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BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2004

Government adopts FTA policy focusing on partners in Asia

The government on Tuesday approved a basic plan to promote free-trade agreements, prioritizing accords with Asian trading partners to help build an East Asian community.
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2004

Finance Ministry requests 3.8% cut in foreign aid

Amid the nation's continued tight finances, the Finance Ministry proposed Monday a 3.8 percent cut in foreign aid in fiscal 2005 for the sixth straight year of decrease in the initial budget.
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2004

Thai orphan again denied residency; ministry might renew one-year visa

The Justice Ministry may renew for another year the temporary resident status of a 13-year-old Thai orphan living in Japan with her adoptive relatives, sources said Monday.
Dec 21, 2004

Finance Ministry requests 3.8% cut in foreign aid

Amid the nation's continued tight finances, the Finance Ministry proposed Monday a 3.8 percent cut in foreign aid in fiscal 2005 for the sixth straight year of decrease in the initial budget.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2004

Chief Yasukuni priest brings business savvy to shrine

At one time, Toshiaki Nambu was just an ordinary employee at Dentsu Inc., the nation's top advertising agency, working with such clients as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.
Dec 20, 2004

Chief Yasukuni priest brings business savvy to shrine

At one time, Toshiaki Nambu was just an ordinary employee at Dentsu Inc., the nation's top advertising agency, working with such clients as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 20, 2004

Consumption tax, reforms, incentives key to future growth

The Keidanren in September released a simulation of the medium- to longer-term prospects for Japan's fiscal policies and social security programs. The simulation made itclear that unless the fiscal structure of the Japanese government is reformed, Japan's outstanding public debt will likely expand to...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 19, 2004

Stamp of identity for artist of a troubled double heritage

THE LIFE OF ISAMU NOGUCHI: Journey Without Borders, by Masayo Duus, translated by Peter Duus. Princeton University Press, 2004, 340 pp., 36 half-tone photos, $29.95 (cloth). ISAMU NOGUCHI: Master Sculptor, by Valerie J. Fletcher, with contributions by Dana Miller and Bonnie Rychlak. London: Scala Publishers,...
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2004

Illegal entrants seek release, reunion with kids

A married couple from Myanmar who have been in detention for illegally entering Japan filed a lawsuit Friday with the Tokyo District Court, seeking cancellation of the government's order to hold them and demanding their release.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2004

Former Hansen's patients in Taiwan sue for redress

Twenty-five former Hansen's disease patients from Taiwan filed a lawsuit Friday at the Tokyo District Court, demanding that the government repeal its rejection of their demand for compensation over Japan's past segregation policy.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2004

'Tankan' sees first slide in 21 months; recovery past peak

Business confidence at Japan's large manufacturers in the October-December quarter worsened for the first time in 21 months, and the outlook for next quarter is even dimmer, according to the Bank of Japan's closely watched "tankan" survey released Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2004

Freelance journalist takes fight against press clubs to court

Japan's "kisha" press clubs have long been criticized for their closed, controlled nature and the various privileges solely accorded their members.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Dec 16, 2004

Reflections on rich learnings we all shared

When I began writing this column, I thought it would be a one-year gig. My editors thought so too. But things went well, and for nearly four years now I've reported in this space about my children's experiences in Japanese school.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 15, 2004

Zico calls up Nagata

Japan coach Zico has called up Kashiwa Reysol defender Mitsuru Nagata for Thursday's home friendly with Germany to fill the gap in his backline, the Japan Football Association said Tuesday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 15, 2004

2005 schedule reflects big changes in Japanese baseball

The 2005 Japan pro baseball schedule was released last week, and one look at the table gives you an idea there will be a whole new ball game next season. Three separate slates were unveiled, one for each of the Central and Pacific Leagues as usual, with Japan's first-ever interleague calendar tacked...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 12, 2004

Wrapping things up in time for Christmas

Tokyo bibliophiles will no doubt look back at 2004 as the year in which a revered Tokyo institution -- the Maruzen book store -- moved from its original location in Nihombashi, where it had operated since 1870, to a new home on the first through fourth floors of the OAZO Building in Marunouchi. While...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 12, 2004

Revealing 'The Japanese Sensibility': Innocence

How can innocence and worldliness coexist in a people? Does not the black whip of cynicism, with its burr and sting, send naivete sailing for more gentle and accommodating shores?
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2004

U.S. to return rights to Okinawa

The United States agreed Friday to return to Japan air traffic control rights over Okinawa Island and its vicinity in about three years, the U.S. Forces in Japan said.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2004

Ishihara eyes fishermen as pawns in spat over EEZ

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will subsidize fishing around Okinotorishima Island to emphasize that the area is within Japan's exclusive economic zone, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara said Friday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2004

Cell phones answer music players' call

After e-mail, Internet access and cameras, music will likely be the next killer application for cell phones in Japan, where online distribution is yet to catch on.
COMMENTARY
Dec 11, 2004

At last, Asia is taking shape

HONOLULU -- For generations, East Asia has been identified as a geographical entity -- it was a region on a map -- but it lacked a coherent identity beyond that. That is changing. East Asia is laying the foundation for an international presence that will rival that of the European Union. Last month's...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2004

Remains not those of Yokota

The remains North Korea gave Japanese officials last month are not those of Japanese abductee Megumi Yokota as Pyongyang had claimed, government officials said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2004

Tokyo lodges complaint over China ship in EEZ

Tokyo has lodged a protest with Beijing against unannounced research activities being carried out by a Chinese ship in Japan's exclusive economic zone around Okinotorishima Island, the nation's southernmost territory, officials in Tokyo said Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 8, 2004

To keep the SDF in Iraq or not

The government is set to extend Japan's troop deployment in Iraq beyond Dec. 14 for another year, although Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has not adequately explained why an extension is necessary. Nor has the Diet debated the question in detail. A joint opposition bill aimed at ending the dispatch...
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2004

Limited-term foreign professors seen cornering workload but not benefits

OSAKA -- A nationwide survey of foreign professors in Japan reveals that those who do the most work are younger, less experienced teachers either on limited term or part-time contracts, rather than tenured professors.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2004

Tax and spend no better than borrow and spend

UBUD, Bali -- For most politicians and bureaucrats, so-called tax reform is a cover for them to raise taxes. And so it is not surprising that Japan's Tax Commission insists it is impossible to avoid tax increases to sort out Tokyo's fiscal problems. But it turns out that this assertion is based on logic...
JAPAN
Dec 7, 2004

Males more prone to commit crimes but whys elude

As in other advanced countries, statistics show that most crimes in Japan are committed by males, especially violent offenses.

Longform

Construction equipment sits idle in a park near Shiba Toshogu shrine in Tokyo's Minato Ward. While Japan has a history of treating its trees with reverence, green coverage is said to be lacking in most of the major cities.
Do Japan's trees no longer occupy the sacred space they used to?