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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

Dec 10, 2004

Yokota's dad repeats call for sanctions against North Korea

The father of abductee Megumi Yokota repeated Thursday that the government should impose immediate economic sanctions on North Korea while maintaining an open channel for bilateral dialogue.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Dec 10, 2004

Schroeder, Koizumi agree to back each other's UNSC candidacy bid

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder agreed Thursday to support each other's candidacies for permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Dec 8, 2004

'Sesame Street' making waves -- in Japanese

Rena Mizushiro sits in a cramped position with other puppeteers as she works her character, Teena, to sing in a scene about Elmo's birthday in "Sesame Street."

JAPAN

Dec 3, 2004

Japan to accelerate push for permanent UNSC seat

When United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan met with Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura in Egypt's Sharm el Sheikh last week, he playfully asked whether the so-called G4 nations' campaigning for U.N. Security Council reform stands for the "Gang of Four."

JAPAN

Nov 20, 2004

Koizumi faces heavy APEC weekend

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi left Friday for a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Chile, where he will have to juggle a wide range of diplomatic issues that span the Pacific.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Nov 17, 2004

Calls mount for sanctions on North Korea

Calls to impose economic sanctions on North Korea grew louder Tuesday among the Liberal Democratic Party and relatives of abductees to the reclusive state, who charged that the latest talks in Pyongyang were effectively fruitless.

JAPAN

Nov 12, 2004

North 'reluctant' to hold six-party talks before year's end

North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Gye Gwan has poured cold water on the idea of holding the next round of six-way talks on his country's nuclear threat by year's end, Senior Vice Foreign Minister Shuzen Tanigawa said Thursday.

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.

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.

Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.

The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'

By Tomoko Otake

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