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COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2004

Clarify 'self-defense' role

The government decided recently to keep Self-Defense Force troops stationed in Iraq as participants in the multinational force following the handover of sovereignty. I support this decision. One reason the decision has been criticized is that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made a procedural faux pas...
EDITORIALS
Jul 5, 2004

A step in the right direction

Japan will soon express its willingness to become a party to the twin protocols of the four Geneva conventions that were approved in 1949 to protect war victims and prevent the kinds of abuses that had occurred during World War II. The supplementary protocol agreements, adopted in 1977, set humanitarian...
JAPAN
Jul 5, 2004

LDP's support rate drops ahead of Upper House race

Support for the Liberal Democratic Party is at 30.7 percent, according to a Kyodo News poll released Sunday, down 7.9 points from a similar poll taken ahead of the 2001 House of Councilors election.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jul 4, 2004

Blaming referee for England's loss to Portugal pathetic

LONDON -- When Urs Meier disallowed Sol Campbell's last-minute goal against Portugal last week the Swiss referee had no idea he was to become the latest recipient of the English media's revenge on a Johnny Foreigner who had, in the words of most tabloids, "cheated us" out of victory.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2004

Legal changes eyed to combat trafficking of human beings

Still smarting from a sharp rebuke by the U.S., the government is studying ways to implement sweeping changes to the Penal Code or the enactment of a new law to combat human trafficking and protect victims, government officials said Saturday.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2004

Hot summer expected to warm up economy

Hot temperatures this summer are expected to spur consumer spending, which in turn will boost corporate earnings and give a lift to the entire economy.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jul 3, 2004

Never been there, never done that

"Twenty-five" seems a fine number for the necessary hours in a day or an easy-to-find shoe size in centimeters, yet for me that digit has now garnered a special significance. It marks the number of years I have lived in Japan, soon to inch one step forward to 26 -- more than a quarter of a century.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 3, 2004

Sussing Aussie English -- it's a bugger

When I found out I'd be spending a month accompanying two Australians around Japan, I thought, "Easy -- we speak the same language." Bloody wrong! "Aussie English" is completely different from the English used on my planet, the United States.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION '04
Jul 2, 2004

Abductions are candidate's cause celebre

Independent candidate Teruaki Masumoto, 48, hoped to keep a fire alive as he tried to get the attention of passersby outside Tokyo's Iidabashi Station on June 24, the day campaigning for July 11 House of Councilors election kicked off.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2004

Ex-state minister indicted over scam

Tokyo prosecutors indicted former state minister Jitsuo Inagaki on Thursday on charges of running an unauthorized investment scheme, they said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2004

Sony Walkman to go head to head with Apple's iPod

Sony Corp. said Thursday it will release on July 10 a Walkman portable music player that can store up to 13,000 songs, a move expected to pose a serious challenge to Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod, a dominant leader in the field.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2004

Recent vehicle fires not linked to structural defects: MMC

Fires that broke out from four Mitsubishi Motors Corp. vehicles in separate incidents over the weekend are probably not linked to structural defects, the automaker said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2004

Army town Asahikawa finds few foes to dispatch

The Ground Self-Defense Force's mission to Iraq may not be supported by all of the public, as evidenced by the protest rallies staged nationwide last year as the government readied the dispatch.
CULTURE / Books / THE BOOK REPORT
Jul 1, 2004

Mystery writer Nishimura continues on winning run of great train stories

The recently released list of top taxpayers for fiscal 2003 has shown that, despite the overall slump in the book trade, the payoff can still be great for authors who strike a chord with the public.
EDITORIALS
Jul 1, 2004

Impact on global security

In the past, stability in Saudi Arabia -- which holds an estimated one-fourth of the world's oil reserves -- has beckoned droves of foreign oil engineers and specialists. In recent months, however, a series of terrorist attacks has rocked the kingdom, prompting Western companies to withdraw some of their...
BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2004

Livedoor tries for debt-laden Buffaloes; offer turned down

Livedoor Co., a Tokyo-based Internet services company, announced Wednesday it is trying to purchase the Kintetsu Buffaloes pro baseball team.
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Jul 1, 2004

"The Supernaturalist," "The Reading Bug and How to Help Your Child Catch It"

"The Supernaturalist," Eoin Colfer, Puffin Books; June 2004; 291 pp. It's official. There's an N.E.C.B. out there (a New Eoin Colfer Book, that is). And if you're not a first-time reader, this should have the same effect on you as it does on so many others, so get on the Internet, call your nearest...
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jul 1, 2004

Tucking in to alien outcasts

IN MAY, I was invited to Vancouver to give a keynote speech at the Fourth World Congress of Fisheries. The congress in that beautiful city in southwest British Columbia was attended by about 1,500 delegates from 80 countries. Its theme was: "Reconciling Fishing with Conservation."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 30, 2004

Ryu Murakami's number is up

69 Rating: * * * (out of 5) Director: Lee Sang ll Running time: 113 minutes Language: Japanese Opens July 10 [See Japan Times movie listings] How was your 1969? A student at the University of Michigan at the time, I grew my hair into a Bob Dylan halo, blew my mind with LSD and got tear-gassed...
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2004

Extra holidays boosted household spending 5.6% in May

Spending by Japan's wage-earning households rose a real 5.6 percent in May from a year earlier, the first time in 14 years that such spending has shown an increase of more than 5 percent over two straight months, the government said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 30, 2004

Mizu to Abura mix mime and the surreal

Formed in 1995 by Jun Takahashi, Shuji Onodera and Momoko Fujita, who graduated that year from the Nihon Mime Kenkyujo (Japan Mime Institute), Mizu to Abura (Water and Oil) became a foursome three years later when Reina Suga, another institute graduate, joined them.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 29, 2004

L.A. Kings select goalie Fukufuji

Japanese goalie Yutaka Fukufuji was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the eighth round of the NHL entry draft this past weekend, the Japan Ice Hockey League said Monday.
COMMENTARY
Jun 29, 2004

Can Koizumi expect a rally?

Security is the key word for the July 11 Upper House election, which focuses on two major issues: pension reform and Self-Defense Force participation in a multinational force in Iraq. At stake are Japan's social security system (including pensions, health care and nursing services for the elderly) and...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jun 29, 2004

Who is to blame for the beheading of a South Korean in Iraqi?

Ichiro Kosuga Record Company, 25 It's not just one person, but first it's Bush, then the people who support him. Bush started it obviously, but the guy went there himself knowing it was dangerous.
EDITORIALS
Jun 27, 2004

Mr. Kerry's French

Every now and then, U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, lets slip that he speaks French. He chats with French reporters, has occasionally responded in French to a French-language question at a news conference, and once participated in a phone-in talk show in France....

Longform

Ayumi Matsuki, a priestess at Yoshiwara Shrine, shows off some "o-mamori" charms. She says visitors to the shrine have increased since the NHK drama “Unbound” began airing this month.
Tracing Tsutaya Juzaburo, Edo’s media maverick