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COMMENTARY / World
Oct 22, 2002

North Korea's last gambit

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's surprise announcement of a secret nuclear-weapons program has thrown cold water on a recent warming of relations with South Korea and Japan that included family reunions, rejuvenated economic cooperation and, in particular, a stunning admission of past misdeeds against Japanese...
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Oct 20, 2002

Leeuwin Estate delivers a perfect hat trick

Wine lovers in Japan may have noticed the recent appearance of several new labels from Australia's Leeuwin Estate. Collectors have long coveted Leeuwin's Art Series wines. But these collectible, top-tier Leeuwin wines require cellar-aging to realize their potential and they bear a stiff cost commensurate...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 13, 2002

Japanese will have babies when living is easy

In the middle of September, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry released a set of countermeasures to address the declining birthrate, which Chikara Sakaguchi -- the head of the ministry -- has said will "sink Japan" if it remains as low as it is.
EDITORIALS
Oct 11, 2002

Japanese science shines again

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which is responsible for awarding the Nobel prizes in physics and chemistry, probably said it best when it described this year's physics laureates as having "used [the] very smallest components of the universe to increase our understanding of the very largest, the...
EDITORIALS
Oct 8, 2002

The U.S. returns to Pyongyang

The visit by Mr. James Kelly, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs, to Pyongyang yielded no breakthrough in relations between North Korea and the United States. Nonetheless, the two sides are talking and appear committed to a serious dialogue. The U.S., like Japan, should give...
MORE SPORTS
Oct 4, 2002

Hewitt tested in AIG Japan Open victory

The weather was perfect. The expectations were high.
EDITORIALS
Oct 2, 2002

High-stake games on the Peninsula

For North and South Korea, the Asian Games that opened on Sunday in the South Korean port city of Pusan are not only an arena of competition, but also an opportunity for reconciliation. Following an earlier decision by Pyongyang to join the games, their teams paraded together under a single flag at the...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 29, 2002

How is marine Miyakejima now?

In early July 2000, Miyakejima Island's 7,000-year-old volcano roared back to life. Continual eruptions led to the entire population being evacuated over the next two months as emissions of very fine, extremely heavy ash were replaced by lethal gases gushing daily from a new 400-meter-deep crater. What...
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2002

Nuclear safety chief hit for leaking whistle-blower's identity

Industry minister Takeo Hiranuma on Friday reprimanded the chief of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and five other officials after the agency admitted it leaked to Tokyo Electric Power Co. the identity of a Tepco-related worker who blew the whistle on the company's coverups of nuclear plant...
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2002

Soot levels increased in fiscal 2001

Levels of suspended particulate matter in the air rose in fiscal 2001 compared with the previous year, while those of nitrogen dioxide remained almost unchanged, according to an Environment Ministry study released Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CLOSE NEIGHBORS
Sep 26, 2002

Ailing tourism sector seeking to lure more Asians

ATAMI, Shizuoka Pref. -- Ryuichiro Mori, sales manager at Hotel New Akao, sees one emerging ray of hope for this hot-spring city mired in a long-term slump: a group tourism boom in Taiwan, South Korea and China.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2002

Cloud of population decline may have silver lining

"Rabbit hutch" is a stereotypical term coined years ago by outsiders referring the cramped dwellings of crowded, urban Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / BABY BUST
Sep 19, 2002

Birthrate suffers as women face unattractive choices

Mayumi Shinde, 40, has worked for seven years as a system engineer at a Tokyo firm, at one stage attaining a job capability assessment of S -- one special level higher than A, the normal top ranking.
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2002

Temp work seen striking happy medium

According to Shinya Sato, an executive director at Japan Staffing Services Association, the CIETT meeting held in Tokyo in April provided momentum to help spur the Japanese temp industry toward further deregulation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2002

Kim admits abductions

PYONGYANG -- Four of the 11 Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and '80s are alive but six others are dead, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi during their landmark talks on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2002

Bookkeeping reforms lead to surge in number of aspiring accountants

An increasing number of people are aspiring to become licensed public accountants as demand for accounting experts rises in line with ongoing reforms in accounting and bookkeeping rules.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2002

Political fundraisers collected record high 13.7 billion yen in 2001

Political parties and related organizations, including support groups for individual politicians, collected a record 13.7 billion yen through fundraising events in 2001, according to a government report issued Thursday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INDUSTRY TRENDS
Sep 6, 2002

Demographic shift prompts toy makers to reach out to adults

Faced with an ever declining number of children, Japan's toy makers have started courting their parents, alluring them with frothy beer dispensers and matchbox luxury sedans.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2002

Court nullifies coerced confession

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday nullified the confession of a Filipino woman accused of killing her live-in boyfriend in 1997, saying it was obtained through illegal police action, but nevertheless upheld her prison sentence for murder.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Sep 5, 2002

Unions build political power

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President George W. Bush spent Labor Day just like he did last year. He attended a union picnic in Pennsylvania. The difference is that last year he was courting the steelworkers. This year it was the carpenters. He and his advisers seem intent on improving his showing among union...
EDITORIALS
Sep 3, 2002

Mr. Tanaka's work begins anew

In Sunday's much-heralded gubernatorial election in Nagano Prefecture, former reformist Gov. Yasuo Tanaka made a triumphant comeback, dealing a heavy blow to anti-Tanaka forces and other conservative hardliners who have vehemently opposed his popular campaign against dam construction and other pork-barrel...
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
CULTURE / Art
Sep 1, 2002

Reaching for the skyline

Sixty-nine-year-old British architect Sir Richard Rogers has been one of the world's foremost architects for the last 30 years. Awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1985, he was further rewarded for his outstanding achievements with a knighthood from the Queen six years...
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.

Longform

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