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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 / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 16, 2003

'Shut-ins' turn backs on Japan

To look at 29-year-old Kenji Tanaka laughing and drinking with his friends, it's hard to believe that he spent the best part of his twenties cut off from almost all human contact.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2003

Japan Highway chief pitches autonomy

Japan Highway Public Corp. must be legally empowered to make its own decisions on expressway construction and stand on a par with the government when it is privatized in fiscal 2005, new Japan Highway President Takeshi Kondo said Monday.
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Dec 14, 2003

Toasting the top of 2003's pop

It's been a fantastic 12 months for rock 'n' roll. Any of the top 10 albums listed here could easily have taken the No. 1 spot in a different year. Buy (or burn) them all. The only surprise was that, bar Kings of Leon, none of the new garage-rock upstarts hitching a lift on "The White Strokes" bandwagon...
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Alleged abductee's remains sought by son

Japan will ask North Korea to return the remains of Shoji Terakoshi, who disappeared while fishing in the Sea of Japan in 1963, a senior Foreign Ministry official has told a family member.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Prize curbs an own goal for lotto?

The National Agency for the Advancement of Sports and Health, which operates the J. League soccer lottery, is worried about poor ticket sales.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

ASDF advance team to be sent to Qatar, Kuwait

Japan plans to send a 10-member Air Self-Defense Force advance team to Qatar and Kuwait on Dec. 25 under a special law that allows for the dispatch of Japanese troops to aid the reconstruction of Iraq, according to government sources.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2003

Arroyo upbeat about FTA with Japan

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo expressed optimism Friday toward the conclusion of a free-trade agreement with Japan, as the Philippines has no intention of entering Japan's sensitive rice market.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

Debate on privatizing highway firms nears crunch

Decision time is looming in the battle between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and parties with vested interests in expressway construction.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

EU again calls for end to press clubs

The war of words over Japan's press club system continued Thursday, with the European Union delegation here defending the EU's wish to see the system abolished.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2003

Local governments to get 420 billion yen tax windfall

The central government will empower local governments to collect 420 billion yen in taxes in fiscal 2004 to help cover a 1 trillion yen cut in subsidies that will be implemented the same year.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

Sex offenders facing harsher punishment

Justice Ministry is eyeing a drastic Penal Code amendment that would see rapists and other sex offenders punished more severely, ministry officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2003

Yakuza connected to embezzlement of Minami stock

Police on Wednesday raided yakuza offices in Tokyo and Fukuoka to look for evidence that more than half of some 2.8 billion yen worth of client stocks embezzled by the former president of the now defunct Minami Securities Co. had been transferred to the underworld.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2003

ASEAN leaders arrive in Tokyo ahead of landmark two-day summit

Southeast Asian leaders arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday to participate in a two-day summit with Japan that will focus on trade and security.
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2003

Business chiefs welcome SDF dispatch

Business leaders on Wednesday welcomed the decision by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet to dispatch up to 600 noncombat ground troops to Iraq to help with reconstruction work.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2003

Cabinet approves plan to send SDF to Iraq

The government Tuesday approved a basic plan to dispatch Self-Defense Forces units to Iraq, paving the way for the deployment of up to 600 ground troops in southeastern Iraq early next year.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2003

Koizumi's credibility placed on the line

There is arguably no profession that places a greater premium on the credibility of a person's words than politics.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2003

Vietnam says it will allow visa-free entry for Japanese

Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien said Tuesday his nation plans to allow visa-free entry for Japanese travelers and business officials.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Dec 10, 2003

First troop deployment to conflict area since WWII a foreign policy watershed

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi signaled a historic foreign policy shift Tuesday when he authorized sending Self-Defense Forces units to Iraq, becoming the first Japanese leader since World War II to dispatch troops to a nation effectively at war.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2003

More science projects with EU sought

The European Union and Japan should cooperate in developing such advanced scientific technologies as fuel cells, the research commissioner of the European Commission said Monday in Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2003

Takefuji chairman admits ordering phone tap, resigns

Takefuji Corp. founder Yasuo Takei, under arrest for his alleged role in a wiretapping case, resigned Monday as chairman after admitting he ordered his men to bug a journalist's phone, the major consumer loan company said.
BUSINESS
Dec 9, 2003

Sammy to purchase 22.4% stake in Sega

Pachinko machine maker Sammy Corp. said Monday it will acquire a 22.4 percent stake in Sega Corp., becoming the largest shareholder in the game maker.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 7, 2003

Jonny Greenwood: "Bodysong"

Jonny Greenwood claims that "Bodysong," the soundtrack of an experimental film, is not a solo album. The multi-instrumentalist, who has already made a reputation for himself as a member of Radiohead coloring in the stark imaginings of Thom Yorke, seems content being a musical wonk who supplements the...
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2003

U.N. should play active role in Iraq, Kawaguchi tells Annan on phone

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi on Friday urged the United Nations to play an active role in Iraq's reconstruction process, in the wake of the assassination of two Japanese diplomats in the country last weekend.
BUSINESS
Dec 6, 2003

New life insurance contracts slide

The Life Insurance Association of Japan said Friday that new individual life insurance contracts held by its 42 member firms were down 12.1 percent in the fiscal first half of 2003 from a year earlier.
BUSINESS
Dec 5, 2003

Ministry nears approval of nighttime drug sales

The health ministry is leaning toward approving nighttime drug sales on condition that instructions on medication are given to retailers by pharmacists by videophone, ministry officials said Thursday.

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