Eric Johnston - The Japan Times

November 22, 2024

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Eric Johnston

JAPAN

Mar 27, 2004

Kepco inks accord with COGEMA on MOX supply

OSAKA -- Kansai Electric Power Co. reached an agreement Friday with COGEMA, France's state-owned nuclear fuel reprocessing company, to sign a contract possibly this summer for manufacturing mixed oxide-uranium fuel.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Mar 27, 2004

Ex-North Korean spy wants hand in collapse of Kim's empire

KITAKYUSHU -- On Aug. 30, 1993, four North Korean agents slipped over the 38th parallel into South Korea. Disguised as South Korean soldiers, their mission was to spy on U.S. and South Korean forces near Panmunjun.

JAPAN

Mar 17, 2004

Net, Kansai hotlines offer precautions

OSAKA -- Municipalities in the Kansai region have set up telephone hotlines and are providing information via the Internet on precautions against the bird flu virus, which infected six crows in Kyoto and Osaka prefectures.

JAPAN

Mar 13, 2004

Kin of abductees spooked by specter of Kerry in White House

OSAKA -- November's U.S. presidential election will be watched with great interest and concern by relatives and other supporters of Japanese nationals abducted to North Korea, who wonder what implications a Democratic victory might have for their cause.

JAPAN

Mar 6, 2004

Tanba kids stay cool amid bird flu as parents, merchants fret

TANBA, Kyoto Pref. -- As the bell rings to end the day, students at Komono Junior High School file out.

JAPAN

Mar 2, 2004

Bird flu drives chicken from Kansai menus

OSAKA -- Chicken was off the menu in many parts of the Kansai region Monday following reports that meat from chickens infected with the bird flu virus had been sold in the area's restaurants and supermarkets.

JAPAN

Feb 27, 2004

Kansai in dire need of airport guidance

OSAKA -- With Kobe airport due to open next year, joining Kansai International Airport and the domestic hub in Itami, Kansai's business and government leaders have formed a committee to figure out how to effectively operate the region's three airports.

Japan Times

JAPAN / LABOR PAINS

Feb 12, 2004

Osaka firms turning to foreign workers

OSAKA -- The Imazato district of Osaka has long been home to a large concentration of small and midsize enterprises.

BUSINESS

Feb 7, 2004

Airport issues unresolved as forum ends

KYOTO -- The Kansai region's top business leaders concluded their two-day annual Kansai Economic Seminar on Friday, calling for further regional cooperation aimed at attracting industries and promoting tourism and conventions.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Feb 3, 2004

Osaka gubernatorial election characterized by voter apathy

OSAKA -- In an election marked by extreme voter apathy, Fusae Ohta was re-elected Sunday to a second term as Osaka governor by a huge majority.

JAPAN

Jan 24, 2004

Rokkasho in dark, or wary, about ITER

OSAKA -- Just weeks before a decision is made on whether Japan or France gets to host the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project, Japanese officials are conducting a last-ditch international campaign to secure support.

JAPAN

Jan 18, 2004

Osaka's governor candidates target bureaucracy, economy

OSAKA -- Candidates for the Feb. 1 Osaka gubernatorial election, who began their campaigns Thursday, are focusing on reducing bureaucratic waste and promoting economic revitalization, plans long supported by local business organizations.

Japan Times

LIFE / Travel

Dec 26, 2003

Slip into slo-mo Shiga-style

OMIHACHIMAN, Shiga Pref. -- Tired of group-tour hell? Does a four-cities-in-five-days' trip to Europe, or being herded like hyperactive cattle through the temples of Kyoto make you wish you could take a vacation from your vacation?

JAPAN

Dec 23, 2003

Osaka movers, shakers fear orgy hurt China ties

OSAKA -- Osaka business and government leaders voiced concern Monday about relations with China in the immediate future due to the uproar over a September orgy involving visiting employees of an Osaka-based firm and Beijing's demand that three of them who allegedly organized the prostitution spree be...

Japan Times

JAPAN

Dec 13, 2003

Character for tiger snags Kanji of the Year award

has been voted the kanji most symbolic of 2003.

JAPAN

Dec 10, 2003

Dispatch foes grope to find, let alone sway, opinion

OSAKA -- Japanese against the war in Iraq and the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces troops to help rebuild the nation may not be as vocal as their counterparts in the U.S. and Europe, but they are trying to sway public sentiment in an equally determined manner.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Dec 2, 2003

New Osaka mayor claims mandate; voters 'no longer care'

OSAKA -- Osaka Mayor-elect Junichi Seki said Monday he will do his utmost to remedy the city's problems.

JAPAN

Nov 30, 2003

Sensational reporting puts media in spotlight: panelists

OSAKA -- As profits and audiences shrink, the media are under increasing pressure to compete for readers and viewers, which has led to a growing number of human rights abuses that have fueled a public backlash.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Nov 28, 2003

Ailing, apathetic Osaka plods to the polls

OSAKA -- Osaka goes to the polls this Sunday to elect a new mayor. But Satomi Ando, 43, who runs a small printing business in the Tenma district, could care less.

JAPAN

Nov 14, 2003

Xenophobia aside, Japan said to need foreign labor

OSAKA -- Although immigrant labor can play a key role in creating economic growth and vitality in Japan, serious debate on the issue has been stymied by traditional reluctance to welcome foreigners, sensationalized media coverage of the rise in crimes by foreigners and xenophobic comments by rightwing...

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.

A boom for business tourism in Japan?

By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

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