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COMMENTARY
May 2, 2005

Caldron of simmering views

In advance of Constitution Day, on Tuesday, research commissions on constitutional reform from both houses of the Diet last month adopted final reports summarizing five years of debate. The Lower House panel focused on amending the supreme law, including revision of the war-renouncing Article 9.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 5, 2005

A dicey hypocritical streak

LONDON -- I am glad that March is over. The problem with the month is that it begins with the release of the U.S. State Department's annual reports on human rights violations worldwide (except in the United States, of course). Just as you come to terms with that, in the middle of the month, the six-week...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 7, 2005

Amendment must be made easier to ensure prosperity for Japan

On Jan. 18, Keidanren released a report on basic national issues including constitutional revision and diplomatic and national security policies. It was the first time this business lobby had put together a set of proposals on these matters.
EDITORIALS
Jan 26, 2005

A reason for long-term unity

The World Conference on Disaster Reduction, held last week in Kobe under the auspices of the United Nations, has produced concrete results, notably the Hyogo Framework for Action, a 10-year global action plan for reducing disaster risks, and an agreement to build a tsunami early-warning system in the...
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2004

Tokyo can expect stronger ties, demands

George W. Bush's re-election to another four years in the White House will ensure that strengthening the U.S. security alliance with Japan remains a major component of bilateral ties.
COMMENTARY
Aug 5, 2004

Sincerity is not good enough

LONDON -- A London weekly headed a recent issue with photos of U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair and with the caption "Sincere Deceivers?" Perhaps they were sincere in their belief that Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq was a threat to U.S. and British national interests,...
EDITORIALS
Mar 14, 2004

Imagining a world without birds

Take a walk in a Tokyo garden -- particularly an undisturbed, crow-haunted one such as the Institute for Nature Study's park in Meguro -- and you might find this hard to believe, but the world's bird population is shrinking. According to a report released to coincide with BirdLife International's quadrennial...
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2004

More Japanese finding wedded bliss with foreigners

Marriages between Japanese and foreign nationals now account for around 5 percent of all marriages in Japan, more than double the rate of the late 1980s, according to a recently published report by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
COMMENTARY
Aug 18, 2003

Responsibility to protect against state abuse

KUALA LUMPUR -- The annual Asia-Pacific Roundtable is an invaluable opportunity to take the pulse of Southeast Asian thinking about security issues. This year's meeting, the 17th, featured the usual U.S. bashing -- a predictable response to overwhelming American power and the Bush administration's readiness...
EDITORIALS
Aug 9, 2003

SDF must meet constitutional tenets

It has been 50 years since the Self-Defense Forces were created to protect the peace and independence of Japan and to deal with foreign acts of aggression. It is fitting, therefore, that the white paper on Japan's defense for this milestone year, released this week by the Defense Agency, takes up future...
COMMENTARY
Jul 15, 2003

A Japanese force for peace

The Lower House has approved a special bill that would allow Japan to aid in the reconstruction of war-ravaged Iraq. The bill is expected to be enacted late this month after the Upper House passes it. Under the new law, about 1,000 troops of the Self-Defense Forces will go to Iraq, beginning in October,...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2003

Dam Politics

Poverty haunts the people of Myanmar but those who live in remote, landlocked Karenni State are among the poorest of the poor. Karenni, Myanmar's smallest state, is also the least populated with less than 250,000 inhabitants, many of them landless. Communication is poor and there is little employment....
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2003

Infrastructure spending to target priority sectors

With the nation's population rapidly aging and social security costs ballooning, the government must invest its limited financial resources into priority areas in its social infrastructure-building efforts, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said in a report released Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2003

Water forum under way as war concerns mount

KYOTO -- With war in Iraq possibly only days away, a leading delegate to the Third World Water Forum declared at the opening session that providing clean water is more important than the looming conflict.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Feb 22, 2003

Connie Chung

CNNj, a team product of CNN and JCTV, is to launch in March a new service for Japanese viewers. It plans to combine content from three of CNN's award-winning networks, and to increase the use of the Japanese language in its news and feature programs. Amongst the U.S. shows that it will make accessible...
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2002

Press clubs stymie free trade in information: EU

When Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made his historic visit to North Korea on Sept. 17, the only foreign journalists allowed to accompany him were a select few from the United States and South Korea.
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2002

Local governments face increased airport cost burden

The transport ministry plans to ask local governments to shoulder more of the costs of building and expanding airports, according to an interim policy report presented to an advisory panel Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2002

Ministry aims to develop eco-freighter

The transport ministry expressed its resolve to develop an environmentally friendly vessel and deregulate the domestic shipping industry in its annual report on maritime affairs released Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 9, 2002

Japan's close encounter with the West

'By reading, hearing, and by observation in foreign lands, our people have acquired a general knowledge of constitutions, habits and manners as they exist in most foreign countries. . . . Japan cannot claim originality as yet, but it will aim to exercise practical wisdom by adopting the advantages, and...
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2002

Prosecutors grill Togo on funds scandal in Europe

Japanese prosecutors in Europe have repeatedly quizzed former elite diplomat Kazuhiko Togo over a breach of trust case involving two Foreign Ministry officials now under arrest and a government-funded committee on aid to Russia, investigative sources said Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Apr 5, 2002

Secure food safety

Never before, perhaps, has a government advisory panel made such a scathing attack on public policy. The final report on bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, popularly known as mad cow disease, submitted Tuesday by a 10-member investigative committee, points out that the government made a "grave...
EDITORIALS
Jul 12, 2001

Evaluating Japan's defense needs

This year's defense white paper, released last week, specifically calls for both quantitative and qualitative improvement in SDF capabilities, including weapons replacement and modernization under the midterm defense-buildup program. More significantly, it points to a need to enact contingency legislation...
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2001

Task force OKs overhaul of 157 public corporations

A state task force on Friday approved a plan calling for the thorough review of 157 government-affiliated corporations in an attempt to save 1 trillion yen in government expenditures.
JAPAN
May 30, 2001

Environment Ministry plugs green tax in first white paper

In its inaugural white paper approved Tuesday by the Cabinet, the Environment Ministry is touting the merits of introducing an environment tax to help put Japan on a more environmentally sustainable path and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
EDITORIALS
May 29, 2001

Dead end in the Middle East

The violence between Israelis and Palestinians continues to escalate. Every day there are new reports of atrocities; the cycle of attack and retaliation is intensifying, the time between them shortening. The only reason for hope in this grim situation is the -- belated -- recognition by the government...
EDITORIALS
May 22, 2001

Fling the door wide open

In this age of escalating economic globalization and cross-border business competition, Japan must develop into an attractive place for foreigners to invest, live or work. In particular, it needs to make itself more attractive to long-term foreign investors in order to promote structural reforms such...
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2000

UA accident laid to crew miscommunication

Poor communication between crew members triggered panic aboard a United Airlines jumbo jet involved in an accident in 1998 at Narita airport that injured 24 people, according to a Transport Ministry report released Friday.

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