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JAPAN
Apr 3, 2006

Aso: Troops to stay put in Iraq until stability restored

Japanese troops may stay in southern Iraq until a degree of political stability is restored in the country, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Sunday, denying media reports they might pull out by May.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2006

Aso says China a threat; shrine overtures rebuffed

Foreign Minister Taro Aso on Sunday called China a military threat and Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe rebuffed conciliatory gestures by Beijing over Yasukuni Shrine in comments likely to heighten tensions between the two nations.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 2, 2006

Accepting apologies is not so easy

JAPANESE APOLOGIES FOR WORLD WAR II: A Rhetorical Study, by Jane W. Yamazaki. London: Routledge, 2005, 256 pp., £65 (cloth). POLITICS, MEMORY AND PUBLIC OPINION: The History Textbook Controversy and Japanese Society, by Sven Saaler, Munich: Deutsches Institut fur Japanstudien, 2005, 202 pp., 28 euro...
EDITORIALS
Apr 1, 2006

Israel chooses to go forward

Party emerged victorious in national elections held this week in Israel. The win was a victory for interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who took the helm of government -- and the newly formed party -- after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was felled by a stroke. The celebrations will be short-lived as Mr....
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2006

Designers, sellers of defective buildings face law with teeth

The Cabinet approved a package of bills Friday from the infrastructure ministry that feature a provision to toughen the maximum penalty for architects and builders who erect defective buildings.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2006

China slammed over cryptographer honey trap suicide

The government Friday condemned China for blackmailing a Japanese diplomat in Shanghai two years ago for intelligence, driving him to commit suicide.
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2006

Gutierrez stresses safety of American beef

U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez repeated the U.S. position Friday that American beef is safe from mad cow disease and urged Japan to lift its import ban.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2006

Muraoka acquitted of hiding JDA check

The Tokyo District Court found former Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Kanezo Muraoka not guilty Thursday of concealing a 100 million yen donation from the nation's dental lobby in July 2001 to the then top LDP faction.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2006

Koike hospitalized with pneumonia

Environment Minister Yuriko Koike was hospitalized Wednesday for treatment of acute pneumonia, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 30, 2006

DPJ has dawdled long enough

With the Diet's passage of the fiscal 2006 budget, the Koizumi administration has cleared an important hurdle. But the Diet is in a sad state following the Democratic Party of Japan's blunder in its handling of an e-mail message presented by a DPJ lawmaker alleging shady financial ties between disgraced...
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2006

Iraq to get first reconstruction loans

The government announced Tuesday that it will extend yen loans totaling 76.5 billion yen for reconstruction in Iraq -- its first such assistance to the conflict-ravaged country in 20 years.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2006

Bill in works to officially allow military use of space

In a shift away from a nearly 40-year-old commitment to an exclusively nonmilitary space program, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party announced plans Tuesday to draft a bill that would authorize Japan's military to use space for self-defense.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2006

Justification needed before tax hike: Abe

The government must cut expenditures and gain public acceptance before raising the 5 percent consumption tax, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2006

Big firms' confidence off

Major companies became less confident about business conditions in the January-March quarter as manufacturers were hit by high oil prices, pushing the key confidence index down for the first time in four quarters, a government survey showed Monday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Mar 28, 2006

Offi's Zumi Stool, Tadao Hoshino's dresser drawers, the 'Shadow Series' chairs, Muji's Wagon Set

With the cherry blossoms finally blooming and spring-cleaning in the air, it's a good time to think about updating your home's interior. And it isn't only a few university students who will be looking for new furnishings to go with the new digs that they move into at the start of Japan's school year...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 26, 2006

Consumer credit companies have your money, and the media, in their pockets

On Jan. 13, the Supreme Court found in favor of an individual who had sued a consumer credit company for charging too much interest. By doing so, the court rejected the controversial "gray zone" that such companies take advantage of in their business.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2006

Abe against newspaper discounts

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said at an Upper House committee meeting Friday that the current newspaper delivery system with a nationwide uniform rate should be maintained.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Mar 25, 2006

Ken Nimori

Ken Nimori has an unusual personal background. He is a Japanese who, despite having lived almost always in Tokyo, did not beyond kindergarten receive Japanese education. He spent his full 12 years of schooling at the American School in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2006

Government to honor baseball champs

As the nation basked in the triumph of Japan's victory in the inaugural World Baseball Classic the previous day, the government added to the euphoria Wednesday by saying it is considering bestowing awards on the entire team.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2006

Futenma relocation plan won't be tweaked, Abe says

The government does not plan any changes to the Japan-U.S. plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station within Okinawa, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Monday.
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2006

Demand beat supply by end of '05

Excess in supply was eliminated in Japan's gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of 2005 for the first time in about eight years, the Cabinet Office said Monday.
COMMENTARY
Mar 20, 2006

Iwakuni vote poses a risk

In a referendum March 12, a majority of residents in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, voted no on a government plan to host additional 57 carrier-based warplanes at the U.S. Marine Corps air station there. Under a plan for the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, the planes are to be transferred from the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2006

Protesters mark Iraq war anniversary

About 2,000 people rallied Saturday in a downtown Tokyo park to mark the third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and demand that Japanese and other coalition troops pull out, a protest organizer said.
EDITORIALS
Mar 18, 2006

Heed Iwakuni's message

An overwhelming majority of residents in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, voted "no" in a plebiscite held Sunday on a plan to relocate 57 U.S. carrier-based aircraft and 1,600 U.S. military personnel to their city. This was the first plebiscite of its kind since Japan and the United States agreed in October...
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2006

LDP OKs sanctions bill targeting North Korea rights abuses

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party approved a bill Friday that would require the government to impose sanctions on North Korea if it failed to make progress in addressing its human rights abuses, including the abductions of Japanese.
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2006

Insurers asked to clarify policies

The Financial Services Agency called on all 86 insurance firms in the nation Friday to check their sales material on savings-type insurance products after it discovered some firms had not been clearly explaining their policies.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2006

General named to joint SDF post

The government appointed Gen. Hajime Massaki on Friday to the new post of Self-Defense Forces Joint Staff chief to serve as a chief aide to the Defense Agency's director general under the planned integration of the operations of the SDF's ground, maritime and air branches.

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