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JAPAN
Oct 12, 2003

Parties begin canvassing tours

Ruling and opposition leaders started campaigning across the country on Saturday, one day after the House of Representatives was dissolved for a Nov. 9 general election, in a race to see which of the nation's two biggest parties will take the reins of government.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2003

Lower House dissolved

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi dissolved the House of Representatives on Friday and set Nov. 9 as the date of a general election.
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2003

Ex-envoy spills beans on slush fund, Iraq war

The Foreign Ministry funnels 2 billion yen a year into a discretionary fund handled by the Cabinet Secretariat, it was alleged Wednesday.
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2003

Fukuda condemns 'North Korea's selfish' ban

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda on Tuesday condemned North Korea's declaration that Japan would be barred from participating in the next round of six-way talks over Pyongyang's suspected nuclear weapons program.
BUSINESS
Oct 8, 2003

Key economic gauge sinks toward contraction

A key gauge of the current state of economy stayed above the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent in August for the fourth straight month but fell close to the threshold partly due to the cool summer.
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2003

Probe launched into atypical form of mad cow disease

The government on Tuesday began full-fledged investigations into Japan's eighth case of mad cow disease to determine how a 23-month old Holstein was infected with an atypical form of the brain-wasting malady.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2003

Japan Highway chief refuses to step down

Japan Highway Public Corp. President Haruho Fujii on Monday defied an order by transport minister Nobuteru Ishihara to resign, forcing Ishihara to begin the formal process of sacking him.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2003

LDP oldsters to be odd men out come poll time?

The seniority-based ethos in the Liberal Democratic Party is under threat, with the party leaders putting an upper age limit on the selection of some candidates for the next House of Representatives election.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2003

Smaller tax panel starts new term

The government's downsized tax panel embarked on a new three-year term Monday, tasked with addressing a pile of reform issues.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2003

Japan Highway president is sacked

Land, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Nobuteru Ishihara told Japan Highway Public Corp. President Haruho Fujii on Sunday to hand in his resignation Monday to take responsibility for the semigovernmental firm's controversial balance sheet.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2003

British National Party must be stopped

BRUSSELS -- There has been a step-change in the activity and success of the British National Party. It is now a serious element in electoral politics. Driven by new ways to attract voters, party members no longer cry "repatriation." Instead, their slogan "pensioners before asylum seekers" is aimed at...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2003

SDP's scandal-hit Tsujimoto rules out run for old Diet seat

Kiyomi Tsujimoto, an outspoken former opposition lawmaker indicted on charges of defrauding the state, indicated Saturday that she will not stand in the House of Representatives election expected to be called next month.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2003

Pyongyang's latest nuclear tack hit

Japan lashed out Friday over North Korea's claim that it has finished reprocessing about 8,000 spent fuel rods and is using extracted plutonium to make nuclear weapons.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2003

Lower House OKs two-year extension of antiterror law

The House of Representatives passed a bill Friday to extend the 2001 antiterrorism law by another two years, paving the way for the law's enactment on Oct. 10 and dissolution of the Lower House the same day.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2003

Lawyers advising victims of gas leak

Lawyers representing victims of an August mustard gas leak from Japanese wartime chemical weapons abandoned in China submitted a petition Friday to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, demanding an official apology and compensation for the victims and their families.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2003

'Tankan' shows optimism in manufacturing sector

Large manufacturers feeling confident about business conditions outnumbered those who are pessimistic in September for the first time in 33 months, a Bank of Japan "tankan" survey showed Wednesday. But analysts said it is still too soon to cheer.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2003

Talks with Pyongyang eyed for next month: U.S.

The United States hopes to hold the next six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear crisis in November, visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2003

Government takes abandoned arms ruling 'seriously'

The government "takes seriously" a court ruling holding it responsible for Japan's wartime abandonment of chemical and conventional weapons in China, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 30, 2003

Cooperative Ukraine left out in the cold

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration continues to press for assistance from other nations in Iraq, but without notable success. Both Germany and Russia now indicate a willingness to help, but not with troops. Said Russian President Vladimir Putin in advance of his summit with his American counterpart...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Sep 28, 2003

Welcome to 'Mother Sofa'

MOSCOW -- Moscow seems to have the biggest concentration of furniture stores per square kilometer in the world. Downtown is a cramped place, with barely enough space for designer clothing and jewelry boutiques. Yet, in the peripheral neighborhoods, furniture stores thrive.
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2003

Koizumi promises to pummel postal services into submission

Flush with his sweeping victory in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi vowed Friday to privatize postal services in April 2007.
EDITORIALS
Sep 27, 2003

DPJ's uphill road to power

The birth of the new Democratic Party of Japan -- the largest opposition party to debut since 1994 -- promises to create more constructive tension in Japanese politics. The DPJ, which has absorbed the smaller Liberal Party, is looking to the coming general election as an opportunity to snatch power from...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2003

New environment minister seeking to boost PR efforts

The Environment Ministry needs to work on making better presentations to the public if it hopes to create greater awareness of environmental issues, according to newly appointed Environment Minister Yuriko Koike.
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2003

Shiokawa confirms Diet retirement

Veteran lawmaker Masajuro Shiokawa, replaced as finance minister in Monday's Cabinet reshuffle, said Thursday he will not run in the next House of Representatives election, expected to be held in November.

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