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Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 29, 2017

Afghans plan to double special forces from 17,000 as threats grow, sources say

Afghanistan plans to double the number of elite special forces from 17,000 troops, officials said, part of a long-term strategy to bolster units stretched and exhausted by persistent attacks from Taliban insurgents and other Islamist militants.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2001

Special loan program in Asia may be extended

Japan may extend a special yen-loan program worth 600 billion yen beyond its planned expiration next spring to help Asian neighbors hit by a global slowdown and the economic fallout from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
BUSINESS
Nov 19, 2005

State special accounts: Why they face scrutiny

A subcommittee of the Finance Ministry's Fiscal System Council recommended Friday that the 31 special accounts in the government's budget be streamlined by absorption into the general account, privatization, or management by independent administrative institutions.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 19, 2022

U.S. Justice Department names war crimes expert as special counsel for Trump probes

Jack Smith will serve as special counsel to oversee investigations into the former president's handling of sensitive documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 2, 2022

U.S. judge signals willingness to appoint special master in Trump search case

The hearing came less than two days after prosecutors laid out fresh details about their ongoing criminal investigation into whether Trump illegally retained government records.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 1, 2021

Jason Hancock: 'A fully inclusive Japan is barrier-free, judgment-free and full of mutual cultural understanding'

A TV reporter and personality, Jason Hancock founded the Special Beauty Japan pageant to celebrate the talent of special needs youth nationwide.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Mar 5, 2010

Springtime special hotel offers

Spring is a time of rebirth and renewal. In Japan, spring means the coming of a new year — in schools, at companies, fiscally. During this season, hotels offer a wide variety of events for you to refresh and relax in style. Like the cherry blossoms that dominate the imagery of spring, these offers...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Oct 7, 2013

The Special Dismissal Zone: where legal protections no longer apply

The government's Special Employment Zone wheeze has already been dubbed the Special Dismissal Zone, or kaiko tokku, by the media.
BUSINESS / INNOVATIVE CITY FORUM
Sep 17, 2013

Creating National Strategic Special Zones

Obsolete regulations in Japan have hindered the emergence of new businesses, critics charge. Because amending or creating new laws can be time-consuming, the government has set up an initiative called National Strategic Special Zones that it hopes will provide businesses with special benefits by way...
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2001

2005 Special Olympics go to Nagano

The city of Nagano has been selected as the host of the 2005 Special Olympics Winter Games, making it the first Asian city to serve as the venue for the quadrennial event, organizers announced Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 1997

Special corporation reform proves elusive

In the nine-month period to January 1996, the government doled out investment funds of 27.59 trillion yen and state loans and subsidies totaling 37.62 trillion yen to 92 institutions and 528,500 workers nationwide.The size of the funds accumulated by these firms indicates the degree to which the government's...
EDITORIALS
Jun 19, 2012

Scrutinize 'special ward' plans

The ruling and opposition parties have respectively submitted bills designed to allow prefectures and other local governments to set up "special wards" — similar to those that exist in Tokyo — to the Diet. Behind this is a move by Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, leader of Osaka Ishin-no Kai (Osaka Association...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 14, 2012

Globe-trekker devotes self to kids needing special attention

German Birgit Zorb-Serizawa has lived and worked on four continents in her career in special education, and she has spent many years providing opportunities and support for international families in Japan with special-needs children.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 26, 2005

Special Olympics bridges Japan, Arab nations

Madeleine Jalil Umewaka, of MJU public relations, was at Narita Airport early Wednesday morning. She was there to welcome the Special Olympics team of 12 athletes from her native Lebanon, and travel with them to Iida in Nagano Prefecture.
BUSINESS
Jul 17, 2003

Use of 'special accounts' for stocks grows amid market surge

Against the backdrop of booming stock transactions in recent weeks, an increasing number of individual investors are opening "special accounts" for stocks at securities companies.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Apr 24, 2023

In Japan, special adoption offers route to legal ties, but uptake remains sluggish

Around 80% of of the 42,000 children in Japan unable to live with their biological parents are being cared for in institutions.
EDITORIALS
Nov 30, 2011

Creating special economic zones

The government's effort to select areas to be designated as "comprehensive special zones" (sogo tokku) is now in full swing. A law to create such zones was enacted in June as part of the government's economic growth policy. The Diet is now deliberating on another bill to create "reconstruction special...
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2005

Panel plans to slash special accounts

The Liberal Democratic Party's administrative reform panel drafted a policy proposal Wednesday to reform special government accounts in a bid to secure some 20 trillion yen to strengthen the state's deficit-ridden finances.
A worker stirs a vat of fermenting Thai rice and kōji mold, used for making awamori, at a distillery in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2021.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2025

Okinawa city seeks special zone status for production of local distilled spirit

The city plans to send the special zone status application jointly with the Okinawa Prefectural Government to the central government.
Emperor Naruhito (left) visits a special education school in Iruma, Saitama Prefecture, in May and looks at a student attending to a customer at a cafe inside the school.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 9, 2025

Boosting support for parents of children with disabilities in Japan

Businesses and local governments are taking steps to support parents after care programs for their disabled children are discontinued at a certain age.
The Finance Ministry said on Thursday that surplus in the Japanese government's foreign exchange special account stood at a record high of ¥5.36 trillion at the end of fiscal 2024.
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2025

Japan's forex special account logs record-high surplus

The ministry will transfer ¥3.2 trillion out of the surplus to the general account of the government's fiscal 2025 budget.
Italy skip Stefania Constantini in action during a match against South Korea at the Women's Curling Championship in Sandviken, Sweden on March 19, 2023
OLYMPICS / Curling
Aug 6, 2025

Curling champion Constantini set to throw rocks at 'special' hometown Games

Constantini will be a defending champion at next year's Games after teaming up with Amos Mosaner to secure Italy's first curling medal in Beijing.
Novak Djokovic defeated Alexei Popyrin to reach the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Jan 18, 2024

Novak Djokovic details 15-year 'special relationship' with Melbourne tree

Djokovic has long credited a series of unusual methods for helping him become one of the greatest players ever.
Tiger Woods accepted a special exemption to compete in this year's U.S. Open, the USGA announced on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
May 3, 2024

Tiger Woods accepts special exemption into U.S. Open

"The U.S. Open, our national championship, is a truly special event for our game and one that has helped define my career," Woods said.
The Fukui Cave in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2024

Fukui Cave recommended for special historic site status

The cave shed light on changes in stone tools from the Upper Paleolithic period to the beginning of the ancient Jomon Period.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past