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COMMENTARY
Jan 6, 2003

Time to rock economic boat

After remaining in the doldrums for more than 10 years, the Japanese economy is now plagued by deflation. The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei index has fallen to the 8,500 level, and the nation's unemployment rate remains high. Last fall the government announced a policy package for expediting...
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Jan 6, 2003

Atavistic racism: greatest impediment

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- A central argument of many observers of Japan, myself included, is that there has been very little change and no leadership. The two are interwoven: leadership is required to generate and manage change. The Japanese system that was quite appropriate, dynamic and robust in the...
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2003

Scientists to undertake first magma drilling

Japanese researchers are planning to bore into a vent on the volcano Mount Unzen in Nagasaki Prefecture in late January for samples of magma in what would be the world's first volcano-drilling experiment.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 6, 2003

Kimura to captain Japanese squad

Veteran Alpine skier Kiminobu Kimura will replace ski-jumper Kazuyoshi Funaki and head the Japanese delegation as captain at the upcoming Winter Asian Games in Aomori Prefecture, organizers said late Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2003

Non-bureaucrat lands public post

Koichi Minaguchi, a former vice chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Ex- ecutives, will be the new governor of the Japan Finance Corporation for Small Business, government sources said Sunday.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 6, 2003

NEC continues comeback while Toyota misses out on Top League

NEC continued its Lazarus-like resurgence in the 55th Company Clubs Rugby Football Championship with a 24-17 win over Ricoh at Tokyo's Chichibunomiya Stadium on Sunday, the victory ensuring NEC finished top of Group C, with Ricoh also qualifying for the quarterfinals as runnerup in the group.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2003

Kawaguchi, Powell agree on N. Korea

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell agreed in telephone talks late Saturday to continue using diplomacy to press North Korea on nuclear and other issues.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2003

Overseas travelers hit packed airports

Travelers returning from overseas New Year's vacations packed major airports Sunday, with 54,000 arrivals expected at Narita airport and 20,000 at Kansai International Airport, immigration and airport authorities said.
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2003

Inflation target coming: Yamasaki

The government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are poised to adopt an inflation-targeting policy to fight deflation and prop up the economy, LDP Secretary General Taku Yamasaki indicated Sunday.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Jan 6, 2003

Little progress, little protest

MOSCOW -- The Russian capital is gridlocked. This grim observation applies both physically and metaphorically: The city cannot manage its traffic, and the nation cannot handle its problems.
COMMENTARY
Jan 6, 2003

Time for a U.S.-South Korean divorce

WASHINGTON -- The United States has defended South Korea for 50 years. But newly elected President Roh Moo Hyun suggests that his nation might "mediate" in any war between America and the North. Whatever value the U.S.-ROK alliance once had has disappeared. The presence of 37,000 troops in South Korea...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 6, 2003

Making an exit, Japanese style

My grandmother used to say that people of her generation never expected much out of life. In her prime, her mantra was "Ikiteiru dakede arigatai (I'm thankful just to be alive)" and in her final years, that changed to "Pokkuri ikitai (I want to die suddenly and quietly)."
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2003

Wait and see on Iraq: New Komeito

New Komeito leader Takenori Kanzaki said Sunday it is in Japan's interest to see whether the United Nations adopts a new resolution prior to a possible U.S. attack on Iraq before Tokyo begins discussing how to deal with the issue.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 6, 2003

Navigating Japan health insurance

Deciding which I have lived in Japan and worked for the same company for six years. During this time the company has provided health insurance and paid all of the premiums. However, I will soon leave the company and thus lose my coverage.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2003

Two dead as heavy snowfall continues on Sea of Japan coast

Heavy snows continued Sunday to blanket a broad area along the Sea of Japan coast stretching from southwestern to northern Japan, and two people died in snow-related accidents while the snow shut down some expressways and other transport systems.
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Jan 6, 2003

"Human Body Revealed," "The DK Guide to the Human Body," "Eyewitness Pirate," " 'Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,' Said the Sloth"

"Human Body Revealed," Sue Davidson & Ben Morgan, Dorling Kindersley Limited; 2002; 38 pp. "The DK Guide to the Human Body," Richard Walker, Dorling Kindersley Limited; 2002; 64 pp. "Eyewitness Pirate," Richard Platt & Tina Chambers, Dorling Kindersley Limited; 2002; 72 pp. Ever wanted to look up...
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2003

Ferry adrift due to engine trouble

A Japanese ferry carrying 490 passengers went adrift Sunday after its engine broke down in waters off Akita Prefecture, the Japan Coast Guard said.
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2003

The tale of a Spix's macaw

Two weeks ago, a lonely specimen of one of the world's rarest birds made a very special trip. "Presley," a male Spix's macaw, had been found last summer living quietly in a Denver suburb with his owner, a woman who had no idea of his importance in the scheme of things. Now Presley was finally on a plane...
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2003

Returnees swamp airports, stations

Japan's major airports and railway terminals were packed Saturday with travelers returning from New Year's vacations at hometowns and resorts, according to airport and railway authorities.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2003

Time for a U.N. response

HONOLULU -- North Korea's nuclear brinkmanship is escalating. Pyongyang is now claiming that only a nonaggression treaty between North Korea and Washington can prevent "a catastrophic crisis of a war" on the Korean Peninsula.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 5, 2003

Students spoil Seagulls' party

Tetsuo Takata threw for a tie-breaking touchdown and Kota Yagi followed with a key interception early in the final quarter Friday as Ritsumeikan University pulled away to pound the Seagulls 36-13 for its first Rice Bowl national championship.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2003

Obituary: Koreyoshi Kurahara

Movie director Koreyoshi Kurahara died Dec. 28 of pneumonia at a hospital in Yokohama, his family said Saturday. He was 75.
COMMENTARY
Jan 5, 2003

No room for thoughtful patriot in China

HONG KONG -- China's release of prominent dissident Xu Wenli on Christmas Eve was a welcome gesture, but not much more than a gesture, unless the Communist Party fundamentally alters its policies and allows its citizens basic rights such as the peaceful expression of differing political views and the...

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’