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Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2004

Tokyo to grant Lee entry by year's end

Japan said Thursday it will issue an entry visa to former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui for a private trip by the end of the month, in a move that could further aggravate its already strained relationship with China.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2004

Tokyo, Washington sign missile-tech exchange agreement

Japan and the United States signed a pact Tuesday allowing "comprehensive cooperation" on transfers of technologies related to missile-defense systems.
COMMENTARY
Dec 14, 2004

Bush's term to test Koizumi

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will be required to fine-tune Japan's diplomatic strategies to deal with the reshuffle of U.S. President George W. Bush's administration. There is growing speculation that hardliners will gain more power in the second Bush administration following the departures of Secretary...
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2004

U.S. proposes talks on Taiwan Strait strategy

The United States has proposed launching a bilateral dialogue with Japan on possible joint cooperation in the event hostilities erupt between China and Taiwan, Japanese government sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2004

North Korea may get deadline to fully explain Yokota's fate

Japan will set a deadline for North Korea to give a full and honest account of the fate of abductee Megumi Yokota if it does not respond sincerely to a protest Japan filed over the matter, government sources said Saturday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 12, 2004

Until dearth do us part

It is a condition that many married Japanese know all too well.
Dec 12, 2004

North Korea may get deadline to fully explain Yokota's fate

Japan will set a deadline for North Korea to give a full and honest account of the fate of abductee Megumi Yokota if it does not respond sincerely to a protest Japan filed over the matter, government sources said Saturday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 12, 2004

Shift in security policy

Japan's security policy is likely to change significantly under the new National Defense Program Outline, which lays out guidelines for improving the nation's defense capabilities over the next 10 years. The main feature of the outline, approved by the Cabinet on Friday, is that it is aimed at meeting...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 11, 2004

Bill Hemmer

CNN claims that "American Morning," its flagship news program, is seen in more than 86 million households in the U.S. Here in Japan through CNNj, a partnership between CNN and Japan Cable Television, it may be seen in over 5 million households. This year marks the 20th anniversary of CNN's first live...
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2004

Extended Iraq tour a given from get-go

Although media opinion polls showed most respondents opposed extending the Self-Defense Forces deployment to Iraq, the government never seriously discussed a pullout of the Japanese troops from the war-torn country at the Dec. 14 end of their one-year mission.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2004

SDF troops will stay on in Iraq

The government made it official Thursday: the Self-Defense Forces troops in Iraq will stay for another year, as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi renewed his commitment to reconstruction efforts and to Japan's alliance with the United States.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2004

NPA report lists the usual suspects: Islamic terrorists, Aum, Pyongyang

International terrorist organizations run by Islamic extremists are expected to continue carrying out attacks worldwide, and the possibility of Japan becoming a target cannot be ruled out, the National Police Agency reckoned in an annual report on security released this week.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 8, 2004

Film it and they will come

When in Rome, visitors might not necessarily do as the locals do, but many certainly follow the example of Audrey Hepburn's character in "Roman Holiday" by sticking their hands in the "Mouth of Truth" near the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, or buying a gelato on the steps of Piazza di Spagna.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 8, 2004

Skipper Deeble proud of his Aussies in Athens

One of the big baseball stories of 2004 was the winning of the silver medal in the Athens Olympics by Australia, which upset a highly rated Japanese team twice during the Summer Games. The 1-0 and 9-4 victories by the Aussies stunned Japan, which had to settle for bronze, and it also raised the excitement...
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2004

For visa violators, it pays to come clean

In June 2000, Mohammad Mizanur Rahman was deported from Japan for overstaying his visa. Shortly after he was forced back to his native Bangladesh, his Japanese girlfriend joined him and they married.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Nov 29, 2004

National security may prove weak link in maintaining economic ties

Last week, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao met -- for the first time in a year -- on the sidelines of the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Chile. Ever since Tokyo and Beijing restored diplomatic ties in the 1970s, there has been an underlying belief...
EDITORIALS
Nov 28, 2004

Found in translation

I n the field of law, Japan certainly cannot yet be said to be sufficiently open vis-a-vis other countries. In order to improve this situation, a law-and-ordinance translation group set up within the government's Office for Promotion of Justice System Reform has unveiled a project to translate legislation...
Japan Times
Features
Nov 28, 2004

WATCHING THE DETECTIVES

On a rainy Saturday night in the neon-drenched streets of Shinjuku, Kenji Shimura looks like 1,000 other salarymen: off-the-rack black suit, sensible shoes and a face made for anonymous middle-management in an insurance firm.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2004

Lack of action here gives human-trafficking low profile: ILO

Public awareness of human-trafficking is low in Japan because of slow government action and a lack of legislation that directly addresses the problem, according a draft report by the International Labor Organization obtained Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Nov 24, 2004

Yasukuni's shadow darkens summit

Sunday's meeting between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao -- the first in more than a year -- proved once again that history remains the biggest thorn in the side of Japan-China relations. Unless historical disputes are resolved from a broad perspective, mistrust between...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 24, 2004

Lonely days in Fukuoka

The imminent sale of the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks baseball team to the Softbank Internet company may yield great results down the road but, right now, the elimination of the "Daiei" name seems to have cast an atmosphere of sabishisa (loneliness) over the city and the entire northern Kyushu area.
EDITORIALS
Nov 23, 2004

Keep principles of peace at the fore

On Saturday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush renewed their friendship on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit conference in Santiago, Chile. At what was their first meeting since Mr. Bush's re-election, the two leaders reaffirmed the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 17, 2004

Power of hope

Toshiko Akiyoshi's Jazz Orchestra is one of the most innovative big bands in jazz -- not just in Japanese jazz, but worldwide. Her work has received both critical praise and consistent popularity over the course of 50 years of live performances and some 40 recordings.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2004

China's sub intrusion sparks Tokyo protest

Tokyo lodged a strong protest Friday with Beijing after confirming that a submarine that intruded into Japan's territorial waters off Okinawa earlier this week belongs to the Chinese Navy.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan