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JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 24, 2003

Kawaguchi eyes bigger SDF role

The government should pursue a more flexible interpretation of the Constitution's war-renouncing Article 9 and allow the Self-Defense Forces to make a greater contribution to global peacekeeping efforts, according to Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2003

Profiles of top LDP executives

Following are profiles of the three Liberal Democratic Party executives appointed Sunday by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in a shakeup of the LDP executive lineup:
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2003

LDP election contenders struggle on despite forecasts of Koizumi victory

The three contenders facing off against incumbent Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race battled on Friday, the final day before the vote, despite widespread forecasts that they would lose by a wide margin.
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2003

Hiranuma eyes new agency for trade discussions

Trade minister Takeo Hiranuma on Friday advocated the creation of a government agency that would be modeled after the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2003

FSA to scrutinize bank earnings

Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka said Wednesday his agency plans to impose heavy penalties on banks that manipulate earnings reports for the year through next March.
BUSINESS
Sep 13, 2003

Economic assessment points to silver lining

The government on Friday upgraded its assessment of the economy in September for the second month in a row, citing increased capital spending and a pickup in exports.
BUSINESS
Sep 13, 2003

GDP forecast could rise: Takenaka

The Cabinet Office might revise upward the government's estimate of real gross domestic product for fiscal 2003, economic and fiscal policy minister Heizo Takenaka said Friday.
BUSINESS
Sep 10, 2003

Core machinery orders down 3.1%

Core private-sector machinery orders fell a seasonally adjusted 3.1 percent in July from a month earlier to 924.6 billion yen in an apparent reaction to strong gains in May and June, the Cabinet Office said Tuesday.
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 5, 2003

Alleged rape comments draw flak

The Democratic Party of Japan will pursue alleged remarks by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, the gender equality minister, suggesting scantily clad women are partially to blame for rapes, senior DPJ lawmaker Yoshihiko Noda said Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2003

High court eyed for intellectual property

Amid prolonged civil lawsuits over intellectual property such as patents, Japan is studying the creation of a high court devoted exclusively to dealing with such litigation more quickly.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2003

Obstacles to disabled remain: white paper

Disabled people still face social obstacles in Japan despite government measures under a decade-long program that ended in fiscal 2002, according to a white paper released Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2003

Obstacles to disabled remain: white paper

Disabled people still face social obstacles in Japan despite government measures under a decade-long program that ended in fiscal 2002, according to a white paper released Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2003

Obstacles to disabled remain: white paper

Disabled people still face social obstacles in Japan despite government measures under a decade-long program that ended in fiscal 2002, according to a white paper released Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 18, 2003

Subsidies to localities face cuts totaling 3.6 trillion yen

The national government is set to cut its subsidies to local governments by at least 3.6 trillion yen a year by fiscal 2006 as part of its reforms of tax and fiscal systems, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2003

SDF-Iraq bill is sent to Diet after WMD clause excised

The government submitted a revised bill to the Diet on Friday that would enable the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces personnel to Iraq to carry out reconstruction work, after excising the disposal of weapons of mass destruction from the SDF's mission from the initial draft.
BUSINESS / Q&A
Jun 14, 2003

What do 'Trinity Reforms' mean for our taxes?

With Japan's public debt snowballing, the government is gearing up efforts to review national and local-level finances under what has been dubbed the "Trinity Re- forms" plan. But with differences within the government still unresolved, there is little likelihood of a conclusion in the near future.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2003

Public weight to balance scales of justice?

Unlike Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administrative and economic reform initiatives, which have seen slow going, his efforts to overhaul the judiciary have made steady progress.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2003

Public weight to balance scales of justice?

Unlike Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administrative and economic reform initiatives, which have seen slow going, his efforts to overhaul the judiciary have made steady progress.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ARCHIPELA-GO
May 25, 2003

Take the first step toward heaven

NAGANO -- Here's one way to assure yourself a place in heaven. Get to Nagano City's noted Zenko-ji Temple by June 1 and catch a glimpse of its most sacred icon -- the Maedachi Honzon. According to tradition, making the arduous pilgrimage to this temple to pray to Amida Nyorai, the Buddha of Gokuraku...
COMMENTARY
May 19, 2003

Strengthen Japan's deterrent

The ruling coalition and the top opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, have agreed to amend a package of government-sponsored war contingency bills, marking a turning point in Japan's security policy.
EDITORIALS
May 5, 2003

Compromise for Mideast peace

A new road map for peace in the Middle East has been proposed to the two parties in the conflict, Israel and Palestine. The Palestine problem is the main focus in ascertaining the shape of a new order in the Middle East following the Iraq war. The new plan, which aims for a comprehensive settlement,...
COMMENTARY
Apr 29, 2003

Will Chirac's luck run out?

PARIS -- When he had to appoint a general, Napoleon Bonaparte would ask if the candidate possessed the main quality for the job: luck. No politician in French contemporary history meets that condition more than President Jacques Chirac.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2003

Is Koizumi's political star waning?

Last weekend, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was on the campaign trail alongside Liberal Democratic Party candidates fighting Diet by-elections in Tokyo and Ibaraki Prefecture.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2003

Pressure mounts on Matsunami to resign

Pressure mounted Friday on New Conservative Party member Kenshiro Matsunami to resign from the House of Representatives following revelations that he allowed a yakuza-linked construction firm to pay several million yen to cover his secretaries' salaries.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2003

Koizumi promotes Okamoto to top foreign policy aide

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday appointed Yukio Okamoto, the Cabinet's foreign policy adviser, as his top foreign policy aide.
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2003

Economy remains flat amid Iraq, SARS fears

The government on Monday left unchanged its assessment of the economy for April, but it expressed caution amid concerns over the U.S.-led war in Iraq, the future of the U.S. economy and the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome across Asia.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2003

Don't let up on Aum Shinrikyo: justice minister

Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama on Friday underscored the need for continued surveillance of Aum Shinrikyo, the cult that carried out the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system and another deadly nerve gas attack the preceding year.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2003

80% fear Japan will be involved in war

Looking apprehensive, Masaharu Ito sits on a bench beside an approach road lined with stalls leading to Kogan Temple in Tokyo's Toshima ward. He has just finished paying homage at the shrine.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2003

Spy satellites part of intelligence quest

Intelligence can be the key to a military triumph. In assessing an enemy's strengths and positions, as well as adjusting strategies in line with fluid scenarios, accurate intelligence plays a vital role.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person