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JAPAN
Sep 18, 2005

DPJ picks Maehara for top spot

The Democratic Party of Japan elected young conservative Seiji Maehara as its new president Saturday, passing over veteran former party leader Naoto Kan after suffering a devastating defeat in the House of Representatives election last week.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2005

Demand for China gas drilling data reasonable: energy chief

Japan's demand that China hand over concrete data on its ongoing gas drilling projects in a disputed sea zone is not unreasonable because it pertains to sovereignty, according to a senior Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry official.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2005

Japan nixes North's demand for reactor

Japan will not accept Pyongyang's demand for a light-water nuclear reactor because it would be used to produced atomic weapons, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2005

Ozawa might throw hat into ring for DPJ chief

Democratic Party of Japan heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa suggested Thursday he might run for the party presidency when the vote is taken Saturday, after the resignation of Katsuya Okada over the DPJ's huge setback in Sunday's general election.
BUSINESS
Sep 16, 2005

Xbox 360 to be launched here after U.S. and Europe

Microsoft Corp. said Thursday it will release its next-generation video game console -- the Xbox 360 -- on Dec. 10 in Japan, priced at 37,900 yen.
BUSINESS
Sep 16, 2005

An overview of latest insurance sector scandal

Earlier this month, several Japanese nonlife insurance companies owned up to a raft of payment failures relating to automobile and fire insurance claims.
EDITORIALS
Sep 15, 2005

No victory for the Philippines

Impeachment charges against Philippines President Gloria Arroyo have been dismissed. The move is a relief for the embattled president, but it is no real vote of confidence in her or her administration. The move reflects the balance of power in the legislature, not a consideration of the merits of the...
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2005

Trespassing case is political, activists tell court

Three peace activists on trial for trespassing at a Self-Defense Forces housing compound where they had been distributing antiwar leaflets told the Tokyo High Court on Wednesday their arrest and indictment is a form of political suppression and their case should be dropped.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 15, 2005

Independent brushstrokes

A commonly heard accusation is that Japanese oil painters are followers rather than innovators. It is a criticism that has been made against many early adopters in this country -- be they filmmakers, fashion designers, chefs or rock musicians -- and one that has even come from painters' compatriots....
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2005

Support for Koizumi Cabinet hits 59%

Public support for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet rose to 59.1 percent this week, up 11.8 percentage points from last month, according to a Kyodo News survey released Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Sep 14, 2005

Namco Bandai projects 55 billion yen in fiscal 2007

Namco Bandai Holdings Inc., which officially starts business Sept. 29, said Tuesday it expects 55 billion yen in operating profit on sales of 550 billion yen for the year ending in March 2008, or 24 percent over what the two companies' combined profit would likely have been for the current fiscal year....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2005

Ailing DPJ prepares to pick new boss

A day after being clobbered in Sunday's general election, the Democratic Party of Japan said it will vote for a new party leader this weekend.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 13, 2005

Back to the original balanced diet

When Kit Kitatani was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1986, he went through the usual procedure of having the tumor surgically removed and starting chemotherapy treatments. But his white blood-cell count was too low to continue the chemo. His doctor said he had less than six months to live.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2005

Doi's loss ends 36-year Diet run

Former Social Democratic Party leader Takako Doi failed to retain her House of Representatives seat for a 13th term in Sunday's election, bringing a 36-year Diet run to an end.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2005

Ex-disarmament envoy wins, touted as foreign minister

Kuniko Inoguchi, former ambassador to the U.N. Conference on Disarmament, was set to win a seat in the House of Representatives election Sunday, according to Kyodo News projections.
Japan Times
Sep 12, 2005

'Assassin' Koike bests 'rebel' Kobayashi

Environment Minister Yuriko Koike wrested the Tokyo No. 10 district seat in Sunday's election from former Liberal Democratic Party member Koki Kobayashi.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2005

Pyongyang palliative is Bush's bitter pill

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut -- Although buried by headlines from Iraq and Hurricane Katrina-devastated U.S. Gulf Coast region, the fourth round of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program, about to resume in Beijing, presents the best chance yet to resolve diplomatically the simmering crisis on the...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 11, 2005

Views from Asia suggest that 'Team Bush' is playing poorly for all sides

CONFRONTING THE BUSH DOCTRINE: Critical Views From the Asia-Pacific, edited by Mel Gurtov and Peter Van Ness. London: Routledge Curzon, 2004, 277 pp., £20.99 (cloth). Characterizing the Bush administration's foreign policy of zigzagging, dysfunctional initiatives and self-inflicted wounds a "doctrine"...
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2005

Japan to send Afghan poll monitors

Japan to send Afghan poll monitors
COMMENTARY
Sep 10, 2005

From Kyoto to New Orleans

LOS ANGELES -- Beneath the endlessly horrific details surrounding the hurricane that swamped parts of New Orleans and the southeast United States lurks a monster question. Just how angry -- really -- is Mother Nature over the irreverent, careless way we humans and our energy-hungry machines have been...
BUSINESS
Sep 10, 2005

Komura to be Meiji Yasuda president

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co. is finalizing a decision for the company to promote Senior Managing Director Masato Komura to the presidency, succeeding Ryotaro Kaneko, sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2005

Bureaucrats fear not the loss of pull on politics if they join in

The road from bureaucrat to politician is well-paved.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2005

Position on North Korea unchanged

Tokyo will maintain its stance of demanding complete abolition of North Korea's nuclear arms program during the six-party talks that are to resume next week, but is not yet sure whether the new round will lead to any substantial developments, the top government spokesman said Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Sep 9, 2005

Hail Vouvray, Aristocrat of the wine world

Just as The Aristocrats is the dirty joke that comedians tell each other after the punters have gone home, Vouvray is the tipple of choice among sommeliers once the ties have come off at the end of the evening.
EDITORIALS
Sep 8, 2005

Try again with rights bill

The government was to have submitted a human-rights protection bill during the most recent session of the Diet. Various reasons are cited for the bill's failure to reach the Diet floor, including government leaders' obsession with other hot-button issues such as postal-service reform. Still, legislation...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2005

Urban support seen as key for Horie

ONOMICHI, Hiroshima Pref. -- A small office in front of JR Onomichi Station attracts hundreds of visitors daily as the Sept. 11 House of Representatives election draws near.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat