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JAPAN
Jan 3, 2007

History, North Korea set to test Japan-China ties

will be a crucial year for Sino-Japanese ties as the two nations will see if their relations can really be on a good track and determine if they can indeed elevate their ties into a relationship of shared strategic interest," said China expert Tomoyuki Kojima. "The situation however is volatile and depends...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 8, 2006

TBS's "The World's Super Doctors" and more

Japanese boys' interest in insects goes beyond the universal male childhood fascination with creepy-crawlies. Often, this obsession continues into adulthood and explains the hugely profitable trade in giant beetles.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 12, 2006

Weekly magazines joust over trillion-yen fortunetelling trade

It is often said that if you really want to understand what is happening in Japan you should read the weekly magazines. Though the weeklies' journalistic standards are considered less rigorous than those of the daily newspapers, they are less reluctant to step on toes that belong to people who might...
COMMENTARY
Sep 19, 2005

A mandate to finish the job

The Sept. 11 general election produced stunning results unprecedented in Japanese political history. Unaffiliated voters gave overwhelming support to the governing Liberal Democratic Party, handing the LDP-New Komeito coalition more than two-thirds of the 480-seat Lower House. Paradoxically, conservative...
EDITORIALS
Sep 3, 2005

Class size that works

A committee of experts assisting the Education Ministry recently submitted an interim report on a subject that very much interests parents: the size of school classes. But the report's conclusion has apparently disappointed many parents, as it supports the current ministry guideline that sets the upper...
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2005

Tokyo still weak on human-trafficking: U.N. investigator

The government will have to do much more than just revise a few laws to combat human-trafficking, the U.N. special rapporteur on the problem said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2005

AIDS time bomb is Asia: Kobe forum

KOBE — Medical professionals, scholars, community leaders and those who are HIV positive from around Asia and the Pacific gathered Friday in Kobe to begin a five-day conference on the region's growing HIV/AIDS crisis.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 28, 2005

Tokyo Families, Fun House maker gets fine start

Why does it come as such a surprise to find Carin Smolinsky with an Audi TT Roadster? Certainly it suits her driving personality -- the bubbling nature of her entrepreneurial spirit. For her own part, it's perfect for nipping ("sedately," she insists) through Tokyo traffic and slides into the smallest...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2005

No exception for Pyongyang

HONOLULU -- No issue more clearly illustrates the chasm in public perceptions that has developed between the United States and South Korea than the issue of human rights in North Korea.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2005

Home schooling finds foothold but not official favor

Mariko Komuro was of the firm belief that children should go to school even if they experienced problems -- at least until her 8-year-old son, Kazutoshi, began to feel sick and throw up in the morning on school days.
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2004

Should English be compulsory in elementary schools?

After visiting an English class at an elementary school in Arakawa Ward, Tokyo, early this year, then education minister Takeo Kawamura told the principal, "In the near future, I think there should be English classes in all of Japan's elementary schools."
EDITORIALS
Oct 9, 2004

Give us a real surprise

Japan's main banks appear to be getting a grip on disposing of nonperforming loans, which was the big issue 3 1/2 years ago when Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took power. Corporate earnings have improved a lot, and the economy is seeing its most robust growth since the collapse of the bubble. At one...
EDITORIALS
Sep 21, 2004

An opportunity for Beijing

China has dodged a bullet. The recent legislative elections in Hong Kong returned a majority that is sympathetic toward Beijing. That means that there will be no confrontation between Hong Kong's feisty democrats and the Communist Party leadership in China. Instead, the results provide a chance to test...
COMMENTARY
Jul 26, 2004

Beijing entering Hong Kong cul-de-sac

HONG KONG -- On July 1, Hong Kong, figuratively speaking, stuck to its democratic guns. It was just as well since China, naturally, has stuck to its antidemocratic guns.
COMMENTARY
Dec 1, 2003

Iraq and economy top political agenda

The special session of the Diet that was convened on Nov. 19 following the Nov. 9 general election came to an early close Nov. 27. On the question of the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq, which is the most important issue at the moment, fierce debate unfolded between Prime Minister Junichiro...
EDITORIALS
Jun 5, 2003

Politics prevail at the G8

Once upon a time, the heads of the world's seven leading industrial powers got together to discuss economics and ways to ensure growth. That focus made sense because there were other forums to talk about politics, and economic coordination was much lacking. Sadly, that time is long gone. Instead, the...
COMMENTARY
Jun 2, 2003

U.S.-Japan global alliance

Last week's summit between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush ushered in a new era for the Japan-U.S. security alliance: The bilateral system is beginning to change into a global alliance.
COMMENTARY
May 19, 2003

Strengthen Japan's deterrent

The ruling coalition and the top opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, have agreed to amend a package of government-sponsored war contingency bills, marking a turning point in Japan's security policy.
BUSINESS
Jan 10, 2003

Aozora chief angry over allegation

Aozora Bank confirmed a media report Thursday that it provided customer information to U.S. investment fund Cerberus Group, one of its top shareholders, on request between January and February 2002.
BUSINESS
Nov 28, 2002

Bills for splitting public entities pass

The Diet passed nine bills Wednesday to convert designated special-purpose public corporations, including the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, into nine independent administrative entities.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2002

Kim admits abductions

PYONGYANG -- Four of the 11 Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and '80s are alive but six others are dead, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi during their landmark talks on Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2002

U.N. official seeks debt forgiveness, more aid for poorest African nations

While Japan is striving to reduce its official development assistance budget, it should channel more aid resources toward least developed countries in Africa, according to a high-ranking U.N. official.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 9, 2002

In publishing, the modern girls have it

World Cup fever may have taken over the Japanese media, but the bookstores are full of books on language and education. The sales of books for learning English are perhaps connected to spring and its association in Japan with the beginning of the academic year and the hiring of new employees by the corporate...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 1, 2002

Make the world a better place for children

From May 8 to 10, the streets of New York City were adorned by the presence of 60 heads of state and their bodyguards, 3,000 government officials, 3,000 nongovernmental organizations and children from 180 countries. They were delegates of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / THE OKINAWA FACTOR
May 15, 2002

Nuclear pact ensured smooth Okinawa reversion

On Nov. 21, 1969, President Richard Nixon met with Prime Minister Eisaku Sato in Washington to discuss an extremely delicate issue.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2002

Noam Chomsky: America is a leading terrorist state

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts -- Noam Chomsky, a linguistics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is world-famous as the originator of the "Transformational Grammar" theory, a framework of principles accounting for all language-specific rules.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 5, 2002

Deciding who has the right to life

DUBLIN -- A familiar sight once again adorns lampposts and billboards in every town and village in Ireland. The posters scream conflicting messages to a confused public: "Babies will die, vote no"; "Protect women and save babies, vote yes."

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?