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JAPAN
Nov 26, 2004

Abductees' kin seek more answers

Relatives of Japanese abductees taken to North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s submitted Thursday 62 questions and points they consider suspicious in Pyongyang's latest explanation of the fates of their kin.
BUSINESS
Nov 26, 2004

Hosoda figuring to seek 'coordinated' currency-meddling

The government will consider seeking coordinated intervention with currency authorities of other countries to try to lower the value of the yen if the currency continues its sharp advance against the dollar, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda indicated Thursday.
JAPAN / BY THE NUMBERS
Nov 25, 2004

Why recycle PET bottles if China will buy them?

Every PET bottle bears a triangle of arrows with the message: "Yes! to recycling. No! to littering." But it doesn't show where the bottles go.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 25, 2004

Consumers starting to take notice of Japanese wine

Despite a wide selection of imported wines available at stores nationwide, domestic wines are reportedly beginning to appear on connoisseurs' tables.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2004

Nonlife insurers report sharp fall in earnings

Major nonlife insurers reported sharp drops Monday in first-half earnings because of hefty claims filed during a record typhoon season.
COMMUNITY / LIFELINES
Nov 23, 2004

Cop capers, sailing and tattoos

More police capers Ian writes in to share some unpleasant experiences he has had with the police here, and wonders if any readers have had similar problems.
EDITORIALS
Nov 22, 2004

Rebuilding a safe society

This year's white paper on crime opens, on the first page, with the proclaimed aim of restoring Japan as "the safest country in the world" and closes, on the final page, with the expressed determination to achieve this goal. The report seems to convey the Ministry of Justice's concern and sense of tension...
MORE SPORTS
Nov 22, 2004

Genovese takes Tokyo Marathon

Italy's Bruna Genovese produced a late surge to come from behind and win the Tokyo Women's International Marathon on Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Nov 22, 2004

Limits of education control

The proposed trilogy of tax and fiscal reforms, aimed at giving more fiscal independence to local governments, is troubled by disputes over whether the state should continue paying for compulsory education. At issue is whether the education ministry or the local autonomies should be responsible.
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Nov 21, 2004

Stepping off the money-go-round

Being part of a worldwide grassroots "festivity" later this week comes at a price, of course -- but the price is no price at all, because Nov. 27 is "Buy Nothing Day," and all you have to do is spend no money.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 21, 2004

Fractured ankle means Q-chan may miss Worlds

Sydney Olympic women's marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi may have to sit out domestic qualifying races for next year's World Championships after suffering a fractured ankle at a training camp in Colorado.
Features / WEEK 3
Nov 21, 2004

Lolitas' bard is sitting pretty

The morgue-like, air-conditioned lobby of Tokyo's Keio Plaza Hotel is the haunt of businessmen in crisp black suits who sip $10 coffees and nod along to conversations that never rise above a murmur. But the studied cool is broken when Novala Takemoto swishes in, drawing faces in his direction like sunflowers...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 21, 2004

A boy detective of Old Edo

THE GHOST IN THE TOKAIDO INN, by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler. New York: Puffin Books, 2001, 214 pp., $6.99 (paper). Other books by same authors:
Features / WEEK 3
Nov 21, 2004

Discordant notes...

Bacteriologist Hideyo Noguchi (1876-1928), who became a star researcher with the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York, was a great man. He was so great that he is now the face on the new 1,000 yen bill issued Nov. 1.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 21, 2004

TV Tokyo's "Monday Entertainment" and more

In Japan, many people believe that blood type affects personality and health. Though the belief is based more on fashion than science, it's started to spread. Korea is now going through a blood-type craze. Interestingly, the traits attributed to certain blood types are different in Japan than they are...
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2004

Fiscal panel calls for tax increases

An finance advisory panel Friday recommended the government drastically cut spending and increase revenue by raising taxes in order to restore Japan's fiscal health -- a prerequisite to ensuring a sustained domestic demand-led economic recovery.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Nov 20, 2004

Kazuko Siazon

Kudan, the official residence of the Philippine ambassador to Japan, is said to be one of the most beautiful Philippine ambassadorial residences in the world. Kazuko Siazon certainly thought so when she first visited it in 1960. When she came to live in it in 1993, she faced a huge restoration project....
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2004

LDP wants tougher requirements for entertainer visas

A Liberal Democratic Party panel has proposed making entertainer visas more difficult to get in order to curb the problem of human trafficking.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / COUNTER CULTURE
Nov 19, 2004

Ginza bites the Big Apple

American fashion institution Barneys New York has finally found a place to call home in Tokyo. Opened last month in Ginza, this is the first flagship store in Japan for the prestigious Big Apple retailer. Operated by Isetan, Barneys has been in Japan for over a decade, but fans in Tokyo have had to settle...
CULTURE / Art
Nov 19, 2004

Enter the cinema dragon

A retrospective series of screenings to commemorate the work of Tadashi Nishimoto (1921-97), a cameraman who left his own distinctive mark on Japanese and Hong Kong film, will be held at the Japan Foundation Forum in Tokyo on Nov. 29-30 and Dec. 4-5.
BUSINESS
Nov 18, 2004

Inpex fetches 549,000 yen in debut on first section

Inpex Corp., a government-affiliated oil exploration company, proved popular in its debut Wednesday on the first section of Tokyo Stock Exchange, ending the day at 549,000 yen, 18.1 percent higher than its initial public offering price of 465,000 yen.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 18, 2004

Something meaningful to sink your teeth into

If nothing else, the Japanese are food snobs.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2004

Opposition hears Muraoka deny shady funds link

Former Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Kanezo Muraoka reiterated Wednesday he had nothing to do with a shady 100 million yen donation made to his party faction and claimed money matters were handled by others, including former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2004

New Komeito torn between two masters

A two-party political system involving the now ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan might not be far off, given the DPJ's strong gains in recent elections.
EDITORIALS
Nov 17, 2004

The nuclear power challenge

Japan's nuclear power industry today holds a very large amount of spent nuclear fuel that has accumulated over 38 years of nuclear energy production. The question is what should be done with this radioactive waste? There are two basic options: One is to recycle spent fuel through reprocessing; the other...

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers