins, an alleged U.S. Army deserter to North Korea who reunited with his Japanese wife, former abductee Hitomi Soga, last week in Jakarta, will come to Japan over this extended weekend and be hospitalized, government sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2004
Ministry breathes sigh of relief on Soga reunion costs
Foreign Ministry officials are breathing easier now that it appears that arranging repatriated abductee Hitomi Soga's family reunion in Jakarta may not be as costly as initially thought.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2004
Jenkins sounded out on Japan checkup
The government has sounded out Charles Robert Jenkins, the American husband of repatriated abductee Hitomi Soga, on the possibility of his coming to Japan for a medical checkup, government sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2004
'No time' to explain Iraq decision: official
The government did not have enough time to explain the decision to join the U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq, one reason behind the Liberal Democratic Party's poor showing in the House of Councilors election, a top Foreign Ministry official said Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2004
Is Pyongyang trying to win the election for the coalition?
North Korea's surprise live broadcast Friday of Hitomi Soga's kin at Pyongyang airport may constitute another indication that the country is apparently trying to back Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administration ahead of Sunday's House of Councilors election, government officials claimed.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2004
Government paints rosy picture to lure Jenkins
Charles Robert Jenkins, the American husband of repatriated abductee Hitomi Soga, would not necessarily be imprisoned if he came to Japan, even though he will probably face a U.S. court-martial for desertion, government sources claimed Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2004
Soga reunion may open door to fresh normalization talks
Japan might be able to resume normalization talks with North Korea this month now that they have organized a family reunion for repatriated abductee Hitomi Soga, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2004
Soga, family to reunite Friday in Jakarta
Hitomi Soga, one of five Japanese repatriated to Japan in October 2002 after being abducted to North Korea, will be reunited with her American husband and their two daughters this week in Jakarta, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION '04
Jul 2, 2004
Abductions are candidate's cause celebre
Independent candidate Teruaki Masumoto, 48, hoped to keep a fire alive as he tried to get the attention of passersby outside Tokyo's Iidabashi Station on June 24, the day campaigning for July 11 House of Councilors election kicked off.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 8, 2004
Power of LDP support groups waning
About 5,000 people gathered in Sapporo on May 23 to attend a convention of the national association of special post office chiefs, a longtime supporter of and the biggest vote-gathering machine for the Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN
May 29, 2004
Two Japanese reported killed south of Baghdad
Two Japanese freelance journalists died after their vehicle was attacked by unidentified assailants in the city of Mahmudiyah, about 30 km south of Baghdad, a Foreign Ministry official in Tokyo quoted Iraqi hospital officials as saying Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 27, 2004
Soga, Jenkins facing reunion delay
Repatriated abductee Hitomi Soga may have to wait several weeks to be reunited with her husband because the government needs to pick the right location for the couple to discuss their future in a "quiet environment," a top Foreign Ministry official said Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 25, 2004
Harassment issue untouched
News of the successes and failures in the reunification of the families of five Japanese who were repatriated after being abducted to North Korea have been plastered across the front pages of Japanese newspapers in the wake of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to Pyongyang on Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 23, 2004
Jury not in yet on who came out ahead at summit
PYONGYANG -- Although Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi returned to Japan on Saturday with the offspring of four repatriated Japanese abductees, many may be wondering whether he gained enough for what he offered.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004
Nation waits as Koizumi jets to Pyongyang
Expectations are high in Japan that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who will visit Pyongyang on Saturday for his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, will return with the families of the five repatriated abductees.
Japan to revise consumption tax exemption for overseas tourists
Tourists walk through Nakamise shopping street near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo in April
Japan's tourism industry hit by cancellations after megaquake alert
A beach closed due to a megaquake alert in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Friday to Thursday.
Focus shifts to incoming typhoon as Tropical Storm Maria dissipates
Newly formed Tropical Storm Ampil, which is forecast to approach eastern Japan this weekend, is seen on the left side of this satellite image.
Kishida to step down in September in bid to show ‘LDP has changed’
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Publisher finds surprise audience after translating history textbooks
Yamakawa Shuppansha president Takeshi Nozawa holds the publisher's textbook on Japanese history — used in high schools across Japan — alongside the new English version in Tokyo on May 23.
Economic security is about strengthening and sustaining growth, former minister says
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi says changes in the international balance of power, along with deepening economic interdependence, have led some countries to attempt to use their economic power to impose their will on others.
Ice bandanas, convenience store breaks: Running under Japan’s summer sun
Blistering heat is becoming a fixture of summer in Japan, but a few tweaks to your routine can make your outdoor runs bearable — if not enjoyable — until cooler temperatures return.
Japan issued its first-ever megaquake alert. What does that mean?
Naoshi Hirata (center), chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
France brings down the curtain on its Olympic party with Tom Cruise and Leon Marchand
Fireworks are set off during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday.
Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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’
By Thu-Huong Ha

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’
Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER