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JAPAN
May 19, 2004

Replacement troops reach Samawah

The first rotation troops of the Ground Self-Defense Force arrived Monday in the southern Iraq city of Samawah, Defense Agency officials said.
JAPAN
May 19, 2004

GSDF gets ready to wrap up work in East Timor

The Ground Self-Defense Force will end its two-year peacekeeping mission in East Timor on Thursday, after providing support in such reconstruction efforts as repairing school playgrounds.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 19, 2004

Okada takes DPJ helm unopposed

Katsuya Okada, secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan, was chosen uncontested Tuesday as the new chief of the opposition party, following the abrupt withdrawal of the first pick, Ichiro Ozawa, the previous night.
JAPAN
May 19, 2004

Koizumi hopes U.S. will pardon Jenkins

Before Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visits Pyongyang on Saturday, Tokyo hopes Washington will promise to pardon an American in North Korea wanted for desertion if he is allowed to come to Japan to reunite with his wife, who is one of the five repatriated abductees.
BUSINESS
May 19, 2004

Japan Post could pay 533 billion yen in taxes when privatized

Japan Post will need to pay 533 billion yen a year in national and local taxes when it is privatized, according to an internal estimate obtained by Kyodo News.
JAPAN
May 19, 2004

U.S. forces must have valid parking

Japan will urge the United States to ensure that U.S. military personnel and their family members in Japan comply with a domestic law requiring car owners to file a certificate verifying an exclusive parking space at the time of vehicle registration, government officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 19, 2004

Youths, parents must pay 82 million yen for beating death

Four youths and their parents were ordered Tuesday by the Tokyo District Court to pay a total of some 81.7 million yen in damages to the parents of a 16-year-old boy who was beaten to death in 2000.
BUSINESS
May 19, 2004

Business leaders express concern about deflation despite GDP growth

Business leaders voiced concern Tuesday about the deflationary state of the economy, despite the government's announcement earlier in the day that it grew for the eighth straight quarter in the January-March period.
BUSINESS
May 19, 2004

Aussie, N.Z. lamb treading here now that U.S. beef can't

SYDNEY (Kyodo) As diners throughout Japan stare longingly into their empty bowls of "gyudon" beef on rice, sheep farmers in Australia and New Zealand are counting their blessings.
BUSINESS
May 19, 2004

Big contractors ride out decline in public works

Japan's four largest construction companies on Tuesday reported bolstered earnings for the year through March, with the fruits of cost-cutting more than offsetting flat or even declining revenue.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 19, 2004

Spirited away to a romance from the past

Sekai no Chushin De Ai o Sakebu Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Isao Yukisada Running time: 138 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] What does the audience want? What does it really want? The easy answer for producers has always been "more...
COMMENTARY
May 19, 2004

Why India accepts a foreign-born leader

NEW DELHI -- The world's largest-ever election in India has produced the biggest upset, bringing to power a foreign-born woman leader, Sonia Gandhi, and radically transforming Indian politics.
JAPAN
May 19, 2004

Exports, consumer spending spur 1.4% growth in GDP

The economy expanded at a better-than-expected 1.4 percent in real terms in the January-March quarter, extending its growth streak to an eighth straight quarter, the Cabinet Office said Tuesday.
SUMO
May 19, 2004

Asashoryu, Hokutoriki maintain pace at 9-1

Yokozuna Asashoryu clobbered Kotomitsuki in a fierce attack Tuesday to retain his share of the lead at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
JAPAN
May 19, 2004

Group to promote East Asian bloc

A new group was launched Tuesday in Tokyo tasked with facilitating the creation of an East Asian community, a regional economic bloc encompassing southeast and northeast Asian nations.
EDITORIALS
May 18, 2004

'India Shining' loses its luster

In a stunning upset, the Congress Party topped the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win India's parliamentary elections. The results reflect the failure of the government's reform program to better the lives of the 70 percent of Indians who live in the countryside. Now Congress must see that the...
JAPAN
May 18, 2004

Cold lands JCP chief in hospital

Japanese Communist Party leader Kazuo Shii was admitted to a Tokyo hospital Friday night due to a cold, a JCP official said Monday.
JAPAN
May 18, 2004

Some still against drinking water during exercise

Until about a decade ago, students at many Japanese schools were forbidden from drinking water while engaging in sports, no matter how thirsty they became.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 18, 2004

Bilingualism, creativity and Shanghai trips

Creative classes The New Center for Creative Arts has just opened in Moto-Azabu, Tokyo.
BUSINESS
May 18, 2004

Pager service to end 35-year run

NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Monday it will stop accepting new subscriptions for the nation's only nationwide pager service on June 30, marking the end of Japan's full-scale pager service that began more than 35 years ago.
BUSINESS
May 18, 2004

Dentsu's net profit up 35% in '03

Dentsu Inc., Japan's largest advertising agency, said Monday its net profit rose 35 percent to 30.88 billion yen for the year through March, thanks to a one-time gain from a change in the company's pension fund scheme.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 18, 2004

Ozawa backs away from bid for DPJ presidency

Ichiro Ozawa on Monday retracted his earlier consent to become president of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, saying he failed to pay into the National Pension Program for six years in the 1980s.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight