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JAPAN
Jun 16, 2007

Mentally ill exceeded 3 million in '05

The number of Japanese suffering from mental illnesses, including depression and Alzheimer's disease, topped 3 million for the first time in 2005, the government said Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2007

Lower House approves 'amakudari' bill

With the crucial Upper House election looming next month, the House of Representatives approved a controversial bill Thursday aimed at curbing "amakudari," the notorious practice of handing retiring top bureaucrats lucrative jobs in private-sector firms and quasi-government entities in the sectors they...
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2007

Political pressure puts press freedom to test

, director of the Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organization, announces during a news conference on March 7 the formation of a new subcommittee to prevent fabricated information from being broadcast by TV stations. KYODO PHOTO
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2007

Despite economic recovery, suicide rate remains high

The hanging death of the farm minister this week grimly underscored the country's stubbornly high suicide rate — and the government's struggle to discourage large numbers of Japanese from killing themselves.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 29, 2007

'Amakudari' too entrenched to curb?

The Diet began deliberating a bill this month aimed at curbing "amakudari," the practice of giving retiring top bureaucrats lucrative jobs in private-sector firms and quasi-government entities in the business sectors they oversee.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 29, 2007

Embattled farm minister kills himself at residence

Farm minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka, embroiled in a political funds scandal, committed suicide Monday at his residence in Tokyo's Akasaka district.
JAPAN
May 12, 2007

Cool Biz returns to fight global warming

Japanese workers will again ditch their neckties and dress casually this summer to combat global warming in an iconic seasonal campaign known as Cool Biz.
JAPAN
May 9, 2007

Abe made offering to Yasukuni Shrine instead of visiting

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe chose not to visit Yasukuni Shrine last month during its spring festival but did make a 50,000 yen private offering, a Yasukuni spokeswoman said Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 8, 2007

Ishibashi's brief reign in '57 a key crossroads

is congratulated by Nobusuke Kishi after winning a runoff election for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party presidency on Dec. 14, 1956. KYODO PHOTO
Reader Mail
Apr 15, 2007

Who will judge what's 'false'?

Regarding the April 7 front-page article "Cabinet OKs bill to boost grip on broadcasters": The fears of censorship are entirely understandable. Japan must have laws covering fraud. But don't such laws already apply to broadcasters?
COMMENTARY
Apr 2, 2007

The risks of not acting bold

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who took office six months ago, is beginning to reveal his true self as a dyed-in-the-wool conservative.
COMMENTARY
Mar 26, 2007

Strengthen U.S. trade ties

Japan is gearing up to conclude more free trade or economic partnership agreements with foreign governments. So far, Japan has been less enthusiastic about FTAs and EPAs than Western countries but is changing its tack due to difficulties expected in the new round of multilateral trade talks under the...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2007

Bush must do far more to win over Latin Americans

LOS ANGELES -- After ignoring Latin America for years, President George W. Bush is desperately trying to improve hemispheric relations. But his just-completed trip to Latin America came too late. Years of neglect could not possibly be erased by a trip long in photo opportunities and short in substance....
EDITORIALS
Mar 21, 2007

Close expenditure loophole

If a lawmaker locates his or her political funds management body in an official Diet office, rent and utilities are free. Now it has come to light that two lawmakers' funding bodies reported unusually high utility expenditures. Earlier, it was found that the political funds reports of education minister...
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2007

State mum on Nakasone's war brothel

started assaulting (indigenous) women and others started to indulge in gambling. I took great pains to set up a comfort station for them," Nakasone recalled in "Owarinaki Kaigun" ("The Navy Without End"), a collection of memoirs written by navy veterans, published in 1978. "Comfort station" was the government's...
COMMENTARY
Mar 16, 2007

Apologies of dubious quality

HONG KONG -- The recent verbal gymnastics of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe show why, more than 60 years after the end of World War II, Japan's wartime behavior remains a sensitive issue around the region and why the country's apologies are regarded as insincere.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2007

Sex slave history erased from texts; '93 apology next?

Former education minister Nariaki Nakayama takes pride in an achievement he and about 130 fellow members of the Liberal Democratic Party took the past decade to accomplish: getting references to Japan's wartime sex slaves struck from most authorized history texts for junior high schools.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2007

Intelligence-gathering must be centralized, panel says

The government needs to centralize its intelligence to be able to report the most important information to the proposed National Security Council, according to a government panel's interim report, released Wednesday.

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