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EDITORIALS
Dec 21, 2003

A crisis in Europe

The European Union's failure last week to agree on a new constitution raises crucial questions about the future of the union. Negotiations will resume next year, but the odds of success then are not likely to be much better. Although the consequences of failure may be the best incentive for a deal, that...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Dec 21, 2003

Of death and glories

The stench! That was what got me first as I pushed my bike up the steep, narrow lane: the reek of burning hair, bones, hooves and flesh.
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2003

Shootings suspect admits charges

A man arrested Friday in connection with shots being fired at Aum Shinrikyo facilities in Tokyo and Osaka and a teachers' union office in Hiroshima, for which a rightist group claimed responsibility, has admitted orchestrating the attacks, investigative sources said Saturday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 20, 2003

Captive of a democracy

Following the seizure of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein eight days ago, some riveting discussions took place among politicians and pundits of all stripes about how such a catch should be treated -- not just in the coming weeks and months, but from the first minutes of the deposed leader's detention....
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2003

Hinomaru hoisted at all spring graduation events

All public elementary, junior high and high schools in Japan raised the Hinomaru during their spring graduation ceremonies, according to an education ministry survey released this week.
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2003

Overall crime down -- but murder on rise

The number of crimes in Japan is expected to drop in 2003 for the first time in eight years, according to a report on January-November crime figures released by the National Police Agency.
COMMUNITY
Dec 20, 2003

Over 4,000 babies delivered and still counting

Dr. Hideki Sakamoto is late for the very best of reasons. "I had an emergency at the hospital, but am happy to be able to say that mother and baby are both doing well."
BUSINESS
Dec 19, 2003

Schools to see Windows source code

Microsoft Co. said Thursday it will make the source code for its Windows operating systems open to researchers involved in an Internet project involving six Japanese universities.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 19, 2003

F.A. ruling on Ferdinand certain to make some unhappy

LONDON -- Eric Cantona's record ban of eight months is unlikely to be beaten, but sometime Friday a Football Association disciplinary commission will decide whether Rio Ferdinand is guilty of "the failure or refusal to submit to drug testing as required by a competent official."
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2003

LDP advocates more income tax powers for cities

In a major concession to local governments, the Liberal Democratic Party's tax panel said Tuesday it will call on the national government to allow localities to collect more local income tax in fiscal 2004, LDP officials said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 17, 2003

'50s cannibal masterpiece offers plenty to chew on

Down by Tokyo Bay, most people think of the industrial wasteland of Hamamatsucho merely as a convenient stop on the Yamanote Line, a station for changing onto the Haneda-bound monorail en route to faraway places. Theatergoers, though, and especially lovers of big, slick, Western-style productions, know...
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2003

Saitama governments to pump Resona with taxpayer money

The prefectural and municipal governments of Saitama are willing to use roughly 1 billion yen in local taxpayer funds to claim a stake in Saitama Resona Bank, the local arm of Resona Holdings Inc., Saitama Gov. Kiyoshi Ueda said Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 16, 2003

'We got him'

With these words, Iraq's U.S. administrator Paul Bremer announced on Sunday that American military forces had captured former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. His arrest symbolizes the end of an era in Iraq. It also could break the back of a resistance that has stymied efforts to bring peace and stability...
MORE SPORTS
Dec 14, 2003

Japanese horses all set in Hong Kong

HONG KONG -- Connections declared it all systems go as Japan's challengers in Hong Kong's International Races were taken through their final pre-race paces Friday morning at Sha Tin Racecourse. Of the three Japanese horses taking on the Mile, the top-rated Lohengrin was given the most amount of work...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2003

Does Bush have any China policy at all?

WASHINGTON -- After nearly three years of careful strides toward strategic clarity on a China policy, U.S. President George W. Bush has slipped back into strategic ambiguity, a posture that is certain to raise diplomatic questions in Asia and to cause him political problems at home.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

Debate on privatizing highway firms nears crunch

Decision time is looming in the battle between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and parties with vested interests in expressway construction.
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2003

Ministers, party execs agree on local subsidy cuts

Following weeks of turf battles, Cabinet ministers and ruling coalition executives finally reached agreement Wednesday on how the national government will cut its subsidies to local government projects by 1 trillion yen in fiscal 2004.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Dec 11, 2003

Internet levels fundraising field for Howard Dean

WASHINGTON -- You may never have heard of Zephyr Teachout, a 31-year-old teacher from up north, but she is close to being the Gutenberg of the Internet Age for politicians.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Dec 10, 2003

First troop deployment to conflict area since WWII a foreign policy watershed

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi signaled a historic foreign policy shift Tuesday when he authorized sending Self-Defense Forces units to Iraq, becoming the first Japanese leader since World War II to dispatch troops to a nation effectively at war.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2003

Iraq gives SDF a military-reality check

An Air Self-Defense Force officer in his 40s says he is happy to be chosen as a candidate for the planned mission to help rebuild Iraq.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Dec 10, 2003

Desperately seeking Kyusetsu

In the world of tea, certain inherited potters' names stand out as shining stars and their works are seen almost as brand-name goods. Just as shoppers hanker for a Gucci bag, a tea devotee covets certain chawan (tea bowls), say, from the Kaneshige kiln in Bizen. Possessing one of these is a status symbol,...
EDITORIALS
Dec 9, 2003

Outmaneuvered in Taipei

Shrewd maneuvering by Taiwan's opposition parties have denied President Chen Shui-bian a political victory in the runup to the election that will be held next spring. Parliament has approved a bill, proposed by Mr. Chen, that permits referendums on critical issues. But the final version of the legislation...
EDITORIALS
Dec 8, 2003

A disquieting waste of money

A national audit report makes for dismal reading, since it is always a reminder of waste in government. So it is with the latest report, which says that government offices and agencies "mismanaged" about 45 billion yen in 2002 -- the largest amount in 20 years. That is particularly disquieting at a time...
MORE SPORTS
Dec 8, 2003

Yamanin Sucre bags Juvenile Fillies

The Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, fall's showcase for up-and-coming 2-year-olds,went to Yamanin Sucre by a neck at Hanshin Racecourse in Hyogo Prefecture on Sunday.
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2003

'Basic plan' for Iraq dispatch to omit specifics

The basic plan for sending Japanese ground troops to Iraq for reconstruction assistance, which the Cabinet is expected to approve Tuesday, will omit specifics such as a time frame for the dispatch, Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday.
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2003

SDF dispatch would involve 1,000 troops

The Self-Defense Forces team Japan plans to send to Iraq could be the biggest to be sent overseas, featuring some 1,000 troops of the ground, air and maritime forces, government sources said Friday.
COMMENTARY
Dec 6, 2003

Keep doors open to refugees

LONDON -- If you're reading this on a plane or in a hotel, you're part of the problem. But even if you're sitting snugly, smugly at home, you may not be the solution.

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