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Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2004

Risky North Korea rescue left unfinished

Desperate to save his sons and other relatives, a 56-year-old escapee from North Korea hatched a bold plan to free them by smuggling himself back into the country.
EDITORIALS
Jan 22, 2004

Don't politicize the BSE issue

A U.S. government representative is scheduled to visit Japan soon for talks on Tokyo's ban on U.S. beef imports, which was imposed in December following the outbreak of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), or mad cow disease, in the United States. Because wide disagreement exists on this issue between...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2004

Did the government lay an egg?

The recent outbreak of avian flu in Yamaguchi Prefecture has not only shocked restaurants and the fast-food industry, but has highlighted the government's inability to prevent such deadly diseases from emerging in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2004

Koizumi seeks support for dispatch

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi called on the nation to support his decision to send Self-Defense Forces units to Iraq as he kicked off the 150-day ordinary Diet session Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2004

Pyongyang arms threat, abductions still lead Kawaguchi's list

Japan will continue urging North Korea to abandon its nuclear arms program in a verifiable and irreversible manner, Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Monday.
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2004

Farm ministry wary of more BSE cases in U.S.

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry issued a report Monday stating there are no assurances that more cases of mad cow disease won't be discovered in the United States.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2004

Pyongyang trip yields no progress on abduction issue

Japan and North Korea remained at odds over the abductions issue when a group of Japanese diplomats visited Pyongyang last week for the first official contact between the two countries in several months, the Foreign Ministry says.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2004

Seoul issues controversial stamp, draws flak from irate Kawaguchi

Japan protested Friday over Seoul's issuance of postage stamps bearing the image of a disputed island in the Sea of Japan.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2004

GSDF advance team departs for Iraq

A 30-member Ground Self-Defense Force advance team left Friday from Narita airport bound for Iraq, marking the first time Japan has sent troops to a nation experiencing conflict since World War II.
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2004

More talks eyed on beef import ban

Japanese and U.S. farm chiefs agreed Thursday to hold further talks aimed at resuming Japanese imports of U.S. beef as soon as possible, beginning with Washington's plan to dispatch a negotiating team to Tokyo next week.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2004

Offspring of 1970 JAL hijackers arrive from North Korea

Six offspring of Japanese radicals wanted in the 1970 hijacking of a Japan Airlines jetliner to Pyongyang have arrived in Japan, coming from North Korea via Beijing.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2004

North Korea 'ready' to free returnees' kin by March 20

North Korea is reportedly offering to send family members of the five former Japanese abductees to Japan as early as March, it was learned Wednesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Jan 15, 2004

'Miyake man' leaves a legacy of inspiration

Last week, the environmental community lost a beacon of wisdom and inspiration, a gentle and passionate man who dedicated his career to raising awareness of the oceans' unique ecosystems and Japan's in particular. On Friday, at the age of 74, Jack Thomson Moyer is believed to have taken his own life,...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2004

Cash-strapped video artist soldiers on

Video artist Michael Goldberg counts himself lucky to have been able to work on projects that inspired him: those focusing on cross-cultural communication between Japan and the world.
BUSINESS
Jan 14, 2004

Canadian beef import ban intact

Yoshiyuki Kamei, minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, on Tuesday rejected Canada's request that Japan lift its import ban on Canadian beef.
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2004

Falling behind in the FTA race

Free trade is taking a new shape. With the World Trade Organization's new round of multilateral talks on the rocks, countries around the world are taking increasingly to bilateral and regional free trade agreements, or FTAs. Japan is falling far behind in this race, largely because of its protected agriculture....
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2004

Public interest in North Korean problems increasing: survey

Public interest in security issues concerning North Korea has increased substantially over the past year or so, with most people responding to a government survey released Saturday saying they are concerned about the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the North.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 11, 2004

Comparison underscores stark contrasts

HONOLULU -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld likes to point to the American occupation of Japan after World War II to assert that America is moving faster to rebuild and reform Iraq than the Americans did in seven years of remaking Japan, starting in 1945. Therefore, he says, Americans and critics...
BUSINESS
Jan 10, 2004

Foreign-exchange reserves at all-time high

Japan's foreign-exchange reserves hit a record high of $673.53 billion in December, rising by the biggest margin in a single year due to heavy yen-selling intervention in the currency market, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2004

New defenses for new realities

LONDON -- British defense and security policy has been undergoing a radical reappraisal, as security gurus in their think tanks and military commanders in their operations rooms ponder the unfolding implications of defending a vulnerable island in a world of global terror, rogue states, international...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2004

Koreans bring Christ to people

A rooftop chapel in Tokyo is on an evangelical mission, spreading the word with fire, brimstone, levity -- and food -- to a flock of 200 homeless people every Sunday morning.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2004

Mobile phone giants strive for pre-eminence in 3G market

Anticipating that third-generation services will dominate the mobile phone market within a few years, NTT DoCoMo Inc., KDDI Corp., and Vodafone K.K. are rolling out new handsets with a range of advanced 3G functions.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 6, 2004

Freedom of speech

Consider this: You are a student in a Japanese J.H.S. Your native language may or may not be Japanese, but you are learning English as a second language like everyone else.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2004

DPJ may agree to relax ban on weapons exports

The Democratic Party of Japan may consider supporting a government proposal to relax Japan's ban on exporting arms, DPJ leader Naoto Kan said Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Jan 5, 2004

Tokyo, Seoul owe more than symbolism

WASHINGTON -- Deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is in custody, but the struggle to suppress Iraqi insurgents remains. Washington needs allied help to lighten its burden. The most generous aid should come from nations that the United States has defended for decades, particularly Japan and South Korea,...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2004

Is 'burying' carbon dioxide the cure for global warming?

As the world's largest emitters of carbon dioxide -- including Japan -- struggle to find quick and effective ways of cutting emissions to curb global warming, projects to store the gas underground are attracting public attention.

Longform

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