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JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 25, 2004

Shame lies with government and media over Iraq hostage crisis

Last week, the Asahi Shimbun ran an opinion piece by writer Genichiro Takahashi that was in the form of an advice column. The anonymous advice-seeker professed to having suffered the same fate as the three Japanese hostages who returned from Iraq to a chorus of derision. After all I went through, said...
CULTURE / Music
Apr 25, 2004

The Abyssinians and Friends: "Tree of Satta"

Only in the world of reggae could you get away with a whole album of different versions of a song formed from a single backing track, yet how each version voices the track -- with new vocalists, lyrics or different lead instruments -- is exactly what excites the reggae audience.
Features / LIFE OR DEATH
Apr 25, 2004

Debate heats up over legal reform

The maximum legal penalty in Japan is death. Locked alone in their tiny cells, 56 death-row prisoners are now awaiting their fate. Last year, one person was executed. No one knows how many will be this year.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2004

Bill to begin citizen-judge system clears Lower House

A judicial reform bill designed to introduce a lay judge system in Japan cleared the House of Representatives on Friday, with the support of both the ruling and opposition parties.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2004

Surgeons in Chiba offer radical solution to obesity

Chiba University's advanced surgery department is conducting a procedure billed as the ultimate treatment for obesity, in which the size of the patient's stomach is drastically reduced.
EDITORIALS
Apr 24, 2004

Observing the Earth as it is

As the human world is embroiled in seemingly endless conflict, the global environment that supports our continued existence -- the Earth system -- apparently continues to deteriorate. To sustain the system, we must first understand it better. And understanding is promoted through observation.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2004

Cabinet trio sorry for not paying compulsory pension premiums

Three of the 17 ministers in Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet said Friday they have not paid their premiums for the compulsory National Pension System.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 24, 2004

Matsuda, Yamamoto set for Athens

Takeshi Matsuda and Takashi Yamamoto both qualified for this summer's Athens Olympics by finishing first and second, respectively, in the men's 200-meter butterfly final at the swimming national championships on Friday. Matsuda came from behind to outpace national record holder Yamamoto in the final...
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2004

Violence drives aid workers out of Iraq

Intense violence in Iraq has driven Japanese civic aid organizations to scale back their operations there.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2004

Japan still playing catchup on kids' measles vaccinations

Japan launched a campaign to get more children vaccinated against the measles in 2001, looking to catch up with other advanced nations that combat the disease in a much more aggressive fashion.
MULTIMEDIA
Apr 24, 2004

Rachad Farah

As he prepares to leave Japan for his next diplomatic posting, Rachad Farah, ambassador of the Republic of Djibouti, admits he cannot help but have "a heavy heart." He has been here 15 years, and to leave is wrenching even though he goes to an attractive new posting. For the last 10 years, he has been...
BUSINESS
Apr 24, 2004

Mitsui O.S.K. lifts earnings forecast

Shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. said Friday it has raised its earnings forecast and dividend payment plan for fiscal 2003 as a market recovery and progress in cost cuts boosted its business.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Apr 24, 2004

Barkley's commentary makes him look like a buffoon

NEW YORK -- As most of us with a pulse know all too well, Charles Barkley rarely says something that isn't stone stupid unless he has impounded somebody else's original thought. And TNT couldn't be prouder presenting its Master of the Oblivious.
BUSINESS
Apr 24, 2004

Lower House OKs bill to prop up ailing banks

The House of Representatives approved a bill Friday that would allow the government to funnel taxpayer money into financial institutions even if they are not insolvent.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 24, 2004

The Catch in publishing posters, cards, calendars

Meeting Frances Koston in May 2003 after a gap of years, she presented me with a clutch of postcards bearing beautifully printed images of early hand-tinted Japanese photographs. Just last month she came up with a collection of greeting cards of century-old textile prints, again originating in Japan....
BUSINESS
Apr 24, 2004

Bank bill seen unlikely to stabilize financial system

A government-sponsored bill to prop up struggling financial institutions with public funds is apparently designed to boost investor confidence.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2004

Repercussions for MMC could be terminal: analysts

The sudden decision by DaimlerChrysler AG to halt further financial support to ailing Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has forced the Japanese automaker to drastically reconsider its restructuring program, analysts said.
BUSINESS
Apr 24, 2004

Tertiary industry activity index falls

Japan's tertiary industry activity index plunged in February from January, marking the largest margin of decline in seven years, the government said Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2004

Kawaguchi spends the day in bed

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi remained at home Friday after leaving early from a Diet session a day earlier and canceling appointments due to fatigue, ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima said.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2004

National security rests on linguistic skills

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- English is without a doubt the world's lingua franca. It's spoken by more than 400 million people as their native tongue and many others speak it as their second language.

Longform

The volunteer lifesavers of Nishihama Surf Lifesaving Club never know what's in store at the start of their day.
It's no simple day at the beach for Japan's volunteer lifesavers