Nao Shimoyachi - The Japan Times

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Nao Shimoyachi

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

JAPAN

May 20, 2004

War bill seeks 'voluntary' cooperation during crisis

One of seven bills to augment war-contingency legislation enacted last June is dubbed by the government as a "citizen protection bill."

JAPAN

May 20, 2004

War bill seeks 'voluntary' cooperation during crisis

One of seven bills to augment war-contingency legislation enacted last June is dubbed by the government as a "citizen protection bill."

JAPAN

May 16, 2004

SDF vs. NGO -- an Iraqi tale of cost-effectiveness

Self-Defense Forces troops are not the only ones using Japanese cash to provide humanitarian aid in southern Iraq.

JAPAN

May 16, 2004

SDF vs. NGO -- an Iraqi tale of cost-effectiveness

Self-Defense Forces troops are not the only ones using Japanese cash to provide humanitarian aid in southern Iraq.

JAPAN

May 15, 2004

Relatives of missing demand results from Pyongyang trip

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi must achieve concrete results when he meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on May 22 in Pyonygang, relatives of Japanese abducted to North Korea, and others working on their behalf, demanded Friday.

Japan Times

JAPAN

May 3, 2004

Public gradually more accepting of constitutional change

Revising the war-renouncing Constitution, which has not seen a single change since it was introduced in 1947, is increasingly becoming a possibility, although a public consensus is still elusive on the most sensitive issue of what to do with Article 9.

Japan Times

JAPAN

May 1, 2004

Freed hostage pair face press, speak of their ordeal in Iraq

Two of the five Japanese civilians taken hostage in Iraq and freed unharmed last month faced reporters Friday in Tokyo to talk for the first time about their captivity.

JAPAN

Apr 24, 2004

Violence drives aid workers out of Iraq

Intense violence in Iraq has driven Japanese civic aid organizations to scale back their operations there.

JAPAN

Apr 23, 2004

SDF troops balance duty, safety

Self-Defense Forces troops deployed to Samawah, southern Iraq, are in a quandary: They want to meet local demand for more aid, but deteriorating security conditions are hindering their efforts to work harder.

JAPAN

Apr 20, 2004

Chiefs of staff hold joint news conference

In what the Defense Agency says is the first time in the 50-year history of the Self-Defense Forces, the chiefs of staff of the three branches of Japan's military organization appeared together before reporters on Monday.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Apr 16, 2004

Families rejoice over hostages' release

A room in the Hokkaido Prefectural Government office in Tokyo erupted in cheers at 9:03 p.m. Thursday as relatives of the three hostages watched a TV news report detailing the release of their loved ones.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Apr 15, 2004

Families caught in cross fire over Iraq hostage ordeal

The hostage crisis in Iraq has apparently split the Japanese public into two camps.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Apr 14, 2004

Captives' families press on despite exhaustion

Despite visible exhaustion due to lack of sleep and anxiety, relatives of the three Japanese taken hostage last week in Iraq continued their desperate appeal Tuesday for the release of their loved ones.

JAPAN

Apr 10, 2004

Acquaintances of hostages express shock at abductions

Aid workers and journalists who know the three Japanese kidnapped by a militant group in Iraq expressed grave concern over the situation Friday, with some vowing to do whatever it takes to bring them back alive.

JAPAN

Apr 9, 2004

Diet ponders ramifications of ruling on Yasukuni visit

A district court ruling Wednesday that a visit to Yasukuni Shrine by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was unconstitutional has ignited debate on the need for an independent court that specializes in constitutionality.

JAPAN

Mar 30, 2004

GSDF inaugurates undercover antiterrorist squad

A special operations unit debuted Monday in the Ground Self-Defense Force in response to growing fears of terrorism and guerrilla attacks on Japan.

Japan Times

JAPAN / POLITICS IN FOCUS

Mar 30, 2004

Opposition reconsiders anti-LDP tactics

Majority rule is a basic feature of democracy. This principle, however, has often gone through violent contortions when it comes to voting in the Diet, a phenomenon rarely if ever observed in other advanced democracies.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Mar 21, 2004

Peace movement revives for protests on Iraq war

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets around Japan on Saturday, the first anniversary of the start of the U.S.-led war on Iraq, to call for the end of the occupation and the withdrawal of Self-Defense Forces troops.

JAPAN

Mar 14, 2004

Citizens find Bush guilty of Afghan war crimes

A citizens' tribunal Saturday in Tokyo found U.S. President George W. Bush guilty of war crimes for attacking civilians with indiscriminate weapons and other arms during the U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in Afghanistan in 2001.

JAPAN

Mar 10, 2004

Bills on evacuation of civilians, U.S. cooperation wrap up defense package

The Cabinet approved and submitted to the Diet seven bills Tuesday that would define citizen evacuation procedures and update cooperation with U.S. forces stationed in Japan, wrapping up the nation's war-contingency legislation.

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

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.

Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

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