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SUMO
May 17, 2004

Wakanosato hands Hokutoriki first loss

Wakanosato handed Hokutoriki his first loss of the tournament Sunday to create a six-way tie for the lead at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
OLYMPICS
May 17, 2004

Volleyball winning streak ends

Japan's six-match winning run came to an end Sunday after a 3-0 defeat by Russia on the final day of the women's volleyball final qualifying tournament for this summer's Athens Olympics.
JAPAN
May 17, 2004

Japan may participate in U.N. force in Iraq: Ishiba

Defense Agency Director General Shigeru Ishiba indicated Sunday that Japanese troops may participate in a U.N. multinational force in Iraq under a new U.N. resolution.
JAPAN
May 17, 2004

Tokyo eyes talks with Pyongyang in June

The government hopes to resume stalled normalization talks with North Korea in June if the families of former abductees are allowed to come to Japan as a result of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to Pyongyang on Saturday, according to government sources.
EDITORIALS
May 17, 2004

Fresh hope for a reunion of families

In a renewed bid to improve relations with North Korea, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will visit Pyongyang on Saturday for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Mr. Koizumi's first one-day visit, in September 2002, led to the return home of five Japanese abductees, but the mission was only half...
JAPAN
May 17, 2004

Koizumi planning to shuffle Cabinet lineup in September

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi plans to reshuffle the Cabinet in September, members of his Liberal Democratic Party said Sunday.
JAPAN
May 17, 2004

Government demands $500 from two other ex-hostages

The Foreign Ministry has asked two people held captive last month in Iraq to pay $500 in travel and related expenses the government disbursed after their release, the former captives said Sunday.
MORE SPORTS
May 17, 2004

'Brave Blossoms' disappoint in draw with South Korea

How time flies. Was it only seven months ago in the tropical heat of Townsville, Australia, that Japan played such scintillating rugby that it scared the living daylights out of both France and Scotland during its adventures down under in the 2003 Rugby World Cup?
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2004

Sugar dispute sours Australian politics

SYDNEY -- Who could have guessed that sugar would sour Australian politics? That's just what is happening as the Howard government gears up for its toughest national election yet.
COMMENTARY
May 17, 2004

China's influence soars in Asia

HONOLULU -- A battle for the hearts and minds of Asians has begun. While there has been considerable attention on "the rise of China," we're only slowly beginning to appreciate the meaning of that overused phrase. China's economic influence is well apparent. It has become Southeast Asia's leading trade...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 17, 2004

The yes and no of inflation revival -- how far downstream are you?

Once upon a time, there was this epidemic that people were suffering from all over the world. People called it "inflation." Three causes were determined for its emergence. One was demand-pull. This happened when too many people were wanting too much of everything at the same time. The other was cost-push....
JAPAN
May 17, 2004

67% now against pension reform bills

Almost 70 percent of respondents to a Kyodo News poll do not want the Diet to pass a set of pension reform bills during the current legislative session, following revelations that many lawmakers have failed to join the national pension system or pay premiums.
JAPAN
May 17, 2004

Tokyo eyes talks with Pyongyang in June

The government hopes to resume stalled normalization talks with North Korea in June if the families of former abductees are allowed to come to Japan as a result of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to Pyongyang on Saturday, according to government sources.
JAPAN
May 17, 2004

Jenkins must get out of North Korea: Abe

Tokyo must get the American husband of a Japanese former abductee to visit Japan no matter what the cost, Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Shinzo Abe said Sunday.
COMMENTARY
May 17, 2004

Get pension reform on track

A leading Cabinet member and the top opposition leader have been forced to resign for failing to make compulsory premium payments, at one time or another, into the national pension program.
SUMO
May 16, 2004

Hokutoriki takes sole lead at 7-0

Grand champion Asashoryu was back in business on Saturday with a convincing win over Takamisakari, while Hokutoriki moved into sole possession of the lead at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
MORE SPORTS
May 16, 2004

Japan's women remain undefeated

Undefeated Japan notched its sixth straight win at the women's volleyball final qualifying tournament for this summer's Athens Olympics with a 3-1 win over Taiwan on Saturday.
JAPAN
May 16, 2004

SDF vs. NGO -- an Iraqi tale of cost-effectiveness

Self-Defense Forces troops are not the only ones using Japanese cash to provide humanitarian aid in southern Iraq.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 16, 2004

Spring, summer, fall and winter haiku

HAIKU: A POET'S GUIDE by Lee Gurga, Illinois: Modern Haiku Press, 2003, 170 pp., $20 (paper). HAIKU: The Poetic Key to Japan, selected & introduced by Mutsuo Takahashi, photographs by Hakudo Inoue, design by Kazuya Takaoka, translated by Emiko Miyashita & Lee Gurga. Tokyo: P.I.E., 2003, 400 pp....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 16, 2004

Whispers as loud as shouts

BREASTS OF SNOW: Fumiko Nakajo -- Her Tanka and Her Life, by Hatsue Kawamura and Jane Reichhold, preface by Makoto Ueda. Tokyo: The Japan Times, 2004. 152 pp., 2,000 yen (paper). Fumiko Nakajo's short life (1922-54) was both illustrated and illuminated by the tanka that she began writing after she developed...
Features
May 16, 2004

A guide by any other name

We don't know when she was born, or when she died -- was it April 9, 1812, at age 25, or perhaps Dec. 20, 1884, aged nearly 100? We don't even know her real name, but the Shoshone woman who accompanied Lewis, Clark and the Corps of Discovery has a fair claim to being the most celebrated woman of color...
EDITORIALS
May 16, 2004

Women, heritage and holy places

Imagine if women were not allowed to set foot on Mount Fuji or Kyoto's Mount Hiei. It's hard to envisage, isn't it? Women are as natural a sight there now as birds or stones -- or men. But little more than a century ago, it would have been hard to imagine them even approaching such places. A scholar...
JAPAN
May 16, 2004

SDF vs. NGO -- an Iraqi tale of cost-effectiveness

Self-Defense Forces troops are not the only ones using Japanese cash to provide humanitarian aid in southern Iraq.

Longform

A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?