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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 17, 2003

Requests for SARS-related equipment ignored

The government is lagging far behind in providing hospitals with equipment to handle suspected SARS cases despite their requests for help and the fear that the deadly infectious disease may stage a comeback this winter, according to a Kyodo News survey released Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2003

Saitama governments to pump Resona with taxpayer money

The prefectural and municipal governments of Saitama are willing to use roughly 1 billion yen in local taxpayer funds to claim a stake in Saitama Resona Bank, the local arm of Resona Holdings Inc., Saitama Gov. Kiyoshi Ueda said Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2003

Isuzu nourished by overseas revenue

Isuzu Motors Ltd.'s group revenues from overseas operations are expected to reach 80 percent of its overall revenues by the end of fiscal 2007, Isuzu President Yoshinori Ida said in a recent interview with Kyodo News.
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2003

Hussein capture spurs Nikkei surge

Tokyo stocks surged Monday as investors welcomed the weekend capture of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein by buying issues almost across the board.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2003

Ikeda tipped for top Ashikaga Bank job

The government is considering appointing Norito Ikeda, former chief personnel officer of the Bank of Yokohama, as president of the nationalized Ashikaga Bank, according to sources close to the matter.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2003

SDP puts on brave face at national convention

The struggling Social Democratic Party formally approved at a national convention Saturday the appointment of top party officials, including Mizuho Fukushima as party president.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2003

Crime crackdown includes plan to cut illegal foreign residents

In an effort to regain its reputation as a safe nation, Japan aims to halve by 2005 the number of illegal foreign residents from the current estimate of 250,000, according to a government action plan to combat crime obtained by Kyodo News on Saturday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 14, 2003

What the Wright brothers wrought

History is rife with illustrations of those rueful conditional verbs "could have," "would have" or "should have" -- and never more so than when a momentous anniversary rolls around. The latest example is the 100th anniversary this Wednesday of the huge accomplishment of the American Wright brothers,...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Japan, ASEAN look to future

The summit between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations closed here Friday with leaders signing a "special relationship" declaration.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 13, 2003

Japan, don't send your soldiers

ARKADELPHIA, Arkansas -- A recent New York Times carried the story that Japan will send 600 ground troops to southeastern Iraq. I read this news with sadness as I prepared to lead a discussion in my upper level class in 20th-century U.S. history on the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki....
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 12, 2003

Diplomats died trying to make a difference

WASHINGTON -- I learned of Katsuhiko Oku's death last week; a caller from Baghdad told me that "Katsu" had been shot on a highway together with his younger colleague, fellow Japanese diplomat Masamori Inoue.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

Rape allegation heaps misery on SDP

The Social Democratic Party found itself in further turmoil Thursday as a former state-paid secretary to party lawmaker Tomoko Abe was accused of raping a woman on several occasions last year.
EDITORIALS
Dec 11, 2003

The most risky mission yet

Japan is preparing to send Self-Defense Force troops to Iraq for a period ending one year from Monday. Their dispatch, which is expected to begin early next year, is based on the assumption that they will operate in noncombat areas to help rebuild the war-torn country. According to the plan approved...
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2003

Mixed signals sent on SDF Iraq duties

The government is giving unclear explanations about when Self-Defense Forces troops will be sent to Iraq and whether they will transport arms and ammunition for other forces in the U.S.-led coalition.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Dec 11, 2003

Internet levels fundraising field for Howard Dean

WASHINGTON -- You may never have heard of Zephyr Teachout, a 31-year-old teacher from up north, but she is close to being the Gutenberg of the Internet Age for politicians.
BUSINESS
Dec 10, 2003

Extra budget worth 1 trillion yen is in the works

The government will compile an extra budget for the current fiscal year featuring more than 1 trillion yen in spending on social security, disaster relief and Iraqi assistance, government officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2003

Iraq gives SDF a military-reality check

An Air Self-Defense Force officer in his 40s says he is happy to be chosen as a candidate for the planned mission to help rebuild Iraq.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2003

Takefuji chairman admits ordering phone tap, resigns

Takefuji Corp. founder Yasuo Takei, under arrest for his alleged role in a wiretapping case, resigned Monday as chairman after admitting he ordered his men to bug a journalist's phone, the major consumer loan company said.
BUSINESS
Dec 9, 2003

Keidanren chief willing to stay on

Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), expressed willingness Monday to continue serving in the post beyond the end of his two-year term in May.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 6, 2003

Kazuo's list at four

Kyodo News Free agent infielder Kazuo Matsui said Thursday he has narrowed his choices of where to play next season to four major league teams.
EDITORIALS
Dec 6, 2003

Go slow on troop relocation

The United States, in an attempt to realign its military forces abroad, is planning to relocate its troops in South Korea. However, talks between the two countries do not appear to be going smoothly. A recent meeting in Seoul between U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and South Korean Defense...

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