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JAPAN
Jun 11, 2003

Number of people over 75 topped 10 million in 2002

The number of people aged 75 and older topped 10 million for the first time last year in another sign Japanese society is steadily aging, the government said Tuesday in an annual report.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2003

Breakwalls against U.S. tide

SINGAPORE — Big-power rapprochement was high on the agenda in both St. Petersburg, Russia, and Evian, France, this past week a month after U.S. President George W. Bush declared victory in Iraq aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. But how does this rapprochement mesh with perceived American unilateralism?...
COMMENTARY
May 26, 2003

French reforms under fire

PARIS -- Six weeks ago, his strong opposition to the war in Iraq won French President Jacques Chirac overwhelming support in the polls. Today he has been forced to turn away from the international scene and face a rapidly developing social crisis centered on pension and education reforms.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 22, 2003

ASEAN counting on China

SINGAPORE -- As the third generation of Chinese leaders since 1949 hands power over to the fourth, Southeast Asia and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are following the landmark political transition with keen interest. What does ASEAN expect from the transition?
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2003

Fuel-cell cars now have a place to fill up

Fuel-cell vehicles took a short drive closer to the garage on Wednesday with the opening of a showroom and filling station for experimental FCVs in Yokohama's Tsurumi Ward.
EDITORIALS
Mar 7, 2003

WHO clears the air

There are more than 1 billion smokers worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that the number of people dying each year from cancer, cardiovascular disease and other smoking-related conditions has reached 4.9 million a year -- up from 4 million deaths a year when negotiations began on a treaty...
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2003

Group urges sales tax hike, public works cuts

The government should hike the sales tax and cut public spending over the next eight years in an attempt to balance the national budget, an influential business organization said Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2003

Kepco looks at Wakayama for spent nuclear fuel storage

OSAKA -- Kansai Electric Power Co. may construct an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Gobo, Wakayama Prefecture, using land earmarked for a thermoelectric plant, it was learned Friday.
EDITORIALS
Nov 19, 2002

Mr. Hu at the pinnacle of power

Now that the Chinese Communist Party has completed a smooth leadership transition, the world is watching how Mr. Hu Jintao, the new party chief, will navigate his one-party socialist state of 1.3 billion people through the treacherous waters of globalization. Predicting his future course is complicated...
COMMENTARY
Oct 12, 2002

In pursuit of terrorists and oil

NEW DELHI -- U.S. President George W. Bush is taking a big gamble with his single-minded mission to get rid of a toothless but unsavory dictator, who, far from being a menace to U.S. security, is not a threat even to his neighbors. Bush, who accuses Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein of being "a homicidal...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2002

Exactly when does old age really begin?

"Put simply, we are having fewer children and living longer," says Michelle Gunn, an Australian journalist and social-affairs writer. Our time is undeniably the age of longevity.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2002

Depressive points the way out of the gloom

For 10 years, Rei Ueno, 40, worked hard as a freelance writer. He took on almost every job that came to him. It was not unusual for him to make it home after midnight -- he also played hard.
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 25, 2002

Tackling the global water crisis

As attention turns to the Johannesburg summit, many regions of the world could be excused for being more concerned with the water crisis on their doorsteps.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2002

Ethnic Chinese dilemma

SINGAPORE -- In a new twist to an ongoing controversy surrounding a proposal to change Malaysia's education policy, the two main Chinese components of the ruling National Front (NF) coalition government, have found themselves taking the same position as the opposition parties. This places the Malaysian...
EDITORIALS
Aug 8, 2002

China's military buildup

Two annual reports released last month -- one from the U.S. Department of Defense and the other from the U.S.-China Security Review Commission, a congressional panel -- express serious concern about China's military buildup and economic development. Such a perception does not sit well with the Japanese...
COMMENTARY
Jul 1, 2002

Carbon tax is long past due

The global environment is deteriorating. I saw this firsthand on my trip to China several years ago. The plane arrived a few hours behind schedule because of blowing dust. As I disembarked, I noticed the jetliner was covered with black particles of "yellow sand."
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2002

Report to put heavy pressure on airport execs

OSAKA — The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry's downward revision Friday of the projected number of takeoffs and landings at Kansai International Airport is likely to increase pressure on officials here to postpone the completion date for the second runway beyond 2007.
BUSINESS
Jun 3, 2002

Will next-generation autos be in time to save Earth?

U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said that today 700 million cars navigate the industrialized world. He projected there will be 3.5 billion cars in 50 years.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2002

ASEAN's time to strengthen Indian ties

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- In a series of previous articles on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, a certain vacuum has been noted: Although this regional organization has managed through the years to establish meaningful connections with various countries of the world, its links with...
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2002

Japan considering creation of East Asia free-trade area before 2010

Japan is considering establishing an East Asia free-trade zone well ahead of 2010, Japanese trade ministry officials said Saturday.
COMMENTARY
Mar 28, 2002

New focus on security pushes nuclear deterrence to the fore

NEW DELHI -- In the post-Sept. 11 environment, nuclear-weapons issues had acquired a lower profile in international relations as the controversy generated by America's missile-defense plans, the ongoing deadlock at the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament and the coma-like state of the Comprehensive...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / THE PARENT TRIP
Mar 8, 2002

Not every parent wants a model child

I had noticed the woman in the shop, but hadn't really thought anything of her. She was watching me as I tried to keep an eye on Alex, my hyperactive 2 1/2-year-old son, while at the same time picking my way through the kids' section to find a new jacket for him.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2002

Globalization role of APEC's other half

SEOUL -- Earlier this month in Honolulu, parliamentarians from 25 Asia Pacific nations renewed debate over the digital divide at the annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum, headed by former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2002

East Asian community sought by region's leaders

While China drew much media attention by declaring its bid to conclude a free-trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations within 10 years, the creation of an even bigger Asian community including ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea has turned up as a hot topic.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2001

Mental health challenges remain unmet

NEW YORK -- One aspect not frequently considered of the Sept. 11 World Trade Center tragedy, the anthrax scare, and thousands of people fleeing in terror from Afghanistan is that these events may create or exacerbate mental health problems. Unless they are properly treated, many among those involved...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2001

Travel event seeks to ease anxiety

The foremost event in the nation's travel industry calendar kicked off Wednesday in Tokyo's Odaiba district, with industry leaders seeking to ease public concerns triggered by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2001

Full text of APEC leaders' declaration in Shanghai

Following is the full text of the declaration adopted Sunday by leaders of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum after their two-day summit in Shanghai.
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2001

APEC leaders begin 2-day meet

Compiled from AFP-Jiji, Kyodo SHANGHAI -- Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum kicked off a two-day summit Saturday afternoon, focusing on the global effort against terrorism and measures to reverse an economic slowdown in the region.

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