Kanako Takahara - The Japan Times

July 16, 2024

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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

Mar 23, 2004

Troops in Iraq set to get down to business

The Ground Self-Defense Force troops deployed to the city of Samawah in southern Iraq will commence their humanitarian aid mission later this month.

JAPAN

Mar 23, 2004

Instability hampers assistance, business

Whenever the government or Diet discusses the security situation in Iraq, it is usually related to the safety of the Ground Self-Defense Force troops deployed to the southern Iraqi city of Samawah.

JAPAN

Mar 14, 2004

NHK's cancellation of 'Sesame Street' leaves fans in dismay

When word spread late last month that public broadcaster NHK would pull the plug on "Sesame Street" after more than 30 years, loyal fans were shocked.

JAPAN

Mar 11, 2004

Slain diplomats' car may go on show at ministry

A monument to the dead or merely a gruesome exhibit?

JAPAN

Mar 11, 2004

Lawmaker says Tokyo should prod Pyongyang

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda urged Foreign Ministry officials Wednesday to press North Korea to come up with a date for a further round of bilateral talks.

JAPAN

Mar 11, 2004

Yen loans to China set to be reduced by 20%

China will slip from the top of Japan's yen-loan recipient list for fiscal 2003, as Tokyo plans to reduce aid to the country by 20 percent from the previous year to about 96.7 billion yen, according to a Foreign Ministry report unveiled Wednesday.

JAPAN

Mar 4, 2004

Suzuki's Congolese secretary seeks apology over passport slur

A Congolese native who was a secretary to former House of Representatives member Muneo Suzuki demanded a public apology Wednesday from Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi for accusing him of forging a diplomatic passport.

JAPAN

Mar 2, 2004

Six-nation working group to meet in March ahead of full talks

The six countries holding talks on North Korea's nuclear arms program are expected to set up a working group by the end of the month to prepare for their next meeting.

JAPAN

Feb 25, 2004

U.N. forces may go to Iraq after power transfer: Annan

The United Nations Security Council may send multinational forces to Iraq to help stabilize the security situation after sovereignty is transferred to a provisional government at the end of June, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said Tuesday in Tokyo.

JAPAN

Feb 24, 2004

'Paradise' emigrant back for lawsuit

Toru Takegama's spirits were high when he left Japan in July 1956 for the Dominican Republic under a government-backed emigration project.

JAPAN

Feb 21, 2004

Extradition bid for Fujimori falls on deaf ears here

Japan and Peru remained divided Friday over Lima's request that former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori be extradited, making no headway in a diplomatic dispute that has lingered for nearly a year.

JAPAN

Feb 18, 2004

LDP panels endorse bill on North Korea ship ban

Three Liberal Democratic Party panels jointly approved Tuesday an outline of a bill to enable the government to ban North Korean ships from entering Japanese ports.

JAPAN

Feb 17, 2004

Returnees' families urge pressure on Pyongyang

The families of Japanese abducted to North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s urged the government Monday to step up its pressure on Pyongyang.

JAPAN / POLITICS IN FOCUS

Feb 17, 2004

Koizumi, Kan warm to unicameral system

Whenever a Diet session convenes, the Emperor gives a short speech at the House of Councilors' opening ceremony -- a tradition that should demonstrate the chamber's status.

JAPAN

Feb 17, 2004

Don't forget Afghanistan: ADB official

The international community, including Japan, should demonstrate further commitment toward rebuilding Afghanistan at the donors conference next month in Berlin, according to a senior official of the Asian Development Bank.

JAPAN

Feb 14, 2004

Returnees may collect relatives in Pyongyang

Japan would be willing to allow the five Japanese who returned to their homeland after being abducted to North Korea decades ago to fly to Pyongyang airport to collect their relatives, as long as they do not get off the plane, a senior government official said Friday.

JAPAN

Feb 13, 2004

Officials play down Pyongyang meeting

Wednesday's surprise visit by two senior Foreign Ministry officials to Pyongyang has fueled speculation -- or, to be more precise, expectation -- among the public that there will be developments on the abduction issue.

JAPAN

Feb 12, 2004

Yasukuni remark annoys China

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi voiced displeasure Wednesday over remarks made by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi about the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.

JAPAN

Feb 10, 2004

Diet clears bill to hit North Korea with sanctions

The Diet cleared a bill Monday that will allow the government to impose unilateral economic sanctions on North Korea to "maintain Japan's peace and security."

JAPAN

Feb 7, 2004

Officials flee embassy amid terror fears

Officials at the Japanese Embassy in Baghdad have been evacuated from the compound to a separate site in the city amid fears of a terrorist attack, government sources said Friday.

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals

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