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EDITORIALS
Jan 6, 2007

Two nations bigger

With the arrival of 2007, Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union, increasing its membership to 27 states. Simultaneously, Slovenia adopted the euro, Europe's single currency, becoming the first former communist state to do so and the 13th member of the euro-zone. The accession of Romania, with...
COMMENTARY
Nov 24, 2006

Breaking the trade impasse

LONDON -- Gordon Brown, the British chancellor of the exchequer and likely successor to Prime Minister Tony Blair, has declared publicly his strong support for a successful conclusion to the Doha round of world trade negotiations. He has called for new mechanisms to break the global logjam on trade and...
EDITORIALS
Oct 17, 2006

A clear message to Pyongyang

The sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council against North Korea represent a unified message from the U.N. member countries reprimanding the North for its underground nuclear test on Oct. 9. The unanimous adoption of a resolution imposing the sanctions less than a week after the test...
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2006

Even without direct say, public influencing LDP race

, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe (center) and Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, attend an LDP regional meeting last week. KYODO PHOTO
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2006

It pays to join China's CCP

LONDON -- The Chinese government recently announced that membership in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has grown to a record 71 million; apparently there are also 17 million applicants waiting to join. Last year 2,540,000 people were admitted. Since 1990 party membership has grown by almost one-fifth....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2006

Japan receives first batch of U.S. beef

The first shipment of U.S. beef since Japan reimposed a ban in January over fears of mad cow disease arrived Monday at Narita airport.
EDITORIALS
Jun 20, 2006

No need to fear Central Asian club

The summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a curious event. Most of the year, the organization toils in obscurity, but its annual heads-of-state meeting invariably elicits breathless commentary about the rise of a bloc that is designed to stop the West or, more specifically, the United...
EDITORIALS
Mar 31, 2006

Hope for human rights at the U.N.

With broad reform of the world body stalled, the U.N. General Assembly voted earlier this month to approve a new Human Rights Council. While this is only a first step, it does provide hope for U.N. reform after all. The old Human Rights Commission was an egregious sore, more notable for its human-rights...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2006

Lower House wants Nishimura to quit

The House of Representatives passed a resolution Friday urging former Democratic Party of Japan member Shingo Nishimura, who is on trial for allegedly violating the Attorney's Law, to step down.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 14, 2006

Who is paying the price of health care?

Japan's health-insurance program is touted as being egalitarian, with treatment available at any medical institution in the nation to those people who pay monthly insurance premiums and 30 percent of their medical treatment, including diagnoses, tests and prescriptions.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2005

Japan imports illegally caught tuna: WWF

Japan has imported thousands of tons of bluefin tuna caught by Turkey in the Eastern Atlantic in violation of international agreements, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.
EDITORIALS
Oct 8, 2005

EU opens its doors to Turkey

After taking negotiations to the brink, the European Union this week agreed -- as promised -- to open talks with Turkey on its membership in the union. The last-minute decision is typical of EU behavior these days, but Ankara's accession raises fundamental questions about the EU. This week's agreement...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 21, 2005

'Pacifist' Japan always ready to back a bit of conflict

"I don't care to belong to any club that will accept me as a member." -- Groucho Marx
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2005

Postal rebels try to regroup via new party

Four Liberal Democratic Party foes of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's postal reform push and a defector from the main opposition force announced Wednesday they will form a new party and run on its ticket in the Sept. 11 poll.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2005

Koike takes on Kobayashi as LDP hits postal rebels

The Liberal Democratic Party has stepped up its offensive against the rebels who voted against Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's postal privatization bills, tapping Environment Minister Yuriko Koike to run against one of Koizumi's leading opponents in the Lower House election scheduled for Sept. 11....
JAPAN / 60 YEARS,AND ONWARD
Aug 3, 2005

Youth here yet to pick up the peace torch

Their appearances belied the seriousness of their gathering on a hot Friday night last month in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Q&A
Jul 8, 2005

Why is Japan so impatient to land a permanent seat in the UNSC club?

Japan moved a step closer toward its goal of becoming a permanent United Nations Security Council member Thursday, as the so-called Group of Four nations -- Japan, Germany, India and Brazil -- submitted a resolution on the matter to the U.N. Secretariat. The following are some basic facts on the UNSC...
JAPAN / Q&A
Jul 8, 2005

Why is Japan so impatient to land a permanent seat in the UNSC club?

Japan moved a step closer toward its goal of becoming a permanent United Nations Security Council member Thursday, as the so-called Group of Four nations -- Japan, Germany, India and Brazil -- submitted a resolution on the matter to the U.N. Secretariat. The following are some basic facts on the UNSC...
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2005

Ishihara seen as X-factor in metro race

Four years ago, it was Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi who appeared on the posters of Liberal Democratic Party candidates for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election.
COMMENTARY
Jun 23, 2005

Lively politics worries China

HONG KONG -- Although Taiwan's lat est constitutional reforms preclude any declaration of formal independence for the foreseeable future, they do strengthen Taiwan's democratic development.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 20, 2005

America's flexible notion of sovereignty

LONDON -- On May 9, in an interview in Moscow on CNN U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said "the United States, of course, recognizes that North Korea is a sovereign state."
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2005

Japan rejects U.S. plan for U.N. reform

Japan rejected a U.S. proposal on United Nations reform Friday despite receiving support for its quest to become a permanent member of the powerful U.N. Security Council.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2005

Fukuoka, Miyagi by-election campaigns start

Campaigning kicked off in Miyagi and Fukuoka prefectures Tuesday for two House of Representatives by-elections expected to be pivotal in deciding the fate of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's postal privatization drive.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2004

Princess Nori to marry Tokyo metro bureaucrat

Princess Nori, the only daughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, will marry Yoshiki Kuroda, an official in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, a senior Imperial Household Agency official said Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 2004

U.S. has no reason to fear that ICC will abuse rights

NEW YORK -- After the Treaty of Rome was signed in 1998, laying out the foundations for the International Criminal Court, many believed that this organ of justice would never materialize. There were already indications that the United States would not support such a court in all its aspects. Rejection...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 1, 2004

Shaking it up on Sado

SADO ISLAND, Niigata Pref. -- Step one: right leg forward, left leg back.

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?