Junko Takahashi - The Japan Times

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Junko Takahashi

For Junko Takahashi's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

JAPAN

Sep 18, 2003

Koizumi won't rule out giving rivals key posts

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Wednesday refused to rule out naming his rivals for the LDP presidency as members of any future Cabinet or as party executives.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Sep 17, 2003

Koizumi hints at October election

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi suggested Tuesday he may dissolve the House of Representatives next month because holding simultaneous Lower and Upper House elections in summer "is not a good idea."

JAPAN

Sep 15, 2003

LDP candidates want military flexibility

All four candidates in the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election said Sunday that Japan should be able to exercise the right of collective defense, a controversial issue related to the war-renouncing Constitution.

JAPAN

Sep 13, 2003

Iraq mission to determine Japanese assistance

Japan will send a fact-finding mission to Iraq as early as next week to determine where Self-Defense Forces can operate and what kind of humanitarian assistance Tokyo can offer, government officials said Friday.

JAPAN

Sep 12, 2003

Ishihara unrepentant over bomb barb

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara remained unrepentant Thursday about his remark that Deputy Foreign Minister Hitoshi Tanaka "deserved" the bomb that was placed in his garage, saying the act reflects public anger toward the bureaucrat's stance on North Korea.

JAPAN

Sep 10, 2003

Kamei lashes out at Aoki for supporting Koizumi

As the four candidates in the Sept. 20 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election delivered policy speeches Tuesday, Shizuka Kamei stepped up his criticism of Mikio Aoki.

JAPAN

Sep 9, 2003

Koizumi unlikely to repeat landslide win

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's chances of being re-elected in the Sept. 20 Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election are high, but he is unlikely to win a landslide victory as he did in the last election due to the new voting system the party has adopted.

JAPAN

Sep 9, 2003

Koizumi comes up with a faction all his own

The 20 endorsements Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi collected to cement his candidacy in the LDP presidential election underscore his tendency to operate outside factional lines.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Sep 9, 2003

Campaigning under way in LDP presidential race

Campaigning for the Sept. 20 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election officially kicked off Monday.

JAPAN

Sep 9, 2003

Policy package turns out to be a collection of vague promises

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi hopes to realize a primary budget balance in the early 2010s and create more than 5 million jobs, according to his long-awaited policy package released Monday.

JAPAN

Sep 8, 2003

Koizumi to pledge 2% nominal growth

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will promise to secure nominal economic growth of at least 2 percent by fiscal 2006 in his policy package for the upcoming Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, a key aide said Sunday.

JAPAN

Sep 5, 2003

Aoki throws weight behind Koizumi; others still divided

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi received a shot in the arm on Thursday when LDP heavyweight Mikio Aoki threw his support to the prime minister in the party's upcoming presidential election.

JAPAN

Sep 4, 2003

Koizumi has polyp removed from colon

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi underwent endoscopic surgery Wednesday after doctors found a polyp in his colon during a regular health checkup, the prime minister's office announced.

Japan Times

JAPAN / AFTER 2 1/2 YEARS

Sep 1, 2003

Koizumi renews confrontational posture

When he became prime minister in April 2001, Junichiro Koizumi boasted high public support, portraying himself as a lone wolf fighting old-guard politicians in the Liberal Democratic Party.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Aug 26, 2003

Japan will not ban visits by North Korean ships

The government does not plan to introduce a law banning North Korean ships from entering Japanese ports, government officials said Monday as the North Korean ferry Mangyongbong-92 docked in Niigata.

BUSINESS

Aug 7, 2003

Fukuda pushing bullet train to China

As Aug. 15, the 58th anniversary of the end of World War II, approaches, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda is stepping up efforts to sell Japan's high-tech bullet train system to China.

JAPAN

Jul 30, 2003

Koizumi says reformers to make up new Cabinet

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi defied his foes Tuesday, stating that if he wins re-election in the Sept. 20 LDP presidential poll, the subsequent Cabinet he forms will be made up of individuals who support his policies.

JAPAN

Jul 29, 2003

Koizumi appears set to stay on by default

With the extended 190-day Diet session having closed Monday, lawmakers' attention is shifting to the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election on Sept. 20, the new Cabinet that will immediately follow it and the expected House of Representatives poll in November.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Jul 27, 2003

Time, place of dispatch still hazy

Despite Diet approval of a bill to allow the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces personnel to Iraq on Saturday, the government continued to wrestle with exactly when and where the SDF should be sent.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Jul 16, 2003

'Manifesto' replaces slogans in election wordplay

Now that there is a fall election in the air, once again politicians are couching their platforms with the buzzword "manifesto."

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

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.

The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces

By Stephen Mansfield

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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