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JAPAN
Jan 8, 2004

Pyongyang sought talks with trade chiefs

North Korea sought a secret meeting in Beijing with Shoichi Nakagawa, minister of economy, trade and industry, as well as his predecessor, Takeo Hiranuma, late last year, sources close to bilateral affairs said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2004

Fukuda wary of motive behind North Korea thaw

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda remained wary Wednesday over a string of events indicating a possible softening of North Korea's stance toward Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 8, 2004

2003: worst and best of times for U.N.

Twelve months ago, the international community heaved a sigh of relief as the major powers appeared to reach a compromise on how to manage Iraq. But Washington's determination to act on its own cut short the role of U.N. weapons inspectors and challenged the very notion that the organization has a role...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 7, 2004

Yankees tickets and the foreign player 'scrap heap'

Happy New Year, and expect announcement real soon of details concerning the New York Yankees-Tampa Bay Devil Rays American League openers at Tokyo Dome on March 30-31. You know, who will be the sponsor? How much will the ticket prices be? Stuff like that.
COMMENTARY
Jan 6, 2004

Delegation: good intentions, bad idea

HONOLULU -- Some unsolicited advice to professors, congressmen, former ambassadors and other ex-diplomats, and anyone seeking a Nobel Peace Prize nomination: if you really want to help resolve the nuclear standoff on the Korean Peninsula, stay home!
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2004

DPJ may agree to relax ban on weapons exports

The Democratic Party of Japan may consider supporting a government proposal to relax Japan's ban on exporting arms, DPJ leader Naoto Kan said Sunday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2004

Anatomy exhibit's real bodies prove popular draw

Women giggle and men turn pale at the "Mysteries of the Human Body" exhibition at the Tokyo International Forum in Chiyoda Ward.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 4, 2004

Innovative dance program aims to shift the balance

In the arena of artistic production, a publicly run performing arts facility on the Sea of Japan coast is issuing a challenge to Tokyo, the nation's center of cultural activity. The Niigata City Performing Arts Center (Ryutopia) has tapped Jo Kanamori, a 29-year-old star dancer and choreographer, to...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 3, 2004

Struggling Spurs lining up Hiddink as next manager

LONDON -- It may be a meaningless statistic in terms of promotion or relegation, but Tottenham Hotspur has earned fewer points -- 36 -- than any other club in the Premiership during 2003.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2003

Tokyo hopes Pyongyang, like Libya, eases nuclear posturing

Security issues concerning North Korea, including its nuclear arms program, will remain at the top of Japan's diplomatic agenda in 2004, with Tokyo hoping to see substantial progress following Libya's recent renunciation of weapons of mass destruction.
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2003

Koizumi's key 2004 worries: U.S. economy, yen, pensions

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is facing a number of challenges as he struggles to put the fledgling economic recovery on a more solid footing in 2004.
EDITORIALS
Dec 28, 2003

Behind the veil in France

Sometimes when we read about a political decision being taken in another country, the response seems both easy and obvious. Chechen independence, an Iraqi trial for toppled leader Saddam Hussein, approval of the Kyoto treaty to slow global warming, disapproval of the Israelis' land-gobbling border fence:...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 28, 2003

A firmer Japan in the tussle with China

SINGAPORE -- The ASEAN-Japan Summit in Tokyo on Sept. 11-12 came at a crucial moment in ties between Tokyo and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi met with the ASEAN heads of state just as Japan is bottoming out from a decade of economic doldrums....
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 26, 2003

Tuffy inks two-year, $10 million pact with Giants

Reigning Pacific League home run king Tuffy Rhodes signed a two-year contract with the Yomiuri Giants carrying an annual salary of $5 million (about 543 million yen), officials of the Central League club said Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2003

Tokyo kept war redress out of '67 Singapore accord title

Japan and Singapore compromised over the name of a 1967 agreement on reparations for World War II, referring to the pact by the date it was signed without characterizing its nature, according to newly declassified diplomatic documents.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 24, 2003

Kazuo Matsui dropped the Big Egg for the Big Apple

Kazuo "Little" Matsui is set to be the next Japanese star to make a huge splash in the major leagues and become the latest toast of the town in New York.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2003

Expressway plans get green light

The government and ruling coalition on Monday endorsed a privatization scheme for semigovernmental expressway operators that effectively fails to put the brakes on the completion of unfinished sections of the planned 9,342-km thruway network.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2003

Is Kim sweating over dictator's capture?

HONOLULU -- Intelligence agencies from Seoul to Singapore would pay dearly for the answer to perhaps the most intriguing question in Asia arising from the capture of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein: What does the "Dear Leader" of North Korea, Kim Jong Il, who, like Hussein, is a charter member...
MORE SPORTS
Dec 21, 2003

Secom's escape is Sanix's heartbreak

Rugby fans in Tokyo found out on Saturday what Tongans and New Zealanders have known for years -- just how inspirational a player Inoke Afeaki is.
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2003

Minister orders release of asylum-seeker

Justice Minister Daizo Nozawa decided Friday to temporarily release a 46-year-old Myanmarese asylum-seeker, who had been detained for overstaying his visa since Oct. 31, citing humanitarian concerns over his two daughters.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2003

Canberra's silly season of politics

SYDNEY -- Midsummer madness is already upon us. Australians can always tell when the silly season strikes by the antics of Canberra politicians. This time it's come early -- and they're playing their games with comic vengeance.
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2003

Pension reformers give short shrift to the bigger picture

The political battle over public pension reforms may have subsided, but it's only a temporary lull.
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2003

Firms team up on Net-linked appliances

Four major electronics firms announced Wednesday they have agreed to jointly develop standard specifications for connecting fridges, microwave ovens and laundry machines to the Internet.
COMMENTARY
Dec 18, 2003

Conservatives smell an upset

LONDON -- A transformation has taken place on the British political scene, and it is one that could have profound effects on the wider European landscape as well as on trans-Atlantic relations. The nature of this change can be summed up in two words -- Michael Howard. This is the man who has now emerged...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 16, 2003

'Shut-ins' turn backs on Japan

To look at 29-year-old Kenji Tanaka laughing and drinking with his friends, it's hard to believe that he spent the best part of his twenties cut off from almost all human contact.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2003

Tokyo sues North Korea-linked school

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Monday sued the operator of a pro-Pyongyang elementary school for using Tokyo-owned land without a valid contract for more than 13 years.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2003

Rengo backs detained Myanmar activist

The nation's largest labor organization urged the government Monday to release a 46-year-old man from Myanmar facing deportation, submitting a joint petition by 20 labor unions under its umbrella.
COMMENTARY
Dec 13, 2003

Not a two-party system yet

LONDON -- Is Japan becoming a "normal" parliamentary democracy with a two-party system? Commentators outside and inside Japan have suggested that the Nov. 9 general election may have fundamentally altered the balance of power in Japan and that, with the growth of the Democratic Party of Japan, the country...
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

Japan, ASEAN leaders agree to boost ties

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed Thursday to expand security, political and economic ties.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?