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EDITORIALS
Sep 28, 2005

Now for some bold reforms

With the resounding victory of the Liberal Democratic Party in the general election, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi can now boldly kick-start the stagnant process of structural reform. Utilizing the strong leadership consolidated in the triumph, Mr. Koizumi must set about breaking up the LDP cliques...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 24, 2005

EU economic integration rolls on despite political crisis

After voters in France and the Netherlands rejected the proposed European Union Constitution, the bloc no doubt plunged into a deep crisis, but it is a crisis that will lead to "a period of reflection and a stronger European Union at the end," a Brussels-based think tank expert told a recent symposium...
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 16, 2005

Germany goes to the polls

While Japanese voters have been focused on the campaign at home, German voters have been engrossed in an election battle every bit as intense and with stakes as great. Since the election was called in May, the outcome looked clear: The opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU), along with its partner,...
COMMENTARY
Sep 16, 2005

Pakistan's Israel diplomacy

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's opposition parties have chosen to renew their calls for President Pervez Musharraf to step down immediately following the first ever face-to-face meeting between the foreign ministers of Pakistan and Israel.
BUSINESS
Sep 13, 2005

Competition heats up in household energy market

Fierce competition is heating up among electric, gas and oil companies to win more household customers and increase sales.
Japan Times
Sep 12, 2005

'Assassin' Koike bests 'rebel' Kobayashi

Environment Minister Yuriko Koike wrested the Tokyo No. 10 district seat in Sunday's election from former Liberal Democratic Party member Koki Kobayashi.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2005

Upper House postal rebel would change stance if LDP wins

Yoshitada Konoike, former state minister for disaster management who voted against the postal privatization bills in August, on Friday told the Liberal Democratic Party, to which he belongs, that he would support resubmission of the bills if the LDP-New Komeito coalition wins a majority in Sunday's election....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2005

Loyalties to party, candidates put to test

Politics are about making decisions, and some of the most difficult ones are those based on where loyalties lie.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2005

Koizumi's bare-knuckle power play may soon haunt him

Sunday's election for the Lower House stands out as abnormal, but not because of its abruptness. Many surprise elections have been held before. On March 14, 1953, for instance, then Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida, who was president of the Liberal Party, dissolved the Lower House following the passage...
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 Times
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2005

Guru appeal deadline missed

Lawyers for Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara missed the Wednesday deadline to submit a document stating the reason they are appealing his death sentence.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2005

Upcoming election to put LDP-Komeito cooperation to test

Ominous clouds hung over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, New Komeito, on the eve of Tuesday's start of official campaigning for the Sept. 11 general election.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2005

DPJ narrows gap with LDP, tracking poll shows

The Liberal Democratic Party's lead in voter support over the Democratic Party of Japan is diminishing in the runup to the Sept. 11 election, and the approval rate for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet has edged down, according to a Kyodo News tracking poll taken over the weekend.
COMMENTARY
Aug 29, 2005

Watershed election for Japan

LONDON -- The results of the Japanese general election on Sept. 11 will be important not only for the future of Japanese parliamentary democracy but also for the Japanese economy and Japan's foreign relations.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 28, 2005

Soviet checkmate finished Japan

RACING THE ENEMY: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan, by Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005, 382 pp., $29.95 (cloth). Wartime U.S. President Harry Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb remains controversial. Until Murray Sayle's seminal article in the New Yorker (July...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 28, 2005

Intelligent Design: One chance encounter explains it all

Ijust happened to be reading the Kansas City Star the other day when a fascinating article caught my eye. The Star reported, in its Aug. 2 edition, that the Kansas Board of Education has approved a draft of new science standards proposed by supporters of so-called Intelligent Design.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Aug 25, 2005

Hit piece on Valentine, Marines another black eye for journalism in Japan

Is it just me, or has the level of media assaults on prominent foreign sports figures in Japan increased markedly in the past few months?
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2005

Murakami's OSE stake can't top 20%

The Financial Services Agency announced Wednesday it has rejected financier Yoshiaki Murakami's application to acquire a more than 20 percent stake in Osaka Securities Exchange Co.
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2005

U.S beef faces further study, bureaucratic steps

More study on the risk of imported U.S. beef being infected with mad cow disease is needed before reopening the Japanese market, a food safety panel said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2005

Horie defies his own words to run for political office

Those who have read the book recently penned by Livedoor Co. President Takafumi Horie must be surprised by his intention to run in the upcoming general election.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 21, 2005

'Pacifist' Japan always ready to back a bit of conflict

"I don't care to belong to any club that will accept me as a member." -- Groucho Marx
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 21, 2005

All together now, as yesterday's no-no becomes the status quo

When I first arrived in Japan in the 1960s, I was friends with a Western sociologist who was genuinely frustrated. When he went around surveying public opinion, he said that he found Japanese people to be stubbornly reserved and conservative. Apparently, those who responded to his questions about social...
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2005

NPT fate tied to response to Iran, North Korea crises

KYOTO -- The atomic ambitions of North Korea and Iran offer direct challenges to the credibility of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, while the international community's response to these challenges will greatly influence global opinion as to whether the treaty itself is still viable.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2005

Boy faces criminal trial for parents' slaying

The Tokyo Family Court said Wednesday that a 16-year-old boy accused of murdering his parents and blowing up their apartment in June should face criminal charges.

Longform

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