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COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Jun 26, 2004

Internet revolutionizing American politics

WASHINGTON -- The campaign of 2004 is different from any that came before. The reason is the Internet. For the first time, we have Meetup, MoveOn, Right March, Bloggers, E-Voting and political Spam. Good, bad or indifferent, the Internet is proving to be a major player in the prosecution of the presidential...
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2004

Beltway ruling backs residents

The Tokyo District Court on Thursday backed claims by residents in western Tokyo that the expropriation of their land for the construction of a new expressway was illegal, ruling that the project will not generate the public benefits touted by the government.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2004

Ohta quizzed over ties with arrested meat exec

OSAKA -- The arrest of Mitsuru Asada, vice chairman of the Osaka Prefecture Meat Cooperative Association, has sent shock waves through Osaka's political community and has put Osaka Gov. Fusae Ohta, who admits having met Asada on several occasions, on the defensive.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2004

DPJ lawmaker denies taking aide's pay

A senior lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Japan denied Tuesday he registered as his publicly paid secretary a woman who did not work for his office.
BUSINESS
Feb 10, 2004

Shinsei Bank sets IPO price at 525 yen for listing on TSE

Shinsei Bank said Monday it will make an initial public offering at 525 yen per share when it lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Feb. 19.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 27, 2004

Rural life's slow death

Matsunoyama town has almost everything its residents could want: spellbinding scenery, gorgeous terraced rice paddies cloaking the hillsides, splendid new roads and magnificent public facilities.
COMMENTARY
Dec 11, 2003

New Zealand seeks bigger splash in Asia

WELLINGTON -- It's clear that New Zealand's size is both a curse and a blessing. The curse is easy to see: New Zealand is so small that it's hard to get the attention of other governments. New Zealand is responsible for 0.22 percent of world trade. There are more Indonesian civil servants than New Zealanders....
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2003

Chen winning back respect for Taiwan's position

NEW YORK -- Chen Shui-bian, Taiwan's president, recently made a whirlwind international tour. During a three-day transit in New York three weeks ago, he received the 2003 award from the International League for Human Rights. He attended centennial independence anniversary celebrations of Panama, then...
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2003

Takefuji Corp. bugging allegations grow

A former Takefuji Corp. employee arrested last week on suspicion of tapping the phone of a freelance journalist had earlier admitted to bugging the phones of others.
COMMENTARY
Nov 11, 2003

A step toward a dynamic Japanese government

Japanese voters on Sunday took a big step toward creating a two-party political system, but history shows that Japan still has a long way to go before it becomes a country in which changes of government occur periodically.
JAPAN
Nov 9, 2003

Political leaders count campaign mileage

The leaders of Japan's six major political parties traveled a distance of 10,500 km on average during the 12-day campaign for Sunday's House of Representatives election.
COMMENTARY
Nov 3, 2003

Creating more jobs that pay

Despite reports that the Japanese economy is on a recovery track, the nation's unemployment rate still exceeds 5 percent. Let me make some proposals for increasing employment opportunities on a long-term basis.
COMMENTARY
Oct 12, 2003

Eco-radicals twist tax law to feed habits

WASHINGTON -- Corporate misbehavior remains much in the news in America. One day it is Enron; next it is the New York Stock Exchange. Big Labor, too, must routinely be called to account.
COMMENTARY
Oct 6, 2003

Japan's priority: offsetting pull toward jobless recovery

U.S. President George W. Bush's military unilateralism has destabilized the world order to such an extent that, facing a dearth of low-risk, high-return investments, Western investors have descended on the Japanese stock market.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2003

Tokyo cuts deal over bank tax

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government cut a deal Wednesday with major banks to reduce a local tax rate on their gross operating profits, lawyers for the banks said.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2003

Environment panel calls for carbon tax in 2005

A government advisory panel tasked with studying environmental taxes adopted a proposal Wednesday for the introduction of a carbon levy by as early as 2005.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 10, 2003

The spirit of corrupt regimes alive in Japan

It's no secret that Japan discourages asylum-seekers, though officials never admit to it openly. When asked what the government would do about the 10 North Korean refugees who entered the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok on July 31, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said that it would be better for them...
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2003

Prosecutors send defamation case on Shinchosha

Tokyo police have turned over to prosecutors their defamation case against the president of Shinchosha Co. and seven others involved in a series of stories suggesting foul play in the deaths of four women, sources said Thursday.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jul 3, 2003

When males lead to miscarriages

At temples all over Japan, there are stone statues wearing aprons and caps of red cloth. Someone once told me that the cloth was supposed to keep the statues warm at night and protect them when it rained. What my friend neglected to say was that many of these statues are dedicated to mizuko, literally...
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2003

U.S. pressure places Iran-Japan oil deal in doubt

The government on Tuesday urged a state-backed consortium of Japanese firms to delay signing a contract on an Iranian oil development project, citing international suspicion that Tehran is developing nuclear weapons.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2003

Mediator settles fight involving air pollution

Residents of Amagasaki in Hyogo Prefecture, the government and a public expressway corporation accepted a mediation proposal Thursday on their fight over air pollution.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2003

Mediator settles fight involving air pollution

Residents of Amagasaki in Hyogo Prefecture, the government and a public expressway corporation accepted a mediation proposal Thursday on their fight over air pollution.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2003

Mediator settles fight involving air pollution

Residents of Amagasaki in Hyogo Prefecture, the government and a public expressway corporation accepted a mediation proposal Thursday on their fight over air pollution.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan