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EDITORIALS
Dec 27, 2003

Mr. Gadhafi's change of heart

Mercurial Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has pulled off another coup. Last week's announcement that Libya would give up all its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction (WMD) has turned the former pariah into an international statesman. Surprising though the move may have seemed, it was the result...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2003

A chance for Europe to stand on its own

LONDON -- Disneyland, the Kennedy Space Center and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush were all on the agenda during the NATO Parliamentary Assembly's visit to Orlando, Florida, this month. Missing were members of the U.S. Congress. They weren't in Istanbul 12 months ago -- apparently because of problems with their...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Dec 26, 2003

Round 'bout midnight

It's that time of the year again, when everybody is steadily moving into party mode as the big countdown approaches. Some punters will simply be dancing in the streets to celebrate. Others will take to the expressways: Reportedly over 6,000 bosozoku (hot-rodders and hot-doggers on motorcycles) choked...
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2003

SDF to aid Iraq in democratization, Koizumi tells Qatar's Al-Jazeera TV

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Thursday he informed the Al-Jazeera Arabic TV network of Japan's peaceful intentions in dispatching Self-Defense Forces units to Iraq, hoping the mission will help the Iraqi people create a democratic government.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2003

'Two-China' policy pursued in '60s

Japan pursued a de facto "two-China" policy recognizing both China and Taiwan while officially maintaining a one-China policy, according to declassified diplomatic documents released Wednesday.
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 25, 2003

Japan to face Oman

Japan will face Oman in the first Asian qualifying round for the 2006 World Cup in February next year, the Japan Football Association said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2003

Japan defense role urged in '50s

The United States had hoped in the 1950s that Japan would quickly build its defense capabilities and exercise the right of collective defense in exchange for U.S. military assistance, according to diplomatic documents declassified Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2003

Tokyo kept war redress out of '67 Singapore accord title

Japan and Singapore compromised over the name of a 1967 agreement on reparations for World War II, referring to the pact by the date it was signed without characterizing its nature, according to newly declassified diplomatic documents.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Dec 25, 2003

It's Christmas, so meet the family

Dec. 25 is one day when many people make an effort to be with their families, and some might even take time to remember those less fortunate than themselves. So in that spirit, in this week's column we're going to think about our closest relatives, ones who are far less fortunate than us and who face...
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2003

Japan's eateries, stores in shock

Reports of the first case of mad cow disease in the United States dealt a blow Wednesday to Japan's food industry, which is still recovering from the fallout over the September 2001 domestic breakout of the fatal brain-wasting disease.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2003

Jews confined by Imperial forces: papers

The Japanese military during World War II confined in restricted areas an undetermined number of Jews in Shanghai and at least 275 German Jews in the Dutch East Indies, according to declassified diplomatic documents released Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2003

Okinawa return sought in '68

A leading politician in 1968 sought a partial return of administrative rights in Okinawa ahead of the full return of the U.S.-occupied prefecture, but Washington rejected the demand, according to diplomatic documents declassified Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2003

Japan paid Taiwan redress for wartime executions

Japan paid condolence money in 1953 to the families in Taiwan of Chinese diplomats executed by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, according to declassified documents released Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2003

Emperor turns 70, greets well-wishers

Emperor Akihito greeted the public Tuesday on his 70th birthday, waving to crowds of well-wishers from an Imperial Palace balcony together with members of the Imperial family.
EDITORIALS
Dec 23, 2003

The SDF 'is not going to war'

Japan's Self-Defense Forces are making final preparations for helping humanitarian and reconstruction work in Iraq. An advance party of air force personnel is expected to leave this week under an order issued last week by Defense Agency Director General Shigeru Ishiba. An air transport unit probably...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FRONT-RUNNERS
Dec 23, 2003

The sky is just one limit for Toray's foray into carbon fibers

Toray Industries Inc, a major maker of textiles and plastics, is expanding its carbon fiber line, wooing airplane and car manufacturers in the process.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2003

Festivals and food are top selling points to entice tourists

Festivals and food are the top two selling points that foreign nationals working at local Japanese governments use to convince friends to visit Japan, according to a Foreign Ministry survey.
COMMENTARY
Dec 22, 2003

Time to revise unequal SOFA

A group of lawmakers of the governing Liberal Democratic Party is campaigning for the drastic revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement. The group, headed by Lower House member Toshio Kojima, has come up with a proposal for revising SOFA in cooperation with a council of governors of 14 prefectures,...
COMMENTARY
Dec 22, 2003

Courageous decision on Iraq

LONDON -- The Japanese government's decision to send members of the Self-Defense Forces to take part in humanitarian efforts in Iraq was a courageous one.
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2003

Draft 2004 budget relies heavily on bond issuance

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki submitted on Saturday a draft budget for fiscal 2004 worth 82.11 trillion yen -- but is reliant on bond issuance as Japan faces growing social welfare costs due to the rapidly aging population.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Dec 21, 2003

Of death and glories

The stench! That was what got me first as I pushed my bike up the steep, narrow lane: the reek of burning hair, bones, hooves and flesh.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Dec 21, 2003

Olympic champ really was the full Monti

The news that Eugenio Monti had committed suicide on Dec. 1 at the age of 75 (brought about by his battle with Parkinson's disease) probably didn't raise too many eyebrows, but for those in the know the Italian was the very epitome of sportsmanship.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 21, 2003

Mysteries along the Mekong

BANGKOK 8, by John Burdett. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003, 318 pp., $24.00 (cloth). WAITING FOR THE LADY, by Christopher G. Moore. Bangkok: Heaven Lake Press, 2003, 342 pp., $24.95 (cloth). Can a Western author convincingly put himself inside the mind of a Thai cop? Writing in the first person in...
EDITORIALS
Dec 20, 2003

Captive of a democracy

Following the seizure of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein eight days ago, some riveting discussions took place among politicians and pundits of all stripes about how such a catch should be treated -- not just in the coming weeks and months, but from the first minutes of the deposed leader's detention....
MORE SPORTS
Dec 20, 2003

Ai-chan to compete in four events

Teenager Ai Fukuhara will appear in four events at next year's national championships, the Japan Table Tennis Association said Friday. The 15-year-old Fukuhara, who advanced as far as the quarterfinals in women's singles at this year's World Championships, will meet defending champion Aya Umemura in...

Longform

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly