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EDITORIALS
Oct 9, 2004

Give us a real surprise

Japan's main banks appear to be getting a grip on disposing of nonperforming loans, which was the big issue 3 1/2 years ago when Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took power. Corporate earnings have improved a lot, and the economy is seeing its most robust growth since the collapse of the bubble. At one...
BUSINESS
Oct 8, 2004

Key gauge signals economic contraction

A key gauge of the current state of Japan's economy plunged below the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent in August for the first decline in 16 months, the government said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2004

Bigger issue than postal privatization

At a press conference following his Cabinet reshuffle last month, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi dubbed his new Cabinet as one "to realize privatization of the postal service." He made it clear that the reshuffle had been his own work, indicating his determination to carry out the privatization. Mr....
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2004

Buoyant Koizumi makes mad dash for the pole -- but which one?

He was supposed to go to the north pole, but changed directions on the way and ended up discovering the south pole. A connoisseur of polar-expedition literature would immediately say this is a description of Roald Amundsen, the great Norwegian explorer of the early 20th century.
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Oct 3, 2004

Koike vows to sway business sector on carbon tax

Yuriko Koike, reappointed as the environment minister, says Japan needs a carbon tax to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2004

LDP promise to revise political funds law shrouded in doubt

Responding to recent money scandals involving Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers, the secretaries general of the two ruling parties agreed Thursday they would make an effort to revise the Political Funds Control Law.
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.
BUSINESS
Sep 28, 2004

Large firms still feel confident

Business confidence among large companies remained positive for the second consecutive quarter in the July-September term, the government said Monday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 12, 2004

New EU gears could grind

LONDON -- Jose Durao Barroso, the next president of the European Commission, faces many difficult challenges. He will need all the support he can get from the governments of the enlarged community of 25 states.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2004

Latest economy data show growth slowing

Japan's economy grew 0.3 percent in real terms in the April-June period from the previous quarter, the government said Friday, marking a surprise downward revision from the initially reported expansion of 0.4 percent.
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2004

Key economic gauge remains in positive territory

A key gauge of the current state of the economy stayed above the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent in July, spurred by upbeat figures for large-lot electricity consumption and sales by small and midsize companies, the government said Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2004

Toothless SESC rues failure to protect investors

Teruko Noda, a commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission, has a cabinet full of letters, mostly telling the same story: brokers who allegedly lied and individual investors who lost their life savings.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2004

Fukuda should be the next foreign minister, Mori says

Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori expressed hope Sunday that former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda will be appointed foreign minister in a Cabinet reshuffle expected in late September.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2004

Suzuki bribery charges politically motivated, his lawyers say

Lawyers for former House of Representatives member Muneo Suzuki told the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday that their client is innocent and the bribery charges against him are politically motivated.
COMMENTARY
Aug 23, 2004

Foreign workers at the gates

negotiations with South Korea and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan faces mounting pressure to open its labor market to foreigners. Among industrial nations, Japan has maintained the toughest exclusion policy toward foreign workers and remains extremely cautious. Japan should...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2004

Singapore's new foreign policy troika

SINGAPORE -- On Aug. 12, Lee Hsien Loong became Singapore's third prime minister since its independence in 1965. However, his predecessors, Goh Chok Tong and Lee Kuan Yew, remain in the Cabinet: Goh as senior minister and Lee as minister mentor.
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2004

Private-run prison gets go-ahead

The government said Wednesday that a plan for a new privately run prison in Mine, Yamaguchi Prefecture, will be authorized as part of a program to create special deregulation zones.
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2004

Private-run prison gets go-ahead

The government said Wednesday that a plan for a new privately run prison in Mine, Yamaguchi Prefecture, will be authorized as part of a program to create special deregulation zones.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2004

Tokyo, Pyongyang to huddle in Beijing to review summit

Japan and North Korea will hold working-level talks beginning Wednesday in Beijing to review the May 22 summit between their two leaders.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2004

Tokyo, Pyongyang to huddle in Beijing to review summit

Japan and North Korea will hold working-level talks beginning Wednesday in Beijing to review the May 22 summit between their two leaders.
BUSINESS
Aug 10, 2004

Man on the street upbeat over economy last month

The business confidence of workers with jobs sensitive to economic trends improved in July, due partly to brisk retail sales spurred by sweltering summer temperatures and the Athens Olympics, the government said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2004

Man missing since 1976 possibly abducted: group

Suspicions have deepened that a man from Saitama Prefecture missing since 1976 was kidnapped to North Korea, an affiliate of the citizens' group NARKN said Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2004

DPJ looks to repeal pension laws

The Democratic Party of Japan said Tuesday it will submit during the special Diet session that starts this week a bill aimed at repealing pension reform laws enacted in early June.
COMMENTARY
Jul 27, 2004

DPJ's fortunes are rising

In the July 11 Upper House election, the opposition Democratic Party of Japan made dramatic gains, winning more seats than the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (50-49). The DPJ also surpassed the LDP in the proportional representation bloc of November's general election. With the two parties dominating...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2004

Flawed homeland security

LAS VEGAS -- The dispute between Washington and Tokyo over the fate of Army Sgt. Charles Jenkins, whom the United States accuses of defecting to North Korea some 40 years ago, is more than a case of American legalism vs. Japanese ad hoc policy and humanitarian instincts. The issue goes much deeper into...
BUSINESS
Jul 22, 2004

GDP growth forecast revised sharply higher

The Cabinet Office on Wednesday revised upward its official economic growth forecast for fiscal 2004 to 3.5 percent in real terms from the initially projected 1.8 percent, citing strong private-sector demand and exports.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2004

Japan in 'no rush' to resume normalization talks with North

Japan is in "no rush" to resume normalization talks with North Korea, even though the conditions for returning to the negotiating table have been met, government sources said Wednesday.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 13, 2004

The big squeeze

The news from Japan these days is untypically sunny. The economy is performing at its sharpest clip for 13 years, investment and profits are up and analysts are gingerly forecasting a sustained recovery.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2004

Soga arrives in Indonesia

Repatriated abductee Hitomi Soga arrived in Jakarta on Thursday ahead of her planned reunion with her husband and daughters, who are coming from North Korea.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan