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COMMENTARY
Jan 10, 2003

Pyongyang is the real victim

Western and Japanese reactions to North Korea's recent nuclear activities and warnings have been strange.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 9, 2003

Takahashi taking life in stride

First of two parts
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2003

Pyongyang spy targeted by warrant

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department obtained on Wednesday an arrest warrant for a North Korean agent suspected of luring Yutaka Kume to Pyongyang in 1977, police officials said.
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2003

Seven-Eleven to sell 500 yen DVDs

DVDs featuring Warner Brothers cartoons will be available for 500 yen each at 200 outlets of Seven-Eleven Japan Co. in Saitama Prefecture starting later this month, Japan's largest convenience-store chain operator said Tuesday.
SOCCER / J. League
Jan 8, 2003

'Mr. Reds' explains the reasons behind retirement

"I just thought it would be difficult for me to play in another uniform except the Reds' uniform," Urawa Reds and former Japan striker Masahiro Fukuda emotionally said of the reasons for his retirement on Tuesday at a Saitama hotel.
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2003

Consumption tax may be raised

The government will consider raising the consumption tax to secure revenues, even though its priority remains the elimination of unnecessary spending, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2003

Major banks opt to put greater emphasis on private banking

The banking industry has begun putting greater emphasis on private banking as it seeks to increase profitability and eradicate huge loan-loss charges.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2003

Prewar democracy bid once saw jury trials

The atmosphere of heated argument lingers ghostlike within a restored prewar courtroom of the Yokohama District Court, where 12 chairs for the jury face those of the prosecution and defense.
COMMENTARY
Jan 6, 2003

Time for a U.S.-South Korean divorce

WASHINGTON -- The United States has defended South Korea for 50 years. But newly elected President Roh Moo Hyun suggests that his nation might "mediate" in any war between America and the North. Whatever value the U.S.-ROK alliance once had has disappeared. The presence of 37,000 troops in South Korea...
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2003

Returnees swamp airports, stations

Japan's major airports and railway terminals were packed Saturday with travelers returning from New Year's vacations at hometowns and resorts, according to airport and railway authorities.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 5, 2003

Safety first on the shinkansen

July 15, 2000, was just another hot and humid summer's day in Japan. For the hundreds aboard the Joetsu Shinkansen "Asahi 402," though, it was a day they would never forget -- after they were trapped on the train for two hours without water or air conditioning.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / CLOSE-UP
Jan 5, 2003

All the world's this scion's stage

Despite a daunting work schedule, and the added demands of this holiday season, Mansai Nomura made it -- albeit sleepy faced, but at the appointed hour -- to this interview in the coffee lounge of the Waseda Rihga Royal Hotel in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2003

Commuter airlines growing with new slots, niche routes

The commuter airline business in Japan has expanded in the past few years, with more people traveling from city to city on planes that carry around 100 passengers or less.
COMMENTARY
Jan 4, 2003

Pluses and minuses of 2002

LONDON -- "It could have been worse!" say the pundits. There was no repeat of Sept. 11, and there has not been a major conflict. Nor has there been a world-shaking financial crisis. But 2002 was not a good year for many people, and 2003 may not be any better. The balance sheet is not easy to calculate,...
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2003

Business chiefs gloomy on future

More than 90 out of 100 business leaders polled by Kyodo News in December are gloomy about the nation's future, saying the economy has either stalled or is deteriorating.
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2003

North Korea abductees to be made eligible for financial help

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is to officially recognize 15 Japanese -- including the five people who returned to Japan on Oct. 15 -- as victims of abduction by Pyongyang, it was learned Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2003

Ichiro coughs up over tax dodge

Seattle Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki failed to declare 80 million yen in income in Japan over three years through 2001, according to sources.
COMMENTARY
Jan 3, 2003

Little love lost in year of discord

HONG KONG -- Once again, it is time to give away the Asian Institute of Discord Analysis (Aida) "awards" for the just concluded Year of the Horse, an offbeat listing made exclusively for The Japan Times.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jan 3, 2003

A dark day for ducks

A Niigata sake brewery that would prefer to remain anonymous in this context, asked me to sit on a committee for an environmental trust they had just set up. They do brew the most excellent sake, so I happily agreed.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2003

Trials of Khmer Rouge must serve true justice

WASHINGTON -- The New Year may finally see the start of trials for Khmer Rouge leaders responsible for the deaths of nearly 2 million Cambodians in the 1970s, if the Cambodian government seizes the opportunity. But it's also possible that the United Nations could be dragged into a flawed process to set...
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2003

Koizumi reiterates his determination

The government is determined to push structural reforms forward on various policy fronts in 2003 to achieve a long-desired economic recovery, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said in a New Year's Day statement.
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2003

Dollar expected to fall against yen in first half

For Japanese looking to travel to the United States this year, the best exchange rates for the yen are likely to last until around June -- that is, if market predictions prove to be correct.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2003

New university to join bioscience race

KYOTO -- Although the government is aware that bio-related businesses are important for revitalizing the economy, this field has yet to develop in Japan at the level seen in other countries.
EDITORIALS
Jan 1, 2003

Tumultuous politics await

A big question hangs over Japanese politics in 2003: Will a snap general election be held? The key to the question is held by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who has the prerogative of dissolving the Lower House. Mr. Koizumi, who is also president of the Liberal Democratic Party, faces a party presidential...
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2003

Quest for disputed islands snarled by Suzuki scandals

Japan's efforts to get back the four Russian-held islands off northeast Hokkaido suffered an apparent setback last year.
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2002

Making sense of the mess of 2002

2002 will be remembered as a year of spectacular failures. The political mistakes that became front-page news were glaring, but they were often the product of miscalculation. Those that dominated the business headlines were the result of greed and larceny. Painful as all those blunders were, there are...

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person