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EDITORIALS
Sep 26, 2003

Problems with Mr. Grasso's pay

In business, as in politics, there is a simple rule for evaluating decisions: How will it look when it is in the headlines? By that standard, the uproar surrounding revelations that Mr. Richard Grasso, the former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, was awarded compensation of $139.5 million tells...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2003

Lee's intensity hardly dulled by age

HONG KONG -- A rare and remarkable Asian leader passed a milestone on Sept. 16. Former Singapore Prime Minister, now Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew celebrated his 80th birthday. He has been running Singapore, in substance if not in title, since his People's Action Party swept the polls in 1959.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 25, 2003

Aso questions Koizumi's timetable to privatize postal services entity

New home affairs minister Taro Aso expressed skepticism Wednesday over the timetable put forward by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to privatize the postal services entity.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 25, 2003

So little done with so many

GENEVA — The outcome of the World Trade Organization ministerial midterm review in Cancun, Mexico (Sept. 12-14), was an unmitigated disaster. The United States, European Union and Japan share equal responsibility for failing to stand by the commitments they had made in the Doha Declaration of November...
EDITORIALS
Sep 25, 2003

A veiled but strong G7 message

China maintains a de facto fixed exchange rate for the yuan. Japan has continued to intervene aggressively to prevent a sharp rise in the yen. In a veiled criticism of both countries' currency policies, a communique issued last weekend by Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers called for...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 24, 2003

Sounds Numero Ono

You could call Seigen Ono a connoisseur of sound. He chooses only the finest sonic ingredients and knows exactly how to obtain them. As an avant-garde jazz composer and guitarist, he might not be a household name, but check out the credits on some of the best records of the last two decades and there's...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2003

Key ministers keep jobs as Koizumi plays it safe

Having surprised everyone by naming young Shinzo Abe as the new secretary general of the LDP on Sunday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi opted for a more staid formula in announcing his new Cabinet on Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2003

Ishihara wants truth on Japan Highway's health

Newly appointed transport minister Nobuteru Ishihara indicated Monday he might sack Japan Highway Public Corp. President Haruho Fujii over the troubled entity's controversial balance sheet.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 22, 2003

Dwindling benefits cast doubt on rigid pension and deposit schemes

An insurance policy is an agreement whereby the payment of premiums and the receipt of benefits are inseparable. However, this fundamental principle is now being challenged by the nation's public insurance systems, which are creating anxiety and discontent by gradually denying policyholders freedom of...
EDITORIALS
Sep 21, 2003

Sweden sends a message to Europe

Sweden has voted to reject the euro. European governments may be inclined to see the results as an expression of Swedish exceptionalism. That would be a mistake. Despite an emotionally charged campaign, the outcome reflects a careful consideration of the country's national interests. European leaders...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 21, 2003

An endless supply of meat for loan sharks

Half the job of solving social problems is getting the word out. This is especially true when it comes to criminal activities like fraud. Victims of fraud are by definition people who don't know enough about fraud to realize when they're being ripped off.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2003

Koizumi wins new mandate to lead LDP

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was re-elected head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Saturday, a sweeping victory in a vote by LDP politicians and the party's local chapters over his three challengers.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 21, 2003

Trade-environment debate deserves a judicial solution

The Cancun World Trade Organization Ministerial meeting concluded last weekend with little progress on a swath of issues it must try and complete by Jan. 1, 2005. Agriculture subsidies were the main stumbling block, but the talks really failed on a number of other fronts including trade and environment....
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2003

Job woes to be tackled via letter

The Cabinet Office and three ministries said Friday they will jointly send a letter to 384 business organizations asking them to work harder to create jobs for young people.
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2003

Nomura Research sees growth spurt in East Asia

Nomura Research Institute Ltd. said Friday it has revised upward its 2003 economic growth forecast for nine East Asian economies, excluding Japan, to 5.2 percent in real terms.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2003

Crime panel advocates giving police more power to probe youngsters

A government panel on juvenile delinquency on Thursday submitted a report to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi proposing that police be given more power to investigate crimes committed by children under 14.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Sep 18, 2003

Iraq, bad economy drag Bush down

WASHINGTON -- It cannot be easy these days to be selling the White House story line. Chickens are coming home to roost from every direction. Ever since President George W. Bush went on his working vacation to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, his carefully constructed houses of cards in economic and world...
EDITORIALS
Sep 17, 2003

High hopes for Ms. Ogata and JICA

Japan has updated its policy guidelines for official development assistance -- concessionary aid to developing countries -- for the first time in 11 years. ODA has long been considered a key instrument of Japanese diplomacy, but its effectiveness as such has been admittedly less than satisfactory. The...
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2003

Japan mulls billions in Iraq aid

Japan is considering pledging several billion dollars in reconstruction aid for projects in Iraq that are running behind schedule due in part to the worsening security situation there, government sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2003

Panel eyes crackdown on young delinquents

A government panel on juvenile delinquency met Friday to sum up a report suggesting that police be given more powers to investigate crimes by children under 14 and that the minimum age for sending juveniles to reformatories be lowered from 14.
COMMENTARY
Sep 13, 2003

Can the U.N. handle Iraq?

LONDON -- Everyone wants the United Nations to play a greater role in Iraq -- the Americans included.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 13, 2003

Shop until you drop: Eriksson may be next on Chelsea's list

LONDON -- Sven-Goran Eriksson quits his job as head coach of England to become manager of Chelsea where he takes over from Claudio Ranieri.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2003

LDP's Yamasaki appeals libel ruling

Taku Yamasaki, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, on Thursday appealed a lower court decision rejecting his defamation suit against a magazine.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Sep 12, 2003

Top League heralds a new era in Japanese rugby

Rugby in Japan looks to enter a new era on Saturday when Suntory takes on Kobe Steel in the first game of the new Top League.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2003

Myanmarese dying to get out of Japan

On July 28, a 39-year-old man from Myanmar died alone in the International Medical Center of Japan in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 12, 2003

U.S. can still turn it around

Two years have passed since hateful acts of terrorism shook America to its core and moved it toward a force-oriented and unilateralist world policy. This writer detests and condemns the cruel oppression by the Saddam Hussein regime against its people in Iraq and against its neighbors over the years....

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell