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Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2009

Roos arrives early, is sworn in as new U.S. ambassador

NARITA, Chiba Pref. — New U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos arrived in Tokyo Wednesday pledging to further strengthen bilateral ties and solidify the bond he called the cornerstone of Washington's Asia-Pacific policies.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2009

Suzuki sides with DPJ, sees dual polls in '10

SAPPORO — Muneo Suzuki, leader of Hokkaido's New Party Daichi, said elections for both chambers of the Diet could be held simultaneously next year if the opposition camp secures a huge win in the Aug. 30 House of Representatives poll.
Japan Times
JAPAN / PARTY POWERS
Aug 19, 2009

Down in polls, Aso says only LDP can provide security

The Liberal Democratic Party is the only political party that has the ability to protect the Japanese people, claimed Prime Minister Taro Aso, who is campaigning furiously ahead of the Aug. 30 election.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2009

Parties split on foreigner suffrage

Prime Minister Taro Aso and Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama displayed clear differences Monday in their parties' positions on whether to allow foreigners with permanent residency to vote in local races.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2009

Foreigners size up lay judge system

The launch of the lay judge system for criminal trials is being observed with great interest overseas, where public participation in court cases is well established, a prominent expert on the U.S. jury system said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2009

Higashikokubaru rues ultimatum

Miyazaki Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru said Friday he regretted the political turmoil that resulted from his wavering over whether to accept the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's offer to put his name on its ticket for the Aug. 30 Lower House election.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 13, 2009

Berlusconi's scandals are no laughing matter

ROME — Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's political and sexual exploits make headlines around the world, and not just in the tabloid press. These stories would be no more than funny — which they are certainly are — if they were not so damaging to Italy and revelatory of the country's immobile...
EDITORIALS
Aug 13, 2009

A mockery in Myanmar

To the surprise of very few, a court in Myanmar has found Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of violating internal security laws and given a three-year prison term. As a theatrical coda to the ruling, the military regime immediately cut the sentence to 18 months of house arrest — to...
COMMENTARY
Aug 11, 2009

Seven topics for a summer day

LONDON — As Japanese lawmakers campaign for the Aug. 30 Lower House election, British members of Parliament are in recess and Prime Minister Gordon Brown is on holiday. Papers and weeklies are scraping the barrel for something to write about. Many fill their columns with so much sports that foreign...
EDITORIALS
Aug 10, 2009

Funds for local government

A Cabinet Office panel on the promotion of devolution is pushing discussions that will lead to the preparation of a third set of recommendations for the prime minister. This set was originally supposed to be submitted in May, but its submission was postponed to September because of strong opinion within...
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 9, 2009

'No public discourse' in Pakistan about its nukes

Kamila Shamsie is a Pakistan-born novelist who was educated in the United States and now lives in London, from where she recently gave the interview below. In her 2009 novel "Burnt Shadows," Kamila Shamsie explores the indelible mark that the larger sweep of history leaves on people caught up in its...
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 9, 2009

Under a cloud: Lessons and legacies of the atomic bombings

Global fashion icon Issey Miyake recently made headlines by divulging in a New York Times article he penned on July 13 that he is a hibakusha, a survivor of the atomic bombings of Japan.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2009

Citizens stepped up, fulfilled new court duty

With the Thursday close of the first lay judge trial, Japan has joined the ranks of some 80 countries whose citizens participate in criminal trials.
EDITORIALS
Aug 6, 2009

Strive for nuclear disarmament

As Japan marks the 64th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world sees two forces working in opposite directions when it comes to the issue of nuclear weapons.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2009

DPJ to be more assertive on U.S. ties: Okada

The Democratic Party of Japan says that if it comes to power it will confront the United States on key military and diplomatic issues but still regard it as the nation's most important ally.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2009

First lay judge trial kicks off in Tokyo

The first trial involving lay judges kicked off Monday in the Tokyo District Court with Katsuyoshi Fujii, 72, pleading guilty to murdering his neighbor, Mun Chun Ja, 66, in May.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2009

Angst over opposition rule

There is a palpable sense of anxiety in some quarters in Japan at the prospects of a Democratic Party of Japan-led majority emerging from the Aug. 30 Lower House elections.
Reader Mail
Aug 2, 2009

The wealthy don't create wealth

N.R. Williams' July 23 letter,"A guiding light for the economy," states an interesting opinion with which I agree. After World War II, the governments of most Western countries intervened in the control and management of their national economies. This contributed to maintaining stable economic growth...
COMMENTARY
Aug 1, 2009

Tough times for politicians

Democratic governments everywhere are in trouble. In Britain, the Labour government is tottering. In Japan, defeat looms for Prime Minister Taro Aso's Liberal Democratic Party. In Italy, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is clinging on amid a sea of scandal. In France, hyperactive President Nicolas Sarkozy...
Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Jul 29, 2009

Politicians tap Twitter to tweak profiles

At 6:44 p.m. on July 15, Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Seiji Osaka posed a question on his Twitter profile: "I think bringing the voting age down to 18 years old is OK. What do you think about it?"
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2009

DPJ platform vows to weaken bureaucrats

With a month to go before the Aug. 30 election, the Democratic Party of Japan unveiled its campaign platform Monday, featuring five main principles centering on a government led by politicians rather than bureaucrats.
COMMENTARY
Jul 28, 2009

Challenge of a straight question

LONDON — Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, recently was asked twice by the Defense Committee of the House of Commons whether the army chief of staff had requested that reinforcements of 2,000 men be sent to Afghanistan, where British forces have recently suffered a string of casualties. Brown...

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