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Yosuke Naito

For Yosuke Naito's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

BUSINESS

Dec 21, 2000

Economists unhappy with latest budget

In its attempt to formulate a budget with the dual and dueling purposes of bringing about an economic recovery and preparing for painstaking reform, it seems the government has managed to do neither.

BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW

Dec 7, 2000

Miyazawa to focus on employment, spending

The state budget for fiscal 2001 to be drawn up by the government later this month is expected to be characterized by "guarded optimism," Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said Wednesday.

BUSINESS

Sep 22, 2000

Oil prices, euro to top agenda for G7, but solutions unclear

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami will join their Group of Seven counterparts for a meeting in Prague on Saturday that will inevitably focus on soaring oil prices, the euro's weakness and the potential damage these trends pose for the world economy.

BUSINESS

Sep 21, 2000

Economists question scale of extra budget

The announcement Wednesday of a fiscal 2000 supplementary budget, which is expected to surpass 10 trillion yen in total size and include 4 trillion yen in new government spending, has prompted some economists to wonder why a budget of that scale is needed now.

JAPAN

Sep 6, 2000

Analysis: State upbeat despite lack of progress

Japan seems to have managed to clear the lowest conceivable hurdle during the latest round of peace treaty negotiations with Russia that ended Tuesday: convincing the other side to confirm its resolve to continue negotiations on the basis of past agreements.

JAPAN

Sep 2, 2000

Mori, Putin unlikely to solve island row

Russian President Vladimir Putin will sit down with Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Monday, and while the two will try to settle a territorial dispute over a group of tiny islands north of Hokkaido, they are expected to end up in a decades-old deadlock.

JAPAN

Aug 25, 2000

Japan and North Korea spin wheels in normalization talks

KISARAZU, Chiba Pref. -- Japanese and North Korean negotiators resumed their 10th round of bilateral normalization talks here Thursday but failed to narrow their differences on Pyongyang's demand for an apology and redress for Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

JAPAN

Aug 21, 2000

Tokyo, Pyongyang discussions face same obstacles

While the 10th round of normalization talks between Japan and North Korea will be held in Japan this week, it remains to be seen whether breakthroughs can be made on a series of pending issues that have stalled previous negotiations.

JAPAN

Aug 12, 2000

Japan-U.S. bilateral relations on agenda

The significance of Japan-U.S. relations in the past half century should become the basis of sound bilateral ties in the next 50 years, former Ambassador to the United States Yoshio Okawara said.

JAPAN

Jul 24, 2000

Putin to make Sept. 3-5 Tokyo visit

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. — Russian President Vladimir Putin will make an official visit to Japan from Sept. 3 to Sept. 5, Tokyo and Moscow formally agreed Sunday.

JAPAN

Jul 18, 2000

Okinawa summit ready to expand upon meeting of foreign ministers

The Group of Eight leaders meeting in Okinawa beginning Friday will explore ways to prevent regional conflicts and address other challenges in the sphere of international politics.

JAPAN

Jul 14, 2000

Miyazaki Initiative caps talks

MIYAZAKI-- The Group of Eight foreign ministers ended their two-day gathering here Thursday by adopting a statement covering a wide range of international political issues and a comprehensive "Miyazaki Initiative for Conflict Prevention."

JAPAN

Jul 13, 2000

Kono, Ivanov confirm goal of inking peace treaty this year

MIYAZAKI — Foreign Minister Yohei Kono and his Russian counterpart, Igor Ivanov, reconfirmed the two countries' commitment Wednesday to resolve their long-standing territorial row and strive to sign a peace treaty by year's end, a Foreign Ministry official said.

JAPAN

Jul 13, 2000

G8 ministers ponder conflict prevention, development aid

MIYAZAKI — The Group of Eight foreign ministers kicked off a two-day conference here on Wednesday to seek ways to deal with regional conflicts and tackle other challenges in the international political arena.

JAPAN

Jul 11, 2000

G8 poised to endorse Pyongyang efforts to come in from cold

The Group of Eight foreign ministers, who meet Wednesday for two days of talks in Miyazaki, are likely to give formal endorsement to North Korea's recent moves to improve its relations with the international community, highlighted by the unprecedented inter-Korean summit last month in Pyongyang.

JAPAN

Jul 8, 2000

Kono talks on North Korea, the G8 summit and Russia

The government "will not simply stay idle" in its relations with North Korea, Foreign Minister Yohei Kono said Thursday, noting that Tokyo is ready to reopen stalled normalization talks with Pyongyang following its recent moves to open up to the outside world.

JAPAN

Jun 13, 2000

Asian minorities hope election spurs change: scholar

The June 25 Lower House election will test Japan's commitment to carry out reforms of its inward-looking political circles and accommodate various Asian views in the 21st century, Zhu Jianrong of Toyo Gakuen University said, noting the expectations of various non-Japanese Asians living in the country.

JAPAN

May 28, 2000

North Korea on agenda for Mori's talks in Seoul

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's scheduled meeting Monday in Seoul with South Korean President Kim Dae Jung comes at a crucial point in Japan's efforts to advance normalization negotiations with North Korea.

JAPAN

Mar 2, 2000

Sofia seeking EU membership by 2006, visiting minister says

Bulgaria will strive to become a full member of the European Union as early as 2006 by implementing far-reaching economic reforms, according to a senior Bulgarian diplomat who was recently in Japan.

JAPAN

Feb 7, 2000

Poland seeks full EU status by '03

Staff writer Poland hopes to become a full member of the European Union as early as 2003 by adjusting its economy to EU standards, according to visiting Polish Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek. "We hope to achieve good results in the process of adjusting Poland's economic structure," Geremek said in a recent interview. "Iron and mining industries and the agricultural sector should be better prepared for the EU's economic operations in the next five years or so." Geremek arrived in Japan on Sunday for a four-day visit to strengthen ties with Tokyo. He is a noted historian who played a key role in fostering the Solidarity social reform movement in the 1980s in defiance of the communist rule in his country. Poland's ultimate foreign policy goal is full integration into Western political and economic structures. It entered NATO last March and has been negotiating for full EU membership since March 1998. Poland is currently an EU associate. Geremek stressed that Poland's entry into the EU in 2003 will be possible if Warsaw can demonstrate improved economic performance and a determination to observe European principles based on respect for democracy and human rights. On Austria, which is leaning to the far right with its inclusion of the Freedom Party led by Joerg Haider in its coalition government last week, Geremek addressed Polish concerns over what he termed as Vienna's "movement out of the spectrum of democratic politics." "In a democratic country, it is normal that one coalition after another form the government," he said. "But we should see this Austrian case in a very special way." Calling Haider a "populist who is trying to promote xenophobia and hatred and rehabilitate the Nazi system," Geremek said this is a dangerous sign for Europe as a whole. The EU has reacted to the new government with unprecedented political sanctions on Vienna. Alarmed by the presence of the Freedom Party in the Austrian government, the 15-member union is restraining political relations with one of its own members. On whether Warsaw is considering any diplomatic action against Vienna, Geremek indicated that Poland might take similar measures as the EU's, since it shares common values with the EU even as a nonmember. Touching on Japanese-Polish economic relations, Geremek said he hopes for expanded Japanese investment in his country, as Tokyo is increasingly looking to Central and Eastern European nations as production centers for the entire European market.

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

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