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Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2002

Three Kyushu assemblies agree to request probe into abductions

Three local assemblies in Kyushu separately adopted written opinions Thursday pressing the central government to fully investigate North Korea's abductions of Japanese citizens.
COMMENTARY
Sep 20, 2002

Political lull comes to an end

This past summer was rather quiescent both politically and economically. About the only big story was former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka's resignation from the Diet over allegations that she misused the state-funded pay of her legislative secretaries.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2002

NPA establishes system to tackle child porn on Net

The National Police Agency has set up an automated system to find child pornography on the Internet.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2002

Yokota's child living in Pyongyang

The daughter of Megumi Yokota, abducted from Japan and taken to North Korea in 1977 at age 13, is now 15 years old and living in Pyongyang, Megumi's father said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2002

Send abductees home before talks: Tokyo

The government wants the surviving Japanese who were kidnapped by North Korea to return to Japan before it resumes diplomatic normalization talks with the Stalinist state next month, officials said Wednesday.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 19, 2002

Check-up costs, parking perils, and 'quake advice

Health check-ups I'm not feeling well and feel I need to get a complete checkup or physical. It is my understanding that the national health insurance only covers diagnosed illness but not such preventive care. What can I do? -- Phillip in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2002

Shiokawa wheels out ministry's latest tax plan

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa made a fresh proposal Wednesday to implement tax cuts of 1.5 trillion yen over a five-year period while simultaneously imposing tax hikes.
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2002

Kim's calculated gamble to open up is born of desperation

PYONGYANG -- Even at the Koryo Hotel, one of the most luxurious accommodations for foreign visitors in Pyongyang, the energy shortage was apparent.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 18, 2002

JAA's Praemium Imperiale recognizes the world's best

The 14th Praemium Imperiale prizes will this year go to movie director Jean-Luc Godard, baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, architect Sir Norman Foster, painter Sigmar Polke and sculptor Giuliano Vangi, it was announced Tuesday.
LIFE / Travel
Sep 17, 2002

Breaking down the barriers

SEOUL -- A merican presidents, soccer stars, paying tourists and the occasional squad of Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders airlifted in to boost U.S. troop morale regularly bus through select checkpoints in the Korean demilitarized zone, but otherwise this 246-km-long, 4 km-wide strip of land is one desolate...
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2002

Plants aim for objectivity following Tepco fiasco

Six of nine nuclear power plant operators said they will strive for greater objectivity in reporting, according to a Kyodo News survey released Sunday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / THE OKINAWA FACTOR
Sep 14, 2002

Okinawans look to tackle problems on own terms

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- Every third Monday, members of an underground community bank gather in a bar in downtown Naha.
BUSINESS
Sep 14, 2002

Yanagisawa slams Shiokawa RCC plan

Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa on Friday rejected a proposal by Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa for the state-run Resolution and Collection Corp. to buy bad loans from banks at higher-than-market value.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MUSEUM MUSINGS
Sep 14, 2002

Romantic-era painter's works bring old-fashioned district of Tokyo to life

For anyone who enjoys the sight of old-fashioned Japanese houses and the rich culture that flourished in the early 1900s, the Nezu residential district of central Tokyo is a wonderful place for a stroll.
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2002

Abduction issue 'most important': governor

Niigata Gov. Ikuo Hirayama on Friday urged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to put the abductions issue at the top of the agenda at next week's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2002

Political fundraisers collected record high 13.7 billion yen in 2001

Political parties and related organizations, including support groups for individual politicians, collected a record 13.7 billion yen through fundraising events in 2001, according to a government report issued Thursday.
BUSINESS
Sep 13, 2002

Corporate governance re-examined: S&P

Growing investor demand and more than a decade of economic stagnation are forcing Japanese companies to re-examine their traditional corporate governance practices, Standard & Poor's Corp. said in reports released Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / THE OKINAWA FACTOR
Sep 13, 2002

Okinawa's free-trade zones failing to attract companies

GUSHIKAWA, Okinawa Pref. -- The Acrorad Co. factory in Okinawa's Nakagusuku Free Trade Zone looks out on more than 100 hectares of empty lots.
BUSINESS
Sep 12, 2002

Major builders' merger still under construction

Mitsui Construction Co. and Sumitomo Construction Co. said Wednesday progress is being made in their business integration talks but no specifics have been settled.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2002

Japan raises alleged spy ship

A Japanese salvage ship on Wednesday raised the suspected spy ship that sank in the East China Sea in December during a firefight with Japan Coast Guard vessels.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2002

Public responds to mayors' U.S. barbs

Criticism leveled last month by Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba at the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has provoked a major reaction both at home and abroad.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2002

Families of alleged abductees demand results from summit

The families of two of the 11 Japanese nationals allegedly abducted by North Korean agents demanded Wednesday that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi push hard to resolve the issue at next week's summit in Pyongyang.
COMMENTARY
Sep 12, 2002

Brave trip to settle the past

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's one-day visit to North Korea on Sept. 17 is likely to have a profound effect on the security situation in Northeast Asia. The two nations started normalization talks in 1991, but thus far no substantial progress has been made because of the alleged abduction of Japanese...
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2002

Colleagues remember 9/11 dead

Colleagues of Japanese victims of last year's terrorist attacks in the United States solemnly observed the first anniversary on Wednesday, with many companies holding a moment of silence in remembrance of those who died when the World Trade Center buildings collapsed.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2002

Disabled writer Ototake OK'd to drive

The 26-year-old author of a best-selling book about life without normal limbs has acquired a driver's license.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2002

Koizumi urged to raise weapons issues with Kim

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to address U.S. concerns that North Korea is developing weapons of mass destruction on his landmark trip to Pyongyang next week.

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