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JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Quasi-jury system earns Diet approval

A judicial reform law designed to introduce Japan's first quasi-jury system was enacted by the Diet on Friday, paving the way for the system's launch in 2009.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Crown Prince to meet agency chief

Crown Prince Naruhito will meet with the Imperial Household Agency chief when he returns from Europe to discuss his unusually candid remarks about the condition of his wife, Crown Princess Masako, a senior agency official said Friday.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Japan to seek info on 10 other kidnap victims

Aside from the five abductees repatriated in 2002, Japan has identified 10 other Japanese nationals as having been kidnapped by North Korea.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2004

Firms look to 'white biotechnology' to cut costs, save energy

Businesses worldwide are increasing their use of "white biotechnology" to save energy, reduce waste and cut corporate expenses by using fermentation as a production method.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

A brief history of the five returnees and their relatives in North Korea

High on the agenda of Saturday's summit in Pyongyang is the possible passage to Japan of the repatriated abductees' families.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
May 22, 2004

McGrady looking at Suns, Rockets, Spurs, Lakers for future

NEW YORK -- For obvious reasons, Tracy McGrady has narrowed his choices to play next season -- or the following one, at the latest, should the Magic incomprehensibly fail to arrange a trade -- to four teams, all of whom flaunt a centrifugal force.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Woman, 63, dies during descent from Everest summit

A Japanese woman has died while descending from the summit of Mount Everest, her tour guide company said Friday.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2004

State wants NPOs to take up slack

The government called for greater cooperation Friday between local governments and nonprofit organizations, stating that public services offered by the former are increasingly limited by fiscal constraints.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Terrorist kept calling Japan

A senior al-Qaeda operative who hid from Interpol in the city of Niigata for more than a year made phone calls to two Japanese and 11 foreign Muslim men in Japan after he left the country last year, investigative sources said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 22, 2004

Ministry to mint expo, airport coins

Japan will mint special coins to mark the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi Prefecture and the opening of Chubu international airport next year, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 22, 2004

Sacred flames and burning Tahiti dreams

On our sail through the Seto Inland Sea, whenever we pull into a harbor for the night, we never know what to expect. At Shiraishi Island, we found people wearing deer skins, blowing though bull horns and shooting arrows into the air. What's this?
EDITORIALS
May 22, 2004

New development plan needed

A s far as corporate earnings reports show, Japan's economic recovery is moving in the fast lane, with many large companies chalking up record profits for the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2004. At the top of the list is Toyota Motor Corp., which reported group net income of more than 1 trillion yen...
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Quasi-jury system earns Diet approval

A judicial reform law designed to introduce Japan's first quasi-jury system was enacted by the Diet on Friday, paving the way for the system's launch in 2009.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Nation waits as Koizumi jets to Pyongyang

Expectations are high in Japan that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who will visit Pyongyang on Saturday for his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, will return with the families of the five repatriated abductees.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
May 22, 2004

A sudden pause on the bridge of dreams

I don't expect much from life, but I do assume that when I shake myself up from my dreams in the morning, I will at least be returning to those dreams at night.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
May 22, 2004

Yuichiro Nakajima

World traveler and author Pico Iyer wondered "whether a new kind of being might not be coming to light . . . a 'Global Soul.' " In several ways Yuichiro Nakajima fits the definition. Without doubt he meets the requirement of achieving fusion of different cultures. Out of his 44 years, he has spent 18...
BUSINESS
May 22, 2004

Net external assets down a second year

Japan's net external assets stood at 172.82 trillion yen as of the end of 2003, down 1.4 percent from a year earlier, according to a government report released Friday.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Japan to seek info on 10 other kidnap victims

Aside from the five abductees repatriated in 2002, Japan has identified 10 other Japanese nationals as having been kidnapped by North Korea.
SUMO
May 22, 2004

Hokutoriki retains grip on lead

Hokutoriki easily overpowered Iwakiyama on Friday to remain in the sole lead at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2004

Government delivers upbeat verdict for May

The government remained upbeat in its overall economic assessment for May, with recent economic growth data showing the economy is picking up faster than many analysts had expected following a decade-long period of stagnation.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Freed abductees hope Koizumi brings their kin

The five Japanese repatriated in 2002 after being abducted by North Korea in 1978 expressed strong expectations Friday that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi would return from his trip to Pyongyang with their eight family members.
COMMENTARY
May 22, 2004

China forfeits high ground

HONG KONG -- From 1842 to 1997, with two exceptions, British governors of Hong Kong avoided democratic reform. In the 20th century they did so believing that China would react badly if they enacted it.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 22, 2004

Queen of Orlane turns 70 (but who'd know it)

In 1960, Reiko B. Lyster answered a "help wanted" classified ad placed in this paper by Max Factor. She had no particular interest in working for a cosmetics company, but (having helped Marlon Brando on a film set just the year previously) the job as a translator appealed.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Police raid retired teacher who raised flag, anthem ruckus

Police on Friday raided the house of a former Tokyo high school teacher who distributed copies of a magazine story at a school commencement ceremony dealing with the controversy over the Hinomaru flag and "Kimigayo" anthem.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Crown Prince to meet agency chief

Crown Prince Naruhito will meet with the Imperial Household Agency chief when he returns from Europe to discuss his unusually candid remarks about the condition of his wife, Crown Princess Masako, a senior agency official said Friday.

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