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Japan Times
JAPAN / BABY BUST
Sep 20, 2002

Education costs seen adding fuel to fall in birthrate

At age 4, Mari takes swimming, gymnastics, drawing and English-conversation classes. And that's after kindergarten.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2002

Abductees' families kept in dark

North Korea gave Japan the dates eight of its abducted nationals died, but the Foreign Ministry withheld the information from the next of kin until it was reported in a newspaper, government officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2002

State may cut retirement pay of public servants

The government will consider cutting the retirement pay of public servants for the first time in 21 years to rectify the gap in pay between the public and private sectors, government officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2002

Families of abductees vow to keep up pressure

OSAKA -- Family members and supporters of Japanese abducted to North Korea vowed Wednesday to continue pressing the Japanese and North Korean governments for a full account of the kidnappings.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2002

Yokota's child living in Pyongyang

The daughter of Megumi Yokota, abducted from Japan and taken to North Korea in 1977 at age 13, is now 15 years old and living in Pyongyang, Megumi's father said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2002

Shiokawa wheels out ministry's latest tax plan

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa made a fresh proposal Wednesday to implement tax cuts of 1.5 trillion yen over a five-year period while simultaneously imposing tax hikes.
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2002

Key economic gauge revised upward

The government on Wednesday revised upward the July reading of the key gauge on the current state of the economy to 90 percent from 88.9 percent.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2002

Teenagers invited to play trading game

Languishing amid market gloom and slumping stocks, Japanese brokerages are targeting teenagers -- through a stock market game -- in their uphill battle to encourage individuals to invest.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2002

Koizumi to go in fighting

The first item on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's agenda when he meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il will be his demand for information about 11 Japanese believed abducted to the Stalinist state between 1977 and 1983, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2002

Pyongyang visit to last more than 11 hours

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will spend more than 11 hours in Pyongyang on Tuesday to hold landmark talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, a Foreign Ministry official said Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2002

Koizumi seeks new ideas on disposal of bad loans

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi met with key Cabinet ministers Sunday afternoon to discuss the possibility of formulating new measures to boost the disposal of nonperforming loans held by financial institutions.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2002

Talks' success hinges on 'abductions': Yamasaki

A Japanese official stated Sunday that progress on the issue of the Japanese nationals allegedly abducted by North Korean agents is necessary to the success of this week's North Korea-Japan summit.
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2002

Abduction issue 'most important': governor

Niigata Gov. Ikuo Hirayama on Friday urged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to put the abductions issue at the top of the agenda at next week's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2002

U.S. plants tree as symbol of appreciation

Nancy Kassebaum Baker, wife of U.S. Ambassador Howard Baker, thanked the Japanese people Wednesday for their support following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2002

Public responds to mayors' U.S. barbs

Criticism leveled last month by Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba at the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has provoked a major reaction both at home and abroad.
BUSINESS
Sep 12, 2002

Last quarter's GDP revised up to 0.6%

The government said Wednesday that the nation's economy grew a real 0.6 percent in the April-June quarter, marking an upward revision from an earlier estimate of 0.5 percent growth.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2002

Colleagues remember 9/11 dead

Colleagues of Japanese victims of last year's terrorist attacks in the United States solemnly observed the first anniversary on Wednesday, with many companies holding a moment of silence in remembrance of those who died when the World Trade Center buildings collapsed.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2002

Japan may seek Koizumi-Kim news conference

Japan may seek to hold a joint news conference featuring Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il if their Sept. 17 summit in Pyongyang results in an agreement to resume normalization talks, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2002

Japan regrets going overboard with Earth summit team

Japan should have sent a smaller delegation to the recently concluded World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, Environment Minister Hiroshi Ohki said on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2002

Public safety bill added to attack-response plan

The government has drafted legislation for protecting the public in the event of an attack that will be attached to war contingency bills to be discussed in an extra Diet session expected to start in mid-October, sources said.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2002

Health minister warns of higher welfare costs

Welfare minister Chikara Sakaguchi said Tuesday that the nation's workforce will have to shoulder higher welfare costs in light of Japan's declining birthrate and its graying society, while the aged will also need to share these burdens.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2002

Fewer support traditional gender roles

Forty-seven percent of Japanese back the traditional roles of men as breadwinners and women as housewives, down 11 percentage points from five years ago, the Cabinet Office said in a survey on gender equality.
BUSINESS
Sep 10, 2002

View of machinery orders upgraded for third month

The government upgraded its view of domestic machinery orders for the third consecutive month on Monday, now that orders have risen for four consecutive months.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2002

Coalition proposes new stimulus plan

The ruling coalition parties proposed Monday a set of economic stimulus measures that includes the government purchase of exchange-traded funds, a type of investment trust that invests in shares, and the reinforcement of the government's bad-loan buyback function.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2002

Koizumi still coy on details of latest 'spy ship' incident

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi remained vague Friday on whether a suspected North Korean spy boat had entered Japan's exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan before its sighting was made public Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2002

Delay of deposit insurance cap likely

Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa said Friday the government may extend its full guarantee on ordinary bank deposits until banks adjust their computer systems for a proposed new settlement-specific bank account.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2002

Lower House committee votes to file perjury complaint against Suzuki

The House of Representatives Budget Committee voted unanimously Thursday to file a perjury complaint with prosecutors against scandal-tainted lawmaker Muneo Suzuki over testimony he made before the panel in March.
BUSINESS
Sep 6, 2002

Shiokawa blunder creates confusion

There was temporary confusion Thursday afternoon over whether the government would release a fresh economic package in response to a recent plunge in stock prices before Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visits the United States later this month.

Longform

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