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JAPAN
Apr 20, 2004

Industry wants reactor-check intervals extended

The power utility industry will urge the government to extend the interval between regular checkups of nuclear reactors by up to five months to raise their operation rates and competitiveness against low-cost new suppliers, industry sources said Monday.
BUSINESS
Apr 20, 2004

45% of engineers feeling less motivated: poll

Forty-five percent of engineers who responded to a survey said they feel less motivated in their work than three years ago.
COMMENTARY
Apr 20, 2004

Campaigns fail education role

MANILA -- Ideally, an electoral campaign in a democracy offers the voter the chance to study the available alternatives before deciding which options are most compatible with his or her individual preferences. In this sense, electoral campaigns should be exercises in political education.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 20, 2004

Turning attention to summer

Gearing up It seems that some of you are turning your minds to the great outdoors and getting in shape for summertime.
JAPAN / TALKING SHOP
Apr 19, 2004

Samsung exec taps Japan insights to cut through the verbiage

Kim Jong Shin learned Japanese while hauling fish to market part time, stewing in hot springs and touring 350 historical sites in all 47 prefectures.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2004

Pair's release takes the heat off Koizumi

Foreign Ministry officials in Tokyo were pleasantly surprised Saturday by the news that two Japanese hostages were abruptly freed by their captors in Baghdad.
EDITORIALS
Apr 17, 2004

Hostage release no peace gesture

The three Japanese taken hostage in Iraq have been set free. The joy felt at their release has been tempered by news that two other Japanese have been seized, the savage murder of an Italian security guard by his kidnappers and the knowledge that nearly 20 other foreigners are still being held in Iraq....
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2004

No need for U.S. restraint, Koizumi says

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday that Japan need not ask the United States to show restraint in dealing with the Sunni Muslim insurgents to help win the release of three Japanese hostages in Iraq.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2004

Links between Italian, Japanese crises probed

The government is looking into a possible connection between kidnappings of Japanese and Italian civilians in Iraq, government sources said Wednesday.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Apr 15, 2004

When foreign children run afoul of the law

My kids generally don't mind it when I write about them in this column, although on occasion my older son has accused me of exploiting him for professional gain. It happened again when he heard the topic for today's column. "You're writing about foreign kids who get in trouble with the police?" He rolled...
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2004

Captives' families press on despite exhaustion

Despite visible exhaustion due to lack of sleep and anxiety, relatives of the three Japanese taken hostage last week in Iraq continued their desperate appeal Tuesday for the release of their loved ones.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2004

Consumers get food maker database

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to create a database of farmers, food manufacturers and distributors to enable consumers to track the production process and confirm food safety, according to officials.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2004

By-election races focus on Iraq, pensions

The Japanese hostage crisis in Iraq and pension reform weighed heavy on the agenda as House of Representatives by-election campaigning kicked off Tuesday in Saitama, Hiroshima and Kagoshima prefectures.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 13, 2004

Divorce and insurance policies

Divorce I was married for two years to a Japanese woman (no children). We separated almost one year ago. I recently asked my wife for a divorce, but she wants financial compensation before she will agree.
COMMENTARY
Apr 12, 2004

Disillusionment over Iraq

LONDON -- In March 2003, British Prime Minister Tony Blair apparently believed that there was an imminent threat that Iraq might use weapons of mass destruction. A majority of British voters were accordingly persuaded that Britain was probably justified in taking part in an attack on the tyrannical regime...
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2004

Government scrambles for info on hostages and captors

The government continued Saturday trying to gather information on the whereabouts of three Japanese nationals taken hostage in Iraq and details of their captors.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2004

52% of young adults uninterested in science, survey shows

More than half of Japanese between the ages of 18 and 29 are not interested in science, and the percentage is growing despite an increased exposure to information technology products, according to a government poll.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2004

Crisis HQ established in Jordan

The government set up an emergency office at the Japanese Embassy in Jordan to facilitate a possible release of the three hostages in Iraq before Sunday night, the presumed deadline for Japan to withdraw its troops or risk their deaths, officials said Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 11, 2004

'Experimental novelist' kicks the regular rulebook into touch

During a recent tour to Guam, members of the Tsunami Teetotallers (a Japan-based ad hoc rugby team) were left speechless when, during prematch introductions, their scrumhalf Richard Beard declared himself to be an English "experimental novelist."
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2004

Acquaintances of hostages express shock at abductions

Aid workers and journalists who know the three Japanese kidnapped by a militant group in Iraq expressed grave concern over the situation Friday, with some vowing to do whatever it takes to bring them back alive.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2004

Abductees' kin want SDF out immediately

Relatives of the three Japanese civilians held captive in Iraq by apparent terrorists asked the government Friday to withdraw the Ground Self-Defense Force troops from Iraq in line with the kidnappers' demand.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2004

Low pollen count nothing to sneeze at

Pollen levels from cedar and cypress trees this year are expected to drop sharply from 2003, a pollen information association said Thursday.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2004

Land ministry to prod realtors on renting to foreigners

The land ministry will compile guidelines for real estate agents on procedures for leasing property to foreign renters to make it easier for them to obtain housing, ministry officials said Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 8, 2004

Report condemns Bush's corruption of science

Kurt Gottfried, professor emeritus of physics at Cornell University and Chairman of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), is very concerned about the Bush administration.
JAPAN / BULLETIN BOARD
Apr 7, 2004

Foreigners offered free consultations with lawyers

Foreign residents in western Tokyo can benefit from free consultations with lawyers, labor consultants and experts in other fields on April 24.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2004

Mitsubishi Fuso in firing line

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said Tuesday that Mitsubishi Fuso Bus and Truck Corp. failed to report about in-house documents showing design flaws in its large vehicles might have caused wheels to detach, and threatened to take legal action.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2004

Ex-cancer patients left in the dark, worry about recurrence

Most former cancer patients fear the often fatal disease could return, and many fret over the inadequate explanation they get from their doctors, a recent health ministry survey found.

Longform

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