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JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

Sex offenders facing harsher punishment

Justice Ministry is eyeing a drastic Penal Code amendment that would see rapists and other sex offenders punished more severely, ministry officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2003

Yakuza connected to embezzlement of Minami stock

Police on Wednesday raided yakuza offices in Tokyo and Fukuoka to look for evidence that more than half of some 2.8 billion yen worth of client stocks embezzled by the former president of the now defunct Minami Securities Co. had been transferred to the underworld.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2003

ASEAN leaders arrive in Tokyo ahead of landmark two-day summit

Southeast Asian leaders arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday to participate in a two-day summit with Japan that will focus on trade and security.
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2003

Business chiefs welcome SDF dispatch

Business leaders on Wednesday welcomed the decision by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet to dispatch up to 600 noncombat ground troops to Iraq to help with reconstruction work.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2003

Cabinet approves plan to send SDF to Iraq

The government Tuesday approved a basic plan to dispatch Self-Defense Forces units to Iraq, paving the way for the deployment of up to 600 ground troops in southeastern Iraq early next year.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2003

Koizumi's credibility placed on the line

There is arguably no profession that places a greater premium on the credibility of a person's words than politics.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2003

Vietnam says it will allow visa-free entry for Japanese

Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien said Tuesday his nation plans to allow visa-free entry for Japanese travelers and business officials.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Dec 10, 2003

First troop deployment to conflict area since WWII a foreign policy watershed

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi signaled a historic foreign policy shift Tuesday when he authorized sending Self-Defense Forces units to Iraq, becoming the first Japanese leader since World War II to dispatch troops to a nation effectively at war.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2003

More science projects with EU sought

The European Union and Japan should cooperate in developing such advanced scientific technologies as fuel cells, the research commissioner of the European Commission said Monday in Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2003

Takefuji chairman admits ordering phone tap, resigns

Takefuji Corp. founder Yasuo Takei, under arrest for his alleged role in a wiretapping case, resigned Monday as chairman after admitting he ordered his men to bug a journalist's phone, the major consumer loan company said.
BUSINESS
Dec 9, 2003

Sammy to purchase 22.4% stake in Sega

Pachinko machine maker Sammy Corp. said Monday it will acquire a 22.4 percent stake in Sega Corp., becoming the largest shareholder in the game maker.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 7, 2003

Jonny Greenwood: "Bodysong"

Jonny Greenwood claims that "Bodysong," the soundtrack of an experimental film, is not a solo album. The multi-instrumentalist, who has already made a reputation for himself as a member of Radiohead coloring in the stark imaginings of Thom Yorke, seems content being a musical wonk who supplements the...
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2003

U.N. should play active role in Iraq, Kawaguchi tells Annan on phone

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi on Friday urged the United Nations to play an active role in Iraq's reconstruction process, in the wake of the assassination of two Japanese diplomats in the country last weekend.
BUSINESS
Dec 6, 2003

New life insurance contracts slide

The Life Insurance Association of Japan said Friday that new individual life insurance contracts held by its 42 member firms were down 12.1 percent in the fiscal first half of 2003 from a year earlier.
BUSINESS
Dec 5, 2003

Ministry nears approval of nighttime drug sales

The health ministry is leaning toward approving nighttime drug sales on condition that instructions on medication are given to retailers by pharmacists by videophone, ministry officials said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Dec 5, 2003

LDP panel looks to hit working wives for local tax

The Liberal Democratic Party's tax panel wants to increase the number of residents paying one form of local income tax, as well as raise the basic rate, a senior panel member said Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2003

Few warm to greater-Tokyo assembly idea

Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa advocates creation of an unprecedented regional administrative system that would deal with issues affecting the multiple prefectures and municipalities that constitute greater Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2003

Auto repair exam questions leaked to candidates

Nearly 80 percent of questions in a highly competitive government-sponsored exam for auto mechanic licenses held earlier this week were leaked to examinees through Toyota Motor Corp. dealerships, the nation's top automaker said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2003

New highs forecast for imports, exports

Imports and exports are expected to rise to new highs for a third straight year in fiscal 2004, a trade industry association said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2003

Ex-Tiger unveils campaign platform

OSAKA -- With promises ranging from shrinking the local bureaucracy to having Osaka host an annual Asian Series for baseball, former Hanshin Tigers pitcher Takenori Emoto unveiled his gubernatorial campaign platform Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 3, 2003

A victory for hardliners

Hardliners from both ends of the political spectrum are the winners of elections held in Northern Ireland last week. The polarization of politics is a sign of weariness and wariness on the part of voters and is another blow to the tattered Good Friday peace accords.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2003

War in Iraq not finished yet, government tells lawmaker

The war in Iraq is not over even if the major battles have ended, the government said Tuesday in a written response to an opposition lawmaker.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2003

Allow SDF to protect embassies overseas: Aisawa

The government should consider revising the Self-Defense Forces Law to allow SDF troops to guard Japanese embassies overseas, Senior Vice Foreign Minister Ichiro Aisawa said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Dec 3, 2003

Lots of debate, little action

The problems with Japan's education system are well known -- poor teaching in the universities; class disintegration (gakkyu hokai) in the schools -- to name but a few. So many students, unwilling to put up with the pressures and rigidities of the existing school system, are now dropping out of school...
BUSINESS
Dec 3, 2003

Companies pursue image boost via programs for disabled

Japanese corporations are steadily expanding their social action programs to support physically disabled people in an apparent bid to look better to foreign investors.
BUSINESS
Dec 3, 2003

Mizuho Corporate Bank set to expand China business

Mizuho Corporate Bank President Hiroshi Saito said Tuesday the company will greatly expand operations to take advantage of the rapid growth of the Chinese economy.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat