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JAPAN
Nov 22, 2003

Ministry targets hotel that snubbed patients

The Justice Ministry filed a criminal complaint Friday against a Kumamoto Prefecture hot spring resort hotel that refused to accept former Hansen's disease patients as guests earlier this month.
EDITORIALS
Nov 21, 2003

On a slow but steady track

Japan's economy, though beset by uncertainties, is recovering steadily. That is the message of the latest government report on the gross domestic product (GDP), which was published last week by the Cabinet Office. In the third quarter, July through September, the real GDP -- excluding effects of falling...
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2003

Wiretap law -- hard to use, easy to abuse?

In September, a 35-year-old Kawasaki mobster was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison for selling 269,000 yen worth of stimulants to seven people between December 2001 and February 2002.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2003

Turn the screws on North Korea: Ishiba

Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba told visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly on Tuesday that pressure should be used when trying to ensure peace with North Korea.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2003

U.S. should restore corporate governance market: Niskanen

The collapses of Enron and other major U.S. companies in recent years are highlighting the need to amend corporate governance rules that overemphasize management protection so that an effective market for corporate control can be restored, said William Niskanen, head of the Cato Institute, a U.S. think...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 16, 2003

'Home-drama' in your own home

THE FILMS OF YASUJIRO OZU (Box One; Five DVD Discs). Shochiku Home Video, Japanese dialogue, no subtitles, illustrated booklet, 23,500 yen. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Yasujiro Ozu (1903-1963), one of Japan's finest and most influential film directors. Shochiku Co. Ltd., the...
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2003

Takefuji exec, four others arrested in wiretapping case

Tokyo police arrested five people Friday, including a former senior managing director of the consumer loan firm Takefuji Corp., over the alleged wiretapping of a journalist.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2003

Economy grew 0.6% in second quarter

Japan's economy grew a real 0.6 percent in the July-September period, logging a seventh straight quarterly expansion, backed by strong exports and corporate capital investment, the government said Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2003

Special Diet session may be extended to a week

The government and ruling coalition parties are considering extending an originally planned three-day special Diet session to about one week, partially meeting requests by opposition parties, government sources said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Nov 14, 2003

Divisions within Sri Lanka

Ending the 20-year civil war in Sri Lanka was never going to be easy, but that task has become considerably more difficult with the outbreak of fighting within the Sri Lankan government. The battle between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe over the peace talks has...
BUSINESS
Nov 12, 2003

Mobile phone shipments up 20%

Domestic shipments of mobile phones rose 20.6 percent in September from a year earlier to 4.129 million units, up for the 11th consecutive month.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2003

Legal power sought for inquest panels

A government panel suggested Tuesday that decisions by prosecution inquest committees be legally binding and that court-appointed lawyers be allowed to function as prosecutors.
BUSINESS
Nov 11, 2003

Business leaders welcome inroads by DPJ, urge LDP to focus on economy

Business leaders on Monday cautiously welcomed the electoral inroads made by the Democratic Party of Japan, expressing hope its gains will lead to healthy competition between the ruling and opposition parties.
COMMUNITY
Nov 8, 2003

Walking labyrinth satisfies hunger for the divine

"Since May 1999, many hundreds of people at the International Christian University in Mitaka, Tokyo, have taken the time to walk a labyrinth, a meditational route painted onto canvas and placed temporarily on the floor of the campus church."
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2003

New grid to gauge 'heat island effect'

The Meteorological Agency has developed new formulas aimed at investigating the causes of the "heat island effect," a phenomenon in which urban areas are hotter than rural areas.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Nov 6, 2003

Kobe a loner who still has much to learn

NEW YORK -- As a self-trained psychoanalyst, I'm greatly tempted to explore the alcoves of Kobe Bryant's innermost thoughts regarding loneliness, ruthless words about Shaquille O'Neal and dirty deed with a stranger whose allegation will stain him forever even if found innocent (bad choice of words),...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2003

Women lose Kanematsu wage-bias suit

The Tokyo District Court rejected a damages suit Wednesday against Kanematsu Corp. by six women who said they suffered gender-based wage discrimination at the trading house.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2003

Al-Qaeda suspect from Pakistan deported in 2002

Japan deported a Pakistani man last year suspected of being a member of the al-Qaeda terrorist network, police said Wednesday.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Nov 4, 2003

Pension cash payments and house-buying

Nenkin Dear Lifelines; I am American, my late husband was Japanese. We lived in Japan throughout our marriage, but for various reasons it became prudent to bring the kids back to the U.S. after he died at age 42.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2003

Is media scrabbling for scoops or scraps?

Since late July, when a special law allowing the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq was enacted, the Japanese media has engaged in a fierce battle to report when, where and how many personnel will be sent to the war-ravaged country.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 1, 2003

Writer fills niche with new yakuza movie book

Mark Schilling is feeling a bit bleary-eyed. His son -- a freshman in media studies at Glasgow University, unused to the time difference between Europe and Japan -- had rung from Scotland around 5 a.m.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2003

Horse-race tipster targeted over 300 million yen tax scam

Tax authorities have filed a criminal complaint against a Tokyo firm that provides betting tips on horse races, alleging it evaded some 300 million yen in corporate taxes on 1 billion yen in income during the 18-month period to March 2002, sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN / BULLETIN BOARD
Oct 30, 2003

Indian group to mark festival of lights in Tokyo

Indian Community Activities Tokyo will hold a gathering for Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, at St. Mary's International High School in Setagaya Ward on Saturday.
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2003

Fujitsu trims first-half loss to 58 billion yen

Computer maker Fujitsu Ltd. said Wednesday its net loss for the first half narrowed to 58.56 billion yen, citing the absence of a major restructuring charge booked a year ago.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2003

Campaign rhetoric faces tougher scrutiny

Few voters in Japan -- or lawmakers for that matter -- ever took a serious look at political party election pledges, knowing they were simply vague policy slogans with little substance.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2003

Slain DPJ lawmaker's kin want answers, snub endorsements

The next of kin of slain lawmaker Koki Ishii will not support any candidate in Tokyo's No. 6 single-seat constituency in the coming House of Representatives election.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2003

Japanese woman bids for asylum in North Korea

A Japanese woman has sought asylum in North Korea after entering the country illegally during a trip to China in August, Foreign Ministry officials said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 29, 2003

An artist in a land of ice and snow

Jorg Schmeisser traveled to Antarctica on the icebreaker Aurora Australis in 1998. The result was a series of works -- etchings, drawings and paintings -- that became "Breaking the Ice," a major exhibition showing in Kyoto and scheduled for Tokyo and Yokohama, that explores the majesty and uncanny beauty...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji