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JAPAN
Jul 15, 2004

Struggling UFJ pursues merger deal with MTFG

Ailing UFJ Holdings Inc. on Wednesday asked rival Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. to merge with it in a deal that would create the world's biggest banking group, with 190 trillion yen in assets.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2004

Expressway debts: New policy goes on the road to nowhere

By passing expressway legislation that omitted a key part of privatization panel's suggestions, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's political 'style' may now be under scrutiny by politicians and the general public.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 6, 2004

Expressway debts: New policy goes on the road to nowhere

By passing expressway legislation that omitted a key part of privatization panel's suggestions, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's political 'style' may now be under scrutiny by politicians and the general public.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 8, 2004

Hidden plight of detainees

'What did I do to the Japanese people," asks Merdem Yousif. "I came to Japan because I thought the people would be warm-hearted. It was my big mistake. I should have gone to another country."
JAPAN
May 21, 2004

Harassment of Korean residents may come up in Koizumi-Kim talks

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi might express concern over the harassment of Korean residents in Japan that followed North Korea's admission in 2002 that it had abducted Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, government sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
May 21, 2004

Harassment of Korean residents may come up in Koizumi-Kim talks

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi might express concern over the harassment of Korean residents in Japan that followed North Korea's admission in 2002 that it had abducted Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, government sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
May 21, 2004

Harassment of Korean residents may come up in Koizumi-Kim talks

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi might express concern over the harassment of Korean residents in Japan that followed North Korea's admission in 2002 that it had abducted Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, government sources said Thursday.
COMMENTARY
May 16, 2004

U.S. drug laws threaten public health

WASHINGTON -- The current and previous presidents of the United States used marijuana. So has presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has admitted to drug use. Conservative radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, who once beat the drums for jailing white junkies,...
COMMENTARY
Apr 26, 2004

A laudable Yasukuni ruling

In a landmark ruling April 7, the Fukuoka District Court ruled that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine, the memorial to Japan's war dead, contravened the constitutional principle of keeping state and religion separate. The court, however, dismissed the plaintiffs' demand for...
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Apr 15, 2004

When foreign children run afoul of the law

My kids generally don't mind it when I write about them in this column, although on occasion my older son has accused me of exploiting him for professional gain. It happened again when he heard the topic for today's column. "You're writing about foreign kids who get in trouble with the police?" He rolled...
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2004

Fukuda gets testy over Yasukuni Shrine questions

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda got annoyed Monday with a reporter who asked him about China's latest protest over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine.
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2004

Kawaguchi urges U.N. engagement in Iraq

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, meeting Sunday with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in Tokyo, called for active engagement on the part of the United Nations in Iraq's reconstruction, Japanese officials said.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2004

Koizumi's career could be biggest casualty of Iraq dispatch

With news of almost daily suicide attacks in Iraq, top government officials share the anxiety of relatives of Japanese soldiers who have been sent there.
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2003

Koizumi's key 2004 worries: U.S. economy, yen, pensions

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is facing a number of challenges as he struggles to put the fledgling economic recovery on a more solid footing in 2004.
EDITORIALS
Nov 25, 2003

New Diet must debate deployment

The Iraq issue will dominate the two-day debate that begins today in the Diet, which opened for a special nine-day session last Wednesday following the Nov. 9 Lower House election. The central question is whether Japan should send noncombat troops to a country where fighting is still rampant. The answer...
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2003

Lawmakers seek Pyongyang sanctions

A group of nonpartisan lawmakers said Friday it will try to submit a bill to the Diet next year that would allow the government to impose economic sanctions on North Korea.
COMMENTARY
Oct 20, 2003

Pension plans on life-support

LONDON -- A flood of articles in the European media recently has warned about the growing problem of paying pensions as the populations of European countries age and birthrates decline. For Japan, this problem looks especially acute.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2003

Profiles of top LDP executives

Following are profiles of the three Liberal Democratic Party executives appointed Sunday by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in a shakeup of the LDP executive lineup:
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2003

India, Israel ally against Islamic terror

MADRAS, India -- India has now realized that it needs a new strategy for fighting terror on its soil. More importantly, it now understands that it requires new allies as well. When Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon flew into New Delhi recently, his visit signaled a turning point in India's foreign...
COMMENTARY
Jul 26, 2003

Timing on dispatch of SDF turns up Koizumi weak spot

A couple of weeks ago I wrote that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was brimming with confidence after a bill proposing special measures to support the reconstruction of Iraq passed the House of Representatives in the National Diet. A likely political scenario for the fall -- one that anticipated a long-term...
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2003

Foreigners' war-redress battles rage on

For many elderly foreigners who were victims of Japanese prewar and wartime aggression and occupation, the fighting continues.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2003

Koizumi eyes permanent SDF rules, slams short-term approach

Japan should consider implementing a permanent law that stipulates the principles under which the Self-Defense Forces can be dispatched overseas, rather than drawing up sunset legislation every time the need arises, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2003

Koizumi eyes permanent SDF rules, slams short-term approach

Japan should consider implementing a permanent law that stipulates the principles under which the Self-Defense Forces can be dispatched overseas, rather than drawing up sunset legislation every time the need arises, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2003

Koizumi eyes permanent SDF rules, slams short-term approach

Japan should consider implementing a permanent law that stipulates the principles under which the Self-Defense Forces can be dispatched overseas, rather than drawing up sunset legislation every time the need arises, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2003

History will credit Shinseki

WASHINGTON -- As he stepped down from office this week as the U.S. Army chief of staff, Gen. Eric Shinseki probably breathed a big sigh of relief. He had been put through the meat grinder in his job, particularly during Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's tenure.
BUSINESS
Jun 7, 2003

Tokyo, Osaka chiefs push for tax powers

The governors of Tokyo and Osaka demanded Friday that the central government hand some of its tax-raising powers over to local governments in light of its plans to slash fiscal assistance for local authorities.
COMMENTARY
May 4, 2003

Rare chance for U.S. to fix tort lottery

WASHINGTON -- Trial attorney and U.S. Sen. John Edwards is well-liked by the plaintiff's bar. Too well-liked perhaps, since the Justice Department is investigating apparently illegal contributions to his presidential campaign -- which have since been returned -- from an Arkansas law firm. Although Edwards...
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2003

Panel drops plan to identify ideal size for municipalities

An advisory panel to the prime minister examining the future of local governments has decided not to specify a desirable population level as a factor in deciding the scope of administrative powers for local authorities, according to panel sources.

Longform

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