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JAPAN
Oct 30, 2008

No 'concrete' intelligence on Kim

Prime Minister Taro Aso wasn't citing specific intelligence reports when he speculated that North Korea's Kim Jong Il is still running the hermit state, the government's top spokesman said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2008

Two double-killers sent to gallows

Two convicted double-killers were hanged Tuesday, bringing the execution toll to an unusually high 15 for the year.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 28, 2008

WWII forced labor issue dogs Aso, Japanese firms

After evading the issue for more than two years, Taro Aso conceded to foreign reporters on the eve of becoming prime minister that Allied POWs worked at his family's coal mine in Kyushu during World War II.
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2008

Merck exit from Japan drug research undermines government goal

Merck & Co.'s decision to close its drug-research laboratory in Japan undermines the government's goal of attracting overseas drugmakers to boost the global share of made-in-Japan medicines, according to Kiyoshi Kurokawa, the government's policy adviser.
BUSINESS / Q&A
Oct 25, 2008

Lowdown on bank-aid bill

The credit crunch brought about by the collapse of the U.S. housing market is spreading throughout the world and has begun choking off funding to small and midsize Japanese companies.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2008

Aso simmers down, defends glitzy nightlife

Prime Minister Taro Aso countered growing criticism Thursday about his wining and dining at high-end hotels and restaurants by saying his haunts are public places open to anyone.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2008

Lower House passes MSDF antiterror bill

The Lower House approved a special antiterrorism bill Tuesday to enable the Maritime Self-Defense Force to continue refueling multinational warships engaged in counterterrorism operations in the Indian Ocean — a key goal of Prime Minister Taro Aso for this Diet session.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Oct 20, 2008

Aso's curtailed prospects

Although Taro Aso won a landslide victory in the presidential election of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Sept. 22 and was elected prime minister two days later, his administration could conceivably become the shortest in history, shorter even than the record 54 days of Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni,...
COMMENTARY
Oct 20, 2008

Now for the consequences

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been enjoying a much-needed boost to his status and popularity as he watches country after country adopt the same pattern as Britain in propping up their struggling banking sectors.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2008

Filipino bar hostess visa scam snags top official

Senior Vice Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Masatoshi Kurata was embroiled in a scandal Friday over his alleged role in arranging visas for Filipino women to enter Japan and perform at "charity concerts," but who in fact ended up working as bar hostesses.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2008

Nakagawa has ministry hoist Hinomaru

Despite opposition from media organizations, the Finance Ministry displayed the Hinomaru flag in its press briefing room Friday under orders from Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2008

DPJ opts to cooperate; extra budget clears Diet

The ¥1.8 trillion fiscal 2008 extra budget aimed at easing the impact of rising oil prices cleared the Diet on Thursday with backing by the opposition-dominated Upper House.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2008

'The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes'

The films of the Brothers Quay often seem less like movies in the conventional sense and more like half-remembered nightmares from the depths of the subconscious. Their films are quintessentially "not for everybody," in the same way that absinthe, fetish, and tantra aren't: You have to accept going "out...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 16, 2008

BOJ hand nominated as deputy

The government nominated Bank of Japan Executive Director Hirohide Yamaguchi on Wednesday to fill the central bank's longtime vacant deputy governor post amid the ongoing global financial crisis.
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2008

Hosoda revives call to hold early election

A Lower House election should be held as soon as possible to break the political standstill created by the divided Diet, Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Hiroyuki Hosoda said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2008

Lower House opens debate on MSDF bill

The Lower House on Friday began deliberating the government's special antiterrorism bill for extending the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2008

Juvenile court opens up for a day

Minors are usually tried in family courts behind closed doors, but in an effort to give the public a better understanding of how these cases are handled, the Tokyo Family Court this week showcased a mock juvenile trial.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat