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JAPAN
Apr 14, 2004

Cheney lauds Japan's resolve to keep SDF troops in Iraq

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney voiced support Tuesday for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's determination to keep Ground Self-Defense Force troops in Iraq.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 14, 2004

Japan wants to host 2007 World Cup

The American Football Association of Japan said Tuesday it has been moving forward in a bidding process that will make Japan a candidate to host the 2007 American Football World Cup.
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2004

Japan wholesale prices post first rise since 2000

Wholesale prices nationwide edged up in March from a year earlier for the first increase in three years and eight months, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday in a preliminary report.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 14, 2004

Team named for ice hockey World Championship

The Japan Ice Hockey Federation on Tuesday named the 25-man squad for the upcoming World Championship in the Czech Republic, which includes Canadian-born forward Chris Bright.
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2004

Kondo OK'd to head highway body

The Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday endorsed the reappointment of Takeshi Kondo as president of the state-run Japan Highway Public Corp.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 14, 2004

In search of the perfect swindle

Cherry trees bloom on the Kabukiza stage all year round, but this month, as befits hanami season, they're particularly spectacular. That's not surprising, because "Shiranami Gonin Otoko (The Five Shiranami Men)" by Kawatake Mokuami (1816-93), was inspired by ukiyo-e prints by the renowned Utagawa Toyokuni...
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2004

Takashimaya and Credit Saison agree on partnership, capital tieup

Major department store chain Takashimaya Co. and Credit Saison Co., a leading credit card company, said Tuesday they have reached a basic agreement to establish a partnership, including a capital tieup.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 14, 2004

Lessons still unlearned

Timely or what! Just as Japan's autocratic leaders appear to have junked war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution -- with news last week of SDF aircraft even having transported armed U.S. soldiers into Iraq -- along comes "Taiko Tataite Fue Fuite (Playing Drum and Flute)," which vividly portrays...
EDITORIALS
Apr 14, 2004

Hostage nightmare continues

Patience is running thin as efforts to have three Japanese hostages in Iraq freed drag on with no apparent progress. The crisis appeared to have been nearing a resolution on Sunday morning when the kidnappers issued a statement saying that they would release the civilians within 24 hours. But the deadline...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 14, 2004

Further thoughts on Yasukuni

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Although I am among those who wish that the Yasukuni Shrine controversy be put to rest quick- ly, I realize that the solution must come from inside Japan when conditions mature. Those with some distance from the emotional core of the issue may wish to ponder the new dynamic that...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 14, 2004

Shooting at the top

Another reason to love Sofia Coppola: She had the good sense (and stubbornness) to refuse to do any more interviews while in Japan. Judging by her news-conference comments, she is better at making her films than talking about them -- no crime, that -- so it was a smart move to delegate the explaining...
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2004

FSA grants official license to Nippon Shinko Bank

Nippon Shinko Bank, a newly established bank specializing in loans to small and medium-size businesses, has been granted an official license from the Financial Services Agency, the bank announced Tuesday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 14, 2004

Tale of two trips: 1955 Yankees here weeks, 2004 team days

It has been two weeks since the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Devil Rays cleared out of Japan following that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Japanese fans to see the Bronx Bombers play official games right here in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2004

Japan Post sees international business as cornerstone

Japan Post aims to beef up its international business to survive intensifying global competition ahead of its planned privatization beginning in 2007, according to Masaharu Ikuta, president of the government-owned entity.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2004

Malpractice-death coverup appeal fails

The Supreme Court rejected on Tuesday an appeal by the former director of a Tokyo hospital who was convicted of violating the Medical Practitioners Law by failing to notify police of a malpractice death within 24 hours.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Apr 14, 2004

Pots that fired the passion of a magnate

Centuries ago, during a brief span of 30-40 years, one of the classic styles of Japanese pottery was born. From the end of the Momoyama Period into the early Edo Period (late 16th-early 17th centuries) nearly 300 kilns were producing wares the world knows as Karatsu-yaki.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2004

Government slaps media gag on hostage crisis staffers

The government on Tuesday effectively imposed a media gag on staffers working at its headquarters dealing with the Iraq hostage crisis.
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2004

Toyota to make gear systems in U.S.

Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it will begin producing automatic transmission gears for its vehicles in the United States at the beginning of 2006, marking the first Toyota production venture of its kind outside Japan.
EDITORIALS
Apr 13, 2004

Little hope for Sri Lanka

Thirty years of civil war have done irreparable harm to Sri Lanka. The fight by the island's Tamils to secure a homeland has claimed more than 60,000 lives and deeply fractured the nation. A peace process appeared to be making progress, but divisions among Sri Lanka's Sinhalese majority derailed those...
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2004

Cheney promises U.S. will help Japan bring hostages home

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney told Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday that Washington would do its best to help rescue three Japanese nationals being held hostage in Iraq.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2004

Foreign Ministry official sees need for banning travel to risky areas

The government should consider legislation that would allow it to ban Japanese nationals from traveling to countries it deems dangerous, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / POLITICS IN FOCUS
Apr 13, 2004

Lawmakers' groups act behind the scenes

A nonpartisan group of lawmakers lobbying to get Japanese abducted to North Korea back and working on behalf of relatives of the missing has been a big help to Shigeru Yokota.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2004

Embassy in Haitian capital reopens

The Foreign Ministry announced Monday that the Japanese Embassy in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince was reopening for the first time since it was closed in February due to instability in the country.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2004

TV economist held over peek up dress

A renowned economist and professor of the graduate school at Waseda University has been arrested for allegedly looking up a high school girl's skirt at a Tokyo train station.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2004

Chinese, South Koreans top Japanese in English skills

The average English communicative ability of Japanese high school students is below that of their Chinese and South Korean counterparts, according to the results of an international study released Monday in Tokyo.

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