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JAPAN
Jan 18, 2005

Visa ban lifted to boost Aichi expo crowds

The government may temporarily lift regional restrictions for issuing visas to Chinese tour groups, allowing visitors from any part of China to enter Japan during the 2005 World Expo in Aichi Prefecture, which will run from March 25 through Sept. 25, transport minister Kazuo Kitagawa said Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2005

Roh says Emperor is welcome but Koizumi feels time not ripe for visit

SEOUL -- South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun said Thursday his country would welcome a visit by Emperor Akihito, despite the sensitive issue of Japan's past colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2005

Flesh traders targeting Western women

A 23-year-old Russian woman became intrigued with the idea of working as a hostess in Japan a few years ago after a friend returned home flush with cash from hostessing and opened a boutique.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 12, 2005

What's in a name? The good, the bad and the absurd

From the (e-)mail bag, Patrick O'Mara from Washington, D.C., sent the following message: "I'm writing as a new fan to the game; my wife got me into (baseball) this past season, when the Red Sox finally overcame the Yankees. My question is why do they call it the "World" Series?
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2005

A permanent Security Council seat

Japanese diplomacy faces formidable challenges in 2005, the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. With momentum building for reform of the United Nations, this will be a crucial year in Japan's bid for permanent membership on the powerful U.N. Security Council.
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2005

State seeks to fund only quality foreign students

The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry urged the government on Tuesday to review its policy on foreign students because their academic performance has been declining.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 9, 2005

Life in the land where boredom is not an option

Writer, commentator and film specialist Donald Richie has had a good year, on that saw, among other things, the publication of "The Japan Journals" and his receipt of the Rising Sun With Gold Rays, a prestigious award honoring a lifetime of achievement in the arts. Here he shares his thoughts.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2005

Koizumi pledges robust reconstruction aid in disaster area

Japan will do its best to provide aid and help reconstruction efforts in the Asian countries hit by last month's killer tsunamis, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2005

Home schooling finds foothold but not official favor

Mariko Komuro was of the firm belief that children should go to school even if they experienced problems -- at least until her 8-year-old son, Kazutoshi, began to feel sick and throw up in the morning on school days.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 3, 2005

Common weeds of nationalism

NATIONALISMS OF JAPAN: Managing and Mystifying Identity, by Brian J. McVeigh. Latham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004, 331 pp., $34.95 (paper). Angry Chinese and Korean responses to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine, anti-Japanese actions by Chinese soccer fans at the Asia...
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2005

Tama's population fall shows how baby boom is bust

Tama New Town -- a bedroom community in Tokyo's western suburbs -- is no longer new.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2004

Civilian controls over military matters seen in the balance

As Japan prepares to redefine the Self-Defense Forces as a bona fide military, the government will have to address the sensitive question of how much say SDF officers should have in national security.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2004

Alternative to fading away

In the annals of mankind, various nations that rose and fell over centuries are recognized for what they left for posterity. The Romans laid the foundations of Western civilization with Roman Law and built the infrastructure that enabled the spread of Christianity. The world owes the British for the...
JAPAN / READERS' FUND
Dec 28, 2004

NPO stretched thin aiding ill illegal aliens

Friendly Asians Home (Ajia Yuko no Ie), a nonprofit organization based in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, has been active since the 1960s in helping people from Southeast Asia facing difficulty in Japan.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Dec 27, 2004

Grass-root case for independent Taiwan

NEW YORK -- Sallie Huang is a passionate advocate of Taiwan's independence. She argues that China is simply flaunting its ignorance and wrongheadedness in claiming Taiwan as part of its territory.
COMMENTARY
Dec 27, 2004

Extract the Yasukuni thorn

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's practice of making annual visits to Yasukuni Shrine is a thorn in the side of Japan-China relations.
Japan Times
Features
Dec 26, 2004

Men or monkeys in 2004?

A year is a novel that writes itself. The plot may be incoherent and the main characters disappointing, but the overall effect never fails to be riveting.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2004

Thai orphan gets one-year visa

The government Tuesday granted renewable one-year temporary resident status to a 13-year-old Thai girl orphaned in Thailand and now living in Japan with her adoptive guardians.
EDITORIALS
Dec 20, 2004

Seeing eye to eye with a neighbor

Grass-root ties between Japan and South Korea look better than at any time since the end of World War II. Mutual understanding and friendship have deepened visibly over the past few years, as demonstrated by the successful cohosting of the 2002 World Cup and the surge of Japanese interest in South Korean...
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2004

Koizumi, Roh back six-way talks, in no hurry for sanctions

IBUSUKI, Kagoshima Pref. -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun said Friday they will seek an early resumption of six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear threat.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 18, 2004

'Hands Across Water' spreads inclusion message

With a 30-room house sitting amid 12 hectares in northern England, artist-activist Scott Baron lives up to his name. Now his signature custom-made black fedora has gone missing, and he has to make one last trip to Kiba, in Tokyo, before leaving Japan. "It's in station lost property, rather the worse...
Dec 18, 2004

Koizumi, Roh back six-way talks, in no hurry for sanctions

IBUSUKI, Kagoshima Pref. -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun said Friday they will seek an early resumption of six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear threat.
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...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji