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JAPAN
Apr 13, 2002

Cabinet approves auto recycling bill that would have consumers pay costs

The Cabinet approved a bill Friday that would oblige automakers and car importers to recycle three components of used vehicles and have consumers pay the costs.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2002

Davos themes dazzle with Webcasting

SEOUL -- If you missed Davos in New York last month, you have a rain check coming via the miracle of Webcasting. The more important panels will be broadcast at the World Economic Forum's Web site ( www.weforum.org ), starting Monday. Don't pass up this intellectual cyberfest for the netizen!
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 24, 2002

A greener shade of gray

Ever since Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden, people have been trying to climb back over the fence, because, whatever the attractions of city living, there is nothing like a garden to refresh both body and soul.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2002

Drain the swamp that breeds terrorism

This week U.S. President George W. Bush meets in Monterrey, Mexico with 50 other heads of state to discuss financing for Third World development. Last week, the president announced that he would ask Congress to set aside $5 billion for a special development-aid fund. This aid will be on top of the 10...
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2002

Bond issuance may soar by fiscal 2005

The Finance Ministry said Tuesday that government bond issuance in fiscal 2005 could soar to 42 trillion yen to finance the state budget if the nation's economic growth remains sluggish.
EDITORIALS
Feb 4, 2002

Doing right by Doha

Without a lot of fanfare, trade negotiators formally began the Doha Round of trade talks last week in Geneva. That the talks are being held at all is a victory; the original attempt to launch them unleashed "the battle of Seattle," when antiglobalism protesters turned that peaceful city into a riot zone....
COMMUNITY
Jan 13, 2002

Seafood central: Tokyo's Tsukiji market

"For Japanese, fish is the very best thing in the world," Sadao Ohashi declares with pride as he pushes his medieval-looking, two-wheeled wooden cart at jogging speed, maneuvering a load of mackerel, squid and sea bream through the moving maze of carts, people and battered one-man trucks that throng...
EDITORIALS
Jan 8, 2002

AFTA becomes reality

Since 1997, and the onset of the Asian financial crisis, there has been little for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to celebrate. But ASEAN rang in this New Year with a much needed boost. On Jan. 1, six of its 10 member-nations completed their plans to create an ASEAN Free Trade Area. Creation...
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2001

Lift age for retirement, medical services: proposal

A government strategy drafted with Japan's graying society in mind proposes increasing the mandatory ages for retirement and eligibility for medical services, according to the draft outline obtained by Kyodo News.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

Ohta angered by calls for Kansai airport delay

OSAKA -- Kansai officials were angered Wednesday upon hearing that the central government wants to delay completion of the second phase of Kansai International Airport, which was initially scheduled to be built in 2007.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 25, 2001

Income disparity vs. growth

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan reminded the world recently that the battle against terrorism might have displaced front-page news, but it has not solved pressing problems such as poverty and HIV/AIDS. The international community remains formally committed to the goal of reducing the level of poverty...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 18, 2001

The long road to a barrier-free Japan

Compact size. Lightweight. High-speed. Extra new features. Appealing design. Competitive price. Manufacturers have long focused on criteria like these in their quest for successful product lines. In the single-minded pursuit of profits, though, consumers unable to adapt themselves to standardized products...
COMMENTARY
Nov 15, 2001

The dilemma at Doha: balancing security and commerce

HONOLULU -- Terrorism is very much on the minds of trade ministers meeting since the weekend in Doha, Qatar, to discuss a new round of global trade talks. Some are worried about personal safety: Many received security briefings from their national intelligence services on the possibility of a terror...
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2001

Number of elderly at record high

The number of Japanese age 65 or older stands at a record 22.72 million, accounting for a record 17.9 percent of the population, the Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry said in a report Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2001

Cooperation in education key to poverty reduction

UNESCO chief Koichiro Matsuura is convening an unprecedented meeting of government leaders from 30 major industrialized and developing countries in autumn to discuss the promotion of primary education in the fight against poverty, according to Japanese government sources.
EDITORIALS
Jul 24, 2001

A turning point for the G8?

At this year's G8 summit of advanced industrialized nations in Genoa, Italy, history was made. Not because anything concrete was done, but for the worst possible reason: A demonstrator lost his life during protests against the meeting. Now the antiglobalization movement has a martyr, and the G8 must...
EDITORIALS
Jul 21, 2001

A foundation for Africa's renewal

The Organization of African Unity, created nearly four decades ago as a symbol for the new Africa, is about to enter the history books. It will be replaced by the African Union, perhaps as early as next year, to achieve a new mission: developing a region plagued by conflict, AIDS and poverty. It remains...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 8, 2001

In the pink

When Yokohama hosts the final and three other games in the soccer World Cup next June, foreign visitors will be spared a full-frontal view of the city's sleazier side by the waterfront, where a campaign to lessen any shock to their systems has been under way since last year.
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2001

India aiming to increase literacy rate

An Indian government official charged with improving the nation's literacy is confident the country's current goal of achieving a 75 percent literacy rate by 2005 is within reach.
COMMENTARY
Jun 16, 2001

Urgent tasks for Koizumi

Peace and stability in East Asia in the coming years will hinge on Japan's political and economic leadership, North-South rapprochement on the Korean Peninsula, China's policies as an emerging regional power and strategies of the United States, the sole superpower.
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
May 2, 2001

Public works projects not so easy to ax, Ogi reckons

The central government must look to local governments and their leaders when reviewing public works projects and avoid drastically reviewing or canceling them without such input, Infrastructure Minister Chikage Ogi said.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2001

An opportunity for the world's poorest

Roughly one-fifth of the world's population currently lives -- or tries to -- on less than $1 a day. That is a crude measure, but it translates into a daily grind of hunger, misery and disease that no human being should have to endure.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2001

Daytime crowds rediscover Tsukiji fish markets

The recent change in food distribution patterns has seen producers and large retailers connect directly, effectively marginalizing the nation's wholesalers. And Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market in Chuo Ward, better known as Tsukiji market, is no exception.
EDITORIALS
Jan 13, 2001

Help China to help itself

China promises to become an economic superpower in the 21st century, but it faces formidable environmental problems, such as acid rain, air and water pollution, desertification and soil erosion. According to a recent report from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, the world's most populous nation could...
EDITORIALS
Jan 1, 2001

The rebuilding starts now

At the dawn of a new century, the Japanese seem to be looking to the future with more worry than hope. The realities of contemporary Japan are grim. The nation seems to have lost its way. The social and economic systems that raised it to unprecedented levels of prosperity are falling apart at the seams....
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2001

Progress alone won't be enough

IT, shorthand for information technology, was a buzzword in Japan in 2000. Never before had computers and the Internet caused such a furor in the media. To be sure, IT had created a boom several times in the past, but its impact had been confined to the corporate sector. In contrast, the latest boom...
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2000

Societal barriers facing disabled may prove the most formidable

As deputy chief of the Japanese delegation at the Sydney Paralympic Games this summer, Tsunenobu Wakana was impressed with the handicapped-friendly facilities and transportation system.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2000

Ogi rocks the boat with airport review

Transport Minister Chikage Ogi recently sparked a row over a key part of the nation's future infrastructure plans when she suggested a review of the roles of Haneda and Narita airports.
EDITORIALS
Sep 27, 2000

Solving problems in Prague

Economic policymakers are gathered in Prague this week to make sense of the international economy. The mood is mixed, and rightly so. While the global economy has recovered from the scare of 1998 and has registered strong growth ever since, the recovery is fragile. It could be derailed by, say, high...

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear