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Natsuko Fukue

JAPAN

Oct 28, 2010

Diet panel gets video of trawler collisions

Prosecutors submitted video footage of collisions between a Chinese trawler and Japan Coast Guard vessels near the Senkaku islets in September to a Diet committee Wednesday amid an ongoing diplomatic spat between the two countries.

JAPAN

Oct 22, 2010

Salarymen feeling pressure of elderly care

For Itsuo Kandatsu, cooking three meals a day is a task he performs for his wheelchair-using mother and disabled brother. But the 49-year-old Tokyo resident isn't a house husband.

JAPAN / EXPLAINER

Oct 19, 2010

No escaping annual sports days

Whether they like sports or not, it is compulsory for schoolchildren in Japan to participate in "undokai" (athletic gatherings or "sports days"), with the main one usually coinciding with the Sports Day national holiday.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Oct 6, 2010

Nova, Geos now under investment fund's wing

Nagoya-based G. communication Co. last week sold Nova Corp. and Geos Corp., two major foreign language school chains, to an investment fund.

JAPAN

Sep 30, 2010

Hospitals need 24,000 doctors to ease manpower shortage, study shows

Hospitals need 24,033 more doctors nationwide to reduce the excessive workload being thrust on the 167,063 physicians already in practice, according to a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry study.

Japan Times

JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW

Sep 29, 2010

Hosokawa pledges more jobs for young people

New Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Ritsuo Hosokawa is known for his knowledge of labor issues. Now that he's in the Cabinet, he plans to focus on increasing the employment rate for young workers.

JAPAN

Sep 22, 2010

Travel industry fears major impact from China dispute

With diplomatic ties between Tokyo and Beijing turning sour, Japan's tourism industry is increasingly worried that Chinese companies may follow the lead of Pro-Health, a health product maker that last week canceled an incentive tour for thousands of its employees.

JAPAN / Q&A

Sep 22, 2010

How did the missing elderly slip through the cracks?

The Justice Ministry announced this month that it can't confirm the whereabouts of 230,000 centenarians listed in "koseki" family registers.

JAPAN

Sep 15, 2010

Forum calls for a harder push

Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the United Nations resolution on women, peace and security, a recent regional forum in Tokyo concluded that more robust implementation is needed to include more women in peacekeeping processes.

JAPAN

Sep 15, 2010

Kan urged to focus on nation's finances

After Prime Minister Naoto Kan was re-elected president of the Democratic Party of Japan on Tuesday, many people interviewed on the streets of Tokyo expressed support for him and said he should get to work right away on revitalizing the economy.

JAPAN

Sep 15, 2010

Japan urged to back equality push

Has the world become safer and more peaceful for women and girls in the past 10 years? Not so much, says former United Nations Security Council President Anwarul K. Chowdhury.

JAPAN

Sep 11, 2010

234,000 centenarians listed in registries missing

The Justice Ministry announced Friday that the existence of 234,354 centenarians listed as "alive" in family registries can't be confirmed.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Sep 8, 2010

Tsuneoka says captors grew tired of holding him, failing to get ransom

Fresh from his release in Afghanistan, freelance journalist Kosuke Tsuneoka said Tuesday in Tokyo he was probably freed after five months in captivity because his abductors' demands for ransom failed.

JAPAN / Q&A

Sep 8, 2010

For most, adoption option impractical, iffy

For couples in Japan who can't have a child, adoption is not considered a viable option.

JAPAN / THE TROUBLE AT TOYOTA

Sep 3, 2010

Reportage seems source-biased

U.S. and Japanese media gave widespread but contrasting coverage of the sudden-acceleration accidents involving Toyota Motor Co. vehicles, mainly in North America, with accounts by victims and allegations of safety flaws getting greater play on the other side of the Pacific compared with a muted approach...

JAPAN

Sep 1, 2010

Four fathers picked as role models for child-rearing leave

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has picked four fathers from 131 applicants to serve as standard bearers for the participation of dads in child-rearing.

JAPAN

Aug 28, 2010

Demand for autopsies reflects suspicions over causes of death

A vast majority of the public thinks more autopsies are necessary to determine if a death was due to foul play, according to a Cabinet Office crime survey released Thursday.

JAPAN / LIVING IN LUXURY

Aug 27, 2010

The East meets West at Furukawa Gardens

The well-preserved early 20th century Furukawa Gardens in Kita Ward, Tokyo, boasts a British-style house on a hilltop overlooking a harmonious marriage of Western and Japanese landscaping.

Japan Times

JAPAN / EXPLAINER

Aug 10, 2010

Makeup Japan-style: Dark to light

Makeup for many women is a vital component of their appearance and one they take great pains to apply, even to the point of dolling themselves up during the crowded morning commute, working through the routine starting with a foundation, then eyebrows, mascara and finally lip gloss.

JAPAN

Aug 6, 2010

Cities scrambling to find centenarians

It all began last week when a mummified corpse was found at a house in Adachi Ward, Tokyo. If the man, Sogen Kato, were still alive he would have been 111 years old.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.

What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji

By Alex K.T. Martin

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