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JAPAN
Apr 1, 2008

Cost at pump to drop until April-end vote

Gasoline prices are set to fall by ¥25 per liter after the ruling bloc and opposition camp failed to agree Monday on extending provisional extra levies on gas and other auto-related taxes.
EDITORIALS
Nov 20, 2007

A symbolic summit

The trip had to be made. It is traditional for a Japanese prime minister to make his first overseas trip to the United States, to affirm relations with the country's only ally. With reports of tensions growing in the bilateral security relationship, Mr. Yasuo Fukuda's visit to Washington last week took...
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2007

Ruling bloc's MSDF bill is given to Diet

The ruling coalition Wednesday submitted to a divided Diet a special bill to enable the Maritime Self-Defense Force to continue providing logistic support in the Indian Ocean for U.S.-led antiterror operations in and around Afghanistan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2007

Ozawa's Afghan gambit rejected

Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura on Tuesday rejected Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa's suggestion that Japan participate in NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
COMMENTARY
May 25, 2007

Fears of new 'Nixon shock'

HONOLULU — The U.S.-Japan relationship is on solid ground and growing stronger by the day. As a result of their recent Camp David summit, U.S. President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo have become each other's new best friend — perhaps not as close (yet) as Bush's ties with...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Apr 30, 2007

Tobacco's road from fashion to filth

NEW YORK -- If a recent article in the Science section of The New York Times is any indication, the idea that the history of the tobacco industry in the United States has been nothing less than perfidy has taken hold among the socially conscientious. Titled "Tracing the Cigarette's Path From Sexy to...
BUSINESS / SOUTH KOREAN JOURNALIST SYMPOSIUM
Feb 22, 2007

Rules change, but Japan, S. Korea game the same

See related stories: Japan, South Korea can pull Asia together China's rise may force Tokyo, Seoul to reassess business tie-ups
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2006

National security debate mushrooming since Oct. 9

security debate has been lacking. (We) have just come to think about how we should cope with various developments in the real world, as people in other countries do," Nukaga said. The long taboo of discussing going nuclear was most recently broached by Shoichi Nakagawa, LDP policy chief. Nakagawa said...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 21, 2006

Label not enough for a healthy diet

Next time you go grocery shopping, take a closer look at the beverages, yogurt and other packaged foods on display in the store you're visiting. You'll most likely find a number of products bearing a special logo and a carefully worded sentence touting their health benefits.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Aug 4, 2006

Psychedelic radar 08.04

Saturday, Aug. 5
EDITORIALS
Jun 16, 2006

Demarcation of troubled waters

Japan and South Korea failed to make any progress in their two-day meeting aimed at determining the boundary of their exclusive economic zones in the Sea of Japan. An early breakthrough in the dispute is unlikely, although both countries agreed to hold another round of talks in September. Blocking progress...
BUSINESS / JAPAN-U.S.-CHINA SYMPOSIUM
Jun 5, 2006

Regional tensions cast long shadow

See related stories: "U.S. sets negotiating table on Iran for Tokyo, Beijing" "Japan, China need to go back to school "
EDITORIALS
May 27, 2006

Meetings fail to thaw chill

Foreign Minister Taro Aso held separate meetings with his South Korean and Chinese counterparts earlier this week -- the first such get-together in five months and one year, respectively. Although he managed to clinch agreements on some bilateral issues, Japan's relations with its closest neighbors remain...
BUSINESS
May 3, 2006

New Corporate Law to foster additional M&As

In the weeks before the Corporate Law took effect Monday, Izumiya Co. announced measures to prevent hostile takeovers, expecting the law's provisions to encourage mergers and acquisitions.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2006

Foreign students' goal of career proves elusive

In line with the government's campaign launched in 1983 to boost the number of foreign students in Japan to the 100,000 mark, the figure came to some 117,000 in 2004.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2005

JAL inspection ends but safety problems continue

The state will end its special inspection of Japan Airlines Corp. but continue to closely monitor the mishap-prone carrier since it is still having safety problems, the transport ministry said Thursday.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 20, 2005

Ah-choo! Picked up an allergy to the hay-fever industry

Last week the pharmaceutical company Riken announced that it was developing a new desensitivity treatment for serious allergy sufferers. The treatment program would entail fifty or so injections over a three-year period, which is quite a reduction in time. I should know. I received biweekly or monthly...
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2005

Panel set to ponder female on the throne

The government will kick off discussions this week that could result in changing the male-only Imperial succession rule which experts say has been practiced for more than 1,000 years.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2005

Koizumi set to resume battle for postal reform

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will go all-out in the 150-day Diet session that convened Friday to push his long-cherished, but highly contentious, plan to privatize the nation's postal services.
EDITORIALS
Dec 9, 2004

Closing the curtain on a hard life

Mr. Charles Jenkins on Tuesday arrived in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, together with his wife Ms. Hitomi Soga, a former abductee to North Korea, and their two daughters after serving a short sentence for desertion from the U.S. Army. Sado is Ms. Soga's hometown. Procedures for Mr. Jenkins' dishonorable...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2004

Suffrage for foreigners gains momentum

After nearly a decade on the back burner, the issue of granting suffrage to foreigners in local-level elections has gained renewed interest due to recent moves by lawmakers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Aug 20, 2004

The Gathering 2004 preview

After dozens of hours of copious, nail-biting research, I have deduced that there is absolutely no connection whatsoever between Respect for the Aged Day and the ending date for Gathering 2004, except that vigorous dancing has been medically proven to reverse the aging process.
JAPAN
May 24, 2004

Political leaders weigh in on value of Koizumi's visit to North Korea

Political leaders continued debating Sunday the outcome of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, with an opposition leader denouncing it as a "big failure."
JAPAN
May 20, 2004

War bill seeks 'voluntary' cooperation during crisis

One of seven bills to augment war-contingency legislation enacted last June is dubbed by the government as a "citizen protection bill."
JAPAN
May 20, 2004

War bill seeks 'voluntary' cooperation during crisis

One of seven bills to augment war-contingency legislation enacted last June is dubbed by the government as a "citizen protection bill."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2004

Parties face off with competing pension plans

Pension reform proposals put forward by the Democratic Party of Japan set the stage for a political showdown with the ruling bloc over what figures to be a key issue in the House of Councilors election in July.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2004

Justice system a vehicle for order -- or revenge?

Nearly five years after four teenagers murdered his son, 53-year-old Mitsuo Sudo has gone public about his grief, and his beef with the criminal justice system.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami