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MULTIMEDIA
Apr 24, 2004

Rachad Farah

As he prepares to leave Japan for his next diplomatic posting, Rachad Farah, ambassador of the Republic of Djibouti, admits he cannot help but have "a heavy heart." He has been here 15 years, and to leave is wrenching even though he goes to an attractive new posting. For the last 10 years, he has been...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 18, 2004

Surviving uncharted waters, unknown lands and shogun's scrutiny

SAMURAI WILLIAM: The Englishman Who Opened Japan, by Giles Milton. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002, 337 pp., $14 (paper). Samurai William is, of course the English navigator, William Adams, whose story was so effectively fictionalized by James Clavell in the novel "Shogun." Giles Milton has...
Japan Times
Features
Apr 18, 2004

Hanging by a thread

Spurned by many top Japanese designers, patchy in quality and sprawling over a month at a mishmash of venues, the twice-yearly Tokyo Collections -- whose fall/winter 2004/05 shows end this week -- still lay claim to being the highpoints of Asia's fashion year. But are Tokyo's days numbered as the `Paris...
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2004

Hostage drama highlights SDF's tough role in Iraq

The hostage crisis involving three Japanese civilians highlighted the worsening security situation in Iraq.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 14, 2004

Shooting at the top

Another reason to love Sofia Coppola: She had the good sense (and stubbornness) to refuse to do any more interviews while in Japan. Judging by her news-conference comments, she is better at making her films than talking about them -- no crime, that -- so it was a smart move to delegate the explaining...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 14, 2004

Tale of two trips: 1955 Yankees here weeks, 2004 team days

It has been two weeks since the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Devil Rays cleared out of Japan following that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Japanese fans to see the Bronx Bombers play official games right here in Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN / POLITICS IN FOCUS
Apr 13, 2004

Lawmakers' groups act behind the scenes

A nonpartisan group of lawmakers lobbying to get Japanese abducted to North Korea back and working on behalf of relatives of the missing has been a big help to Shigeru Yokota.
COMMUNITY
Apr 13, 2004

Rappers relish the opportunity to express individuality

Japanese-born, but with roots in Korea, MCs Jewong, 20, and Liyoon, 22, of rap duo KP, have caused a stir in the booming Japanese hip-hop industry with music and a message drawn from their experiences as members of the Korean community in Japan.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 11, 2004

The struggle to find a collective identity

JAPAN UNBOUND: A Volatile Nation's Quest for Pride and Purpose, by John Nathan. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2004, 271 pp., $25 (cloth). In this engaging book, largely based on extensive interviews, John Nathan probes the pathologies, contradictions and search for identity in contemporary Japan. He ranges...
COMMENTARY
Apr 10, 2004

A fight that does not finish

Tokyo's angry reaction to the threatened retaliatory killing by Iraqi militants of three young Japanese civilians taken hostage this week reminds one of how much the impasse in Iraq parallels the 1960s quagmire in Vietnam.
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2004

Intervention to continue, Tanigaki says

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said Thursday that Japan will continue to intervene in the foreign-exchange market.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2004

Banpresto to buy Tokyo fun park

Banpresto Co. said Thursday it plans to purchase the Asakusa Hanayashiki amusement park in downtown Tokyo from roller-coaster maker Togo Japan Inc.
EDITORIALS
Apr 8, 2004

Breaking the ice with China

Political relations between Japan and China, in striking contrast to growing economic ties, continue to stagnate. During the two-day visit to Beijing by Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, the two sides remained wide apart on two thorny issues: visits to Yasukuni Shrine by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi...
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2004

U.S. wants access to SDF radar data

The United States wants Japan to either provide full access to radar data collected by the Self-Defense Forces or allow the U.S. military to build a radar station in Japan as part of information-sharing for missile defense, a senior Defense Agency official said Monday.
COMMENTARY
Apr 5, 2004

Peace mission in full swing

The humanitarian aid and reconstruction activities of the Self-Defense Forces in Iraq have gone into full swing following the deployment of 550 ground troops in Samawah. A year after the Iraq war started, Japan has now deployed a total of about 1,000 Ground, Maritime and Air SDF personnel in the country....
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2004

U.S. to sit in if police grill crime suspects in the military

Japan and the United States agreed Friday to allow U.S. officials to be present during police questioning of U.S. service members suspected of committing heinous crimes in Japan, the Foreign Ministry said.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2004

New fiscal year brings changes in pricing, education systems

Tax-inclusive retail pricing is among the more visible new measures that went into effect Thursday at the start of Japan's new fiscal year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2004

JAS, JAL integrate operations, set sights on domestic expansion

Japan Airlines Co. and Japan Air System Co. integrated their operations in full Thursday, solidifying their position as Japan's No. 1 airline for both international and domestic routes.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2004

Senkaku spat scuppers sea-treaty talks

Japan and China have canceled bilateral talks on a U.N. maritime treaty after Beijing reacted angrily to Japan's arrest of seven Chinese on a disputed island in the East China Sea last week, Japanese government officials said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2004

Court rejects U.S. request for extradition in industrial spy case

The Tokyo High Court on Monday turned down a request to extradite a researcher to the United States to stand trial on industrial espionage charges, marking Japan's first rejection of an extradition request from American authorities.
COMMENTARY
Mar 30, 2004

Irrational highway demands

The debate over privatizing Japan's four highway and bridge corporations has moved from the absurd to the ridiculous.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2004

Ex-North Korean spy wants hand in collapse of Kim's empire

KITAKYUSHU -- On Aug. 30, 1993, four North Korean agents slipped over the 38th parallel into South Korea. Disguised as South Korean soldiers, their mission was to spy on U.S. and South Korean forces near Panmunjun.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2004

Is the Senkaku row about nationalism -- or oil?

The Senkaku Islands are a group of rocky, deserted islets in the East China Sea that are known as a home for albatrosses.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2004

NHK off hook for sex-slave trial editing

A TV production company was handed a court order Wednesday to pay 1 million yen in damages to a Tokyo-based citizens' group for misleading its members about the content of a program on the "comfort women" issue.
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2004

JAL hoping for revival with JAS under its wing

The Iraq war and the outbreak of SARS have dealt a severe blow to Japan Airlines System Corp., the holding company of Japan Airlines Co. and Japan Air System Co.

Longform

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