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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...
COMMENTARY
Dec 31, 2002

Koizumi losing ability to lead

The most striking impression about 2002 is that the world has become increasingly insecure. When two jetliners hijacked by suicide terrorists crashed into New York's World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, old-fashioned big-power games ended and a new struggle between civilized society and international...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Dec 30, 2002

An Ainu 'homecoming' for journeying Navajo

When Marcus Mose, a Native American from the Navajo Nation and an assistant language teacher in Gonohe, Aomori Prefecture, visited the popular Ainu musician Kano Oki in Hokkaido this November, it was like a journey home.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 29, 2002

Koma Square -- a new years' tale by RK

1997-99 He woke to the sound of a prerecorded voice booming from the nationalists' minitruck rolling through their neighborhood, making the windows rattle. Shirtless on the tatami, his bare back pressed to the ribbed weave, he heard the voice as part of his dream and then part of the day, and then...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 28, 2002

Three baas for the year of the sheep!

Baa-aa! Yes, you herd me right -- it's almost the year of the sheep. It's going to be a long year of itchy sweaters and mothballs. So put on your woolies and finish writing those New Year's cards.
COMMENTARY
Dec 26, 2002

Marketing matters in foreign policy

HONOLULU -- Call me a cynic, but I've long believed that one of the greatest foreign-policy advantages the United States has enjoyed is the ineptness of the governments it has confronted. It's always good to have right on your side, but sometimes that isn't enough. Nor is might the answer: The reality...
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2002

A bridge from science to life

The government's Biotechnology Strategy Council deEfines biotechnology as a pillar industry of the 21st century along with information technology. This perception, expressed in the council's "outline of bioEtechnology strategy" issued last week, should serve as an important guide for Japan. Such a national...
COMMENTARY
Dec 23, 2002

Fundamentalism twists ethics of religions

LONDON -- Because of the events of 9/11 and al-Qaeda terrorism, we have all become deeply concerned about the malevolent aspects of Islamic fundamentalism. It is not always easy to remember that most followers of Islam are moderate and tolerant.
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 23, 2002

Hamburg, Jubilo reach deal on striker Takahara transfer

OSAKA -- German first-division side SV Hamburg reached a deal with J. League champion Jubilo Iwata on Saturday for the transfer of Japan striker Naohiro Takahara.

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