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JAPAN
Sep 6, 2002

Koizumi likely to address ship issue with Kim

Japan will urge North Korea at the upcoming summit in Pyongyang to stop sending vessels on espionage and other shady missions in the Sea of Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda indicated Thursday, in light of the suspicious ship pursued the previous day.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2002

State set to delay deposit guarantee cap

The government may delay the April 1 imposition of a 10 million yen cap on refund guarantees for ordinary bank and other liquid deposits until financial institutions are fully prepared to introduce new, settlement-specific bank accounts, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda indicated Thursday.
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2002

Takenaka to attend meet in Italy

Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Heizo Takenaka will visit Italy from Wednesday to Sunday to attend an international conference on world political and economic issues, the Cabinet Office said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2002

Ship may be identified Sept. 24

The government plans to identify a sunken ship it is trying to salvage, which was suspected of being a North Korean spy ship, about a week after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Sept. 17 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

Empress to make solo trip to Basel for IBBY congress

Empress Michiko will attend a Sept. 29 jubilee congress in Basel, Switzerland, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the International Board on Books for Young People, the Imperial Household Agency said.
EDITORIALS
Sep 2, 2002

A welcome surprise

It came as a big surprise when Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced Friday he will visit North Korea on Sept. 17 for face-to-face talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. "A summit meeting is essential to further progress," Mr. Koizumi told reporters. "I want to find clues for resolving outstanding...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2002

Earthquake drills go off without a hitch

Almost two million people throughout the country took part in disaster-preparedness drills based on various earthquake scenarios on Sunday.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2002

Bill on SDF deployment to have wording altered

The government plans to make key amendments to the wording of a bill that dictates how the Self-Defense Forces will deal with a military attack in the hope that it will be enacted during the extraordinary Diet session expected to be held in the fall, informed sources said Saturday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 31, 2002

Failure is not an option

Aside from its size, the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg is a touchstone that indicates how serious the international community is about reconciling its needs with the world's limited resources. It is billed as the largest United Nations gathering in history.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2002

Koizumi to visit Pyongyang Sept. 17

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will make a landmark one-day visit to Pyongyang Sept. 17 for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, the government announced Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2002

Ikuta appointed chief of new postal firm

Posts minister Toranosuke Katayama on Friday appointed Masaharu Ikuta, chairman of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., as the first head of a new public corporation to be established in April to run the nation's postal services.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2002

Koizumi moves to temporary home during renovations

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi moved Wednesday to a temporary home in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, while he awaits the completion of renovation work on his official residence in Chiyoda Ward.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2002

Ministry may face heat over beef scam

The government may punish the farm ministry if administrative problems turn up during the investigation of a beef-mislabeling scam perpetrated by the Nippon Meat Packers Inc. group, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2002

U.S. to keep Tokyo advised on Iraq situation: Armitage

Visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Tuesday that Washington intends to stay in touch with Tokyo regarding any plan to attack Iraq.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2002

State admits PR materials whitewashed Hansen's role

The government admitted Tuesday that it failed to acknowledge in a variety of state booklets and videotapes that it was responsible for the forced isolation of Hansen's disease patients in the past.
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2002

Economic assessment raised for eight regions

The government on Tuesday upgraded its economic assessment of eight of Japan's 11 regions, primarily because of increases in industrial production.
EDITORIALS
Aug 27, 2002

Strict political ethics are overdue

The indictment last week of Lower House member Muneo Suzuki on fresh charges of bribery is a reminder that money politics is alive -- if not well -- and that genuine political reform remains a long way off. Public prosecutors are reportedly building new cases against him for possible campaign-fund abuse...
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2002

Koizumi to visit U.S. for Sept. 11 ceremony, meet Bush

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will visit the United States to observe the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2002

North Korea on trilateral agenda

Japan, South Korea and the United States will hold high-level talks in Seoul on Sept. 7 to discuss issues relating to North Korea, the Foreign Ministry announced Friday.
COMMENTARY
Aug 23, 2002

Chen eyes Taiwan's 'own road'

HONG KONG -- In the days following Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's provocative declaration Aug. 3 that Taiwan and China are separate countries, there has been much speculation regarding his motives, with some analysts suggesting it was an unintentional slip of the tongue. Others said his words were...
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2002

Victims of bad medicine slated for relief in 2004

A new independent administrative agency will be set up in April 2004 to support victims of tainted or faulty medications and to simplify approval procedures for new drugs and medical equipment, health ministry sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2002

Memorial pitch expected by yearend

A government advisory panel is expected to propose the creation of a new memorial facility for Japan's war dead by year's end.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2002

Kawaguchi aims to boost ties on first visit to China

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi will visit China for the first time Sept. 8-10 in a bid to improve relations that have been soured by politicians' visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, government sources said Saturday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 16, 2002

Aug. 15: day to renew peace efforts

The 57th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II passed quietly, in part because Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi skipped a visit to Yasukuni Shrine this month. His trip to the shrine last August stirred up controversy both here and abroad, particularly in China and South Korea. To avoid a similar...
Japan Times
JAPAN / THE OKINAWA FACTOR
Aug 16, 2002

The Okinawan dollar-yen juggling act

Tenth in an occasional series By MAYUMI NEGISHI Staff writer NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- On Aug. 15, 1971, U.S. President Richard Nixon took the dollar off the gold standard and introduced floating exchange rates, sending the greenback plummeting.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2002

Koizumi restraint sidelines Yasukuni row

One year ago, a diplomatic row erupted over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 13 -- two days before the anniversary of Japan's surrender ending World War II -- in the face of protests from China and South Korea.
COMMENTARY
Aug 13, 2002

Protecting Japan's interests

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi's advisory panel on ministry reform came up with its final report in late July. On the basis of the panel's recommendations, the ministry this month will formulate an action plan on ways of implementing reform. A spate of scandals involving the ministry have prompted...
EDITORIALS
Aug 11, 2002

Another fallen political idol

Former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka's resignation from the Diet on Friday was a surprise even though her political fortunes had waned visibly in recent months amid a smoldering money scandal. Did she take responsibility for the "trouble" she had caused? Was she unable to bear the brunt of public criticism?...

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