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JAPAN
Jan 13, 2004

World's young see Japan wealth, diligence waning

An increasing percentage of young people in Japan, South Korea, the United States, Germany and Sweden see Japan's economy as waning and Japanese as less diligent than before, according to the results of a government survey released Monday.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 13, 2004

Prize trouble, study in Oz, and a recap

Student rants Let us begin on a note of tolerance and goodwill, with two similar reactions to the letter from student J. in southern Japan with fellow student troubles (Lifelines; Nov. 25, 2003).
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2004

Falling behind in the FTA race

Free trade is taking a new shape. With the World Trade Organization's new round of multilateral talks on the rocks, countries around the world are taking increasingly to bilateral and regional free trade agreements, or FTAs. Japan is falling far behind in this race, largely because of its protected agriculture....
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2004

Public interest in North Korean problems increasing: survey

Public interest in security issues concerning North Korea has increased substantially over the past year or so, with most people responding to a government survey released Saturday saying they are concerned about the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the North.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 11, 2004

Home sweet (old) homes

To buy a dream home is an aim shared by many, and in this respect Satoshi and Yumiko Takano were no different from millions the world over.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2004

Nozzle hole blamed for H-IIA failure

A booster-nozzle hole was to blame for the failed launch of an H-IIA rocket in November, the nation's space agency said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 10, 2004

Postcards from the red planet

We Earthlings have been to Mars before, of course. Dozens of times we've visited it in our imaginations, giving it special status as a far-off symbol of our own lust for war and the focus of all our fears and fantasies of extraterrestrial invasion -- Mars as the original red menace.
BUSINESS
Jan 10, 2004

Eight carmakers in recycling scheme

Eight of Japan's 12 automakers said Friday they have formed a joint organization to recycle automobile shredder dust. The move is aimed at meeting a car-recycling law that will take effect in January 2005.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 8, 2004

Move for Marbury was a winner for New York Knicks

NEW YORK -- The answer: Burberry, Blackberry and now seats to see Marbury.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 8, 2004

Corporate America's attack on common sense

Common sense may keep us out of harm's way and save us from terminally bad deciEsions, but a recently leaked chemical-industry memo inEsists that common sense is bad for business. Elsewhere in the corporate sector, too, common sense is increasingly seen as a dogged nuisance that hinders mindless conEsumption...
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2004

Government targets top gang leaders

The government is planning legal amendments that would make it easier for victims of gang violence to sue those in the top echelons of these organizations for damages.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 7, 2004

Enrolled in the Pacino Academy

The Recruit Rating: * * * (out of 5) Director: Roger Ronaldson Running time: 105 minutes Language: English Opens Jan. 17 [See Japan Times movie listings] The Next Big Thing meets with the Last Big Thing in "The Recruit." The former is Colin Farrell, Hollywood's hottest wonder-boy and...
EDITORIALS
Jan 7, 2004

Constitution just the beginning

Afghanistan's drive toward democracy reached a major milestone Sunday when the "loya jirga," or grand council, approved a new constitution. The country, which the charter defines as an "Islamic state," will have a popularly elected president and a bicameral legislature. Human rights will be respected,...
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2004

Move afoot for retaining phone numbers

Discussions have finally begun on allowing mobile phone users to keep the same number if they switch carriers, and thus avoid the hassle of having to inform all their contacts about a new number.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2004

Anatomy exhibit's real bodies prove popular draw

Women giggle and men turn pale at the "Mysteries of the Human Body" exhibition at the Tokyo International Forum in Chiyoda Ward.
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2004

Restoring a nuclear-energy policy

The Atomic Energy Commission's latest white paper, announced late last year for the first time in 5 1/2 years, is a reminder of the troubled condition of Japan's nuclear power industry. The report's publication had been delayed because of a series of irregularities and accidents that came to light in...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2004

Contrived problem resists quick solution on Peninsula

LONDON -- In late autumn I attended a conference on the slopes of Mount Fuji. The focus of the conference was security issues in Northeast Asia, addressing the so-called nuclear threat from North Korea. It was a high-level conference with participants, including a minister of defense, from many countries...
COMMENTARY
Jan 4, 2004

No East Asian card too wild

HONOLULU -- The National Intelligence Council, which does strategic analysis for the U.S. government, recently published parts of its "2020 project" (www.cia.gov./nic/NIC_home.html), examining forces that will shape the world through 2020, region by region. The East Asia analysis posits three "broad...
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2004

SDF dispatch decision like a double-edged sword

When Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi voiced his unequivocal support of the U.S.-led war on Iraq in March, he was left with little choice but to commit Self-Defense Forces troops to the country's postwar reconstruction effort.
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2003

Automakers turn to 'telematics' to get tech lovers' attention

In the fight for a bigger share of the domestic car market, Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. have shifted to a new battlefield -- "telematics" informational network systems
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2003

Assault on the established order

The concluding year will be remembered for the many ways it undermined the building blocks of the world as we know it. Globally, regionally and even here at home, the events of 2003 posed a direct challenge to the most basic ways in which states and societies act. While change is inevitable, it is by...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 31, 2003

Joe Strummer lives on

When Joe Strummer was in his musical prime in the late '70s, punk's mission was to make you question everything you were told. Now, of course, it's the sound of young people shopping. Though this is perhaps inevitable, when the former Clash leader died unexpectedly a year ago, a lot of people realized...
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2003

Koizumi's key 2004 worries: U.S. economy, yen, pensions

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is facing a number of challenges as he struggles to put the fledgling economic recovery on a more solid footing in 2004.
COMMENTARY
Dec 29, 2003

Japan eyes penalty options

Resumption of six-party talks aimed at halting North Korea's nuclear-arms development, originally planned for December, has been postponed to sometime beyond January. Since the United States and North Korea remain deadlocked over the wording of a joint statement on the abolition of North Korea's nuclear-arms...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 28, 2003

Fear of modern terrorism

THE NEW TERRORISM: Anatomy, Trends and Counterstrategies, edited by Andrew Tan and Kumar Ramakrishna. Singapore: Eastern Universities Press, Regional Security Studies, 2002, 254 pp. (paper). If the contributors to this excellent survey of "the new terrorism" are correct, then the world needs to be prepared...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 28, 2003

U.N. voice for 'civil society'

In his opening address in Beijing to the U.N. conference on the question of Palestine on Dec. 16, China's Deputy Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo paid particular at- tention to the role of civil society -- academic and business communities, nongovernmental organizations and others -- in appealing for peace...

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