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COMMENTARY
Nov 8, 2004

Conservatives sold their souls

WASHINGTON -- After Nov. 2 the Republican Party seems to have it all: continued possession of the U.S. presidency and expanded control of Congress. Ironically, however, President George W. Bush's victory has killed America's conservative movement. The Republican Party and conservative movement have lost...
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2004

Obituary: Kenzaburo Hara

Former House of Representatives Speaker Kenzaburo Hara died Saturday at a Tokyo hospital, his family said. He was 97.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2004

Japan's prisons bursting at the seams

The nation saw 61,534 people incarcerated as of the end of 2003, topping the 60,000 mark for the first time since 1960.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 6, 2004

Surely U.S. set to reconcile

WASHINGTON -- After a campaign that stressed the importance of continuity, some might expect few changes in policies during the second term of President George W. Bush. But the outcome of this bitterly fought election has clarified many issues in the United States and will send a signal far beyond America....
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2004

Defense Agency sues battery makers

The Defense Agency filed a lawsuit Friday with the Tokyo District Court, demanding three battery manufacturers involved in big-rigging return some 700 million yen in improper profits, agency officials said.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2004

Nakao's prison term suspended due to sickness

The Tokyo High Public Prosecutor's Office decided Tuesday to suspend a prison sentence handed down against former construction minister Eiichi Nakao, who was found guilty of bribe taking, because he is ill.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2004

Ishihara tries to counter city's birthrate-unfriendly nature

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara would probably be happy to learn that when Mayumi Ozaki's 2-year-old daughter caught a cold, her minder went to the girl's home and looked after her for two days.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2004

2.3 trillion yen in high-tech bills enter nationwide circulation

Newly designed bank notes went into circulation Monday for the first time in 20 years, featuring cutting-edge technology aimed at combating a rising tide of counterfeits.
EDITORIALS
Nov 1, 2004

Troubling times for the EU

October was a cruel month for the European Union. Although the month closed on a high note with preliminary agreement on a constitution to mark the next stage in the institutional evolution of the EU, ratification of the document is far from certain. At any rate, the lavish signing ceremony in Rome was...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 31, 2004

M. Ward finds his voice

Almost every pop musician starts out trying to sound like somebody else, and if he's lucky he ends up sounding like nobody but himself. This truism becomes less tenable with the passage of time and the gradual exhaustion of new musical ideas. Even a field as huge as "American folk-rock" is reducible...
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2004

Opposition parties fail to rattle Koizumi

Attempts by opposition parties to rattle Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi during the ongoing Diet session in connection with political funding reports have proved fruitless.
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2004

No change in sight for ultraeasy monetary policy, maintains Fukui

Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui said Friday it is too early for the central bank to reverse its ultraeasy monetary policy, despite its forecast that closely watched consumer prices will edge up slightly in fiscal 2005.
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2004

Information on quake relief funds and volunteer efforts

More than 100,000 survivors of the earthquakes that have hit the Chuetsu region in Niigata Prefecture have had to take shelter in schools and vehicles.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2004

Judge reverses Kunitachi ruling

The Tokyo High Court reversed a lower court ruling Wednesday and withdrew an order for a real estate developer to remove the top seven floors of an apartment building in Kunitachi, western Tokyo.
EDITORIALS
Oct 26, 2004

Troubling signs in Myanmar

A shakeup in Yangon has refocused international attention on the reclusive regime in Myanmar. The ousting of Prime Minister Khin Nyunt bodes ill for hopes of democratic reform in the country and will increase tension between Myanmar and ASEAN, and between ASEAN and the West. Concerned governments need...
Japan Times
Features
Oct 24, 2004

Kitty collector plans afterlife together as well

Some have ridiculed her taste. Others have called her infantile. Yet Asako Kanda, a 31-year-old receptionist at a crafts and culture school in Tokyo, has never had any qualms about her long-running love affair with Hello Kitty.
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2004

Democrats, Republicans vie for Japan votes

OSAKA -- With less than two weeks to go until U.S. voters go to the polls to choose between incumbent President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry, representatives of the Republican and Democratic parties in Japan are doing their best to round up very vote.
BUSINESS
Oct 23, 2004

Jobless hurting nation's growth rate

An increase in the number of young people who do not attend schools, get jobs or receive job training will probably pull down Japan's potential growth rate during the 2000-2005 period, according to a think tank report.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2004

Cultists held over death of member who didn't survive religious 'training'

Four members of a religious sect were arrested Thursday in connection with the death of a fellow cultist in September, according to Tokyo police.
EDITORIALS
Oct 21, 2004

Bracing for an ugly two weeks

The U.S. presidential election is less than two weeks away. With both candidates running neck and neck, the election is still too close to call. Poll watchers worry that the victor will not be known even after the polls close: dysfunctional voting machinery and legal challenges may hold up results for...
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Oct 21, 2004

Candidates focus on battleground states

WASHINGTON -- Regardless of what you thought of the idea before the debates came off, chances are you will have to admit that the 2004 U.S. presidential debates provided a rare and welcome opportunity to get a better understanding of the two candidates, U.S. President George W. Bush and Massachusetts...
COMMENTARY
Oct 20, 2004

Help wanted for promoting democrac

MANILA -- A myriad of organizations from North America and Europe operate in various parts of the world with the objective of advancing democratic governance. While their strategies may differ, these "democracy-assistance foundations" hold the common belief that promoting democracy essentially promotes...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2004

Friction on Asia's flywheel

MANILA -- The economies of developing Asia are expected to grow 7 percent this year, equaling their performance of 2000, which saw the fastest growth since the Asian financial crisis (1997-98). Growth has been strong in all regions, particularly in East and Southeast Asia. Is this pace sustainable?
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2004

LDP body accused of hiding donations with faked receipts

Opposition lawmakers charged Monday that a fund management body of the Liberal Democratic Party issued fake receipts for political donations from the Japan Dental Association in 1999 and 2001, even though the money had been delivered to individual LDP lawmakers.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2004

Peru's envoy hopeful for Fujimori extradition

Peru's ambassador to Japan expressed hope Saturday that Japan will extradite disgraced former President Alberto Fujimori to face murder and embezzlement charges.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 17, 2004

Revealing true colors of Chinese justice

WHEN RED IS BLACK, by Qiu Xiaolong. Soho Press Inc., 2004, 309 pp., $25 (cloth). Like so many other inventions and contraptions that have filtered down throughout history, fictionalized stories of crime and detection are believed to have originated in China. Whodunits set in the Middle Kingdom have been...
JAPAN
Oct 16, 2004

Execs get suspended terms over Iran deals

The Tokyo District Court on Friday sentenced the president of a Tokyo machinery manufacturer to a suspended 30-month prison term for illegally exporting equipment to Iran that can be used to build missiles.
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2004

14th case of mad cow confirmed

A 48-month-old cow that died last week has been confirmed as having had mad cow disease, making it the nation's 14th case, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said Thursday.

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