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LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 31, 2003

When in doubt, just blame it on the wind

The Japanese have traditionally described their island country as being governed by the forces of mizu (water) -- what, with all this rain falling for what seems like 360 days of the year, but our grandmothers say kaze (wind) is the other ruling force that tends to be overlooked. Mizu will wash everything...
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2003

U.S. Navy sailor held in Tokyo robbery

Police said Tuesday they have arrested an enlisted U.S. Navy sailor over the wounding of a Tokyo shop owner with a stun gun during a 10 million yen watch and jewelry robbery early this month.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2003

Tsujimoto loaned out illegal cash

Arrested former lawmaker Kiyomi Tsujimoto used some 40 million yen of her office's illegally pooled funds to loan to her friends, sources alleged Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2003

Social recluses age in isolation as help elusive

The average age of those who shun interaction with society and hole themselves up inside their homes stands at 26.7, with some 14 percent aged 35 or older, according to a health ministry study released Monday.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 29, 2003

In search of senbei and more culture

Senbei fan Randall writes from California, reporting that around 1900 a Japanese gardener in San Francisco started serving cookies with thank you notes inside at that city's Japanese garden.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2003

Horiuchi voices conditional support for Koizumi in LDP race

Mitsuo Horiuchi, who heads one of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's major factions, said Sunday he will support Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's re-election as party chief if Koizumi changes his economic policies.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2003

Political reformers of Japan unite!

The new buzzword in Japanese politics these days is "manifesto." The Japanese language does not use capital letters, but if it did, you can be sure "manifesto" would be written with a capital M to convey the weighty tone with which it is pronounced by those who believe it is the answer to Japan's political...
BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2003

Chinese currency system must face step-by-step liberalization

We recently hear a lot about the need for China to adjust the exchange rate of its currency, the yuan. In fact, Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan, during the U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing July 16, said it is "increasingly evident" that China should allow its currency to trade freely...
COMMENTARY
Jul 27, 2003

China shifts toward activism

HONOLULU -- Northeast Asia watchers were treated to a curious sight last week: high-profile foreign policy activism by Beijing. The Chinese government was publicly pushing the United States and North Korea to the negotiating table. It's unclear whether this approach marks a new phase of Chinese diplomacy...
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2003

Hiranuma stresses import of WTO meeting

An upcoming informal World Trade Organization ministerial talk in Montreal is important for the success of a full ministerial meeting to be held in Cancun, Mexico, in September, trade minister Takeo Hiranuma said Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2003

Cabinet questions opposition merger

Several Cabinet ministers questioned on Friday the planned merger between the two main opposition parties, with one likening it to the sudden breakup of a now-defunct opposition party in 1997.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2003

Chongryun tax breaks face hard scrutiny

OSAKA -- For nearly half a century, the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryun) has been the primary voice of the North Korean community in Japan, representing nearly 200,000 people.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2003

Killers in U.S. rely on mercy of Mexico

LOS ANGELES -- Anabella Vara was pregnant at 14 and married at 15, and by the time she was 21 she was living in fear. On Valentine's Day 1999 her husband, Daniel Perez, looped a rope around her neck and tried to strangle her. She and her 5-year-old son fled to her parents' house, but two months later...
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2003

Pension system in crisis, 2000, 2001 data show

Unpaid national pension premiums for fiscal 2000 and 2001 amounted to 1.88 trillion yen, and employers were 430 billion yen behind in corporate-based pension scheme dues as of the end of fiscal 2001, the Social Insurance Agency said Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2003

Coalition paves way for approval of SDF-Iraq bill

The ruling coalition rammed a government-proposed bill to send Self-Defense Forces to Iraq through a House of Councilors committee Friday evening amid resistance from the opposition, paving the way for final Diet approval of the controversial legislation.
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2003

Keidanren chief seeks reform ideas

OYAMA, Shizuoka Pref. -- Business leaders should take the initiative in pushing structural reforms aimed at reinvigorating the stagnant economy, Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2003

June trade surplus plunges 30.7%

The trade surplus dropped 30.7 percent in June from a year earlier to 846 billion yen, marking its first fall in three months as exports sputtered, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2003

Political donations to get murkier?

The ruling coalition's new proposal on corporate donations to political parties would probably conceal the identities of most donors, according to a recent Kyodo News study.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2003

DPJ targets watchdog official over insurance merger role

The Democratic Party of Japan filed a criminal accusation Wednesday against Financial Services Agency Commissioner Shokichi Takagi, blaming him for trying to pressure Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. to consolidate with an ailing life insurance firm last year.
COMMENTARY
Jul 24, 2003

Revolution's legacy at risk

PARIS -- After endless debate, which led for several weeks to huge strikes -- mainly in the transportation system -- and massive demonstrations, the French Parliament has largely approved, in spite of opposition from most unions, a bill reforming the laws on retirement. It will have two major effects:...
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2003

Fund in slain peacekeeper's name continues to push peace

The legacy of U.N. peacekeeper Yutaka Akino continues five years after he was shot dead in Tajikistan.

Longform

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Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building