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JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 30, 2004

Media leave Imperial family forgotten, lonely, and in a corner

The excitement last weekend over North Korea's release of some of the Japanese abductees' children overshadowed another news story about prisoners of the state -- the Japanese Imperial family. Crown Prince Naruhito returned from his whirlwind wedding tour of Europe to a tense Imperial Household Agency...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 30, 2004

Freedom in a feudal land

FINDING MONJU, by Earle Ernst. Key West: Eaton Street Press, Inc., 186 pp., 2000, $19.95 (paper). The late Earle Ernst was the author of that seminal work, "The Kabuki Theater," first published in 1956 and still in print, and the editor of the 1959 "Three Japanese Plays." While a member of the Allied...
JAPAN
May 29, 2004

Public turns on families of missing abductees

The Associated Press
EDITORIALS
May 24, 2004

A qualified success for Mr. Koizumi

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has completed his second trip to Pyongyang. Unlike with his first visit, there were no surprises this time. He returned home with the families of four abductees, a promise to arrange a reunion between a fifth abductee and her three family members in Beijing, and pledges...
JAPAN
May 23, 2004

Pyongyang summit falls short for kin of those still missing

Family members of Japanese still missing after being abducted by North Korea expressed indignation Saturday over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's failure to gain new information regarding their kin.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Quasi-jury system earns Diet approval

A judicial reform law designed to introduce Japan's first quasi-jury system was enacted by the Diet on Friday, paving the way for the system's launch in 2009.
EDITORIALS
May 22, 2004

New development plan needed

A s far as corporate earnings reports show, Japan's economic recovery is moving in the fast lane, with many large companies chalking up record profits for the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2004. At the top of the list is Toyota Motor Corp., which reported group net income of more than 1 trillion yen...
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Quasi-jury system earns Diet approval

A judicial reform law designed to introduce Japan's first quasi-jury system was enacted by the Diet on Friday, paving the way for the system's launch in 2009.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 20, 2004

Al-Qaeda operative hid out in Niigata

A French national believed to be a senior member of al-Qaeda entered Japan on a fake passport in July 2002, traveled abroad frequently, and made the city of Niigata his hideout for more than a year while he was being hunted by Interpol, according to investigative sources.
JAPAN
May 19, 2004

Parties use pension scandal to score points

Is the exposure of an incessant stream of politicians who have not paid their pension premiums the result of a crusade to regain public trust in the pension system, a hysterical witch hunt or merely a political power struggle ahead of a key election?
JAPAN
May 19, 2004

Parties use pension scandal to score points

Is the exposure of an incessant stream of politicians who have not paid their pension premiums the result of a crusade to regain public trust in the pension system, a hysterical witch hunt or merely a political power struggle ahead of a key election?
JAPAN
May 15, 2004

Koizumi to visit Pyongyang on May 22

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will visit Pyongyang on May 22 for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in an effort to secure the passage to Japan of eight family members of five repatriated abductees, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Friday.
JAPAN
May 15, 2004

Koizumi to visit Pyongyang on May 22

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will visit Pyongyang on May 22 for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in an effort to secure the passage to Japan of eight family members of five repatriated abductees, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Friday.
JAPAN
May 14, 2004

Experts doubt merits of Koizumi Pyongyang trip

Widespread suspicion over North Korea's agenda has failed to dampen speculation that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi may visit Pyongyang in the near future to secure the passage to Japan of the families of the five repatriated abductees.
JAPAN
May 13, 2004

Activists claim political oppression

After nearly 2 1/2 months in detention, three antiwar activists accused of illegally entering a Self-Defense Forces housing complex in Tachikawa, western Tokyo, to distribute protest leaflets, were freed on bail Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2004

What's next as ASEAN+3 integrates?

MANILA -- As we watch with interest the expansion of the European Union, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus Three (China, South Korea and Japan) continues to make its own progress toward regional economic integration. Needless to say, there is a long way to go. But the question...
EDITORIALS
May 10, 2004

The power of a picture

The world has once again been reminded how much more powerful images can be than words. The outrage expressed by Arabs and the abhorrence expressed by the Bush administration last week over U.S. military guards' abuse of Iraqi prisoners were certainly justified, but both reactions were oddly belated....
JAPAN
May 8, 2004

Freed abductees 'willing to revisit' North

Five repatriated Japanese abductees are willing to accompany Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to North Korea to pick up their families if such a visit is realized, one of their relatives in Japan said Friday.
JAPAN
May 8, 2004

Kan pledges to defy resignation clamor

Naoto Kan said Friday that Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda's resignation the same day over a pension payment scandal has not swayed his decision to stay on as leader of the Democratic Party of Japan.
JAPAN
May 8, 2004

Freed abductees 'willing to revisit' North

Five repatriated Japanese abductees are willing to accompany Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to North Korea to pick up their families if such a visit is realized, one of their relatives in Japan said Friday.
JAPAN
May 8, 2004

Kan pledges to defy resignation clamor

Naoto Kan said Friday that Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda's resignation the same day over a pension payment scandal has not swayed his decision to stay on as leader of the Democratic Party of Japan.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 4, 2004

Past and Present

'Ican forgive, but I won't forget," says Jack Simmonds, an 82-year-old Australian, who was detained as a prisoner of war in Japan during World War II.
EDITORIALS
Apr 30, 2004

The return of SARS

China has reported several cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS, one year after declaring victory over the disease. The news comes on the heels of a new study that suggests that SARS might spread through the air. Troubling though these developments are, in some ways they are encouraging....
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2004

Key ministers admit ducking pension fees

Four more Cabinet ministers, including Chief Cabinet secretary Yasuo Fukuda, and opposition leader Naoto Kan said Wednesday they failed to pay mandatory premiums for the basic pension system.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2004

Pension reform bills driven past committee

Amid growing public distrust of the pension system, the ruling coalition rammed government-sponsored pension reform legislation through a House of Representatives committee Wednesday in the opposition's absence.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 27, 2004

Car checks and new passport rules

Vehicle inspection Do you know of anyone who could give me information on the laws and procedure regarding car inspections? I need to obtain Japanese inspection and a registration number plate for a recently imported car.
EDITORIALS
Apr 25, 2004

'A long fuse has been lighted'

With the earlier-than-usual arrival of warm weather, the influenza season in Japan is almost over, and the number of patients reported to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is down 40 percent from last year. However, the danger of the bird flu virus mutating and a new type of influenza breaking...
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2004

Bill to begin citizen-judge system clears Lower House

A judicial reform bill designed to introduce a lay judge system in Japan cleared the House of Representatives on Friday, with the support of both the ruling and opposition parties.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go