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JAPAN
Oct 11, 2003

Homegrown chopsticks pitched in project to boost forest-thinning

"Waribashi," or disposable wooden chopsticks, are usually hated by environmentalists as a symbol of deforestation.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2003

LDP has last laugh as reform plan crumbles

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi compromised with his Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday and agreed to leave the timing of the privatization of the nation's postal services ambiguous in the party's campaign policy.
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2003

Ex-envoy spills beans on slush fund, Iraq war

The Foreign Ministry funnels 2 billion yen a year into a discretionary fund handled by the Cabinet Secretariat, it was alleged Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2003

Over-39 crowd out of luck at SMBC

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co. said Monday they will jointly issue automated teller machine cards with credit functions targeting people in their 20s and 30s, starting Nov. 10.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 7, 2003

Time to come clean on foreign crime wave

For those who read and watch the Japanese press, these are scary times. Foreign crime is allegedly on the rise, members of the new Koizumi Cabinet are making clear policy statements against it, and the National Police Agency is ready for a new push.
COMMENTARY
Oct 6, 2003

China girds for wider influence in Asia

HONG KONG -- China's efforts to defuse the North Korean nuclear crisis have been trumpeted in headlines around the world, but it has been just as active in other parts of the region, a reflection of its increasing regional influence.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2003

SDP's scandal-hit Tsujimoto rules out run for old Diet seat

Kiyomi Tsujimoto, an outspoken former opposition lawmaker indicted on charges of defrauding the state, indicated Saturday that she will not stand in the House of Representatives election expected to be called next month.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2003

Fertility experts urge health insurance help

In response to the increasingly serious problem of Japan's falling birthrate, patients and medical professionals involved in fertility treatment are calling for the cost of treatment to be covered by national health insurance.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2003

Incumbent Rengo chief claims landslide victory

Kiyoshi Sasamori was re-elected Friday as president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo), the country's largest labor organization.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Oct 4, 2003

Surf is always up for Internet addicts

At least I have a decent excuse.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2003

DPJ eyes toll-free roads, 'amakudari' ban

With an eye to the expected general election next month, the Democratic Party of Japan has drafted a compact platform calling for various reforms, including elimination of highway tolls.
COMMENTARY
Oct 4, 2003

Angst builds over next round with North

Japanese diplomacy appears to be in a lull with the situation in Asia centered on the problem with North Korea. Immediately after the six-nation talks were held in the first half of September, reports from Moscow suggested that the next round of six-nation talks would take place in Beijing in early November....
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2003

Ward marks antismoking anniversary

A pair of middle-aged men in bright yellow uniforms patrol a business district near JR Tokyo Station in Chiyoda Ward, watching every pedestrian like hawks. They spot a salaryman carrying a lighted cigarette and spring into action.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 4, 2003

Only recourse is to negotiate

Will Myanmar (also known as Burma) be banned from the summit meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations next week? That's not likely, but Myanmar's new prime minister, Gen. Khin Nyunt, could utterly lose face unless the regime frees prodemocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi before the...
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2003

Cigarette packs to carry stern health warnings

The Finance Ministry will order tobacco companies to print stricter health warnings on cigarette packs beginning in July 2005, a ministry official said Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 3, 2003

LDP cowed by specter of Tanaka comeback

Cleared of misappropriation allegations, Makiko Tanaka, one of the nation's most popular politicians, is on the verge of a comeback.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2003

Ishihara lauds new rules to curb emissions from trucks and buses

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara hailed Wednesday's enforcement of new regulations to curb emissions from diesel-powered trucks and buses.
EDITORIALS
Oct 1, 2003

Brace for another round of SARS

Ever since severe acute respiratory syndrome was brought under control this summer, medical authorities have warned that another outbreak could occur in the fall. The world got its first fright last month with reports of occurrences in Singapore and Hong Kong. In fact, the Hong Kong case was not SARS;...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2003

Ishihara wealth put at 163 million yen

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara declared Tuesday that his private assets total 163 million yen, 3 million yen less than the level of personal wealth he reported in 1999 when he was first elected governor.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2003

U.S. mission remains on track in Iraq

WASHINGTON -- How can we really determine if the Iraq mission is going well? Pessimists worry about recent truck bombings and political assassinations, ongoing serious crime problems, sustained attacks against U.S. forces, and high unemployment together with slow progress at improving the Iraqi standard...
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2003

Japanese firm issues denial over Chinese hotel orgy

A Japanese construction firm on Monday denied involvement in "systematic prostitute-buying" during an orgy that allegedly took place earlier this month at a luxury Chinese hotel where the company's employees stayed during a company trip.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2003

Koizumi pledges $1 billion in aid for Africa at donor conference

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi pledged $1 billion in new aid for education and health care in Africa at the opening Monday of a major donor conference for the continent.
COMMENTARY / World / GUEST FORUM
Sep 29, 2003

Re-elected Koizumi expected to deliver

On Sept. 22, the third Koizumi Cabinet was established. On the same day, the Liberal Democratic Party witnessed the birth of a new party leadership. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, re-elected to head the LDP for the second term with a handsome majority, is now well positioned to face a general election...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2003

Motegi says he will address Okinawa-SOFA issue

Toshimitsu Motegi, the new minister in charge of Okinawa and affairs related to the Northern Territories, says he will review what Japan can do to improve implementation of the accord that governs U.S. military activities in the country.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2003

Justice minister pledges to make Japan 'safe again,' tighten border controls

Daizo Nozawa says Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has ordered him in his new job as justice minister to make Japan the "safest country in the world" again.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 27, 2003

Nakagawa's farm trade background brings mixed bag to METI portfolio

The appointment earlier this week of Shoichi Nakagawa as minister of economy, trade and industry is a mixed blessing for the nation's trade policy.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2003

New environment minister seeking to boost PR efforts

The Environment Ministry needs to work on making better presentations to the public if it hopes to create greater awareness of environmental issues, according to newly appointed Environment Minister Yuriko Koike.

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