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EDITORIALS
Sep 25, 2003

A veiled but strong G7 message

China maintains a de facto fixed exchange rate for the yuan. Japan has continued to intervene aggressively to prevent a sharp rise in the yen. In a veiled criticism of both countries' currency policies, a communique issued last weekend by Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers called for...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 21, 2003

Russian masters play to bury Leningrad

It's been more than a decade since Russia changed the name of the former Czarist capital back to St. Petersburg, but in Japan, where commercial concerns overrule even historical destiny, it took a long time for the reversion to take hold. For most of the '90s, any orchestra or ballet company from the...
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2003

Iranian visa violators can stay

The Tokyo District Court on Friday granted an Iranian family of four in Gunma Prefecture who have overstayed their visas for more than 13 years permission to stay in Japan, citing humanitarian reasons.
COMMENTARY
Sep 20, 2003

Economic policies confused

In his campaign for re-election as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, has made much of the current mild economic revival. He sees it as vindicating his economic policies.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2003

More support urged for foreign students

The government and universities need to improve the support system and quality of education for the increasing number of foreign students in Japan, an advisory panel of the education ministry said Thursday.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2003

Panel calls for reinterpretation of the antiwar Constitution

In light of the nuclear threat posed by North Korea, the government should alter its interpretation of the Constitution and allow Japan to exercise the right of collective defense, according to a report compiled Thursday by an advisory panel to Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2003

Tokyo to step forward with at least $1 billion for Iraq

Japan, responding to a U.S. request, has begun preparations to offer about $1 billion in 2004 to help rebuild Iraq, government sources said Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 19, 2003

Old political drum beats on

LONDON -- "Seen it all before" and "the more it changes the more it remains the same" are phrases that immediately spring to the mind of the foreign observer of Japanese politics in the runup to Saturday's election of the president of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2003

Pyongyang given ultimatum on anniversary of summit

The government's top spokesman reiterated Wednesday that Japan will not resume normalization talks with North Korea unless it allows the family members of abductees who returned last year to also come to Japan.
COMMENTARY
Sep 17, 2003

Moscow must walk a fine line as Tokyo and Beijing compete for Russian oil

HONG KONG -- Russia is in the enviable position of being wooed simultaneously by Asia's two main powers, China and Japan. At the same time, it has to walk a fine line because it is unlikely to be able to please both countries.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 10, 2003

Foreign execs coached through local game

The American executive blurted out a series of questions he had been unable to ask for a year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Sep 9, 2003

Hello Kitty, Pokemon, Doraemon battle for global supremacy

A number of U.S. celebrities have been spotted toting Hello Kitty paraphernalia in the past year or so, leaving officials of Sanrio Co., the maker of the long-selling character, scratching their heads.
Japan Times
JAPAN / AFTER 2 1/2 YEARS
Sep 4, 2003

Koizumi half way toward reforming public firms

Can Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi live up to his pledge to save the nation's ailing economy by reforming monstrous public corporations?
EDITORIALS
Aug 23, 2003

Falling savings rate is a warning

Until not long ago Japan was criticized -- or praised -- for its extraordinarily high savings rate, depending on how one looked at it. The United States, for one, pointed out that Japan was saving too much and investing too little, and called for steps to stimulate domestic demand and boost consumer...
COMMENTARY
Aug 22, 2003

Getting realistic on defense

LONDON -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's government has taken some sensible steps toward a more realistic defense policy. In particular there has been some easing in dealing with emergency situations. Japanese Self-Defense Forces can also now be sent to Iraq to support peacekeeping there, but they...
EDITORIALS
Aug 21, 2003

Yasukuni issue must be resolved

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine continue to cast a shadow over Japan's relations with its Asian neighbors. In particular, China and South Korea remain critical of a Japanese head of government paying an official visit to the shrine, which is dedicated to millions of Japan's...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2003

Online games offer users chance to communicate, slay dragons

In the medieval kingdom of Aden, thousands of princes, princesses, knights, elves and wizards hunt monsters and dragons and battle to take over each other's fortresses.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 19, 2003

Cometh the man, cometh the charisma

Adashing & suave lady-killer and a misfit loser?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 17, 2003

Mystery cloaks Hokkaido motifs

Art is part of what makes us human. Primitive or otherwise, though, it is not only about painting pretty pictures, but also about the complex use of symbols and forms of language.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 17, 2003

Adding color to pre- and postwar mentalities

During the ceremony to mark the 58th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba blasted the United States for "worshipping nuclear weapons as God" -- a statement that, understandably, received a great deal of media attention. And while U.S. President George Bush, who is advocating...
EDITORIALS
Aug 16, 2003

Time to reconfirm postwar values

It seems that the Showa Era (1926-89) -- a turbulent period best remembered for the Pacific War -- is fading fast into the past. Reinforcing that impression is the fact that a bill designating April 29 as "Showa Day," a national holiday dedicated to the memories of the Showa Era, passed the Lower House...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Aug 15, 2003

Manufacturers shifting output abroad to compete -- at a cost

Honda makes cars in Thailand and imports them to Japan. Toyota produces pickup trucks in South Africa and Argentina.
EDITORIALS
Aug 14, 2003

Unconditionally settle abduction issue

Japan and North Korea are expected to discuss the abduction issue on a bilateral basis during the six-nation talks on the North Korean nuclear crisis to be held late this month in Beijing. Japanese negotiators should demand that Pyongyang address this issue in good faith and allow abductees' relatives...
COMMENTARY
Aug 12, 2003

Test for Japanese diplomacy

The standoff over North Korea's nuclear-arms development is entering a new stage as officials of six nations -- the United States, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Russia and China -- prepare to meet soon in Beijing to discuss the threat. At Pyongyang's insistence, the U.S. will hold direct talks with...

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