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BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2003

Tax Commission urges tobacco-tax shift

The government's tax panel suggested Monday transferring tobacco tax revenues from the national government to local governments as a temporary measure in fiscal 2004.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 14, 2003

Shooting gallery aimed at sumo

On the other side of the Sumida River from Nihonbashi is Ryogoku, the undisputed center of the sumo world. Popular ways for a visitor to experience the character of the area include watching one of the three annual Tokyo basho (tournaments) at the Kokugikan (Sumo Stadium), joining some of the wrestlers...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Japan, ASEAN look to future

The summit between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations closed here Friday with leaders signing a "special relationship" declaration.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2003

Boards here in need of outsiders: U.S. headhunter

A leading U.S. executive search firm has found that Japan's corporate boards have a smaller number of external directors than any other nation.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2003

Will planned new law really protect whistle-blowers?

The government outlined a bill Wednesday to protect whistle-blowers in both the public and private sectors but provides no punishment for violators and says the protection must be pursued in lawsuits.
COMMENTARY
Dec 11, 2003

New Zealand seeks bigger splash in Asia

WELLINGTON -- It's clear that New Zealand's size is both a curse and a blessing. The curse is easy to see: New Zealand is so small that it's hard to get the attention of other governments. New Zealand is responsible for 0.22 percent of world trade. There are more Indonesian civil servants than New Zealanders....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / A GAIJIN'S TALE
Dec 9, 2003

Gentlewoman

One of the more interesting things about Japan is the rather unusual dynamic between men and women.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2003

Reforming the United Nations

The United Nations is our collective instrument for organizing a volatile and dangerous world on a more predictable and orderly basis than would be possible without the existence of the organization. As the year that saw war in Iraq draw to a close, the future and prestige of the U.N. is under scrutiny...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 7, 2003

Thousands pay respects to diplomats slain in Iraq

Some 3,500 people paid their last respects at the funerals Saturday of two Japanese diplomats killed in an ambush in Iraq, with many sobbing as friends and colleagues of the two men offered eulogies.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2003

China dreads contagion of unrest

SINGAPORE -- The heavy losses suffered by proadministration and pro-Beijing parties in Hong Kong's Nov. 23 municipal elections clearly bore out a prodemocracy message.
COMMENTARY
Dec 4, 2003

Chirac still feeling the heat

PARIS -- France has not finished paying for the August heat wave and its 10,000 deaths. Vegetable and beef prices have risen, tourism has declined, forest fires have devastated wide areas and the financial impact on the budget has postponed an economic upswing.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2003

Koizumi again pledges to dispatch troops

Japan will overcome last weekend's slaying of two Foreign Ministry diplomats in northern Iraq and send Self-Defense Forces troops to the country when the time is appropriate, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi vowed Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 3, 2003

Companies pursue image boost via programs for disabled

Japanese corporations are steadily expanding their social action programs to support physically disabled people in an apparent bid to look better to foreign investors.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 2, 2003

Could fear derail bold tourism bid?

There's a great irony in the Japanese government's "action plan" to double the the number of tourists who come to these shores by 2010.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2003

Diplomat deaths may stall approval of SDF dispatch

Cabinet approval of a plan to dispatch Self-Defense Forces units to Iraq will probably be delayed until next week at the earliest, in the wake of the fatal ambush Saturday of two Japanese diplomats.
EDITORIALS
Nov 30, 2003

Mr. Bush and the Almighty

It is not often that U.S. President George W. Bush finds himself in trouble with his evangelical Christian base. On the whole, the president, an avowed Christian of a fundamentalist bent, has won praise from that community for his policies on everything from the Middle East to abortion and gay marriage....
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2003

Government intervenes to rescue Ashikaga Bank

Stepping into a political minefield, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi decided Saturday that the government would temporarily nationalize Ashikaga Bank, currently part of the Ashikaga Financial Group Inc.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 26, 2003

Matsui, the Yankees and the PL's new free-agent trend

Hot stove league time, fans. Or should that be the hot hibachi league here in Japan? Lots going on during the off-season, so let's take a look at a few interesting happenings from last week.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2003

New U.S.-style law schoolsmay not get state subsidies

The Finance Ministry is planning to refuse to provide state subsidies to U.S.-style law schools that are to be established next spring to address a shortage of practicing lawyers in Japan, ministry sources said Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2003

Chen winning back respect for Taiwan's position

NEW YORK -- Chen Shui-bian, Taiwan's president, recently made a whirlwind international tour. During a three-day transit in New York three weeks ago, he received the 2003 award from the International League for Human Rights. He attended centennial independence anniversary celebrations of Panama, then...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Nov 21, 2003

Glacial pace of F.A. on discipline a joke

LONDON -- As you read this representatives of all the leading bodies in English football will be emerging from what was described as "a two-day lock-in" as they attempt to update the Football Association's disciplinary system, which is so out of date it is a wonder the fines are not paid in cattle.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2003

Ministry blasts business opposition to carbon tax

A top Environment Ministry official lashed out Thursday at opposition by the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) to a ministry plan to introduce an environmental tax in 2005.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Nov 21, 2003

Lowdown on the Top End

One interesting thing about Darwin is how often this city in the so-called Top End of north tropical Australia has been destroyed. Indeed there are those who contend that this is the only interesting thing about Darwin.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2003

Snow Brand reports first-half net profit

Snow Brand Milk Products Co. on Wednesday reported a group net profit for the half year to Sept. 30, citing intense restructuring efforts.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2003

Koizumi wins Diet approval to stay on as prime minister

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was re-elected Wednesday for a second term following the Nov. 9 House of Representatives general election that returned his coalition to power.
EDITORIALS
Nov 20, 2003

Debate needed on pension reform

Japan's underfunded public pension system -- which was a major issue in the Nov. 9 general election -- is in need of urgent reform. As expected, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry's plan for 2004, unveiled Monday, calls for drastic changes that would impose a greater burden on both the younger and...

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