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JAPAN
Nov 7, 2001

Ministry eyes cutting down sea emissions

The Environment Ministry has decided to set a target for reducing nitrogen and phosphorus emissions into Tokyo Bay, Ise Bay and the Seto Inland Sea to avoid fouling the waters with too many nutrients, ministry officials said.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2001

Basic energy plan one step closer

A basic national energy policy moved a step closer to fruition Tuesday as the ruling coalition agreed to submit a relevant bill to the Diet during the current session.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2001

Nakatani instructs SDF chiefs to dispatch 700 to East Timor

Gen Nakatani, director general of the Defense Agency, told the heads of Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces on Tuesday to send some 700 service members to East Timor in March to assist with United Nations peacekeeping operations.
COMMENTARY
Nov 6, 2001

For an unfettered peace role

The Diet last Monday enacted an antiterrorism bill that would allow the Self-Defense Forces to give an unprecedented level of support to U.S.-led forces overseas, along with two related bills. The main bill, which provides for rear-area support, does not let the SDF take part in combat operations. It...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2001

Murky international image of Koizumi

CAMBRIDGE, England -- We get the leaders we deserve, so we are told. But do we always know who our leaders are? I am constantly frustrated in China by being told what a great prime minister Margaret Thatcher was.
COMMENTARY
Nov 4, 2001

NGOs poised to invigorate Korean politics

SEOUL -- Nongovernmental organizations and local political autonomy have both contributed greatly to the advancement of democracy in South Korea. Both have been instrumental in checking centralized political power, bringing political decision-making closer to the people and increasing the political awareness...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 4, 2001

Sushi that fits the bill in attitude and price

Shinbotchi's take on the ancient art of sushi is much the same approach that the rag trade of back-street Harajuku adopts toward the world of fashion.
BUSINESS
Nov 3, 2001

Takebe hits back at criticism from Washington over WTO

Farm minister Tsutomu Takebe rebuked U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick on Friday for criticizing Japan's "narrow minded" attitude toward the launch of a new round of trade liberalization negotiations under the World Trade Organization.
BUSINESS
Nov 3, 2001

LDP wants to set target for inflation

An amendment to the Bank of Japan Law endorsed Friday by a Liberal Democratic Party working group includes a provision to set an inflation target, according to LDP officials.
BUSINESS
Nov 3, 2001

Takebe hits back at criticism from Washington over WTO

Farm minister Tsutomu Takebe rebuked U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick on Friday for criticizing Japan's "narrow minded" attitude toward the launch of a new round of trade liberalization negotiations under the World Trade Organization.
BUSINESS
Nov 3, 2001

LDP wants to set target for inflation

An amendment to the Bank of Japan Law endorsed Friday by a Liberal Democratic Party working group includes a provision to set an inflation target, according to LDP officials.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2001

'Unconstitutional' shrine visit provokes barrage of lawsuits

OSAKA -- More than 900 people filed three separate lawsuits Thursday against Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, claiming his Aug. 13 visit to Yasukuni Shrine was unconstitutional.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2001

Japan, U.S. set up framework for talks over SDF support

Japan and the United States agreed Thursday on a basic framework for discussing details of Japan's logistic support for the U.S.-led war on terrorism.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2001

'Unconstitutional' shrine visit provokes barrage of lawsuits

OSAKA -- More than 900 people filed three separate lawsuits Thursday against Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, claiming his Aug. 13 visit to Yasukuni Shrine was unconstitutional.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 1, 2001

Constituents mattered most to Soichiro Ito

BERKELEY, California -- For the people of Miyagi Prefecture's 4th district, the generational shift in Japanese politics has just arrived. On Oct. 28, Shintaro Ito was elected to represent Miyagi's 4th district in a special by-election to replace his father, Soichiro, who passed away on Sept. 4.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2001

Jobless rate hits record 5.3%

The unemployment rate soared by 0.3 percentage point in September to a record 5.3 percent, the government reported Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2001

Ethiopian envoy pushes stronger ties

With its recent peaceful transition of power demonstrating stability and democratic maturity, Ethiopia is now in a situation "very conducive" to deepening bilateral relations in trade, investment, tourism and cultural exchange, Ethiopian Ambassador Mahdi Ahmed Gadid said Tuesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 28, 2001

Ichiro declines government award

Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki has declined to accept the national government's People's Honor Award to recognize his sporting achievements, according to a government source.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2001

SDF bills clear Upper House committee

A House of Councilors panel passed a bill Friday that will enable the Self-Defense Forces to lend noncombat support to the U.S.-led antiterrorism campaign, moving the legislation another step closer to realization.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2001

Panel to mull sale of highway body

The transport minister set up a private advisory panel Friday to study expressway construction plans, asking it to hammer out an interim report on the privatization of Japan Highway Public Corp. by the end of November.
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2001

Shiokawa slams bond-issuance plan

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa on Wednesday countered a bond-issuance plan floated by Heizo Takenaka, economic and fiscal policy minister, that aims to help the Cabinet achieve its 30 trillion yen bond issue cap for fiscal 2001.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2001

Report identifies Japanese man held by Taliban

A Japanese man reportedly detained by the Taliban in northern Afghanistan could be freelance photographer Isamu Iida, a government spokesman said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2001

Koizumi hints at possible lifting of Pakistan aid ban

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi hinted Tuesday that he may lift Japan's more than three-year-long freeze on new aid to Pakistan to help it fight terrorism in the U.S.-led coalition.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2001

Bill aims to punish nuclear terrorism

A bill to be submitted to the Diet later this month would make it a crime to use any type of nuclear fuel substance or nuclear waste in a way that endangers people, government sources said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 23, 2001

Government set to forecast negative growth

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Monday the government will revise downward its real economic growth target of 1.7 percent for the current fiscal year and announce a new figure Friday, ruling bloc legislators said.
BUSINESS
Oct 23, 2001

New council aims to help terror-hit Okinawa tourism

The Okinawa Prefectural Government and the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry agreed Monday to set up a council to promote tourism to Okinawa, where the industry has been suffering since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.
JAPAN
Oct 20, 2001

New envoy: Nobuyasu Abe

Nobuyasu Abe, ambassador to Japan's permanent mission to the United Nations in Vienna, was appointed ambassador to Saudi Arabia on Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 20, 2001

Nine Afghans sue after being held over illegal entry

Nine Afghans detained Oct. 3 when applying for refugee status filed a lawsuit Friday claiming their detention on suspicion of illegal entry into Japan was unlawful.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

Bioterrorists face life prison term

The government is hoping to mandate life imprisonment as the maximum penalty for the use of biological weapons under its proposed legislation to ratify the U.N. convention on terrorist attacks, according to government sources.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

Powder sent to Koizumi's residence

As fears of anthrax letters continued to spread around the globe, the Prime Minister's Official Residence, the Defense Agency and some media organizations on Wednesday received envelopes containing white powder that turned out to be starch.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.