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SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
May 29, 2001

Confederations Cup another step on the ladder

On Oct. 29 last year, Philippe Troussier sat, drenched in champagne, at his post-match press conference after Japan's nail-biting 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in the Asian Cup final. The oversized fruit bowl of a trophy beside him, the Frenchman grinned like a Cheshire cat while he tried to collect his...
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2001

Charting a course as wide as the region

To understand the logic that is driving the Bush administration's redesign of U.S. military strategy, overlay two maps. The first focuses on wealth and population. It highlights Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, some of the world's richest and most important trading nations. China, India and...
COMMENTARY
May 19, 2001

Diplomacy fails to measure up

The administration of President George W. Bush has disclosed major changes in U.S. military and diplomatic strategies. These include the stepped-up deployment of U.S. missile defense systems, the discontinuation of the "two major war" approach and the overhaul of policies toward North Korea.
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2001

Europeans wonder if Koizumi can deliver

BRUSSELS -- Despite the initial popularity and purported radicalism of Japan's new prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, there is no evidence yet to show he has the vision or the ability to pull the country out of its economic slump and carry through the reforms necessary to meet the regional and global...
JAPAN
May 8, 2001

Prime minister's policy speech

The following is a provisional translation of the policy speech given Monday by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to the 151st session of the Diet:
CULTURE / Books
May 6, 2001

Hot spot needs the 'virtual alliance'

U.S.-KOREA-JAPAN RELATIONS: Building Toward a "Virtual Alliance," edited by Ralph Cossa. Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1999, 207 pp., paper. ALIGNMENT DESPITE ANTAGONISM: The U.S.-Korea-Japan Security Triangle, by Victor D. Cha. Stanford University Press, 1999, 373 pp., $49.50 (cloth),...
BUSINESS
May 2, 2001

Talk of duty-free imports riles Japanese politicians

Yet another block has been added to a diplomatic wall being built by the international community to shut out Japan's rising protectionism on farm trade.
MULTIMEDIA / TALK OF THE TIMES
Apr 30, 2001

Top JAWOC official says FIFA should have studied local culture

Yasuhiko Endo assumed the post of general secretary of the Japan World Cup Organizing Committee (JAWOC) two years ago, a position that requires all the patience and diplomatic skills he acquired during his years serving in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2001

A high price for textbook flap

Japan ignores the history-textbook controversy at its peril. While many Japanese dismiss the tempest -- exaggerated attention, they say, given to a small group of nostalgic conservatives or a freedom-of-speech issue best left to constitutional scholars -- South Koreans see the new history textbook as...
EDITORIALS
Apr 24, 2001

Mr. Lee comes with baggage

Former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui is now on a "private" visit to Japan with a visa the Japanese government issued after days of vacillation -- and with strings attached: Mr. Lee should stay in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, where he will get a medical checkup, and should not conduct any political...
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2001

Tokyo-Beijing relations expected to decline despite visa conditions

Although the government cited "humanitarian reasons" in deciding to issue an entry visa to former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui, the Foreign Ministry recognizes the decision will have political implications and will certainly serve Tokyo-Beijing ties yet another blow.
JAPAN / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Apr 19, 2001

Top foreign fashion brands take direct approach

As consumer spending woes continue to weigh on Japan's sluggish economy, foreign apparel makers have expanded their business by taking a more direct approach.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Apr 5, 2001

Halfhearted effort at hosting half a World Cup

Why not let South Korea host the whole thing?
COMMENTARY
Mar 24, 2001

The long view on the Kurils

Can Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori stage a political comeback via his March 25 talks in Irkutsk with Russian President Vladimir Putin? Aides have hinted that he favors the "two-island" compromise solution to Japan's long-festering dispute with Russia over ownership of the so-called Northern Territories....
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2001

Conference members seeking strong economic leadership

Although Japan knows it should carry out structural reforms and stimulate domestic demand to get out of its protracted economic slump, it is still waiting for someone to take the initiative and actually do something.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2001

Kobe Declaration a thorn in the side of diplomacy

Staff writer OSAKA -- Last year, Robert Ludan, U.S. consul general for the Osaka-Kobe region, began pursuing an issue that had lain dormant for 25 years: U.S. naval visits to Kobe.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2001

U.S. warships not welcome in Hokkaido

While U.S. Ambassador Thomas Foley was receiving an award Jan. 9 aboard the USS Blue Ridge for his contribution to increased visits by U.S. naval vessels to Japanese ports, the mayor of Tomakomai, Hokkaido, was expressing opposition to a planned February visit to his town by the flagship.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2001

Mori, Bush expected to confirm macroeconomic cooperation

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and U.S. President George W. Bush are expected to issue a joint statement mainly on bilateral cooperation regarding macroeconomic policies when they meet in Washington on Monday, in an attempt to quell concerns over recent steep falls in stock markets in both countries.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 9, 2001

Show me what you've got!

I'd like to greet all the players in the J. League and look forward to seeing the joy of football in Japan this year. I'd specifically like to welcome the new foreign players. My message to you, as well as to the Japanese players, is simply play your best, play football.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 8, 2001

Genetically modified corn slips into human food chain

The safety of the nation's food has recently been called into question following the discovery of StarLink corn in a shipment of corn imported from the United States.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 5, 2001

Meeting mutual expectations

The Bush administration attaches special importance to U.S. allies in its foreign policy. In a news conference held Dec. 16, immediately after he won the presidency, George W. Bush said his administration will work with its allies in Europe and the Far East.
COMMENTARY
Mar 1, 2001

Bush presidency, Ehime Maru tragedy bring national security issues to the fore

The issue for 2001 is whether Japan's leaders will take responsibility for their own national security. The stage is set for them to make this choice and the United States is ready to cooperate no matter what decision they make.
JAPAN / EMBASSY ROW
Feb 27, 2001

Sweden stresses political ties with EU

As the country currently representing the European Union, Sweden hopes that the coming decade will see the Japan-EU relationship broaden into the political arena, based on the solid economic ties that have been developed between the two countries, according to Swedish Ambassador Krister Kumlin.
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2001

Labor program accused of profiteering

The arrest in November of Tadao Koseki, the former president of mutual-aid organization KSD, has highlighted the potentially lucrative nature of the Foreigners' Trainee System, the government-run program to train foreigners at firms in Japan.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2001

Departing Foley believes strength of ties will prevail

The following are excerpts from U.S. Ambassador Thomas Foley's interview with The Japan Times: What do you think the U.S. and Japanese governments should do to prevent overall bilateral relations from being damaged by the Feb. 9 accident in which a Japanese ship sank off Hawaii when it was hit by a...
COMMENTARY
Feb 9, 2001

Which 'global standard'?

At the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland last month, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara reportedly attracted more attention than Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2001

Mori highlights reform, recovery, IT

Introduction At the opening of the 151st session of the Diet, as the prime minister of Japan charged with the affairs of state as we mark the turn of the century, I would like to state my views as I once again brace myself to bear forward the burden of responsibility in this historical era.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2001

Mori highlights reform, recovery, IT

Introduction At the opening of the 151st session of the Diet, as the prime minister of Japan charged with the affairs of state as we mark the turn of the century, I would like to state my views as I once again brace myself to bear forward the burden of responsibility in this historical era.
MULTIMEDIA / SPORTS SCOPE
Feb 1, 2001

FIFA's football family is fatally dysfunctional

Sepp Blatter, the head of soccer's world governing body FIFA, invariably refers to the world's soccer community as "the football family." Unfortunately, it's a terribly dysfunctional family.

Longform

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