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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 12, 2003

'Land of Fire' with history burning in its mokkosu heart

Few things puff up local pride like a local hero. Sendai dotes on its "One-Eyed Dragon," warrior Date Masamune. Kagoshima loves its plump 19th-century rebel Saigo Takamori. And Kumamoto adores its old daimyo lord Kato Kiyomasa.
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2003

Business chiefs welcome SDF dispatch

Business leaders on Wednesday welcomed the decision by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet to dispatch up to 600 noncombat ground troops to Iraq to help with reconstruction work.
EDITORIALS
Dec 11, 2003

The most risky mission yet

Japan is preparing to send Self-Defense Force troops to Iraq for a period ending one year from Monday. Their dispatch, which is expected to begin early next year, is based on the assumption that they will operate in noncombat areas to help rebuild the war-torn country. According to the plan approved...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2003

Magazine sold by homeless spreads

An Osaka-based magazine that helps homeless people earn money by selling the publication on the street is spreading to other cities.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2003

Cabinet approves plan to send SDF to Iraq

The government Tuesday approved a basic plan to dispatch Self-Defense Forces units to Iraq, paving the way for the deployment of up to 600 ground troops in southeastern Iraq early next year.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2003

Koizumi's credibility placed on the line

There is arguably no profession that places a greater premium on the credibility of a person's words than politics.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2003

Dispatch foes grope to find, let alone sway, opinion

OSAKA -- Japanese against the war in Iraq and the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces troops to help rebuild the nation may not be as vocal as their counterparts in the U.S. and Europe, but they are trying to sway public sentiment in an equally determined manner.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 10, 2003

Pacific League holds much promise for 2004 season

The Pacific League has lost 10-year veteran Seibu Lions all-star Kazuo Matsui, one of its best performers, to the major leagues and the New York Mets. Tuffy Rhodes, having been released by the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes, will probably be gone as well, moving to the Yomiuri Giants or another Central League...
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2003

500 to 700 ground troops to be sent to Iraq

Japan plans to dispatch between 500 and 700 personnel from the Ground Self-Defense Force to areas centering around Al-Muthanna province in southeastern Iraq, which include the city of Samawah, government officials told ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers Monday.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2003

More science projects with EU sought

The European Union and Japan should cooperate in developing such advanced scientific technologies as fuel cells, the research commissioner of the European Commission said Monday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / TALKING SHOP
Dec 8, 2003

When lenders balk, entrepreneur banks on worthy cause, trust

When Safia Minney first learned over a decade ago the Japanese phrase "mottai-nai" (what a waste) in regard to resources, she knew she was on the right track.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 7, 2003

Celebrating art far from home

"This stuff saved my life," says Amelia Toledo, one of Brazil's best-known artists. She pulls out of her handbag a tiny bottle of flower essence. "You just drop it on your tongue and it makes you feel better."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 7, 2003

Woman for the world

Back in 1957, a young woman of 23 with few qualifications, and little to sustain her but her courage and some money saved from waitressing, set off from her native England in pursuit of her dream to live and work for wildlife.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 6, 2003

Yoko Wakabayashi

Last month, Shinjuku Gardens staged its annual chrysanthemum show. Last spring, it maintained its reputation as one of the best Tokyo places for cherry blossoms. Year round, people enjoy the extensive lawns, giant trees and scenic lakes of these public gardens, which have replaced what used to be the...
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2003

Time to send people to the frontline in Iraq, Kawaguchi says

Despite the recent fatal ambush of two Japanese diplomats in Iraq, Japan should send Self-Defense Forces troops to the country to help speed up its reconstruction, Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Thursday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Dec 4, 2003

Alarm mars a runaway success story for salmon

In October, I spent some time in Vancouver. I have grown-up children there, as well as grandchildren and a lot of old friends, most of whom I met while working for the Environmental Protection Service. Even though I left Canada in 1978 to come to Japan and pursue the often dubious course of a writer,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2003

Game-console makers cut prices ahead of yearend showdown

Makers of video game consoles are gearing up for the all-important yearend shopping season.
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2003

Postal service shop for kids to open in May

Japan Post and the operator of Tokyo Disney Resort said Wednesday they will launch a postal service shop for children in May.
COMMENTARY
Dec 3, 2003

Lots of debate, little action

The problems with Japan's education system are well known -- poor teaching in the universities; class disintegration (gakkyu hokai) in the schools -- to name but a few. So many students, unwilling to put up with the pressures and rigidities of the existing school system, are now dropping out of school...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2003

Digital broadcasts mark fledgling debut

With signs that say "Digital is coming!" hanging in stores packed with new TV models promising dazzling imagery, Tokyo's bustling electronics shopping district in Akihabara is one place in Japan that's gung-ho about digital television broadcasting that began Monday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 2, 2003

Tread carefully in Iraq

Two Japanese diplomats were ambushed and shot dead by gunmen Saturday in the Iraqi village of Mukayshifa while driving to a conference on reconstruction work in Tikrit, north of Baghdad. Mr. Katsuhiko Oku and Mr. Masanori Inoue were reported to have been attacked when they stopped to buy food and drinks...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2003

NGOs weighing impact of killings, future course

Japanese nongovernmental organizations working in Iraq expressed concern Monday that their aid activities may face a strategic change given the weekend assassination of two Japanese diplomats in the country.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 2, 2003

Green cards, tenant rights and sewing

Immigration worry Dear Lifelines; My wife and I are returning in January from the U.S.; I am a U.S. citizen and she is Japanese. We had lived in Japan together for 7 years prior to my 2 year U.S. assignment. (I am a regular employee of the Japan branch office.)
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2003

Amino sports drinks gaining strength

Reflecting higher health consciousness and an ever-rising number of fitness enthusiasts, sports drinks containing amino acids are continuing to enjoy brisk sales in Japan.
COMMENTARY
Dec 1, 2003

Iraq and economy top political agenda

The special session of the Diet that was convened on Nov. 19 following the Nov. 9 general election came to an early close Nov. 27. On the question of the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq, which is the most important issue at the moment, fierce debate unfolded between Prime Minister Junichiro...
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2003

Despite deaths, Koizumi determined to send SDF

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi indicated Sunday that the deaths of two Japanese diplomats in Iraq, possibly at the hands of terrorists, will not change his plan to send troops to the war-torn country.
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2003

Growing jobless ranks rain on recovery parade

Japan's jobless rate was 5.2 percent in October, edging up 0.1 percentage point from the previous month.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Nov 29, 2003

Carol Smith-Wright

This year the International Ladies Benevolent Society marks its half century of uninterrupted philanthropic activities on behalf of organizations and people in need, mostly in Japan. Principally through its annual ball and its Christmas Fair, ILBS raises money that it donates to approved institutions...

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb