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COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Oct 21, 2004

Candidates focus on battleground states

WASHINGTON -- Regardless of what you thought of the idea before the debates came off, chances are you will have to admit that the 2004 U.S. presidential debates provided a rare and welcome opportunity to get a better understanding of the two candidates, U.S. President George W. Bush and Massachusetts...
BUSINESS
Oct 21, 2004

Kokudo withheld info in rail share deal

Kokudo Corp. sold some of its shares in Seibu Railway Co. without telling buyers that the railway firm's stock ownership conditions met delisting standards, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 20, 2004

Income tax cuts may be scaled back: Tanigaki

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said Tuesday the government will consider scaling back income tax cuts that have been in place since 1999 because economic recovery has taken root.
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2004

LDP body accused of hiding donations with faked receipts

Opposition lawmakers charged Monday that a fund management body of the Liberal Democratic Party issued fake receipts for political donations from the Japan Dental Association in 1999 and 2001, even though the money had been delivered to individual LDP lawmakers.
BUSINESS
Oct 19, 2004

Diplomatic war over gas rumbles on

Japan will ask China to halt natural gas exploration projects if they encroach on Japan's economic waters, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Monday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 19, 2004

Dragons starter Kawakami receives first Sawamura Award

Chunichi Dragons pitcher Kenshin Kawakami received his first Sawamura Award on Monday after recording 17 wins for the most in both leagues during the regular season.
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2004

Civil rights lawyer blasts U.S. over detention of chess legend

An American civil rights lawyer hired to breathe new life into chess legend Bobby Fischer's efforts to fight deportation to the United States accused U.S. officials on Monday of "grotesque" abuse of their powers and threatened to take the case to the Supreme Court.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 19, 2004

Foreign branding

Being called a 'gaijin' is not unusual or harmful, says Cai Evans Before I start, let's get one thing straight: I am well aware that the term "gaijin" has pejorative overtones and that its etymology is grounded in a history of discrimination and exclusion.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2004

Ex-health minister received dubious dental donation

Former lawmaker Yukihiro Yoshida, under indictment in a money scandal involving the Japan Dental Association, allegedly brokered a donation of 3 million yen by the dentists lobby to former health minister Chikara Sakaguchi in November 2002, sources related to the case said Sunday.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2004

Peru's envoy hopeful for Fujimori extradition

Peru's ambassador to Japan expressed hope Saturday that Japan will extradite disgraced former President Alberto Fujimori to face murder and embezzlement charges.
EDITORIALS
Oct 17, 2004

Two paths to death

The past week brought news, as always, of the deaths of many strangers. But amid the usual numbing crush of reports of fatalities from wars, epidemics, accidents and murders, two stood out. Last Sunday in New York, the American actor and medical-research activist Christopher Reeve died of an infection-induced...
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2004

Most prefectures to continue blanket testing for mad cow

Most prefectural governments plan to continue testing all cattle for mad cow disease, despite the national government's plan to exclude cows aged up to 20 months possibly by next spring.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 17, 2004

NHK's five-part drama series, "Nebaru Onna" and more

A famous person once said, "You can't go home again," and for Hazuki (Naoko Iijima), the main character in NHK's five-part drama series, "Nebaru Onna -- Natto nante Dai-kirai (Tenacious Woman: I Hate Natto)" (NHK-G, Monday, 9:15 p.m.), going home is the last thing she wants to do.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 17, 2004

It's a taxing job dealing with the two-wheeled barbarian horde

On Sept. 13, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry gave its seal of approval to a local tax that was passed last year by Tokyo's Toshima Ward. Whenever a local government in Japan passes a local tax law, the ministry must check it out before it goes into effect in order to make sure it doesn't...
JAPAN
Oct 16, 2004

Ministry gets tough on owners of Fuso trucks

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry has decided to order users of large trucks made by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp. to replace cracked clutch housings, transport minister Kazuo Kitagawa said Friday.
BUSINESS
Oct 15, 2004

Uniqlo annual net profit up 50% on women's clothes

Fast Retailing Co., operator of the Uniqlo casual clothing chain, said Thursday its net profit jumped 50 percent to 31.37 billion yen for the year ended Aug. 31, with a revamped women's clothing line luring back customers.
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2004

Reports of Iraq killings prove false

Government officials were bombarded by inquiries from the public and media on Wednesday night and early Thursday morning following bogus online reports that two Japanese had been killed or injured in Iraq.
BUSINESS
Oct 15, 2004

IRCJ begins assessing struggling Daiei's assets

The state-backed Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan began a full-scale evaluation of Daiei Inc.'s assets Thursday, a day after the ailing retailer decided to seek its help instead of using only private-sector funds.
JAPAN
Oct 14, 2004

Widow sues Monju reactor operator

The widow of an official who committed suicide after lying to investigators during a probe into a 1995 accident at the Monju experimental fast-breeder reactor filed a damages suit Wednesday against the operator of the reactor.
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2004

Violence in Iraq holding back foreign aid

When Mohammad Ali-Hassan, the governor of Al-Muthanna Province in southern Iraq, visited Tokyo last week, he thanked Japan for the aid it has given to his province, where Ground Self-Defense Force troops have been deployed.
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2004

U.S. to resume helicopter flights

Japan on Tuesday gave the green light for the U.S. military to resume flights of CH-53D helicopters in Okinawa Prefecture, and the U.S. forces said the flights would resume as early as Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2004

Hashimoto to face Diet grilling over scandal

Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said Tuesday he is ready to appear before the House of Representatives political ethics council to explain his alleged involvement in a recent scandal involving donations from the Japan Dental Association.
BUSINESS
Oct 13, 2004

Fast Retailing to open Uniqlo store in Seoul

Fast Retailing Co. said Tuesday it will open a Uniqlo casual clothing store in Seoul next fall.
BUSINESS
Oct 13, 2004

Cabinet ministers give support to Daiei plan

Cabinet ministers reacted favorably Tuesday to a Daiei Inc. decision to turn itself around without the help of a state-backed corporate rehabilitation body.
BUSINESS
Oct 13, 2004

Koizumi rejects Thai request to scrap rice tariffs

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has rejected a request from Thailand to scrap Japanese import tariffs on rice as part of a free-trade agreement, the farm minister said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2004

Hashimoto urged to come clean

New Komeito policy chief Yoshihisa Inoue said Sunday that former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto should explain whether he was involved in a recent donation scandal.
EDITORIALS
Oct 10, 2004

An aviation milestone

I f it didn't cross your mind while watching video footage of SpaceShipOne streaking into space over California's Mojave Desert on Monday, there were plenty of commentators on hand to jog your sense of history. One was Gregg Maryniak, executive director of the foundation that offered a $10 million prize...

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?