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JAPAN
Sep 12, 2002

Public responds to mayors' U.S. barbs

Criticism leveled last month by Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba at the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has provoked a major reaction both at home and abroad.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2002

Families of alleged abductees demand results from summit

The families of two of the 11 Japanese nationals allegedly abducted by North Korean agents demanded Wednesday that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi push hard to resolve the issue at next week's summit in Pyongyang.
COMMENTARY
Sep 12, 2002

Brave trip to settle the past

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's one-day visit to North Korea on Sept. 17 is likely to have a profound effect on the security situation in Northeast Asia. The two nations started normalization talks in 1991, but thus far no substantial progress has been made because of the alleged abduction of Japanese...
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2002

Colleagues remember 9/11 dead

Colleagues of Japanese victims of last year's terrorist attacks in the United States solemnly observed the first anniversary on Wednesday, with many companies holding a moment of silence in remembrance of those who died when the World Trade Center buildings collapsed.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2002

Disabled writer Ototake OK'd to drive

The 26-year-old author of a best-selling book about life without normal limbs has acquired a driver's license.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2002

Koizumi urged to raise weapons issues with Kim

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to address U.S. concerns that North Korea is developing weapons of mass destruction on his landmark trip to Pyongyang next week.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2002

NPO tries to make Afghans' lives livable

KYOTO -- Although international aid has flowed into Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime last October, Afghan people living far from Kabul are still suffering from malnourishment and a poor living and education environment, according to a Kyoto-based nonprofit organization.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2002

Group sent swindled cash abroad: police

A Tokyo-based investment group suspected of swindling its investors has sent 3 billion yen to the Philippines and Indonesia since 1998 to finance businesses there, according to sources close to the group and documents recently obtained by Kyodo News.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 8, 2002

Back to the old house to raise our spirits

Japan likes to present itself as the world's shining example of rapid economic development, the "postwar miracle." The government's extensive overseas development aid is more than just the gesture of noblesse oblige expected of the world's No. 2 economic power. It is an assertion of everything that is...
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2002

Public backs road entity privatization

A majority of the people polled by Kyodo News support privatization of the nation's four public road entities but oppose a total freeze on construction of highways that would not be commercially viable.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2002

Upcoming meeting with Kim a ratings winner for Koizumi

The public approval rating for the Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi stood at 53.9 percent this week, up 8.7 percentage points from a month ago, according to a Kyodo News survey released Friday.
SOCCER / World cup
Sep 6, 2002

Zico wants full squad for friendly

Europe-based Japanese players will get a call-up to play Jamaica in an international friendly next month, Zico's debut match as Japan coach, the Brazilian coach said Wednesday in Tokyo.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Sep 6, 2002

New transfer rule won't help rumor mill

LONDON -- The FIFA-imposed transfer window, which means Premiership clubs will not be able to sign any new players until Jan. 1, has brought different reactions from various parties.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2002

Tepco in-house probe reveals division chiefs' coverup role

An internal probe by Tokyo Electric Power Co. has determined that division chiefs ordered at least three coverups of structural problems at Tepco nuclear plants, company sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2002

Koizumi may invite Kim to visit Japan

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi may invite North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to Japan when he visits Pyongyang on Sept. 17, a top government spokesman said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2002

Hiranuma sorry for delay in probe of Tepco scandal

Industry minister Takeo Hiranuma apologized Tuesday for the government's failure to quickly announce the results of its probe into Tokyo Electric Power Co., which is suspected of falsifying damage reports on its nuclear power plants.
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2002

Yanagisawa pushes banks to introduce new settlement account

Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa expressed hope Tuesday that financial institutions will introduce a new settlement-specific bank account next April whose deposits are fully protected by the government, although doing so is not mandatory.
COMMENTARY
Sep 4, 2002

Asian stereotypes die hard in U.S. national psyche

LOS ANGELES -- One of the best reading experiences in the United States this summer is the thriller "Absolute Rage," certainly a rage among applauding reviewers from Publishers Weekly to the Los Angeles Times. The 14th in a series of crime thrillers, it tells a well-informed tale about America's brutal...
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

Maehara agrees to drop candidacy, support Noda in DPJ presidency race

Weeks of jostling among younger Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers aiming to run in this month's election for party president effectively ended Monday after Seiji Maehara agreed to give up his candidacy and support rival Yoshihiko Noda.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

Nuclear hosts demand investigation into Tepco

The discovery last week that Tokyo Electric Power Co. falsified data regarding inspections at some of its nuclear power plants has sparked a strong burst of indignation from municipalities hosting the facilities.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

Journalists meet to discuss role of media in building peace

Young journalists from a number of politically unstable areas met in Tokyo late last week to discuss the media's role in building peace.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2002

Toyota and Nissan forge hybrid tieup

Toyota Motor Corp. will provide Nissan Motor Co. with technology aimed at developing eco-friendly hybrid cars over a period of more than 10 years, the automakers said Monday.

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