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Kanako Takahara

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Kanako Takahara
Kanako Takahara is a staff writer who has covered national politics, diplomacy, business and the economy at The Japan Times. A graduate of Sophia University, she is currently a national news editor.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2005
Bill OK'd to extend MSDF's mission
The administration Tuesday endorsed a bill that would extend for one more year the antiterrorism law allowing the Maritime Self-Defense Force to refuel U.S.-led coalition vessels in the Indian Ocean.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2005
Shortwave eyed to reach out to abductees
will begin broadcasting the names and ages in Japanese of people it believes were abducted for about 30 minutes a day possibly starting this month. "If the Japanese in North Korea listen to the broadcasts, they will know we are still trying to bring them home," said Sadaki Manabe, a senior member of...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2005
U.S. eight years behind on rent for embassy
The United States hasn't paid the rent for its embassy in Tokyo since 1998, according to a government document released by the Cabinet on Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2005
Officials need manual to deal with Muneo
The Foreign Ministry has drawn up an instruction manual detailing how bureaucrats should deal with corrupt Lower House member Muneo Suzuki, notorious for his past meddling in ministry affairs, officials said Friday.
BUSINESS
Oct 1, 2005
Japan, China grope for way to share drilling for gas
Japan and China kicked off a two-day working-level meeting Friday on contentious gas projects in the East China Sea with hopes that they can agree to jointly tap the resources.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2005
Desertification in China, Mongolia a problem for Japan
The spreading desertification in China and Mongolia is no longer just someone else's concern; it's posing a health risk in this country and affecting Japanese businesses, a senior U.N. official in charge of efforts to curb the problem said Wednesday.
Sep 22, 2005
Firms betting on Russia amid political poker
A screen up front read "Welcome to St. Petersburg!" as top officials of Russia's second-largest city gave a presentation in Tokyo to lure Japanese investment.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2005
Japan seeks abduction sincerity in renewed talks
Tokyo and Pyongyang have agreed to resume bilateral talks -- stalled since last November -- to resolve various issues, including the abductions of Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s, Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2005
Reform mandate may help boost diplomacy, experts say
The sweeping victory by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party may have given the reformist leader a strong mandate for reform, but political experts are hoping the decisive gains will also give him the power needed to resolve sensitive issues on the diplomatic front.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2005
Election to bring diplomacy headaches
Kasumigaseki, Tokyo's bureaucratic hub, has been in a political vacuum since Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi dissolved the House of Representatives on Aug. 8 -- and diplomacy is no exception.
Sep 1, 2005
Defense Agency wants 5 trillion yen
The Defense Agency on Wednesday requested 4.89 trillion yen in the fiscal 2006 budget to increase the capabilities of the Self-Defense Forces to counter threats to national security, including acts of terrorism, missile attacks and natural disasters.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2005
Camp Zama buildup feared inevitable
U.S. military brass in Japan reportedly contacted about 20 real estate agencies in Kanagawa Prefecture between late last year and early this year to ask them if they could build about 500 housing units near Camp Zama.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2005
Kanagawa eyes base reductions in return for hosting U.S. Army
Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa has hinted he may accept a U.S. military realignment plan to transfer the Army's First Corps headquarters to Camp Zama if other U.S. military facilities in the prefecture are returned or reduced.
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2005
Koizumi repeats apology
Marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed regret Monday for Japan's past deeds against its Asian neighbors and vowed to make sure they never happen again.
Japan Times
JAPAN / 60 YEARS,AND ONWARD
Aug 14, 2005
Islanders bemoan 60-year wait to return
FUKUI -- Shohei Yamamoto may not be a professional storyteller.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2005
Snap election to delay realignment report: Ono
Defense Agency chief Yoshinori Ono said Wednesday that a joint interim report on realignment of the U.S. military in Japan, initially expected to be compiled in September, will be delayed to October due to the House of Representatives election on Sept. 11.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2005
UNSC bid crippled as African Union refuses to join 'G4' in resolution
Japan's prospects of gaining a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council have been dealt a savage blow, with the African Union refusing to draft a joint resolution on UNSC expansion with Japan and three other nations.
JAPAN / 60 YEARS AND ONWARD
Aug 6, 2005
Koreans here inclined to assimilate to dodge racism
It was a big leap for Takae Hayama to switch from her Japanese name to her real name when she went to college.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2005
China buildup on Defense Agency radar
Tokyo is monitoring China's rapid military buildup and remains on alert in the wake of recent incidents, including the intrusion of a submarine into Japanese territorial waters and frequent operations by its marine research vessels nearby, according to an annual report on defense released Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2005
Schieffer calls troop cut unrealistic
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer expressed reluctance Wednesday over downsizing the forces in Okinawa, saying the U.S. military presence is strategically important to the U.S. and Japan, and to the stability of the region.
JICA to designate four Japanese cities as 'hometowns' for African nations
The Japanese flag (left) with the flag of the African Union
Osaka fire kills two firefighters and leaves four injured
Firefighters work at the scene of a fire in the Dotonbori district in the city of Osaka on Monday.
Winning warship bid gives Japan confidence boost as Tokyo eyes more exports
Australia’s decision to select Japan's upgraded Mogami-class warship, seen in this computer-generated image, has been “well received across Japanese industry," a Defense Ministry official said.
Two Japanese nationals shot dead in Manila
Commuters cross the street through traffic in Manila.
A factory town in crisis shows Japan’s fading manufacturing era
Nissan workers walk outside its Oppama plant in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. Nissan plans to shut the plant by the end of fiscal 2027.
Candidates preparing to make final pitches for Sawamura Award
Hawks pitcher Livan Moinelo has a 1.13 ERA in 19 starts this season.
Winning warship bid gives Japan confidence boost as Tokyo eyes more exports
Australia’s decision to select Japan's upgraded Mogami-class warship, seen in this computer-generated image, has been “well received across Japanese industry," a Defense Ministry official said.
In Paris, chefs Chizuko Kimura and Kei Kobayashi make their mark
Chef Kei Kobayashi is France's only Japanese chef with three Michelin stars.
In preserving Japanese hospitality, ‘details are everything’
Beniya Mukayu, a traditional "ryokan" inn located in Ishikawa Prefecture, considers itself at "the heart of onsen towns, local residents, farmers, fishermen, sake brewers and artisans" — all of which need new, sustainable methods of serving visitors to survive into the future.
A seaside hotel built on competitive Japanese cycling
In a region more associated with art, Keirin Hotel 10 takes a decidedly more athletic approach to attracting tourists.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers
By Tomoko Otake

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