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COMMENTARY / World
May 19, 2003

North Korea tops Koizumi's U.S. agenda

HONOLULU -- When Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi meets with U.S. President George W. Bush at the president's ranch in Texas this week, he will be speaking for a Japan that feels more threatened, this time by North Korea, than at any time since World War II.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2003

Business lobbies push for creation of career centers

Two major business lobbies asked the government Tuesday to help create career centers to help boost employment among the young.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2003

Core machinery orders grow 3.8%

Core private-sector machinery orders rose a seasonally adjusted 3.8 percent in March from a month earlier but are expected to fall 10.5 percent in the April-June quarter amid concerns over the U.S. economy as well as other economies in Asia, the government said Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
May 13, 2003

Streamlining state subsidies

In a move toward greater local autonomy, a government panel has submitted a report to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi calling for large cuts in state subsidies to local governments, including a reduction in government payments for public education. Currently the central government pays half of the salaries...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2003

Dam Politics

Poverty haunts the people of Myanmar but those who live in remote, landlocked Karenni State are among the poorest of the poor. Karenni, Myanmar's smallest state, is also the least populated with less than 250,000 inhabitants, many of them landless. Communication is poor and there is little employment....
COMMENTARY
May 12, 2003

A rocky British partnership

LONDON -- Prime Minister Tony Blair has staked his reputation on achieving a significant improvement in British public services. Under previous Conservative Party administrations, public services were allowed to run down as public expenditures were reduced.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2003

Ikuta against using postal savings to prop up stocks

Japan Post President Masaharu Ikuta said Friday he is against calls for the new public postal corporation to dump more funds from postal savings and insurance into the flagging stock market.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2003

Consumer pessimism lifts slightly

The key index of consumer confidence in Tokyo rose 1.7 points in April from the previous month to 40.5, up for the first time in two months, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2003

METI to open 10 youth job centers in '03

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to open 10 youth job-placement centers by the end of the current fiscal year, ministry officials said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2003

BOJ promises to keep economy flush

The Bank of Japan on Wednesday said it would force-feed the economy with money as needed, in a bid to wipe out even hints of a collapse in the financial system.
EDITORIALS
May 1, 2003

Privacy bills still have faults

The Diet debate on the government-proposed privacy legislation cleared a major hurdle last week as a Lower House special committee approved it with the support of the ruling parties. The controversial package, designed to protect personal information held by government offices and private companies,...
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2003

Nobel chemist, ex-Kobe mayor among government honorees

Masatoshi Koshiba, winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry, and Kosaku Inaba, former chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will be honored with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, the Cabinet office said in releasing the names of 4,301 men and 297 women in Japan on this...
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2003

Hatfield of U.S., Devakula of Thailand to be decorated

Former U.S. Sen. Mark Hatfield and Thai Privy Councilor Thep Devakula will be honored with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, the second-highest decoration awarded regularly by the Japanese government, the Cabinet Office said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2003

Deflation-fearing firms want action

More than half of major firms responding to a recent survey said the government must implement both fiscal and monetary policies to combat deflation, the Cabinet Office said Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2003

Support waning for hikes in pension premiums: poll

The number of people expressing understanding of a rise in public pension premiums has dropped compared with 10 years ago, according to recent government survey.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2003

Pianist, barber to receive government medals

A maverick jazz pianist and a hearing-impaired barber are among the 810 people who will receive government medals Tuesday in recognition of their contributions to society, the Cabinet Office said Sunday.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2003

Japan divided over how to respond

Government officials were divided Friday over how to deal with Pyongyang's reported admission that it possesses nuclear weapons, with some calling for the imposition of economic sanctions.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2003

New envoy

The government appointed Yasuaki Ono as ambassador to Tunisia on Friday.
COMMENTARY
Apr 25, 2003

North Korea policy hijacked

Tokyo's never-ending capacity for emotional overreaction, irrational group-think and back-to-front foreign policies has reached new heights over North Korea. Somehow Pyongyang's remarkable willingness to admit and apologize for former abductions of Japanese citizens has been turned around 180 degrees...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2003

Getting serious about tourism -- finally

Japan is finally getting serious about attracting some foreign visitors to its shores.
BUSINESS
Apr 23, 2003

Key economic index revised upward

The government on Tuesday revised upward the key February index for the current state of the economy, reflecting a higher capacity-utilization ratio at manufacturers.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2003

Defense Agency collated secret data on recruits for its ranks from 1966

The Defense Agency admitted Tuesday it has collected personal information -- including data normally not available to the public -- on teenagers eligible for recruitment into the Self-Defense Forces.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2003

74 members of Diet visit Yasukuni

Seventy-four Diet members, including a Cabinet minister, visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Tuesday during its annual spring festival.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2003

Japanese national in Beijing may have SARS virus

The government is trying to determine the condition of a Japanese national in Beijing who Chinese authorities say may be infected with SARS, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Monday.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Apr 20, 2003

Nice work so far but can U.S. pay up?

WASHINGTON -- By now there is very little doubt that the armed forces of the United States are quite phenomenal. The display of technology, tactics, teamwork, discipline and control in the four-week campaign that has taken control of Iraq has been quite a show, a demonstration of military power that...
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2003

Diet panel starts debating attack response legislation

The Diet on Friday launched full deliberations on a package of bills dealing with responses to foreign military attacks.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2003

Rumsfeld barb on Pyongyang aid earns angry rebuke from Fukuda

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda voiced displeasure Friday over a suggestion by U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that money and goods sent by Japan, South Korea and China are helping to sustain North Korea's dictatorship.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2003

June eyed for SDF-Iraq bill

Legislation that would allow the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces to Iraq for postwar reconstruction will probably be submitted to the Diet in June, a senior member of the ruling coalition said Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2003

Minister eyes pension ceiling targeting high-income earners

Welfare minister Chikara Sakaguchi said Friday the government should impose a ceiling on public pension benefits for high-income earners as part of fiscal 2004 reforms of the pension system.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building