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BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2004

Index of coincident economic indicators revised upward

The government Tuesday revised upward the key gauge of the state of the economy for December, underlining the gradual recovery.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2004

Tokyo to invite southern Iraq tribal chiefs for get-together

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Monday that Japan will invite tribal leaders of the southern Iraqi city of Samawah to Tokyo "to exchange opinions."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2004

Returnees' families urge pressure on Pyongyang

The families of Japanese abducted to North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s urged the government Monday to step up its pressure on Pyongyang.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2004

Fukuda denies Futenma base report

The government denied Friday that the United States had offered to return to Japan land occupied by its Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture without a relocation site.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2004

GSDF troops undeterred by mortar attack near base

Japan is analyzing Thursday's mortar attack in Samawah, southern Iraq, where its Ground Self-Defense Force troops are being deployed, but the incident will not affect its humanitarian mission there, government officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2004

Koizumi's career could be biggest casualty of Iraq dispatch

With news of almost daily suicide attacks in Iraq, top government officials share the anxiety of relatives of Japanese soldiers who have been sent there.
EDITORIALS
Feb 12, 2004

Pension reforms without teeth

With Japan's population aging rapidly, overhauling the underfunded public pension system for company employees is an urgent priority. The reform package approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday contains important reforms, but it entails painful adjustments. Its primary aim is to balance revenue (premiums)...
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2004

Officials in shock visit to North; abductees on agenda

Senior Japanese officials made an unannounced visit to North Korea on Wednesday to discuss a diplomatic standoff over the abduction of Japanese citizens decades ago by North Korean agents, a government spokesman said.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2004

Official data suggest evidence of bid-rigging

Fiscal 2002 saw roughly 5,500 cases in which the winning bidders for public works and other government contracts clinched the deal at a price that was exactly the same as the upper limit set by the government, according to an official document released Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Feb 11, 2004

Bringing abductees and kin home

As yet there is no end in sight to the abduction issue involving Japanese citizens. North Korea -- whose agents kidnapped them in the 1970s and 1980s -- must take the initiative to break the deadlock, but it continues to reject any formal negotiation. To get Pyongyang moving forward, Tokyo is now poised...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2004

Diet OKs SDF dispatch to Iraq

The Diet on Monday gave its final approval for the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq on the strength of the ruling coalition's majority in the House of Councilors.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2004

State to keep mum on terror targets

Which takes precedence: freedom of the press or the safety of potential targets of terrorist attacks?
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

Southern Iraq isn't the only place in need of attention, aid group says

The Japanese media and public are focusing too much on the southern Iraqi city of Samawah where Ground Self-Defense Force troops are being deployed, a Japanese nongovernmental aid group said Friday.
COMMENTARY
Feb 7, 2004

Flu brings out worst in Asia

HONG KONG -- Amid the spread of bird flu, developing Asian nations face a challenge they are failing to meet, because a degree of modernity is required that they are unable to attain. On the one hand, Asia pursues the skyscrapers, the summit conferences, the high-tech industries seen as symbols of modernity....
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

Officials flee embassy amid terror fears

Officials at the Japanese Embassy in Baghdad have been evacuated from the compound to a separate site in the city amid fears of a terrorist attack, government sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

Mandatory oil-spill insurance eyed

Japan might make it mandatory for ships of 100 tons or more to be insured against oil spills -- a move that would bar many North Korean vessels from entering Japanese ports.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2004

Diet curbs smoking in line with beefed-up health law

The Diet enacted a law last year to protect people from lifestyle-related illnesses, including cancer and other diseases caused by passive smoking, and now lawmakers have taken steps to protect themselves, removing all ashtrays from around the plenary chambers of both houses.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2004

U.S. beef ban now claims Sukiya 'gyudon'

Fast-food chain Zensho Co. stopped serving "gyudon" -- bowls of rice topped with seasoned beef -- Thursday after it exhausted its beef inventory following the government's ban on U.S. beef.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2004

Coalition irons out pension plan

The ruling coalition reached final agreement Wednesday on a pension reform program that includes a phased premium increase for salaried workers and benefit decrease to cope with the rapidly graying society.
EDITORIALS
Feb 5, 2004

Set to resume political donations

Nippon Keidanren, or the Japan Business Federation, is moving toward the resumption of donations to political parties. As a preliminary step, the organization has published a report evaluating key policies of the two largest parties, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan. The...
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2004

Diet impasse comes to an end

Diet business returned to normal Tuesday afternoon.
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2004

Opposition boycotts Upper House

The opposition parties continued Monday their boycott of all Diet debate following the ruling coalition's approval of the Self-Defense Forces dispatch to Iraq, effectively putting House of Councilors deliberations on hold.
EDITORIALS
Feb 3, 2004

Dispatch debate fails muster

The government's inconsistent statements last week on the security situation in the southern Iraq city of Samawah, the destination of Japanese ground troops, has raised new doubts about a survey report that describes the situation as "relatively stable." This suggests, regrettably, that the government...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2004

U.S. will assist SDF in Iraq, Armitage pledges to Ishiba

The United States will do its utmost to assist the Self-Defense Forces in Iraq, including providing information to Japan concerning possible terrorist attacks, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba on Monday.
COMMENTARY
Feb 2, 2004

Chirac faces mixed fortunes

PARIS -- Poll ratings have suddenly begun to substantially improve for both French President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. That said, a wide gap still separates the two men. While 56 to 58 percent of those polled have a favorable view of Chirac, Raffarin's confidence rating...
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2004

Motegi eyes trip to Russia-held isles

Toshimitsu Motegi, state minister for Okinawa and Northern Territories affairs, expressed his intention Friday to visit a group of Russian-held islands off Hokkaido that are claimed by Japan.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2004

Ax attack spurs fears for safety of Japanese in Seoul

Japan said Friday it will ask South Korea to be more vigilant about possible attacks against Japanese nationals in the country following a recent assault there.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2004

Police complaints filed over Japanese allegedly abducted by North Korea

Relatives and others involved in the search for 13 Japanese who vanished decades ago filed abduction complaints with police on Thursday, alleging they were snatched and forcibly taken to North Korea.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2004

Fukuda refuses to budge on WMD

The Japanese government believes "there is a high possibility" that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, despite congressional testimony to the contrary given by a former top U.S. arms inspector.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2004

Japan turns up heat on North Korea as sanctions bill clears Lower House

The House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that will allow Japan to unilaterally impose economic sanctions on North Korea, paving the way for its endorsement by the full Diet by the end of next week.

Longform

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