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Japan Times
JAPAN
May 4, 2004

Effort afoot to put Japan on eco-tour map

The government has embarked on a project to make Japan a major travel destination in the 21st century, hoping this not only boosts the domestic tourism industry but offers other windfalls as well.
JAPAN
May 3, 2004

Distrust in pension framework growing

The recent revelations that seven Cabinet ministers, as well as the current and former leaders of the largest opposition party, have been delinquent in paying their mandatory pension premiums have further fueled public distrust of the basic public pension framework.
COMMENTARY
May 3, 2004

Koizumi's open-ended legac

On April 26 the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi entered its fourth year in power. Following his three-year rule under the slogan "No growth without reform," the Japanese economy is finally on a recovery track.
JAPAN
May 3, 2004

Distrust in pension framework growing

The recent revelations that seven Cabinet ministers, as well as the current and former leaders of the largest opposition party, have been delinquent in paying their mandatory pension premiums have further fueled public distrust of the basic public pension framework.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 2, 2004

Ryuichi Hirokawa: Picture this . .

With soldiers silhouetted against dramatic desert sunsets, or helicopters swooping over cityscapes, most mainstream-media photographs we see of the war in Iraq are nothing if not models of artistic composition and taste.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 2, 2004

A battle for 'the fate of the world'

At approximately 6:20 p.m. on May 7, 1954, the shooting had stopped everywhere but at one last outpost, called strongpoint Lily, where a handful of Moroccan soldiers under a French major, Jean Nicolas, still held out.
JAPAN
May 1, 2004

Jobless rate slides to three-year low

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to a three-year low of 4.7 percent in March -- a further indication of Japan's burgeoning economic recovery, the government said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 1, 2004

Reverend mom gives a good name to activism

Quite how the Rev. Claudia Genung (a surname of French Hugenot origin) fits everything into 24 hours is beyond all understanding.
JAPAN
May 1, 2004

Jobless rate slides to three-year low

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to a three-year low of 4.7 percent in March -- a further indication of Japan's burgeoning economic recovery, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2004

Cost cuts push ANA back into black

All Nippon Airways Co. said Friday it returned to the black for the first time in three years in fiscal 2003 due to rigorous cost-cutting that offset the negative effects of the Iraq war and severe acute respiratory syndrome.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Apr 30, 2004

When your kids are cooperating, but the weather isn't

Special to The Japan Times You're ready to spend some quality time with the kids. It's raining cats and dogs. Here are 10 places to drag the little ones to when the weather isn't cooperating:
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2004

Cop off hook in suspect's death

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday overturned a lower court ruling that a 55-year-old suspect was shot dead by a policeman during an interrogation in 1997 and instead decided the victim committed suicide, rejecting a redress demand by the man's daughter.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 29, 2004

Jones, Montgomery may skip Osaka

Triple Olympic champion Marion Jones and 100 meter record-holder Tim Montgomery have pulled out of the IAAF Japan Grand Prix next month, local media reported Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2004

Employment opportunities set to grow amid recovery

More than 40 percent of major companies that took part in a recent survey said they plan to increase the recruitment of workers fresh out of school next spring, according to a report compiled Wednesday by Kyodo News.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Apr 29, 2004

Knicks a long way from being a factor

NEW YORK -- Say this much for the Knicks, at least they weren't swept by the Red Sox. But, really, what did you expect?
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2004

BOJ says Japan will 'continue its recovery'

The Bank of Japan said Wednesday in a semiannual economic outlook report that the nation's economy will "continue its recovery" in fiscal 2004.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2004

Airports plan to start shoe X-rays before Golden Week

Japan will start X-raying travelers' shoes at airports before the Golden Week holidays begin in late April as part of an antiterror drive, Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Nobuteru Ishihara said Tuesday.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Apr 28, 2004

Could Tillman have made greater impact on different path?

It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of former NFL player Pat Tillman last week in a firefight in Afghanistan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Apr 28, 2004

Kanashii is a many-colored thing

For the longest time, my inner dictionary of prosaic Japanese simply tagged the word kanashii with "sad." But no more. In classical Japanese, I have discovered, kanashii has the dual meaning of both sorrow and tenderness, and can be written with the Chinese characters for either sadness or love.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2004

Disappointed by DPJ's election loss, Kan wants law forcing public to vote

Democratic Party of Japan leader Naoto Kan said Tuesday that people should be legally obliged to vote in national elections.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 28, 2004

Winning charm points with Mum and Kurosawa

The demands of stardom are not easily ignored: When Jude Law failed to show for a Tokyo press conference in early April with director Anthony Minghella and co-star Renee Zellweger, the disappointment was palpable -- not just among his many female fans, but also that of the film's distributor, who is...
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2004

Sony restructuring plan bites into 2003 net profit

Sony Corp. said Tuesday its net profit fell 23 percent to 88.5 billion yen in fiscal 2003 due to heavy restructuring expenses.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2004

Government orders former hostages to pay up

The government has demanded that three Japanese civilians previously held hostage in Iraq pay a combined 2.37 million yen to the state to cover expenses it incurred after their release, an official representing a Foreign Ministry affiliate said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2004

Hostages 'anti-Japan': lawmaker

A Liberal Democratic Party member of the House of Councilors on Monday described the Japanese civilians recently released from captivity by militants in Iraq as "antigovernment, anti-Japan elements."
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2004

Government relieved as LDP wins all Lower House by-elections

Government and ruling coalition leaders breathed a sigh of relief Monday after the Liberal Democratic Party won all three House of Representatives by-elections held Sunday in a possible prelude to July's House of Councilors poll.
EDITORIALS
Apr 27, 2004

Mixed marks for Mr. Koizumi

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who completed his third year in office on Monday, is already one of the nation's longest-serving postwar prime ministers. Although the stratospheric popularity he enjoyed early in his administration is no more, media polls still give him considerably high approval ratings...
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2004

Koizumi still popular as he marks third anniversary

Experiencing ups and downs but being kept afloat by generally strong public approval ratings, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday marked the third anniversary of the inauguration of his administration.

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