Search - 2002

 
 
JAPAN
May 11, 2004

Group against Koizumi trip to North

A support group for people kidnapped to North Korea and their families protested on Monday a possible visit to Pyongyang by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to pick up five former abductees' relatives there.
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2004

Dahka stalling on joint border patrols

NEW DELHI -- The importance of joint border patrols on the Indo-Bangladeshi border cannot be overemphasized. Although India's northwestern border makes news due to problems in Kashmir or to cross-border terrorism of the most vicious kind, the eastern border that India shares with Bangladesh also has...
JAPAN
May 8, 2004

Freed abductees 'willing to revisit' North

Five repatriated Japanese abductees are willing to accompany Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to North Korea to pick up their families if such a visit is realized, one of their relatives in Japan said Friday.
JAPAN
May 8, 2004

Freed abductees 'willing to revisit' North

Five repatriated Japanese abductees are willing to accompany Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to North Korea to pick up their families if such a visit is realized, one of their relatives in Japan said Friday.
JAPAN
May 8, 2004

Nuclear plant exposure levels raise eyebrows

Nuclear plant workers in Japan have suffered the world's highest collective radiation exposure for four consecutive years, prompting the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency to consider improvements, it was learned Friday.
JAPAN
May 7, 2004

Koizumi lauds abductions progress; second Pyongyang visit not ruled out

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Thursday that Japan and North Korea have made progress in talks over the abduction issue, and indicated he might visit Pyongyang again to resolve the deadlock.
BUSINESS
May 7, 2004

Teijin posts 8.45 billion yen net profit

Textile maker Teijin Ltd. said Thursday its group net balance in fiscal 2003 returned to the black due to increased operating profit.
JAPAN
May 7, 2004

Koizumi lauds abductions progress; second Pyongyang visit not ruled out

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Thursday that Japan and North Korea have made progress in talks over the abduction issue, and indicated he might visit Pyongyang again to resolve the deadlock.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 5, 2004

Comic magazine looks for revival via serious, timely topics

Cults, capital punishment, teenage pregnancies and North Korean abductions may not represent the light fare generally associated with "manga" comic magazines, but one such publication is hoping its new focus on serious current issues will spark its revival.
JAPAN
May 5, 2004

Comic magazine looks for revival via serious, timely topics

Cults, capital punishment, teenage pregnancies and North Korean abductions may not represent the light fare generally associated with "manga" comic magazines, but one such publication is hoping its new focus on serious current issues will spark its revival.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 2, 2004

Japan welcomes students, but you might end up majoring in crime

The controversy over the increase in crimes committed by foreigners in Japan is centered mainly on appearances and interpretation. The National Police Agency's use of statistics to show that "foreign crime" is on the rise has given the agency license to initiate policies that many people, both Japanese...
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2004

State to check on overtime workers

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry plans to have inspectors make unannounced nighttime visits to companies to clamp down on unpaid overtime and prevent deaths from overwork, ministry sources said Monday.
JAPAN / POLITICS IN FOCUS
Apr 27, 2004

Firms now balking at political donations

Kenji Watanabe spent the last year preaching and begging business leaders around Fukui Prefecture to donate to the Liberal Democratic Party. He was always received politely, but company presidents kept their wallets closed.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2004

Japan-U.S. team to work on BSE-test pact

Japan and the United States remained far apart on measures to test for mad cow disease but the two sides managed to agree Saturday to set up a working team of experts to work toward lifting Japan's import ban on U.S. beef as early as this summer.
Japan Times
Features / LIFE OR DEATH
Apr 25, 2004

Only the noose can ease victims' pain

More than four years have passed since his 2-year-old granddaughter was murdered, yet never a day goes by without Tsuneo Matsumura mournfully remembering little Haruna, or having images of her flash through his mind whenever he sees a girl about the same age as she would be.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2004

Japan still playing catchup on kids' measles vaccinations

Japan launched a campaign to get more children vaccinated against the measles in 2001, looking to catch up with other advanced nations that combat the disease in a much more aggressive fashion.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2004

Gloves come off as rival LDP factions fight for cash

The two largest intraparty factions of the Liberal Democratic Party broke a long-standing taboo Wednesday by holding fundraising parties on the same evening in Tokyo.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Apr 22, 2004

Lives of Beckham, Keane provide tabloids endless fodder

LONDON -- An apology. Those of you hoping for a column that does not mention David Beckham or Roy Keane will be disappointed.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2004

Mitsubishi Fuso vice president becomes chairman

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp. has appointed Vice President Michio Hori as chairman, effective Tuesday, the firm said.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2004

Help Japan by using more homegrown wood: report

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry released an annual forestry report Tuesday calling for greater use of domestically produced lumber to help Japan's ailing forestry industry.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2004

Cost, language barrier still keeping tourists away

Independent tourists pride themselves on being able to plot out and partake in adventures of their own design -- rising to challenges known and unknown.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2004

Serial rapist wins earlier release

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday reduced a former TV Asahi Corp. employee's prison term to 10 years from 12 for a series of rapes and thefts in 2002.
Japan Times
JAPAN / POLITICS IN FOCUS
Apr 13, 2004

Lawmakers' groups act behind the scenes

A nonpartisan group of lawmakers lobbying to get Japanese abducted to North Korea back and working on behalf of relatives of the missing has been a big help to Shigeru Yokota.

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