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COMMENTARY
Sep 1, 2002

Taiwan's role in promoting democracy

MANILA -- Due to mere numbers, the Taiwanese will always be the underdog in their dispute with China. Arguably, the most important advantage of the islanders in this confrontation is their domestic political order. In spite of constant partisan bickering, Taiwanese democracy may well be termed a source...
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2002

Koizumi, Hiranuma blast Tepco over alleged nuclear-hazard coverup

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi slammed Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Friday for allegedly falsifying reports on problems discovered at its nuclear plants.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 31, 2002

Falun Gong seeks peace and freedom to practice

Shinly Shaw is slender with short hair, and Chinese. This is how she described herself so I could pick her out in the crowd. Luckily we found one another in Tokyo Station, but only the second time around.
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2002

July unemployment unchanged at 5.4%

Japan's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.4 percent in July for the third consecutive month, the government said Friday.
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 31, 2002

Marinos looking to avenge first-stage falter

After narrowly missing the J. League Division One first-stage title, the Yokohama F. Marinos are aiming to grab it in the second stage, which runs from Saturday through Nov. 30.
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2002

Panel formalizes road-firm privatization report

A key government panel on Friday formalized an interim report on ways to privatize four road-related public corporations, proposing to freeze a number of pending highway projects and minimize the financial burden on taxpayers.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Aug 30, 2002

Staying cool at school becomes a hot topic

It sure is hot in Japan. My kids had to sweat through weeks of heat before they were finally released for summer vacation in the third week of July. They go back to school next Monday, and I feel sorry for them. It's likely to be hot and humid for a few more weeks.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2002

Real estate appraisal to reflect costs of polluted-soil cleanup

The government will introduce new criteria for real estate appraisals under which costs for cleaning up soil contamination will be reflected in land prices, according to officials of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry.
SOCCER / World cup
Aug 30, 2002

Playing abroad good for J. Leaguers: Zico

New Japan manager Zico is encouraging J. League clubs to play abroad to help improve the standard of Japanese soccer, Japan Football Association president Saburo Kawabuchi quoted him as saying Thursday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Aug 29, 2002

Prehistory still abounds in everyday life

In the course of a normal day, the word "fossil" may quite possibly never occur to you. Fossils are, however, crucial to many aspects of daily life.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2002

IT-related sectors' CO 2 output may soar by 2010, report says

Carbon dioxide emitted by industries involved in information technology in Japan could log a three-fold increase in the 10 years from 2000 to 2010, according to a recent study.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Aug 29, 2002

Clearing the air, resurrecting cash and finding a pet

Clearing the air With summer winding down, and in readiness for new seasonal beginnings, time to clean the slate.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2002

Ministry hopes to pay for babies

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry plans to press for a 4.6 percent increase in its fiscal 2003 budget in order to introduce a 1.04 trillion yen incentive program to boost the nation's birthrate, officials said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2002

Persian-language court interpreter lives life on a tightrope

Keiko Kawashima's job as a Persian-language court interpreter sometimes requires her to respond to calls in the middle of the night.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2002

U.S. to keep Tokyo advised on Iraq situation: Armitage

Visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Tuesday that Washington intends to stay in touch with Tokyo regarding any plan to attack Iraq.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2002

Ruling recognizes Unit 731 used germ warfare in China

The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday acknowledged that Japan waged germ warfare in China during World War II and caused harm to residents, but dismissed a claim by Chinese plaintiffs suing the government for compensation over the atrocities.
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2002

Road panel ready to back private firms

A government advisory panel formulating ways to privatize four public road-construction firms will pave the way for them to later invest in highway projects that are deemed profitable, according to a draft report unveiled Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2002

Mali envoy seeks to further exchanges

Fatoumata Diall, Mali's first ambassador to Japan, hopes to increase contacts and relations between the two countries at various levels.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 28, 2002

A total feast for the eyes

This is total theater. Shinkyogeki, new-style Beijing Opera, is a combination of almost every performing art known to the East and the West. It should be a cross-cultural mess -- but it's not. At its best, as in the staging of "Yang-kui-fei and Abe-no-Nakamaro," which is now touring Japan, it's breathtaking....
COMMENTARY
Aug 26, 2002

Shrinking realm of privacy

LONDON -- Privacy is now increasingly recognized as an important human right, but its limits are not easy to define. How far, for instance, should the press be prevented from intrusive photography of VIPs? The media generally argue that it is their job to report on the movements and actions of public...
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2002

Ministry to seek more funds to deal with packed prisons

The Justice Ministry will seek a sharp increase in its fiscal 2003 budget to address the problem of overcrowding in Japan's prisons and request a "research budget" to build the first new prisons in about 20 years, ministry sources said.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 25, 2002

Emerson shines for East in All-Star Match

SAITAMA -- Urawa Reds striker Emerson came off the bench in the second half to strike the winner as the J. East team edged the J. West team 2-1 in the J. League All-Star Match on Saturday night at Saitama Stadium 2002.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2002

Osaka seminar clarifies provisions of U.N. crime convention

OSAKA -- Twenty-one nations from around Asia concluded a two-day seminar here Friday in which they learned from experts about the specific provisions of the United Nations Transnational Organized Crime Convention.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2002

Cops cashing in on driver licenses: lawsuit

Freelance journalist Yu Terasawa, 35, filed a suit in 2000 against the state, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and police-related organizations, claiming Japan's 74 million licensed drivers are being systematically financially exploited by police.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2002

North Korea on trilateral agenda

Japan, South Korea and the United States will hold high-level talks in Seoul on Sept. 7 to discuss issues relating to North Korea, the Foreign Ministry announced Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 24, 2002

A drink is only as good as the pub that serves it

We are sitting in Enjoy! House, a small pub cum club in Ebisu. There is hardly room to swing a cat, yet somehow a bar, tables and a minuscule dance floor are all squeezed in. The decor is ethnic meets neo-hippie; the service foreigner-friendly; the food good.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Aug 23, 2002

Common octopus

* Japanese name: Madako * Scientific name: Octopus vulgaris * Description: Octopuses are cephalopods, the most complex and advanced of the mollusks. They have short, round bodies and, of course, eight arms joined by a web of skin. The arms are covered with suckers. Octopuses move by jet propulsion,...
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2002

Panel seeks 'review' of new roads

A key government panel discussing the privatization of tollways agreed Thursday to urge the government to "immediately review" the implementation of all ongoing expressway construction work.

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