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BUSINESS
Sep 23, 2003

Big business groups expect Cabinet to produce

Leaders of the nation's three major business groups on Monday welcomed the new Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, expressing their hope for accelerating structural reforms.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 23, 2003

Confessions of a foreign correspondent

These are not happy times for people who make a living writing about Japan. With the country apparently having become, as one magazine put it, the "Switzerland of Asia," i.e., rich but boring, foreign newspapers are shuttering their Tokyo bureaus as fast as they can move their correspondents to cover...
COMMENTARY
Sep 23, 2003

LDP factions losing clout

The Liberal Democratic Party is an assemblage of factions. Since it has held the reins of government almost continuously, the LDP has derived much of its vitality from factional power struggles for the party presidency and the prime ministership.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2003

12 Tepco staff to work for nuclear safety entity

Starting next month, 12 Tokyo Electric Power Co. employees will begin working for an independent administrative entity that will take on some government nuclear plant inspection duties, according to officials.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2003

Koizumi shakes up LDP leadership

In a bold and surprising bid to ward off a party rebellion, Prime Minister Junichio Koizumi on Sunday appointed Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe as the No. 2 man in his Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2003

Lower House set to be dissolved in October for election, Koizumi hints

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi gave a strong hint Saturday that he will dissolve the House of Representatives in October, saying he will make a decision on the timing after taking into consideration Lower House by-elections scheduled for late October.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 21, 2003

An endless supply of meat for loan sharks

Half the job of solving social problems is getting the word out. This is especially true when it comes to criminal activities like fraud. Victims of fraud are by definition people who don't know enough about fraud to realize when they're being ripped off.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2003

Koizumi wins new mandate to lead LDP

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was re-elected head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Saturday, a sweeping victory in a vote by LDP politicians and the party's local chapters over his three challengers.
EDITORIALS
Sep 20, 2003

The crash in Cancun

The gap between rich and poor nations proved too wide to bridge, and negotiations broke off amid finger-pointing and concern that the failure to reach agreement could unravel the global trade order. In place of one system, it is feared that governments will embrace bilateral and regional deals.
COMMENTARY
Sep 20, 2003

Liberal ideals gain ground in the Asia-Pacific region

MANILA -- In past decades, liberal democracy and economic freedom have made great advances in all parts of the world. This general trend also applies to Asia, as is documented in the annual "Freedom in the World" surveys published by the Washington-based Heritage Foundation and the "Economic Freedom...
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2003

Iranian visa violators can stay

The Tokyo District Court on Friday granted an Iranian family of four in Gunma Prefecture who have overstayed their visas for more than 13 years permission to stay in Japan, citing humanitarian reasons.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 20, 2003

Summer insect tourism slows to a crawl

Good morning, thanks for joining "Good Morning Insects!" for today's top news. My name is Goki Buri.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Sep 20, 2003

Tattoos ain't what they used to be

My older son now has what I do not.
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2003

Japan's future looks a little brighter: Fukui

Signs are gradually emerging that Japan's economy may have a bright future, spurred by an increase in capital spending and improvements in the U.S. and East Asian economies, Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2003

FSA to scrutinize bank earnings

Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka said Wednesday his agency plans to impose heavy penalties on banks that manipulate earnings reports for the year through next March.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2003

Nomura unit may beef up theme park investment plan

Nomura Principal Finance Co. may revise upward the size of its planned equipment investment in failed theme park operator Huis Ten Bosch Co., an executive of the investment arm of the Nomura Securities group said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2003

With health a concern, Shiokawa set to depart

Citing health concerns, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Tuesday he would not try to retain his ministerial post even if Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi wins the LDP presidential election on Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2003

Soga talks of family she left behind

MANO, Niigata Pref. -- Hitomi Soga, who returned to Japan last year for the first time since being abducted to North Korea in 1978, said Tuesday she is filled with the pain of being separated from her husband and children.
COMMENTARY
Sep 15, 2003

U.N. force key to Iraqi peace

LONDON -- The news from Iraq over the last month has been bleak, with U.S. and British forces continuing to suffer significant casualties. Bomb blasts last month at the U.N. headquarters and a Shiite mosque left many dead and wounded. Acts of sabotage have hindered the resumption of electricity and water...
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2003

LDP candidates all favor revisions to Constitution

The four candidates for the presidency of the governing Liberal Democratic Party each appeared positive Saturday about the possibility of revising the war-renouncing Article 9 of Japan's Constitution.
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2003

Hospital malpractice rises four-fold in '02

University hospitals across Japan reported 39 malpractice cases to the government in fiscal 2002, more than four times the number in the previous year, according to documents obtained by Kyodo News.
COMMENTARY
Sep 14, 2003

Shy man performs historic balancing act

HONG KONG -- Because Hong Kong's leader tends to view the news media (local or otherwise) with the enthusiasm of a swimmer greeting a school of sharks, Tung Chee-hwa has scant hope of receiving his due as the historically pivotal man he is. His public image is generally terrible, and he is often portrayed...
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2003

598 Japanese abandoned in China after war to sue government this month

Another 598 Japanese who were abandoned in China at the end of World War II will sue the government later this month, bringing the total number of plaintiffs seeking compensation to more than 1,200 -- about half of the roughly 2,400 war-displaced orphans who have returned.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2003

Defector describes childhood of pain

A North Korean who was once detained in the notorious Yodeok concentration camp called on South Korea, Japan and other nations to join hands to pressure the Kim Jong Il regime.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
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