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COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2003

How the U.S. piqued Pyongyang

CAMBRIDGE, England -- If it weren't for the fact that the lives of several million people are at stake it could be fun watching the game of diplomatic poker being played by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and U.S. President George W. Bush. Those lives are at stake, however, as is the future stability...
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2003

Koizumi stays coy on Iraq standoff strategy

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi kept his cards close to his vest over the Iraq standoff Thursday, despite opposition leaders' criticism of his support for a U.S.-backed U.N. resolution on the matter.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2003

Irish government offers postgraduate study opportunity

The government of Ireland is offering a scholarship program to enable a Japanese student to conduct postgraduate studies at a university or similar institute of higher learning in Ireland for the academic year starting in October.
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2003

Mobile phone shipments up 22.4%

Domestic shipments of mobile phones rose 22.4 percent in January from a year earlier to 3.77 million units for the fourth straight monthly increase, the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2003

Pyongyang fires another missile

North Korea fired a ground-to-ship missile into the Sea of Japan on Monday -- the second such launch in two weeks -- in what appeared to be further provocation aimed at gaining Washington's attention.
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2003

Hitachi latest firm planning to adopt merit-pay system

In a move that may affect the entire manufacturing industry, Hitachi Ltd. plans to introduce a new pay system based entirely on job performance and abolish seniority-based annual pay hikes.
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2003

Bribe-taking mayor gets suspended term

Yoshishiro Kimura, a former mayor of Ishioka, Ibaraki Prefecture, was sentenced Friday to a suspended prison term for taking 2 million yen in bribes in 1999 while he was still in office.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2003

Hitachi may sell HQ and rent office space

Hitachi Ltd. said Friday it is considering selling its headquarters building in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward and renting space in a nearby building.
Japan Times
JAPAN / PREFECTURAL FARE
Mar 8, 2003

Miyazaki's Tokyo foothold a success story

Shuji Yoshida, joint owner of Miyazaki Konne, is all smiles when asked how things are at the Miyazaki Prefecture satellite shop.
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2003

'Blue book' draft seeks global unity

Japan will call for international unity in dealing with growing security concerns, including the crisis in Iraq and North Korea's nuclear weapons program, says the Foreign Ministry's annual "blue book" draft, which was submitted to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday for endorsement.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2003

Pair held over theft of Net-cafe users' passwords, cash

Police have arrested two men for allegedly stealing more than 16 million yen from other people's online bank accounts by using passwords stolen from Internet cafes in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, the police said Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2003

Koizumi turns on majority opposing war

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, after relying heavily on public support for his political power base, is now turning against the majority of Japanese, who oppose a war against Iraq.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2003

Can prewashed rice make a clean sweep?

Washing rice before it is cooked has long been a daily ritual in Japan.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2003

Recruit trials finally come to end

Hiromasa Ezoe was found guilty Tuesday for his role in the Recruit scandal, which shook Japan's political, bureaucratic and business circles in the late 1980s, making him the last of the 12 charged in the case to be sentenced.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2003

Iressa firm told to inform users of risks

The health ministry has ordered AstraZeneca K.K., the importer of the controversial lung cancer drug Iressa, to include a patient form with the medicine clearly stating the possibility of fatal side effects, ministry sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2003

Crackdown eyed on lock-pickers

People found in possession of lock-picking tools may face criminal charges if they cannot give a valid reason for having them, according to a bill approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday.
COMMUNITY
Mar 4, 2003

Japan gets keen on green for Paddy's Day party

The great, the good and the goths of trendy Harajuku are in for a shock on March 16, when the chic shopping district will be taken over by Tokyo's annual St. Patrick's Day Parade.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2003

Air traffic havoc hits second day

Troubles related to an air-traffic malfunction in Japan continued into their second day Sunday, with 10 flights canceled and dozens of others delayed for up to two hours, airline and airport officials said.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 2, 2003

In pursuit of 'reality,' TV sinks to new depths

Last week, a judge ruled in favor of NHK in the public broadcaster's libel suit against Kodansha. The publisher's monthly magazine Gendai ran an article in Oct. 2000 that said NHK persuaded fishermen in Indonesia to re-create a method for catching fish involving explosives for a news report. The court...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 2, 2003

Modernization seen from the bottom up

A MODERN HISTORY OF JAPAN FROM TOKUGAWA TIMES TO THE PRESENT, by Andrew Gordon. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003, 384 pp., $35 (cloth) In this superb book, by far the best in its genre, Andrew Gordon, director of the Reischauer Institute for Japanese Studies at Harvard University, provides a...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 2, 2003

The real deal of high fidelity

Twin sisters Kim and Kelley Deal pass the phone back and forth like siblings accustomed to dividing everything. Today they're sharing an interview, and only the tone of their near-identical voices indicates who is on the line. Kelley's measured, Midwestern accent remains at a clipped, cordial distance,...
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2003

New members named to IT panel

Kyodo News
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2003

Prosecutors get case against spy, 73

Kyodo News
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2003

Celebrated geisha's tell-all a hot item

The mystery of the geisha, with their painted faces and elaborate kimono, has long been a source of fascination for people worldwide. But it has also led to fantasies and misunderstandings about their true roles.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Feb 27, 2003

Environment Bushwhack

U.S. Civil War General William Sherman is credited with uttering the sage words, "War is hell." War is hell on the environment as well, and U.S. President George W. Bush's "War on Terror" is no exception. Ironically, the environment being degraded is America's own.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDEN PATHS
Feb 27, 2003

Plants of blooming passion

On a gray February day, gardeners may be looking at colorful seed catalogs or even holiday brochures, dreaming of a trip to a tropical island. But this week it's time to leave your armchair gardening, because the tropics have come to Tokyo. The Japan Grand Prix International Orchid Festival offers a...

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes