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Naoko Aoki

For Naoko Aoki's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

JAPAN

May 11, 2008

Hu answers calls for rapprochement

Chinese President Hu Jintao's trip to Japan this week, the first by a Chinese leader in a decade, was marked by less bitterness about the war and more publicity events aimed at wooing a wary Japanese public. Behind the lighter tone and Hu's charm offensive, analysts say, is a desire to improve the overall climate for bilateral relations, even as the former opponents continue to struggle with difficult disputes.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Feb 13, 2007

Six-nation negotiators scramble to reach accord

Negotiators for the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programs continued talks late into the night Monday, while a South Korean news report said that progress has been made and they may draw up a revised draft agreement later the same day.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Dec 27, 2006

North Korea home: Be it ever so humble, rationed

Equipped with a Japanese-brand television set, a sofa and a large wooden wardrobe, Kim Won Gyong's four-room apartment could easily be mistaken for a middle-class dwelling in China, South Korea or Japan.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Dec 13, 2006

Impact of sanctions invisible in Pyongyang stores

While countries have begun drawing up lists of luxury items they will deny North Korea in response to the country's nuclear test, the impact has yet to be seen in the handful of stores that sell imported goods in Pyongyang.

Japan Times

BUSINESS

Oct 4, 2006

Japanese restaurants find a niche in Beijing

BEIJING (Kyodo) Yi Kehan, a 17-year-old Beijing student, was hooked a year ago when she tasted "chawan mushi," or Japanese-style savory egg custard.

JAPAN / Politics

Aug 18, 2006

Yasukuni issue poses headache for China, too

While Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's latest visit to Yasukuni Shrine throws up yet another obstacle on the road to better Sino-Japanese ties, Chinese leaders are troubled for another reason. The shrine visit could trigger large demonstrations similar to the anti-Japanese protests that broke out around China last year -- protests that could easily turn against the government.

JAPAN

Apr 21, 2006

Japanese majors seen on decline in North Korea

When one North Korean woman told her father she wanted to study Japanese, he said she would have a brighter future if she pursued English. The woman went ahead and studied Japanese at a university, and landed a job in Pyongyang that requires the language. However, her father was right. Not all graduates of Japanese have been as lucky as her.

JAPAN

Feb 20, 2006

Beijing to gauge next prime minister by Yasukuni

BEIJING (Kyodo) Regardless of who will succeed Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi when he steps down in September, the Chinese will likely pay close attention to one point -- whether the new leader will visit Yasukuni Shrine.

JAPAN

Dec 7, 2005

China tensions spark fears of escalation

While Japan's rivalry with China in the East China Sea is currently limited to competition over underground gas, pundits are fretting a more worrying possibility -- a real conflict between the two major players. Even if the countries do not mean to start a military clash, incidents in the sea could spin out of control, given the combination of distrust and lack of communication between the two countries, analysts and diplomats say.

JAPAN

Oct 5, 2005

Japanese dialing up Dalian call centers

Dozens of young men and women sit in rows facing computers and talking into their headset microphones, filling the large room with a soft buzz. "Thank you for buying our product," one woman says. "Is there a problem?" asks another.

JAPAN

Jan 7, 2005

More to Japan's aid than meets the eye

When Japan pledged to provide up to $500 million in grants to help survivors of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster within days of the catastrophe, it apparently hoped to kill two birds with one stone. By making what many view as a quick and generous gesture, Japanese government officials admit they were hoping to not only assist fellow Asian countries affected by the Dec. 26 disaster, but also boost its campaign to seek a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.

JAPAN

Nov 27, 2004

Top universities join drive to recruit brightest students in thriving China

Faced with a declining number of young people and increased competition at home, some of Japan's top universities are opening up offices in bustling China to lure its young bright minds to Japan. The University of Tokyo, widely regarded as Japan's top academic institution, became the latest entrant Wednesday in a field of about a dozen universities setting up activity bases in China.

BUSINESS

Mar 31, 2004

Tokyo hopes to renegotiate tax pacts with Asian neighbors

Japan, which has just revised its bilateral tax treaty with the United States, is now looking to sign pacts with other Asian economies that would cut taxes levied on international business activities.

BUSINESS

Feb 10, 2004

Japan's hopes only half fulfilled at G7

BOCA RATON, Fla. (Kyodo) For Japan, the meeting here of Group of Seven finance chiefs concluded with only half of its goals met.

BUSINESS

Dec 30, 2003

Koizumi's key 2004 worries: U.S. economy, yen, pensions

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is facing a number of challenges as he struggles to put the fledgling economic recovery on a more solid footing in 2004.

JAPAN

Nov 6, 2003

LDP full up, so bureaucrats turn to DPJ

After graduating from one of the nation's most prestigious universities, Keiro Kitagami became a Finance Ministry bureaucrat, thereby joining the ranks of the elite in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki government hub. Ordinarily, he would have been expected to tread this bureaucratic path before seeking the blessing of the Liberal Democratic Party and powerful business groups to forge a political career.

JAPAN

Apr 14, 2003

Focus on war gives Fukui breathing room at G-7 gathering

The war in Iraq may have been a mixed blessing for Japan's new central bank governor, Toshihiko Fukui. With finance leaders of the Group of Seven economic powers focused on Iraq's postwar future in their two-day meeting, Fukui failed to make a splash at his first international appearance as Bank of Japan governor.

BUSINESS

Feb 24, 2003

G7 cool to Japan's deflation concerns

PARIS — Japan's efforts to highlight concerns of a global deflation and the impact of a cheap Chinese currency on the global economy fell flat at the meeting of Group of Seven financial chiefs.

JAPAN

Sep 30, 2002

Shiokawa's waffling on loan cleanup causes G7 confusion

Japan had hoped to convince its Group of Seven partners that it is serious about cleaning up banks' bad loans. But things could not have gotten much worse after Friday's meeting in Washington. Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa's statement that Japan will do its best to solve the problem was overshadowed by his flip-flopping comments over what he had said and where he had said it.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Dec 29, 2001

DPJ too busy waging war on itself to threaten LDP

While Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has enjoyed sky-high popularity ratings during his eight months in office, his main opponent, the Democratic Party of Japan, has moved deeper and deeper into trouble.

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

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.

For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on

By Lance Henderstein

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

A young restaurant leads the way in Karuizawa

A young restaurant leads the way in Karuizawa

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