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JAPAN
Dec 21, 2003

Defense Agency ready to treat troops suffering PTSD in Iraq

The Defense Agency is planning to take comprehensive mental health measures for Self-Defense Forces troops who are dispatched to Iraq to help them deal with possible psychological problems such as posttraumatic stress disorder, agency sources said Saturday.
COMMENTARY
Dec 21, 2003

Devil of amity lurks in free trade details

SINGAPORE -- The decision at the Japan-ASEAN summit on Dec. 11-12 to create a new "special relationship" between the two may be historic, but the economic free-trade areas that will provide its foundation look like long shots. Japanese efforts are likely to be frustrated by the same political forces...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 21, 2003

Democracy vs. GDP growth

China is the world's biggest country and India is the world's biggest democracy. Each accounts for one-sixth of the world's people. Their fates matter.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2003

Six arrested over shooting attacks on Aum, union offices

Tokyo police arrested six people Friday in connection with three shooting incidents targeting offices of Aum Shinrikyo in Tokyo and Osaka, as well as a shooting at a teachers' union office in Hiroshima, for which a rightist group claimed responsibility.
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2003

Matsushita takes control of unit

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Friday it will raise its stake in Matsushita Electric Works Ltd. from 31.8 percent to 51 percent, thereby making the lighting and housing equipment maker a subsidiary.
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2003

ASDF unit gets Mideast flying orders

Preparations to send Self-Defense Forces personnel to Iraq got into full swing Friday, with Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba issuing orders for the dispatch of an advance unit.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 20, 2003

Colin Brown

Colin Brown says he is a lifelong rail fan. He has a strong personal interest additionally in "trams," the English term he uses for streetcars. His twin passions have brought him twice a year for the last six years to Japan. He praises especially "the discipline, smartness, courtesy and dedication of...
COMMUNITY
Dec 20, 2003

Over 4,000 babies delivered and still counting

Dr. Hideki Sakamoto is late for the very best of reasons. "I had an emergency at the hospital, but am happy to be able to say that mother and baby are both doing well."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2003

Officials debate details of Futenma move

National and local government officials met Thursday to discuss industrial development and other issues surrounding the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corp's Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2003

Koizumi OKs SDF deployment plan

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Thursday approved a deployment plan for Ground Self-Defense Force troops bound for Iraq.
BUSINESS
Dec 19, 2003

3G phones to boast music, animation

Animation attachments for e-mail, complex role-playing video games and Hollywood film cuts as screen savers will be some of the features offered in new third-generation cell phones from Japan's top mobile carrier.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2003

Koizumi in dark over Kanzaki Mideast trip

Takenori Kanzaki, leader of New Komeito and a key coalition ally of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, left for Kuwait on Tuesday and may visit southeastern Iraq if circumstances permit.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2003

Japan Highway chief pitches autonomy

Japan Highway Public Corp. must be legally empowered to make its own decisions on expressway construction and stand on a par with the government when it is privatized in fiscal 2005, new Japan Highway President Takeshi Kondo said Monday.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 14, 2003

Not letting the facts get in the way of a good 'documentary'

In the tributes to the Japanese diplomats who were killed two weeks ago, few people mentioned what they were actually doing in Iraq. Katsuhiko Oku was, among other things, encouraging Iraqis to watch NHK's popular drama series, "Oshin," which is being broadcast on Iraqi TV. The show, originally aired...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 14, 2003

Sweet sounds of the soundtrack

MUSIC FOR MOVIES: Toru Takemitsu, Vols. I & II (3-4 of the "Complete Takemitsu Edition"), edited by Tetsuo Ohara. Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2003, 21 CDs, with program books, 24,000 yen each. Some of the most interesting contemporary film music was written by Toru Takemitsu. In just under 40 years he composed...
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Foreigners on terror watch list could get the boot

Japan will deport several foreign residents with suspected links to al-Qaeda or other terrorist networks if it feels the nation is in danger of becoming a target of terrorist attacks, according to government officials.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2003

Mobile phone shipments rise 30%

Domestic shipments of mobile phones, including personal handy-phone system equipment, grew 30.2 percent in October from a year earlier to 4.11 million units, up for the 12th consecutive month.
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2003

Ministers, party execs agree on local subsidy cuts

Following weeks of turf battles, Cabinet ministers and ruling coalition executives finally reached agreement Wednesday on how the national government will cut its subsidies to local government projects by 1 trillion yen in fiscal 2004.
COMMENTARY
Dec 11, 2003

New Zealand seeks bigger splash in Asia

WELLINGTON -- It's clear that New Zealand's size is both a curse and a blessing. The curse is easy to see: New Zealand is so small that it's hard to get the attention of other governments. New Zealand is responsible for 0.22 percent of world trade. There are more Indonesian civil servants than New Zealanders....
EDITORIALS
Dec 10, 2003

Continuing with nuclear energy

Half a century ago, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed the creation of an international organization to promote the peaceful use of atomic information and materials. That "atoms for peace" address, delivered to the U.N. General Assembly on Dec. 8, 1953, bore fruit in 1957 when the International...
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2003

Kawasaki seeks foreign advisers

The city of Kawasaki is looking for 26 foreigners who want to become members of its fifth Representative Assembly for Foreign Residents. The assembly discusses problems faced by foreigners in their everyday lives.
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
Dec 9, 2003

Japanese feel affinity with not-too-distant Finland: ambassador

Finland and Japan may be at opposite ends of the scale when it comes to the size of their populations, but the links between the two countries are very close, according to Finnish Ambassador Eero Salovaara.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2003

500 to 700 ground troops to be sent to Iraq

Japan plans to dispatch between 500 and 700 personnel from the Ground Self-Defense Force to areas centering around Al-Muthanna province in southeastern Iraq, which include the city of Samawah, government officials told ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers Monday.
BUSINESS
Dec 9, 2003

Sammy to purchase 22.4% stake in Sega

Pachinko machine maker Sammy Corp. said Monday it will acquire a 22.4 percent stake in Sega Corp., becoming the largest shareholder in the game maker.

Longform

It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?