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EDITORIALS
Jun 16, 2006

Demarcation of troubled waters

Japan and South Korea failed to make any progress in their two-day meeting aimed at determining the boundary of their exclusive economic zones in the Sea of Japan. An early breakthrough in the dispute is unlikely, although both countries agreed to hold another round of talks in September. Blocking progress...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / JAPAN-U.S.-CHINA SYMPOSIUM
Jun 5, 2006

Regional tensions cast long shadow

See related stories: "U.S. sets negotiating table on Iran for Tokyo, Beijing" "Japan, China need to go back to school "
EDITORIALS
May 27, 2006

Meetings fail to thaw chill

Foreign Minister Taro Aso held separate meetings with his South Korean and Chinese counterparts earlier this week -- the first such get-together in five months and one year, respectively. Although he managed to clinch agreements on some bilateral issues, Japan's relations with its closest neighbors remain...
BUSINESS
May 3, 2006

New Corporate Law to foster additional M&As

In the weeks before the Corporate Law took effect Monday, Izumiya Co. announced measures to prevent hostile takeovers, expecting the law's provisions to encourage mergers and acquisitions.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2006

Foreign students' goal of career proves elusive

In line with the government's campaign launched in 1983 to boost the number of foreign students in Japan to the 100,000 mark, the figure came to some 117,000 in 2004.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2005

JAL inspection ends but safety problems continue

The state will end its special inspection of Japan Airlines Corp. but continue to closely monitor the mishap-prone carrier since it is still having safety problems, the transport ministry said Thursday.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 20, 2005

Ah-choo! Picked up an allergy to the hay-fever industry

Last week the pharmaceutical company Riken announced that it was developing a new desensitivity treatment for serious allergy sufferers. The treatment program would entail fifty or so injections over a three-year period, which is quite a reduction in time. I should know. I received biweekly or monthly...
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2005

Panel set to ponder female on the throne

The government will kick off discussions this week that could result in changing the male-only Imperial succession rule which experts say has been practiced for more than 1,000 years.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2005

Koizumi set to resume battle for postal reform

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will go all-out in the 150-day Diet session that convened Friday to push his long-cherished, but highly contentious, plan to privatize the nation's postal services.
EDITORIALS
Dec 9, 2004

Closing the curtain on a hard life

Mr. Charles Jenkins on Tuesday arrived in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, together with his wife Ms. Hitomi Soga, a former abductee to North Korea, and their two daughters after serving a short sentence for desertion from the U.S. Army. Sado is Ms. Soga's hometown. Procedures for Mr. Jenkins' dishonorable...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2004

Suffrage for foreigners gains momentum

After nearly a decade on the back burner, the issue of granting suffrage to foreigners in local-level elections has gained renewed interest due to recent moves by lawmakers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Aug 20, 2004

The Gathering 2004 preview

After dozens of hours of copious, nail-biting research, I have deduced that there is absolutely no connection whatsoever between Respect for the Aged Day and the ending date for Gathering 2004, except that vigorous dancing has been medically proven to reverse the aging process.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 24, 2004

Political leaders weigh in on value of Koizumi's visit to North Korea

Political leaders continued debating Sunday the outcome of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, with an opposition leader denouncing it as a "big failure."
JAPAN
May 20, 2004

War bill seeks 'voluntary' cooperation during crisis

One of seven bills to augment war-contingency legislation enacted last June is dubbed by the government as a "citizen protection bill."
JAPAN
May 20, 2004

War bill seeks 'voluntary' cooperation during crisis

One of seven bills to augment war-contingency legislation enacted last June is dubbed by the government as a "citizen protection bill."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2004

Parties face off with competing pension plans

Pension reform proposals put forward by the Democratic Party of Japan set the stage for a political showdown with the ruling bloc over what figures to be a key issue in the House of Councilors election in July.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2004

Justice system a vehicle for order -- or revenge?

Nearly five years after four teenagers murdered his son, 53-year-old Mitsuo Sudo has gone public about his grief, and his beef with the criminal justice system.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2004

Visaless foreigners to be denied national health cover

After the Supreme Court ruled last month that it is illegal to bar visaless foreigners from the national health insurance scheme, the health ministry is mulling the creation of an ordinance to do just that.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2004

SDF dispatch decision like a double-edged sword

When Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi voiced his unequivocal support of the U.S.-led war on Iraq in March, he was left with little choice but to commit Self-Defense Forces troops to the country's postwar reconstruction effort.
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,...
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2003

Japan pleased but still wary of security situation

Japan welcomes the much-awaited capture of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, but the local security situation still needs careful assessment ahead of any dispatch of Self-Defense Forces elements, top government officials said Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2003

Winds of pragmatism blow in Beijing

LONDON -- Like many religions, communism does not admit that it -- or those that represent it at the head of governments -- can make mistakes. Historical inevitability means that the party must be correct. To acknowledge anything else would be to undermine the basic certainties upon which Marxism rests....
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2003

Finance Ministry to help Japan exporters

The Finance Ministry said Monday it will set up an Asia-wide financial scheme to help small Japanese exporters quickly cash their sales credits.
BUSINESS
Jun 11, 2003

Sakaguchi eyes medical deregulation

Health minister Chikara Sakaguchi indicated Tuesday his ministry will consider allowing stock companies to set up businesses focusing on advanced medical fields under the government's proposals on special deregulated zones.
EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2003

Clarify refugee policy

The incident in which four North Korean citizens who had fled from their country entered a Japanese school in Beijing and asked for asylum in Japan has posed a sobering question concerning Japan's refugee policy. Acting on lessons from the incident at Japan's consulate general in Shenyang last May, the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2003

Farm minister admits ex-secretary pocketed cash

Scandal-plagued farm minister Tadamori Oshima admitted during a special Diet session Thursday that a former secretary pocketed a 6 million yen political donation in 2000.
EDITORIALS
Jan 20, 2003

Shenzhen's promise for China

Twenty-two years ago, the sleepy southern Chinese city of Shenzhen became the test case for China's future. It was designated a "special economic zone," a laboratory for economic reforms that would transform the nation. Today, Shenzhen is again in the forefront of change in China. This time, the city...
EDITORIALS
Nov 30, 2002

A new law to help the abductees

The government is set to provide financial and other support for Japanese nationals abducted to North Korea and their family members who return to Japan. On Thursday the Lower House unanimously passed a special bill for this purpose, which is due to clear the Upper House next week and take effect Jan....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 13, 2002

You're never too old to read a good self-help book

The best-seller list currently features three volumes on living and aging well: "Oite Koso Jinsei" (Nothing Is More Human Than Aging), by novelist/politician Shintaro Ishihara; "Unmei no Ashioto" (The Footsteps of Approaching Fate), by novelist Hiroyuki Itsuki; and "Ikikata Jozu" (How to Live Well),...

Longform

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