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EDITORIALS
Oct 26, 2003

Discord over LDP's retirement age

Age seems to matter in politics as well. With the Liberal Democratic Party having set a 73-year age limit for candidates running for Lower House seats under the proportional representation, or PR, system, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Thursday asked two elder politicians -- former Prime Ministers...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 26, 2003

The Road Ahead

The heat built up as our five-hour bus ride from Delhi took us toward the searing Thar Desert. Then, after clocking up 260 km heading south on the national highway, buildings began to grow as we approached Jaipur, capital of the state of Rajasthan. Our journey may have been equivalent to traveling between...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2003

Outside watchdog needed to monitor prisons: U.N. expert

An independent entity comprising nongovernmental organizations and experts is needed to monitor human rights conditions in prisons, according to Dr. Ole Rasmussen of the United Nations Committee Against Torture.
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2003

BOJ Policy Board members in a flap over yen's rapid rise, minutes state

Some members of the Bank of Japan Policy Board voiced concern at a Sept. 11-12 meeting that the yen's recent rise could hurt Japanese exports, according to minutes released Thursday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 1, 2003

Tigers' pennant forced Giants skipper to fall on his sword

That was a shocker. Talking here about the resignation of Yomiuri Giants manager Tatsunori Hara on Sept. 26. Sure, it had been rumored for days, but I for one did not expect it would really happen.
COMMENTARY
Sep 30, 2003

Cooperative Ukraine left out in the cold

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration continues to press for assistance from other nations in Iraq, but without notable success. Both Germany and Russia now indicate a willingness to help, but not with troops. Said Russian President Vladimir Putin in advance of his summit with his American counterpart...
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2003

Tainted Shigeie made ambassador

The government appointed Toshinori Shigeie as ambassador to South Africa on Friday -- despite his alleged involvement in the Foreign Ministry meddling of disgraced lawmaker Muneo Suzuki.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2003

Takenaka, Kawaguchi retain posts as dust settles after Cabinet reshuffle

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi retained Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka and Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi after reshuffling his Cabinet on Monday, defying calls for their ouster from within the Liberal Democratic Party.
COMMENTARY
Sep 23, 2003

LDP factions losing clout

The Liberal Democratic Party is an assemblage of factions. Since it has held the reins of government almost continuously, the LDP has derived much of its vitality from factional power struggles for the party presidency and the prime ministership.
COMMUNITY
Sep 21, 2003

Build a wicket and they will come

In 1996, a young bowler playing against the Bangladesh national cricket side dismissed two batsmen with consecutive balls -- the first delivered with his right arm, the second with his left.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2003

LDP election contenders struggle on despite forecasts of Koizumi victory

The three contenders facing off against incumbent Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race battled on Friday, the final day before the vote, despite widespread forecasts that they would lose by a wide margin.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 14, 2003

Standing up to the loan sharks

On the morning of Aug. 13, a 70-year-old Yokohama man hanged himself in his home -- driven over the edge by debt. In total, he owed 17 million yen to banks, consumer-loan companies and even his children and relatives. In addition, 1,120,000 yen of his debt was to eight yamikinyu (loan sharks).
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 14, 2003

The money hole

Kumiko Morita looked down at her cell phone as it began to ring. With reluctance she picked it up and answered it. After listening to the caller, she began to speak -- not in her usual soft-spoken way, but in a loud, forceful voice.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 14, 2003

Poetry: a language without borders

KIYOKO'S SKY: The Haiku of Kiyoko Tokutomi, translations by Patricia J. Machmiller & Fay Aoyagi. Illinois: Brookes Books, Decatur, 2002, 128 pp., $16 (paper). SELECTED HAIKU, by Takaha Shugyo, translations by Hoshino Tsunehiko & Adrian Pinnington. Tokyo: Furansudo, 2003, 108 pp., $16 (paper). These two...
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2003

LDP poll committee baffled by some yahoo

The Liberal Democratic Party has learned that the totally unexpected can sometimes happen in the high-tech age.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2003

Official receives bomb threat

Police found a bomb early Wednesday at the Tokyo home of Deputy Foreign Minister Hitoshi Tanaka, the key official for negotiations and policymaking on North Korea, after being alerted by news organizations that received suspicious calls, police officials said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2003

Mount Fuji ascent shows climber Japan's two faces

A man who refuses to see limits in life had one unexpectedly plunked down in front of him last week.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 10, 2003

Revenge to truly savor

Yukio Ninagawa's "Electra" has been long-awaited by many people for quite different reasons -- as was clear from the diversity of its opening-night audience last Saturday.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2003

Koizumi unlikely to repeat landslide win

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's chances of being re-elected in the Sept. 20 Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election are high, but he is unlikely to win a landslide victory as he did in the last election due to the new voting system the party has adopted.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2003

Koizumi comes up with a faction all his own

The 20 endorsements Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi collected to cement his candidacy in the LDP presidential election underscore his tendency to operate outside factional lines.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2003

For LDP's Aoki, Koizumi a useful tool

An LDP heavyweight who is throwing his support behind Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's re-election has an ulterior motive: the party regaining its majority in the House of Councilors.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2003

Fujii's hat drifting closer toward the ring

The odds are getting better that former transport minister Takao Fujii will run in the LDP's upcoming presidential election, party sources said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / AFTER 2 1/2 YEARS
Sep 1, 2003

Koizumi renews confrontational posture

When he became prime minister in April 2001, Junichiro Koizumi boasted high public support, portraying himself as a lone wolf fighting old-guard politicians in the Liberal Democratic Party.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Aug 31, 2003

Buffalo Daughter's deeper grooves

It's usually not a good idea to go into the recording studio without having some idea of what you're going to record. Most artists have a demo or a written score to work from; some even have full-fledged arrangements down on paper before they start recording.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Aug 25, 2003

What has your political party done for you lately?

The Nippon Keidanren is working on a set of guidelines aimed at encouraging member companies to donate to political parties and evaluate their policies. I would like to provide some background on the objectives of this ongoing effort.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan