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BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2002

Despite heavy resistance, change is in the air

The reformist administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is in a crisis as a result of strong resistance to the slogan of structural reforms with no safe haven, under which he formed his Cabinet in April 2001.
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2002

IDB chief backs Okinawa as meeting venue

Enrique Iglesias, president of the Inter-American Development Bank, said Monday he supports Japan's bid to hold the 2005 annual meeting of the bank in Okinawa, Finance Ministry officials said.
COMMENTARY
Jun 3, 2002

Too cozy for visions of reform

Japan is groping in the dark politically, economically and diplomatically. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reform initiative is deadlocked; there is even a sense that it might end up as an empty slogan. Prospects for the postal deregulation bills, a top item on his reform agenda, are at best uncertain...
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Jun 3, 2002

Can a nation learn from Nissan's success?

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The twin announcements that Nissan made a record profit of 372 billion yen last year and that Carlos Ghosn has been appointed chief executive officer of the parent company, Renault, as well as retaining the presidency of Nissan, are an extraordinary landmark.
JAPAN / CLOSE NEIGHBORS
Jun 1, 2002

Chinese, South Korean students warm to Japan

To Lee Hee Jung, a 20-year-old South Korean student at Yokohama National University, Japan is closer to her mother country than the United States not only geographically, but psychologically.
COMMENTARY
Jun 1, 2002

Beijing must walk a fine line on asylum

HONG KONG -- China's decision to allow five North Koreans who sought asylum in the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang to go to Seoul via Manila reflects the delicate balancing act Beijing must perform in managing its relationship with North Korea, its longtime communist ally, and South Korea, its...
JAPAN
May 31, 2002

Students bringing soccer to Afghan kids

A Tokyo student group hopes to use the World Cup to cheer up kids in Afghanistan.
JAPAN
May 31, 2002

Prosecutors seek prison for Nakao

Prosecutors on Thursday sought a 3 1/2-year prison term for former construction minister Eiichi Nakao, claiming he took 60 million yen in bribes from Wakachiku Construction Co. while he was a Cabinet member in 1996.
COMMENTARY
May 30, 2002

Chirac chooses neutral team

PARIS -- Not so long ago, a majority of the EU members had leftist governments. Most have since shifted to the right, starting with Spain followed by Austria, Portugal, Italy, Denmark and, on May 16, the Netherlands -- despite very low unemployment figures under the Socialist Cabinet.
JAPAN
May 29, 2002

Chinese cops not told of treaty violation

A Japanese vice consul in Shenyang, China, did not warn local police -- who entered the consulate compound to remove five North Korean asylum seekers earlier this month -- that they were violating an international treaty, the Japanese government said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 29, 2002

Wayne Shorter: 'Footprints Live!'

Wayne Shorter first established himself as a central figure in the development of jazz as a member of Miles Davis' seminal mid-'60s quintet. He contributed a major portion of the compositions and a technique honed with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Shorter also released a series of recordings as leader...
COMMENTARY
May 28, 2002

Japan's diplomacy at stake

Corruption at the Foreign Ministry has come to a head following the arrest of two assistant division directors earlier this month on suspicion of breach of trust. Last year, three assistant division directors and a clerk were arrested on suspicion of embezzlement and fraud. Several senior ministry officials...
JAPAN
May 28, 2002

Death penalty seminar commences

A group of Japanese lawmakers and representatives from the Council of Europe opened a joint two-day seminar Monday in Tokyo on the abolition of capital punishment.
MORE SPORTS
May 28, 2002

Japan's cricketers get a lesson from a master

For those with no knowledge of the game of cricket --imagine a player with Ichiro Suzuki's eye for the ball, speed and throwing arm, throw in Barry Bonds' power and Carl Ripken Jr.'s mental and physical toughness and you will come up with Dean Mervyn Jones. Jones was arguably the most popular cricketer...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
May 26, 2002

Phew: There and back again

Hiromi Moritani looks like a typical, well-heeled matron. Her chic black ensemble is a touch artier than the average mother's wardrobe, but sitting in her record label's office, her conversation dwells on the perils and pitfalls of being a mom. Hearing her fret over her young son and the evening's dinner...
Japan Times
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
May 26, 2002

Soccer coach for the intellectually challenged lets 'em play

After being made head coach of the national soccer team last August, Hiroshi Ohashi's first order was for the grown-ups to get off the pitch.
JAPAN
May 25, 2002

IWC meeting ends in a bitter divide

SHIMONOSEKI, Yamaguchi Pref. -- The International Whaling Commission's weeklong annual plenary meeting ended Friday with a ban on commercial hunting in place for another year but nations bitterly divided over aboriginal whaling.
JAPAN
May 25, 2002

Chongryon sues publisher, lawmaker

A high-ranking official of a pro-Pyongyang group in Japan filed a lawsuit Friday against a publisher and lawmaker over claims that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il asked the official to send Japanese public funds to Pyongyang.
JAPAN
May 25, 2002

USC program aims to foster Japan entrepreneurs

With the intention of encouraging entrepreneurial activity in Japan, the University of Southern California is recruiting candidates for a 15-member entrepreneurial development program scheduled to start in July, according to Rebecca Weintraub, visiting director of USC's Center for Corporate and Community...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 23, 2002

Quake survivor, 61, now golf pro

KOBE -- The 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake took the lives of more than 6,400 people and left tens of thousands homeless, but it helped turn one middle-aged man who lost most of his worldly possessions into a professional golfer.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI BEAT
May 22, 2002

Hooligan hype threatens to get out of hand

OSAKA -- Does Osaka really want lots of foreign visitors to come for the World Cup?

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb