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EDITORIALS
Oct 1, 2002

A baffling Cabinet reshuffle

When Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi launched his Cabinet on April 26, 2000, he made a public pledge to the effect that he would not shuffle his Cabinet for an unjustifiable purpose. On Monday, he carried out his first Cabinet change allegedly for the purpose of accelerating structural reforms -- the...
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2002

Few Cabinet changes expected but Yanagisawa's fate in the air

Most of the main Cabinet ministers are expected to retain their posts in Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reshuffle Monday, coalition sources said Sunday.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 30, 2002

Immediate revamp of securities tax holds cure for ailing stock market

The stock market remains mired in a slump. On Sept. 3, the benchmark Nikkei average in Tokyo plunged to yet another post-Bubble low.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2002

DPJ power struggle to continue

A former acting secretary general of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan said Sunday he will call for replacing party head Yukio Hatoyama in January if the re-elected leader fails to live up to expectations.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 30, 2002

Believe captures Sprinters Stakes

NIIGATA -- Believe, it's what all racing fans do when they put their money down on a horse for the win and Sunday the money was well-placed on a filly by that very name.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 30, 2002

Cabrera walked twice in Daiei's 'sayonara' win

Seibu Lions slugger Alex Cabrera, at No. 54 in the home-run chase, was intentionally walked twice and Daiei pinch-hitter Kenji Jojima singled in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning to lift the Daiei Hawks to a 5-4 "sayonara" victory over the Pacific League champs on Sunday at the Fukuoka Dome.
COMMENTARY
Sep 30, 2002

China keeps its cool, and its national focus

LOS ANGELES -- When U.S. President George W. Bush won the last election, Beijing warmly congratulated the winner. This was remarkable, given his harsh campaign rhetoric, which was anti-China and pro-Taiwan. Yet, China avoided losing its cool and, as we have seen since, pretty much remained focused on...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Sep 30, 2002

Great Tokyo Air Raid was a war crime

On Dec. 7, 1964, the Japanese government conferred the First Order of Merit with the Grand Cordon of the Rising Sun upon Gen. Curtis LeMay -- yes, the same general who, less than 20 years earlier, had incinerated "well over half a million Japanese civilians, perhaps nearly a million."
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2002

Give democracy a chance in postwar Iraq

LIMASSOL, Cyprus -- In recent months, the Iraqi debate has played in the news like a tennis match, with observers awarding points to U.S. President George W. Bush for his U.N. speech, then to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein for his shrewd move to admit inspectors "without conditions" -- subject, of course,...
EDITORIALS
Sep 30, 2002

Japan and China need new framework

Sunday marked the 30th anniversary of the normalization of Japan-China relations. But the citizens of both nations are not in much of a celebratory mood despite the pomp and fanfare of commemorative events. Maturity is hardly the right word to describe the state of Sino-Japanese ties. Opinion polls show...
COMMENTARY
Sep 30, 2002

Japan as a 'banana republic'?

The announcement that the governor of the Bank of Japan was considering the purchase of company shares held by Japanese banks at market prices has done nothing to reassure opinion in Britain about the state of the Japanese economy. The general view remains, to quote the Financial Times, "that price deflation...
COMMENTARY
Sep 30, 2002

A theory that doesn't work

For the market economy to function effectively, equal opportunity must be guaranteed in all sectors of society. In today's Japan, however, there is no such guarantee. For example, the opportunity for a Japanese person to become a Diet member is far from equal, because many retiring Diet members have...
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2002

N. Korean aid depends on abductions' resolution

Japanese economic aid to North Korea must be based on the settlement of the abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents, a Japanese official said Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2002

Peacemaking efforts deserve applause

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- International public opinion seems focused almost exclusively on the issue of Iraq these days while other important regional developments are relegated to the back burner. Among the developments that deserve greater attention are the moves toward peace in Sri Lanka.
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2002

Law to cut illegal bidding lags at local level, ministry says

The implementation of a new law to correct improper bidding processes has been lagging at the local level, the land ministry said Friday.
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 Times
SOCCER / J. League
Sep 29, 2002

Ishii, Tuto lead Reds' rally

SAITAMA -- Urawa substitutes Toshiya Ishii and Brazilian Tuto scored for the Reds, helping the home team rally past Shimizu S-Pulse 2-1 in extra time at Saitama Stadium 2002 on Saturday afternoon.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2002

Empress goes to Switzerland to attend kids' book congress

Empress Michiko left Saturday for Switzerland to attend a jubilee congress in Basel to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the International Board on Books for Young People.
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2002

Data on previous forays may be on spy ship's GPS

The North Korean spy ship salvaged earlier this month from the East China Sea was carrying a global positioning system, the Japan Coast Guard said Saturday, adding that the device may contain information on the ship's previous journeys.
EDITORIALS
Sep 29, 2002

Bracing for the fall

For a week now, we have officially been experiencing autumn. The nights are longer than the days, extending their dark dominion by two and a half minutes every 24 hours. The air is turning cooler. Leaves and grasses are showing hints of yellow. We've even found ourselves reaching for a sweater occasionally,...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2002

Exactly when does old age really begin?

"Put simply, we are having fewer children and living longer," says Michelle Gunn, an Australian journalist and social-affairs writer. Our time is undeniably the age of longevity.
COMMENTARY
Sep 29, 2002

Signs the EU is coming of age

PARIS -- The most striking fact to emerge from the recent Germany elections is that for the first time a majority of voters in a EU member-state has been motivated by foreign-policy concerns. In the past, the country's worsening economic situation and high unemployment rate would have cost Chancellor...

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear