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COMMENTARY
May 20, 2004

South Asian peace can't wait

ISLAMABAD -- The surprise upset in India's recent elections, which saw the Congress Party take power, is unlikely to change the positive course Indo-Pakistani relations have taken. But given the two countries' long history of acrimony and the threat that hardline militants pose to the emerging peace...
JAPAN
May 19, 2004

Koizumi hopes U.S. will pardon Jenkins

Before Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visits Pyongyang on Saturday, Tokyo hopes Washington will promise to pardon an American in North Korea wanted for desertion if he is allowed to come to Japan to reunite with his wife, who is one of the five repatriated abductees.
EDITORIALS
May 17, 2004

Fresh hope for a reunion of families

In a renewed bid to improve relations with North Korea, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will visit Pyongyang on Saturday for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Mr. Koizumi's first one-day visit, in September 2002, led to the return home of five Japanese abductees, but the mission was only half...
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2004

Sugar dispute sours Australian politics

SYDNEY -- Who could have guessed that sugar would sour Australian politics? That's just what is happening as the Howard government gears up for its toughest national election yet.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 15, 2004

Cow Island and a naked bath in the sky

Perhaps the best part about sailing through the Seto Inland Sea is stopping along the way at the islands. The Inland Sea has over 150 islands, and each one has a different atmosphere. After passing under the Seto Ohashi Bridge, we stopped at a small island called Ushi Shima. The name of the island (Cow...
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2004

New jailers, same prison?

The stage-managed toppling of ex-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's statue will not, after all, be the image defining the Iraq war. Like the famous photo of the young girl on fire running naked to escape the horror of napalm in the Vietnam War, the photographs emerging from Abu Ghraib prison will be the...
BUSINESS
May 14, 2004

Ripplewood expresses interest in MMC

Ripplewood Holdings LLC is interested in investing in troubled Mitsubishi Motors Corp., according to sources.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2004

Most firms upbeat about China's economic growth

Sixty-five percent of major Japanese companies say the rapid growth of the Chinese economy is having a favorable effect on the Japanese economy, according to a recent survey by Kyodo News.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 11, 2004

Insurance, pension cash and divorce

Health Insurance I have been in Japan for almost 6 years and I have paid into the social health insurance system during my 3 years on the JET Program. After I had finished JET, I dropped out of the system and have not enrolled in the national health insurance system.
EDITORIALS
May 11, 2004

Arrests deal MMC another blow

In a further setback to the troubled Mitsubishi Motors Corp., police last week arrested seven former MMC executives in connection with a 2002 fatal truck accident allegedly caused by defective wheel hubs. The seven, including Mr. Takashi Usami, former MMC vice president and former chairman of Mitsubishi...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / A GAIJIN'S TALE
May 11, 2004

Bus stop

It was a typical day and I was making my usual commute home.
JAPAN
May 10, 2004

Koizumi can get abductee kin: Pyongyang

North Korea earlier this year told Japan through informal channels that it would allow the relatives of five repatriated Japanese to leave the country if Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi goes to Pyongyang to pick them up, government sources said Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2004

Taiwan opposition must swallow loss to live

NEW YORK -- On March 20 the governing Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) ticket of Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu won re-election over the pan-blue ticket of Kuomintang (KMT) chairman Lien Chan and the People First Party (PFP) chairman James Soong by a narrow margin of...
JAPAN
May 10, 2004

Koizumi can get abductee kin: Pyongyang

North Korea earlier this year told Japan through informal channels that it would allow the relatives of five repatriated Japanese to leave the country if Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi goes to Pyongyang to pick them up, government sources said Sunday.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 9, 2004

"Nanmon Kaiketsu" on NHK and more

The word motodoru refers to female celebrities who were "idols" in their youth. However, it also means "getting value for one's money," and is usually associated with housewives.
COMMENTARY
May 9, 2004

Democratic model for developing nations

NEW DELHI -- At a time when international terrorism has intensified debate on the potential role of democracy in moderating extremist trends, the world's largest-ever election in India is a reminder that democracy and freedom are not luxuries but central to the building of stable, pluralistic and prospering...
COMMENTARY
May 4, 2004

Blair's hard sell of a new EU

LONDON -- "It's ghastly," Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong, said with a shudder. He was speaking of the referendum -- that Prime Minister Tony Blair has declared, after no consultation with his Cabinet, will now be held -- on the draft EU constitution. Why is a referendum ghastly? Because,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 2, 2004

Ryuichi Hirokawa: Picture this . .

With soldiers silhouetted against dramatic desert sunsets, or helicopters swooping over cityscapes, most mainstream-media photographs we see of the war in Iraq are nothing if not models of artistic composition and taste.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 2, 2004

A battle for 'the fate of the world'

At approximately 6:20 p.m. on May 7, 1954, the shooting had stopped everywhere but at one last outpost, called strongpoint Lily, where a handful of Moroccan soldiers under a French major, Jean Nicolas, still held out.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
May 1, 2004

Lenne Hardt

More than one organization for which she works calls Lenne Hardt "the best female narrator in Tokyo." She is much in demand by entertainment agents who regard her as being unique locally for her range of voices, knowledge of the industry, consummate professionalism and fluency in English and Japanese....
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 29, 2004

Dodgers to honor Japanese-Americans

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Tuesday they will celebrate Japanese American Community Night on Wednesday, April 28 when they play host to the New York Mets, according to Dodger owner Frank McCourt.
COMMENTARY
Apr 29, 2004

Asian values shade Japan hostage crisis

LOS ANGELES -- It's true that Asian values may not be all they used to be. But they still pop up now and again with the capacity to dazzle and astonish. It's possible to argue, in fact, that if Asian values remain a strong enough force over time, they could even mitigate emerging Asian nationalism. Two...
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2004

Polish envoy calls on Japan to boost investment, tourism

Polish Ambassador Marcin Rybicki on Monday called on Japan to invest more in Poland and encourage more of its citizens to visit his country.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / A GAIJIN'S TALE
Apr 27, 2004

Foreign animals

Shortly after arriving in Japan in 1998, two friends and I decided to try and find the zoo near Chiba City.
COMMENTARY
Apr 27, 2004

Don't credit PM for recovery

The Japanese economy is recovering. Why? Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi can hardly take the credit.
EDITORIALS
Apr 25, 2004

'A long fuse has been lighted'

With the earlier-than-usual arrival of warm weather, the influenza season in Japan is almost over, and the number of patients reported to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is down 40 percent from last year. However, the danger of the bird flu virus mutating and a new type of influenza breaking...
BUSINESS
Apr 24, 2004

Lower House OKs bill to prop up ailing banks

The House of Representatives approved a bill Friday that would allow the government to funnel taxpayer money into financial institutions even if they are not insolvent.

Longform

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