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Takuya Asakura
For Takuya Asakura's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2003
EU challenge drags exclusivity of press clubs into spotlight
The European Union may have challenged one of Japan's toughest barriers to free trade when it called for the abolition of the nation's "kisha" press club system.
Japan Times
JAPAN / THROUGH THE DOOR
Nov 29, 2002
Reluctance to accept refugees draws fire
Since October last year, there have been at least 34 cases in which asylum seekers at immigration facilities purposefully injured themselves, with some even going so far as to attempt suicide, the Justice Ministry has admitted.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2002
'Multicultural studio' offers hope
Teenagers gathered one weekday evening at an old two-story building next to a housing project in a Yokohama suburb.
Japan Times
JAPAN / THROUGH THE DOOR
Nov 27, 2002
Education for some refugees is ray of hope
The men in uniform white shirts and dark shorts sitting in the classroom looked too old to be junior high school students; some had gray hair, close-cropped.
Japan Times
JAPAN / THROUGH THE DOOR
Nov 26, 2002
Japan tries to reform refugee system
Japan has often been criticized for closing its doors to asylum seekers. Following the high-profile incident in May at the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang, China, in which Japanese officials let Chinese police take a family of North Korean asylum seekers out of the compound, the government has tried to reform its refugee-recognition system. But little attention is paid to the problems many of the Indochinese boat people who settled in Japan over a decade ago still face. This is the first of four parts on the hardships confronting long-term settlers, their offspring and today's asylum seekers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2002
Prison abuses in spotlight following guard arrests
The ongoing allegations of abuse of inmates at Nagoya Prison have highlighted human rights concerns that have been raised by domestic and international watchdogs over Japan's prison system.
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2002
GSDF joins forces with police to combat terrorism
The Ground Self-Defense Force will begin joint exercises with the National Police Agency to help prepare the GSDF for terrorist attacks that are beyond the capabilities of the police.
Japan Times
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Sep 29, 2002
'Kabukicho guide' offers punters a walk on the wild side
Sporting a pinstripe suit, a wiry figure hovers on the main street of Shinjuku Ward's Kabukicho -- Tokyo's busiest and arguably seediest entertainment district.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2002
Public responds to mayors' U.S. barbs
Criticism leveled last month by Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba at the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has provoked a major reaction both at home and abroad.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2002
'Confessed' killer awaits appeal ruling
It has been nearly five years since Manalili Villanueva Rosal was taken into custody on suspicion of murdering her lover in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2002
Seal checks into Hotel Tamagawa
A young bearded seal has been hanging out in the Tama River bordering Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture since last week, drawing daily crowds of onlookers during the Bon holiday week.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2002
WWII survivors fear return to warpath
As wartime memories have faded in the 57 years since Japan's surrender in World War II, many aging survivors are anxious that the nation might follow the same path to war again.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2002
Hiroshima mayor calls on the U.S. to 'sever the chain of hatred'
HIROSHIMA -- On the 57th anniversary of the first atomic bombing, the view from this reborn city was of a world that since Sept. 11 has turned its back on the message of the bomb's survivors.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2002
U.S. terror victim's kin joins Hiroshima remembrances
HIROSHIMA -- A New York retiree who lost her brother in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center participated Tuesday in the 57th memorial service for the 1945 atomic bombing here, sharing wishes for a world without violence.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2002
Hibakusha promotes peace through student encounters
HIROSHIMA -- A group of American teenagers sat in a circle in rapt silence, listening to a 72-year-old Japanese woman speak.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2002
Congresswoman meets A-bomb victims
HIROSHIMA -- The only member of the U.S. Congress to oppose the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan met survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing here on Saturday, three days ahead of the 57th anniversary of the attack.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2002
Emergency defense legislation believed too vague
Political dynamics aside, even some Defense Agency officials admit the emergency-contingency bills the ruling coalition plans to carry over to the next Diet session were flawed from the start.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2002
Nation at crime and punishment crossroad
Eight inmates share a cell designed for six in Fuchu Prison in western Tokyo, following a recent explosion in the ranks of the incarcerated.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2002
Society still treating homeless as pariahs
The debate was heating up at the local civic hall, packed with residents and dozens of homeless people who live nearby.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MUSEUM MUSINGS
Jul 13, 2002
19th century face of Edo resurrected in Koto Ward commoners' ghetto
Devastated by the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake and then flattened again by U.S. air raids during the war, little of the old face of Tokyo remains.

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