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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2005

LDP, DPJ said on nearly same reform page

Despite heated debate between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan over which is the real champion of reform, both parties would pursue the ongoing fiscal reconsolidation the same way, a key member of the government's deregulation panel said.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 3, 2005

El Haddawi seeks sensational Bavarian waterfall

On any normal day, Thomas Farnbacher can wave to his partner, Ingo Taleb-Rashid, across Lake Chiemsee in Bavaria. "I live one side with my wife and children in a small village. Rashid lives on the other. The lake is too big to see one another, of course. But we know we are there."
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2005

Thai FTA defers sticking points

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his visiting Thai counterpart, Thaksin Shinawatra, agreed Thursday on a basic accord to lower mutual trade barriers that left key decisions on high tariffs on Japanese cars and Thai rice unresolved.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Sep 2, 2005

Wander where the wise ones wink

Buddhist statues we usually see at temples and museums represent enlightened beings that have transcended their worldly existence and entered the Buddhist pantheon. They stand or are seated on pedestals of lotus flowers symbolic of the Buddhist paradise, and are depicted in poses particular to their...
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2005

TBS to issue 20 billion yen in new shares to partners

Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. announced Wednesday that it will issue 20.6 billion yen in new shares to major ad agency Dentsu Inc. and several of its other business partners to raise money for new projects.
EDITORIALS
Sep 1, 2005

A light on senile dementia

In April the Welfare and Labor Ministry began a nationwide one-year campaign to help others better understand senile dementia. The campaign targets the mental disorder as a top-priority issue to tackle as the graying of the nation's population progresses. The core organization established for the campaign...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Sep 1, 2005

Learning to enjoy where waters flow free

Every summer in Japan there is news of a few children drowning in rivers, and the message that comes from the media with those tragic stories is that rivers are dangerous and children should not go near them.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2005

1,132 candidates face off for Lower House election

Campaigning for the Sept. 11 House of Representatives election officially kicked off Tuesday with 1,132 candidates throwing their hats in the ring for 480 seats.
COMMENTARY
Aug 31, 2005

The meaning behind Koizumi's moves

On the surface, most elections are about personalities, false promises and special interests. But Japan's general election Sept. 11 is about a deeper historical reconciliation -- the effort to resolve differences between the country's cultural and behavioral preferences, and the organizational practices...
EDITORIALS
Aug 30, 2005

A timely warning to Tokyo

It is tempting to overreact to warnings that al-Qaeda is preparing an attack on a large financial center in Asia. That would be a mistake. If accurate a big if the reports should spur officials to better prepare for that awful possibility. But the news is not really new: Japan has already suffered one...
Japan Times
JAPAN / POLL SHOWDOWN
Aug 30, 2005

Okada hopes to shift election focus

Democratic Party of Japan leader Katsuya Okada is calling for voters' support in the Sept. 11 general election to bring about regime change and rebuild Japan in the face of ballooning government deficits and a rapidly aging population.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Aug 29, 2005

Worst abuse: being viewed as subhuman

NEW YORK -- World War II did not end neatly upon Japan's surrender on Aug. 15, 1945. Aside from scatterings of Japanese soldiers who joined local independence movements in Southeast Asia after the surrender, at least one sizable Japanese army unit fought on in China's northeastern province of Shanxi,...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2005

Pat Robertson gives religion a black eye

NEW YORK -- Statements broadcast last week by television evangelist and former U.S. presidential candidate Pat Robertson throw a disturbing light on the influence of religion in American politics. Robertson told his audience that American agents should assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2005

Japan fish catches may drop because of global warming

Japan can expect to see some of its fish catches decline by as much as 70 percent over the next century due to global warming, an official at the National Research Institute of Fisheries Engineering said Saturday.
Features
Aug 28, 2005

Surrender seen close up

Col. Hervey Bennett Whipple was made logistics officer for U.S. Forces in the Southwest Pacific, operating from bases in Australia, in February 1942. In the following month he came to work for Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who had arrived in Australia after a daring escape from Corregidor in Manila Bay.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 28, 2005

Cuban salsa godfather keeps his stories real

Despite the embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba since 1961, the music of this north Caribbean island has somehow made its way into every corner of the earth, including Japan. It is no coincidence that "The Sons of Cuba," the most recent film from the creators of "Buena Vista Social Club," culminates...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 28, 2005

TV Asahi's "Matthew's Best Hit TV" devotes whole program to Japanese dialects, and more

Advanced students of Japanese language might want to tune in to the late-night comedy show "Matthew's Best Hit TV" this week (TV Asahi, Wednesday, 11:15 p.m.). One of the show's regular features is a segment called "Namari Tei," which translates as "Dialect Theater." Guest celebrities, who in most cases...
Features
Aug 28, 2005

Unique memoirs saved by chance

It is one thing to witness history being made and quite another to stage-manage it. Such was the task entrusted to a 31-year-old U.S. Army colonel who was assigned by Gen. Douglas MacArthur to plan the Japanese surrender ceremony 60 years ago this coming week. It was, in short, Col. H. Bennett Whipple's...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 28, 2005

Intelligent Design: One chance encounter explains it all

Ijust happened to be reading the Kansas City Star the other day when a fascinating article caught my eye. The Star reported, in its Aug. 2 edition, that the Kansas Board of Education has approved a draft of new science standards proposed by supporters of so-called Intelligent Design.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2005

Envoy to help U.N. mission in Sudan

The government said Friday it will send a diplomat to a U.N. mission in Sudan next month to help the world body's peacekeeping operations in the African country, government officials said.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2005

Lawsuit over Tokyo air raids in works

Survivors and relatives of victims of the Tokyo air raids toward the end of World War II have decided to sue the government for compensation and an apology, they said Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2005

Six-way talks may restart Sept. 2

Six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions may resume on Sept. 2, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei said Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Aug 26, 2005

Weekend trance party picks 08.26

Saturday, Aug. 27-28
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Aug 25, 2005

Hit piece on Valentine, Marines another black eye for journalism in Japan

Is it just me, or has the level of media assaults on prominent foreign sports figures in Japan increased markedly in the past few months?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2005

Teacher hopes flag badges gladden forlorn foreigners

Yoko Hijikata, a Japanese-language teacher, often hears students complain how Japanese tend to turn a blind eye to foreigners they see experiencing trouble on the streets.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2005

JAXA optical test satellites reach orbit from Kazakstan

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency successfully launched an optical communications test satellite and a piggyback satellite from a launch site in Kazakstan early Wednesday Japan time.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji