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JAPAN
Oct 14, 2004

Students tagged in bid to keep them safe

Every time a fourth grader passes through Rikkyo Elementary School's front gate, a small, gray plastic tag tucked inside his backpack beams a message to a computer in a nearby office.
BUSINESS
Oct 13, 2004

Theft, corruption costly for Japan Post

Japan Post had 30 billion yen in hard-to-recover receivables as of Dec. 31, 2002, due mainly to embezzlement, theft and clerical mistakes, the Board of Audit of Japan said in a survey released Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Oct 13, 2004

Challenges to just-opened Diet

A n extraordinary Diet session that opened Tuesday looks set for lively debates on a host of contentious issues, including the perennial problem of "politics and money." Adding to that is last month's reshuffle of the Cabinet and of top executive posts in both the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and...
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2004

FSA targets UFJ over attempts to block inspections

The Financial Services Agency will file a criminal complaint against UFJ Bank and several former executives for allegedly violating the Banking Law by blocking FSA inspections, sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2004

Extortionist gets four years for Softbank scam

The Tokyo District Court sentenced a self-styled rightwinger to four years in prison Tuesday for attempting to extort billions of yen out of Softbank Corp.
JAPAN / BULLETIN BOARD
Oct 6, 2004

Singapore citizens urged to register as overseas voters

The Singaporean Embassy is urging Singaporean nationals here to register as overseas voters.
COMMENTARY
Oct 4, 2004

Staying on path of resistance

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi defines the aim of his new Cabinet as "privatizing the postal services." The new executive lineup of the Liberal Democratic Party, of which he is president, attests to the importance he attaches to postal privatization as the mainstay of his "structural reform" agenda....
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 29, 2004

Takenaka vows to get LDP members on board for Japan Post privatization

Heizo Takenaka, just named to the brand-new post of minister of postal reform, said Tuesday he will "keep talking" to Liberal Democratic Party politicians until he wins their support for privatization.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 29, 2004

An Eastern art show to rival Venice

On May 18, 1980, the city of Gwangju, South Korea, hit the headlines with an explosion of civilian dissent against the military junta that had seized power the day before. The junta's brutal crackdown culminated in the Gwangju Massacre of hundreds of students and civilians. The uprising would spark South...
EDITORIALS
Sep 28, 2004

Reform-oriented shuffle

Just as he indicated he would do before Monday's Cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi filled major party-executive posts and Cabinet posts with politicians loyal to his postal-reform policy. Prior to the naming of the new Cabinet lineup, Mr. Koizumi appointed Mr. Tsutomu Takebe, a former...
CULTURE / Books / THE BOOK REPORT
Sep 28, 2004

Japanese mega-stores blazing trails in a brave, new publishing world

The Japanese bookstore world used to be one of "If you put it out, it will sell." But that comfortable age is over. Seven straight years of declining book sales have killed off some 1,500 bookstores.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 19, 2004

9/11 conspiracy theories enthrall Japanese audiences

Only three years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, American mainstream media are providing scant coverage of ceremonies to mark the tragedy, according to Japanese reporter Akihiko Reizei on the Internet news service Japan Mail Media. A resident of New Jersey, Reizei said that unlike the...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 14, 2004

Legal help, lucky Jim, and trauma

Legal advice An addendum to Lifelines of Aug. 30.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 14, 2004

Japan and the immigration issue

Japan is not ready or willing to accept an immigrant influx, says Barry Brophy One of the great givens regarding Japan's aging population and declining birthrate is that an influx of immigrants, or "replacement migration," is needed if the nation's pension burden is not to become unmanageable, and the...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 11, 2004

Want to be royalty? Try a home stay

When it comes to hospitality, the Japanese are champions. In Japan, hospitality is like an Olympic sport and requires rigorous cross training in fields such as politeness, modesty, unconditional giving and overall self-sacrifice. There is no better display of this hospitality than in the Japanese home...
BUSINESS
Sep 9, 2004

LDP lawmakers pledge to block postal reform

Dozens of lawmakers of the Liberal Democratic Party announced Wednesday they will try to block legislation aimed at privatizing Japan Post, despite the Cabinet's plan to approve a bill to this end on Friday.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 7, 2004

Scammers, counseling, health costs

Counseling Is there such thing as counseling in Japan? I have been married for 7 years and am having problems, yet my wife refuses to even discuss it. Is there some place we or I could go for help?
CULTURE / Music
Sep 5, 2004

Russian pays tribute to music of motherland

Novelist Leo Tolstoy, poet and novelist Boris Pasternak, dance impresario Sergei Diaghilev and choreographer George Balanchine were all distinguished Russians in their own fields. Although they lived in different times, they are bound together by their deep love for music.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 2, 2004

"A Gathering Light," "The Coldest Day in the Zoo"

"A Gathering Light," Jennifer Donnelly, Bloomsbury; 2004; 383 pp. "Tell the truth!" It's not just children who get that all the time: Writers do, too. The only difference is that writers don't have to treat the truth too literally, as Jennifer Donnelly shows us in "A Gathering Light."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 31, 2004

'I want to clear my name and the name of my country'

One morning Islam Mohamed Himu woke up to find the Japanese media camped outside his home, and plainclothes police officers banging on his front door.
COMMENTARY
Aug 31, 2004

Feeling the enemy's breath

LONDON -- The Americans are going home. Or, to be more precise, after more than 60 years, 70,000 American military personnel are to be gradually withdrawn from the European arena. Since the present number of American troops under "European command" is 116,000, this will leave in the longer term between...
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2004

Japan Post chief rebuts Yamato flak over Lawson deal

Japan Post President Masaharu Ikuta on Friday countered Yamato Transport Co.'s criticism that his firm is unfairly expanding its parcel delivery services through a tieup with a convenience store chain.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 26, 2004

The Showa days: Were they really that good?

True to their inherent sentimentality, the Japanese often get all misty-eyed about times past. Lately the phrase "furuki yoki Showa (the good old Showa days)" has been bandied about. But, one is inclined to ask, were the Showa days really as good as the media would have us believe?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Aug 26, 2004

Thinking aloud

Does language determine thought? Are there concepts in some languages that can't be understood in others because that language doesn't have the word for it?
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2004

Koizumi blasts postal reform foes

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed strong dissatisfaction Tuesday over continued opposition within his Liberal Democratic Party to privatizing postal services, saying it's "a done deal."
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2004

Delay possible in full postal privatization: Takenaka

Economic and fiscal policy minister Heizo Takenaka indicated Sunday he understands the need for a possible delay in dividing postal services into several entities.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2004

Delay possible in full postal privatization: Takenaka

Economic and fiscal policy minister Heizo Takenaka indicated Sunday he understands the need for a possible delay in dividing postal services into several entities.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji