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JAPAN
Apr 20, 2002

Upper House president quits

The president of the House of Councilors tendered his resignation Friday to take responsibility for an alleged payoff scandal in which his policy secretary reportedly received 64 million yen in connection with a public works project.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2002

Dwellers bought off; ball to fall on Aoyama flats

The ivy-covered Dojyunkai Apartments in Tokyo's Aoyama district have long been a popular landmark along Omote-sando boulevard. Although the antiquated buildings add a serene touch to the fashionable, bustling district, efforts to protect the site from redevelopment into a shopping complex have so far...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CLOSE NEIGHBORS
Apr 18, 2002

Grassroots ties aim to bypass diplomatic gridlock

One click on a mouse turns the hankul characters on an Internet chat site into a Japanese message of welcome, delighting elderly Japanese participants in an online exchange with some of their South Korean counterparts.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2002

Japan considering creation of East Asia free-trade area before 2010

Japan is considering establishing an East Asia free-trade zone well ahead of 2010, Japanese trade ministry officials said Saturday.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 14, 2002

Pop stars set an example for us all

The permanent five-day school week that goes into effect this month has given rise to a great deal of discussion in the government and the media as to whether or not Japan can afford to cut back on classroom time. This discussion, however, has not addressed the question of what education is supposed...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2002

Women's group helps foster friendships

NARA -- Noriko Yamaue, 58, did not enjoy her first trip abroad.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Apr 12, 2002

The man who gave the JET program liftoff

The JET program marks its 15th anniversary this year. Today the country's largest teacher-exchange program, it all started from the simple dream of a young British banker called Nicolas Maclean.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2002

Vested-interest policymakers irked over report that pulls few punches

Lawmakers within the ruling coalition were left aghast by a scathing report submitted last week by a panel investigating the government's handling of mad cow disease.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2002

Threat of new Iraqi war has neighboring Turkey on edge

ANKARA -- At his shop in the ancient citadel of this busy capital city, Satilimish Sutchuoglu and three fellow carpet sellers gather to drink tea and trade forecasts of economic doom.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2002

Lower House approves Kato's resignation

The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved the resignation of scandal-tainted Koichi Kato.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 10, 2002

Total eclipse of the art

In a residential area close to the bright lights and buzz of Shibuya, a fascinating theatrical experiment is taking place at the Agora Theater in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2002

Suzuki used hostage case to increase his influence

House of Representatives lawmaker Muneo Suzuki instructed a Foreign Ministry official to secretly make contact with Afghanistan's Taliban regime in 1999, in an effort to secure the release of four Japanese engineers who had been abducted by Islamic rebels in Kyrgyzstan that summer, it was learned Saturday....
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2002

LDP to probe Tanaka over weeklies' charges

The Liberal Democratic Party said Friday it will launch an investigation Monday into allegations that LDP member Makiko Tanaka pocketed part of her secretaries' salaries paid from government coffers.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2002

White powder sent to Tsujimoto

OSAKA -- A letter containing a white powdery substance was delivered Tuesday to the office of scandal-tainted former lawmaker Kiyomi Tsujimoto in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, police said.
BUSINESS
Apr 4, 2002

Lobby groups set merger timetable

The Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Osaka Industrial Association agreed Wednesday to draw up a concrete merger plan by the end of June, officials of the two groups said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2002

Beijing's WTO entry seen as start of Asia 'axis of virtue'

SINGAPORE -- China's entrance into the World Trade Organization does not represent a threat to the economic well-being of either Japan or the ASEAN countries. Rather, it marks the beginning of an axis of virtue in East and Southeast Asia and trade and investment opportunities for all.
BUSINESS
Mar 30, 2002

Japan urges China to cut tariffs

A government report released Friday calls on China to slash tariffs and root out piracy of Japanese products.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2002

Fresh irritants may still derail Sino-Japan ties

Like Tokyo's cherry-blossoms-dotted landscape at this time of year, relations between Japan and China appear to have sprung back to life -- and in bloom again after a winter of chill and frost.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2002

Japan, U.S. to hold steel talks April 10

Japan and the United States will hold talks in Geneva under the dispute-settlement system of the World Trade Organization on April 10 and 11 over tariffs Washington imposed on steel imports earlier this month, government officials said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2002

Mitsubishi, Nissho Iwai to combine steel operations

Trading houses Mitsubishi Corp. and Nissho Iwai Corp. said Wednesday they will set up a joint venture Oct. 1 to integrate their steel businesses.
COMMENTARY
Mar 25, 2002

There's more to a name than meets the eye

As someone who has crossed the Pacific Ocean over 450 times since 1956, I am constantly fascinated by the similarities and differences between the United States and Japan. Among the challenges facing someone who lives in both societies is that what is so positive in one country can often be so negative...
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2002

U.S. airlines set to switch Narita slots

Transport minister Chikage Ogi indicated Friday that Japan will allow Delta Air Lines to transfer some of its slots to FedEx Corp. at Narita airport, as the United States has requested.
BUSINESS
Mar 22, 2002

Culture clash arises out of FTA deliberations

Japan and Mexico have made it halfway through what for Japan remains an unexplored tunnel and are beginning to see a glimmer of light.
COMMENTARY
Mar 20, 2002

Uncertain future for Koizumi

In politics, as the saying goes, all is darkness just a step down the road. How right they are. When the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was inaugurated at the end of April 2001, it enjoyed a stellar Cabinet support rating of 80 percent, and the prime minister himself was hugely popular....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 17, 2002

The tower and the story

On Christmas Eve, 1958, thousands of people poured through Hamamatsucho Station in Tokyo's Minato Ward to take in Japan's first postwar shot at a "public attraction." There was nothing particularly cute about it; no fearsome rides, or cuddly characters to have your photo taken with. What's more, visitors...
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2002

Japan, U.S. fail to agree on steel

WASHINGTON -- Japan and the United States failed Thursday to narrow their disagreements on the issue of planned U.S. steel import tariffs, raising the possibility of Japan taking the case to the World Trade Organization.
EDITORIALS
Mar 15, 2002

'Shunto' outlives its usefulness

Japan's traditional annual wage round, known as "shunto" (spring labor offensive), has collapsed for all practical purposes. As a union leader in the information sector points out, "This year marks a historic turning point for shunto." In fact, labor groups have given up customary wage demands, effectively...
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2002

WTO should review rules of investment: Hiranuma

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma on Monday told the next director general of the World Trade Organization that investment rules should be negotiated during the recently launched new round of international trade talks.

Longform

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