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Eric Johnston

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...

JAPAN / ELECTION 2003

Nov 4, 2003

Candidates pile on abduction bandwagon

OSAKA -- It was an unusually warm day in late October when a small crowd gathered around a candidate speaking outside Izumigaoka Station near Kansai airport.

JAPAN

Oct 30, 2003

Aum bred social cult of fear, passion for security

OSAKA -- The trial of Aum Shinrikyo leader Shoko Asahara effectively concludes when his lawyers present their closing arguments before the Tokyo District Court on Thursday and Friday.

BUSINESS

Oct 29, 2003

U.S. southeast interested in hydrogen cars

OSAKA -- A two-day meeting here between government and business representatives from seven U.S. states and Japan concluded Tuesday with discussion focusing on the future of the auto industry, especially the introduction of hydrogen fuel cells.

BUSINESS

Oct 28, 2003

Japan-U.S. trade meeting in upbeat mood

OSAKA -- The two-day 27th Annual Joint Meeting of the Japan-United States Southeast Association began here Monday with participants upbeat about recent economic trends in both countries.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Oct 21, 2003

Kin of suspected abductees fight uphill war

OSAKA -- On the morning of July 7, 1973, 18-year-old Noriko Furukawa of Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, left home for a beauty parlor appointment without telling her mother, with whom she had promised to go shopping that afternoon.

JAPAN

Sep 27, 2003

Peruvians divided over Fujimori

OSAKA -- With Japan facing mounting international pressure to extradite disgraced former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, the nation's Peruvian community is divided on the matter.

JAPAN

Sep 9, 2003

Osaka's Ohta announces she will seek second term

OSAKA -- Osaka Gov. Fusae Ohta formally announced Monday that she will seek a second term when her current term expires in February 2004.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Sep 6, 2003

Kin of Ikeda stabbing victims step ahead

OSAKA -- Following the massacre of eight children in June 2001 at Ikeda Elementary School in Osaka Prefecture, the victims' parents found empathy and understanding from across the Pacific.

JAPAN

Aug 21, 2003

Chemical weapons as much a threat as nuclear proliferation

OSAKA -- Chemical and biological weapons falling into the hands of individuals or small bands of terrorists is as much a threat as nuclear weapons being developed by rogue states, delegates at U.N. disarmament talks warned Wednesday.

JAPAN

Jul 26, 2003

Chongryun tax breaks face hard scrutiny

OSAKA -- For nearly half a century, the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryun) has been the primary voice of the North Korean community in Japan, representing nearly 200,000 people.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Jul 20, 2003

Osaka braces itself for festival fallout

OSAKA -- Osaka's annual Tenjin Matsuri festival, held in late July every year, draws tens of thousands of visitors and is considered one of the country's largest and most popular summer events. But this year, city officials are worried that once the party is over, the streets will look like a rock star's...

JAPAN

Jul 15, 2003

Protesters call for Aum members' eviction

OSAKA -- Some 400 people took part in a protest rally Monday to have Aum Shinrikyo followers evicted from the cult's headquarters in Nishinari Ward, Osaka.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Jul 6, 2003

Buried treasure: the mysteries and majesty of Nara

NARA -- At the end of 2001, the Emperor made a comment that received relatively little attention in Japan but one that will, without a doubt, stand as one of the most significant statements of his reign. In speaking about Japan's often troubled relations with the Korean Peninsula, the Emperor noted that...

JAPAN

Jun 27, 2003

Takuma's final defense for massacre: insanity

OSAKA -- In an emotional, six-hour closing argument that ended with quotations from the Greek tragedy "Antigone," lawyers for Mamoru Takuma, who has admitted to massacring eight elementary school students in 2001, said he is not guilty by reason of insanity.

JAPAN

Jun 27, 2003

Takuma's final defense for massacre: insanity

OSAKA -- In an emotional, six-hour closing argument that ended with quotations from the Greek tragedy "Antigone," lawyers for Mamoru Takuma, who has admitted to massacring eight elementary school students in 2001, said he is not guilty by reason of insanity.

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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