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JAPAN
May 19, 2001

White paper calls for foreign investment

To cope with intensifying competition with China amid a prolonged economic slump at home, Japan should actively woo foreign direct investment and become more efficient, according to the White Paper on International Trade 2001 released Friday.
JAPAN
May 17, 2001

Japanese firms strive to ride out global IT tsunami

With the global economy becoming increasingly Net-oriented, leading Japanese companies are trying to ride out the information technology wave in a desperate bid to survive ever-intensifying competition.
MULTIMEDIA / SPORTS SCOPE
May 17, 2001

Time for the young ones to leave the nest

Philippe Troussier on the J. League: "The Japanese are soft and the players are soft and the referees are soft. One little bump in a game and it's a foul. These would never be fouls in Europe, in Spain or England."
JAPAN
May 16, 2001

Habibie looks back on presidency, expresses hope

AWAJI ISLAND, Hyogo Pref. -- In the turmoil following the resignation of Indonesian President Suharto in May 1998, the reins of power passed to Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, then 62 years old.
JAPAN
May 15, 2001

Former Australian prime minister hits U.S. over missile shield

AWAJI ISLAND, Hyogo Pref. -- A former Australian prime minister has slammed the decision of U.S. President George W. Bush to deploy an as-yet undeveloped missile defense system in Asia, saying it poses a "significant" threat to stability in the region.
COMMENTARY
May 14, 2001

Signs of creative destruction

Japan today needs what the economist Joseph A. Schumpeter once called "creative destruction." The immediate need is to shake up the political and economic systems from the ground up. Without such drastic changes Japan will not be able to regain vitality.
JAPAN
May 13, 2001

Koizumi considers joint history studies

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has told the Diet that he plans to promote joint history studies by Japan and its two Asian neighbors, China and South Korea, under existing research exchange programs.
COMMENTARY
May 11, 2001

Visit to Yasukuni a bad idea

What appears to be a revolutionary change occurred in Japanese politics two weeks ago when Junichiro Koizumi became prime minister following his stunning victory in the LDP presidential election. Koizumi's victory was unexpected since Japanese prime ministers had traditionally been picked by LDP kingmakers...
JAPAN
May 11, 2001

NGO calls for Korean nuclear-free zone

A group of people trying to increase the number of "nuclear-free municipalities" in Japan is planning to visit North Korea in August to promote exchanges at a grassroots level and discuss the possibility of establishing a nuclear-free zone on the Korean Peninsula.
JAPAN
May 9, 2001

Tokyo says it understands Bush's missile defense plan

Japan expressed "understanding" Tuesday toward the controversial new defense strategy announced last week by U.S. President George W. Bush.
JAPAN
May 8, 2001

Koizumi vows no sanctuaries from reform

The Prime minister's main policy points (Full text) The following is the gist of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's policy speech delivered Monday in the Diet.
JAPAN
May 8, 2001

Tanaka, Chinese foreign minister talk

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka and her Chinese counterpart Tang Jiaxuan agreed Monday to work together to improve soured bilateral relations, a Foreign Ministry official said.
COMMUNITY
May 6, 2001

Think you're safe? Think again

Japan has long enjoyed a reputation for being one of the safest countries in the world. It's said that you can trust your neighbors here. That there's little need to be constantly worried about your belongings. That you can walk the streets safely at night.
JAPAN
May 5, 2001

Deportation move decried

The government's decision to deport the man claiming to be the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il without officially confirming his identity is apparently a diplomatic consideration aimed at steadying Japan's troubled relations with Pyongyang.
JAPAN
May 5, 2001

Pyongyang leader's 'son' expelled to China

The government on Friday morning deported to China a man claiming to be the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, along with his three companions.
BUSINESS
May 5, 2001

Competition fuels plastic tank firm's quest for market share

As global groupings of carmakers force auto parts makers to intensify domestic competition, Inergy Automotive Systems SA, a French plastic fuel-tank maker, is gearing up to take a larger bite of the fuel tank market in Japan with its advanced technology and worldwide activities.
JAPAN
May 5, 2001

Covert entry puzzling, analysts say

Japanese experts were divided over why a man claiming to be Kim Jong Nam, the eldest son of Pyongyang leader Kim Jong Il, tried to enter Japan under an alias with a forged passport.
JAPAN
May 5, 2001

Aging U.S. POWs still await slave labor redress

OSAKA -- For 56 years, Ben Comstock, 82, an American captured by Japanese forces on Wake Island in December 1941, has been waiting.
JAPAN
May 4, 2001

Humanitarian groups yet to hit their stride

Staff Writer When the Diet was immersed in heated debate in 1992 over whether to send Self-Defense Forces troops to Cambodia for U.N. peacekeeping operations, Toshihiro Shimizu thought that something very important was missing from the discussions.
COMMENTARY
May 3, 2001

Bush administration's Asian policy gets off to a rocky start

HONOLULU -- The Bush administration's first 100 days have been rocky ones as far as Asia policy is concerned. The positive spin emanating from President George W. Bush's initial meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen quickly degenerated into a potential tailspin in Sino-U.S. relations after the...
COMMENTARY / World / GUEST FORUM
May 3, 2001

Turn the PM into a man of the people

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is right to suggest amending the Constitution to allow the people to elect the prime minister directly. The government of Japan currently lacks the ability to make quick and firm policy decisions. The Japanese tradition of decision-making by a consensus of powerful individuals...
JAPAN
May 3, 2001

Tanaka, Choi mull mending ties

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka and South Korean Ambassador to Japan Choi Sang Yong agreed Wednesday that an apology issued in 1995 by then Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama should be the basis for resolving the issue of a controversial Japanese history textbook.
JAPAN
May 1, 2001

Release of bilingual CD aims to soothe Tokyo-Seoul discord

Cultural exchanges between Japan and South Korea have made steady progress since the first deregulation of Japanese popular culture in South Korea in 1998, according to Kiyomi Kaneko, secretary general of the Foundation for Promotion of Music Industry and Culture (Promic).
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
May 1, 2001

Bored over in Cordoba

After "Le Flop" in Paris in March, Japan gave us "El Yawno" in Cordoba on Wednesday, holding Spain scoreless for 92 minutes until a moment of madness from Koji Nakata led to an injury-time winner from substitute Ruben Baraja.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami