Nao Shimoyachi - The Japan Times

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Nao Shimoyachi

For Nao Shimoyachi's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

JAPAN

Aug 20, 2004

Get China to stop sending North Korea escapees back: activist

Japan, the United States and South Korea must persuade Beijing to stop sending people who flee North Korea back to the country, a Japanese aid worker who recently served eight months in a Chinese prison for trying to smuggle two such people to safety, urged Thursday.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Aug 18, 2004

Pullout of U.S. forces could skip Japan

Despite the U.S. announcement Monday that it will withdraw up to 70,000 service members from Asia and Europe over the next decade, America's military presence in Japan might not be part of that scenario, according to government officials.

JAPAN

Aug 18, 2004

Pullout of U.S. forces could skip Japan

Despite the U.S. announcement Monday that it will withdraw up to 70,000 service members from Asia and Europe over the next decade, America's military presence in Japan might not be part of that scenario, according to government officials.

JAPAN

Aug 6, 2004

Mayor seeks U.S. base housing tradeoff

Yokohama Mayor Hiroshi Nakata told the Defense Agency on Thursday that he might accept construction of additional U.S. military housing units in Kanagawa Prefecture if the United States reduces the number to be built and returns more facilities to Japan.

JAPAN

Aug 6, 2004

Mayor seeks U.S. base housing tradeoff

Yokohama Mayor Hiroshi Nakata told the Defense Agency on Thursday that he might accept construction of additional U.S. military housing units in Kanagawa Prefecture if the United States reduces the number to be built and returns more facilities to Japan.

JAPAN

Aug 4, 2004

Japan to host naval drill to thwart WMD traffic at sea

Japan will host an international drill off Tokyo Bay in October aimed at thwarting the movement of weapons of mass destruction on the high seas, the Defense Agency said Tuesday.

JAPAN

Aug 4, 2004

Japan to host naval drill to thwart WMD traffic at sea

Japan will host an international drill off Tokyo Bay in October aimed at thwarting the movement of weapons of mass destruction on the high seas, the Defense Agency said Tuesday.

JAPAN

Aug 3, 2004

DPJ forms policy body amid mood to amend Article 9

Alarmed by ever-louder calls within political circles to revise the Constitution, some 50 Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers set up a study group Monday on foreign and security policy.

JAPAN

Jul 31, 2004

DPJ removes itself from Okada's suggestion to revise Article 9

The Democratic Party of Japan on Friday tried to play down its president's remarks in Washington about revising Article 9 of the Constitution.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Jul 30, 2004

Activist sees Japan as war addict, like U.S. in comic

The Japanese people should learn from their World War II defeat and put pressure on the government to stop the country from sliding back into militarism, the author of an American antimilitarist comic book says.

JAPAN

Jul 24, 2004

Armitage wrong to link UNSC bid with reform of Article 9, officials say

Government officials on Friday dismissed advice by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and said Japan will not revise its Constitution to gain a seat on the U.N. Security Council.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Jul 15, 2004

SDF aid mission mars Japan's peace image, Arab interviewees say in film

The deployment of Self-Defense Forces troops to Iraq on a humanitarian mission puzzles Arabs because it runs counter to their long-held image of a peaceful Japan, according to a documentary film based on eight interviews with people in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.

JAPAN

Jul 9, 2004

Former U.N. bureaucrat wants bigger SDF role

The Self-Defense Forces should be allowed to maintain security in conflict zones, even if those activities are not authorized by the United Nations, former U.N. undersecretary general Yasushi Akashi said Thursday.

JAPAN

Jul 7, 2004

Defense report pats SDF on the back for Iraq duty

The Self-Defense Forces troops deployed in Iraq have served Japan's national interests, strengthened the Japan-U.S. alliance and enabled the nation to carry out its responsibilities as a member of the international community, Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba said in an annual agency report released Tuesday.

JAPAN

Jul 3, 2004

Admiral proposes SDF less run by civilians

The chief of staff of the Maritime Self-Defense Force has proposed that uniformed officers be given more say vis-a-vis civilians in the operations of the nation's military, but the Defense Agency chief has no plans to push for this option at present, agency officials said Friday.

JAPAN

Jul 1, 2004

Army town Asahikawa finds few foes to dispatch

The Ground Self-Defense Force's mission to Iraq may not be supported by all of the public, as evidenced by the protest rallies staged nationwide last year as the government readied the dispatch.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Jul 1, 2004

SDF striving to become global partner

Among the 550 Ground Self-Defense Force troops in the first deployment to the southern Iraqi city of Samawah were five men in green fatigues armed with musical instruments.

JAPAN

May 28, 2004

Visiting Iraqis thank Japan, criticize Foreign Ministry

A group of Iraqis visiting from the southern Iraqi city of Samawah thanked Japan on Thursday for the reconstruction work carried out by the Ground Self-Defense Force troops.

JAPAN

May 21, 2004

Security-related bills clear Lower House

A package of seven security-related bills to augment the war-contingency legislation enacted last year cleared the House of Representatives on Thursday and is expected to be endorsed next month.

JAPAN

May 21, 2004

Security-related bills clear Lower House

A package of seven security-related bills to augment the war-contingency legislation enacted last year cleared the House of Representatives on Thursday and is expected to be endorsed next month.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

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Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree

By Alex K.T. Martin

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