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JAPAN
Aug 30, 2001

Defense Agency seeks 5 trillion yen budget

The Defense Agency will request 5.0278 trillion yen from the 2002 general account budget, an increase of 1.8 percent from this year's initial budget, according to a plan submitted to the Liberal Democratic Party's defense panel Wednesday.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 5, 2001

Terrors, real and imagined

August means hot weather and ghost stories to add a little chill to the muggy air. Tonight, on TV Tokyo's "Sunday Big Special" (7 p.m.), host Tsurutaro Kataoka will explore various occultish phenomena for either your terrified delectation or your nonbelieving derision.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2001

Accounting-rule changes skew financial statements in 2000

During periods of economic transition, such as the introduction of new accounting standards, companies' financial statements do not necessarily reflect their actual financial soundness. Balance sheets, income statements and other financial reports, therefore, should be analyzed from multiple viewpoints....
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2001

Public firms approach day of reckoning

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi may be on the verge of opening a Pandora's box in his drive to pursue government reforms.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2001

State schools, colleges incur huge debt

The government's special account for national universities and other state-run education facilities piled up 6.498 trillion yen in debt as of the end of fiscal 2000, according to a financial report compiled by the education ministry.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 11, 2001

Water scorpion

*Japanese name: Kooimushi *Scientific name:Diplonychus japonica *Description: Water scorpions are aquatic insects that look a bit like beetles. They have wings, but they don't have the protective shell that beetles have. Their mouthparts are also unlike beetles: They have a sharp beak that is used...
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2001

Official spent 170 million yen on racehorses

A senior Foreign Ministry official who is suspected of embezzling money from a special state fund spent about 170 million yen to buy 14 racehorses and keep them since 1997, sources said Monday.
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2000

ODA gives way to domestic political pressure

The government may be succumbing to strong domestic political pressure to make Draconian cuts in Japanese official development assistance. If you want evidence, keep a close watch on an upcoming gathering of Vietnam's aid donors.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2000

Better links to Pyongyang seen if Tokyo and Seoul get closer

One of the winners of this year's Japan Foundation Award said he hopes promoting closer ties between South Korea and Japan will also lead to stronger links between Tokyo and Pyongyang.
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Sep 27, 2000

Reading relaxation in tea leaves

Tokyo is a city of surprises. Take a walk down any side street, and you can be sure you'll find an interesting shop or restaurant. Such is the case with Mother Leaf, a pleasant discovery moments away from the Kabuki-za in Ginza.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2000

Full text of prime minister's speech to the Diet

Following is the full text of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's policy speech given to the 150th Diet session Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2000

North Korea drawing the right lessons

CAMBRIDGE, England -- We may never know if North Korea's Dear Leader Kim Jong Il went to Beijing in May, ahead of his historic meeting with South Korean President Kim Dae Jung in June, on his own initiative or at the insistence of Chinese President Jiang Zemin. What we do know is that, very unusually,...
EDITORIALS
Sep 10, 2000

Old friends are the best

Reports from the United States tell us that some Americans are having their faith restored in a popular postwar Japanese export. The subject of their revived affection is not a car or a motorcycle, not a camera or an audiovisual device, not a laptop personal computer or other advanced information-technology...
CULTURE / Art
Aug 31, 2000

Covering the fine arts: Frank Stella speaks

Frank Stella As part of the celebration of the art collection at the U.S. ambassador's residence, Ambassador Foley invited celebrated artist Frank Stella to take part in the reception and media tour. The day after the media tour, The Japan Times interviewed Stella at the residence. Following are excerpts...
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2000

Two Iranian families file lawsuit to stay in Japan

Two Iranian families with a total of three children filed a lawsuit Friday at the Tokyo District Court demanding that Justice Minister Okiharu Yasuoka withdraw his rejection of their applications for special residence permits.
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2000

Okinawans grew up with U.S. military, differ on acceptance

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2000

Mori and advisers make last-minute Cabinet decisions

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori continued consulting top Liberal Democratic Party officials Monday evening as he tried to finalize the lineup of his new Cabinet, to be launched today.
COMMENTARY / World
May 29, 2000

Whose Constitution is it?

At a recent meeting of the Diet's Constitutional Review Council, Americans who participated in the drafting of the Japanese Constitution 54 years ago during the Occupation gave testimony. Their statements provided valuable clues to an understanding of the circum- stances that led up to the establishment...
JAPAN
May 27, 2000

State universities to be independent

The Education Ministry on Friday announced its final decision to turn Japan's 99 national universities into independent administrative institutions, a move that will streamline the management of colleges and give them greater autonomy in budget and personnel matters.
EDITORIALS
Mar 23, 2000

Scrutinize the 'sympathy budget'

Washington's request that Japan maintain its "sympathy budget," or special host-nation financial support for the U.S. forces stationed here, has drawn a cool reception from the Japanese government and the media. During his visit here last week, U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen repeated that request...
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2000

Fourth Iranian family granted permission to stay

Justice Minister Hideo Usui on Monday granted special residence permission to four members of an Iranian family who have overstayed their visas, the third time such permission has been granted to foreigners. The minister had granted similar permission by issuing long-term visas to a family of three...
JAPAN
Dec 30, 1999

Stores hit by Y2K stockpiler feeding frenzy

Staff writers With just two days left before 2000 kicks in, shoppers crowded supermarkets and department stores Thursday, making last-minute purchases of water, food, oil heaters and other stockpiles to prepare for the possible breakdown of lifelines. Daiei Inc., the nation's largest supermarket chain,...
JAPAN
Dec 7, 1999

Chinese family exposes Japanese detention treatment

Staff writer The Immigration Bureau's Tokyo facility for holding foreigners who have overstayed their visas violates basic human rights, especially those of children, claims a Chinese family released last week after 40 days of detention there. Ling Xi Rang, 43, her second daughter, Xu Xiou Ri, 17, and...
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

Court overturns visa rejections of Bangladeshi pair

The Tokyo District Court on Friday invalidated the decisions of a former justice minister who rejected petitions filed by two Bangladeshis with Japanese wives seeking special permission to stay in Japan even though they have overstayed their visas.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Nov 10, 1999

Pre-holiday planning

It seems a bit early to be writing about Christmas, but there is a lot of planning to do if you must ship things home, or even pack them to take with you. That's why the Tokyo charity-oriented International Ladies Benevolent Society now schedules its ILBS Christmas Fair even before we have ordered the...
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Oct 27, 1999

Hemlocks murmur in Kasuga's forest primeval

NARA -- Japan's first permanent capital, Heijo-kyo, was built on the Yamato plain where the modern city of Nara is located. Heijo-kyo was founded in the year 710 (from which year the Nara Period is dated) with a design based on that of the contemporaneous Chinese Tang Dynasty capital Changan.

Longform

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