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COMMENTARY
Nov 25, 2002

Get serious about Zimbabwe

LONDON -- The miserable Zimbabwe saga now seems to be moving to a moment of catharsis. Opposition leader Morgan Tsangvirai has sent a desperate appeal to the United Nations, almost like the last cry of a free country about to be obliterated, warning of imminent descent into civil strife that will threaten...
Japan Times
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Nov 24, 2002

Author tells how individuals sacrificed for the company

Although Japan achieved high economic growth by increasing its industrial productivity, the group-oriented work system that formed the basis of that development effectively sacrificed the rights of the individual, according to freelance journalist Satoshi Kamata.
EDITORIALS
Nov 24, 2002

Picking on Tiger

There are some things that enlightened people nowadays pretty much agree are beyond dispute. A good example would be the view that it is wrong to discriminate against women. And then there are things that enlightened people find themselves arguing about quite heatedly. An example of this would be the...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 24, 2002

When 'home' holds uneasy welcome

BROKERED HOMELAND: Japanese Brazilian Migrants in Japan, by Joseph Hotaka Roth. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2002, 161 pp., $16.95 (paper) The story that was once told about citizens of foreign countries who could demonstrate Japanese ancestry was that even if they had never been to...
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2002

Lawyers call for execution debate

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations agreed Friday to draft guidelines for legislation to place a moratorium on executions to provide an opportunity for public debate on the matter.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2002

Imperial family mourns for prince

Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko and other Imperial family members paid their respects Friday morning at the residence of Prince Takamado, the Emperor's cousin, who died of heart failure the previous night. He was 47.
EDITORIALS
Nov 23, 2002

A time bomb at the sea bottom

The Spanish coast is now threatened by the biggest oil spill in history. Predictably, as much time is being spent on figuring out who is to blame as is being spent on cleanup efforts. At issue are the "flags of convenience" that allow ships to be registered in countries with which they have only a marginal...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 23, 2002

Marketing Cardiff as cultural capital of Europe

This is quite a month for Bet (Elizabeth) Davies. On Nov. 28, she will receive an award from the Japanese ambassador in London on behalf of the government for services rendered to to the Japanese community in Wales, and her work in bridging Japan and the U.K. in general.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2002

Nonlife insurers post increase in interim profits

The nation's nine largest nonlife insurers posted increased net profits, with only one remaining in the red following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, according to interim earnings reports released Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2002

Pressures of infertility exact toll

The women sit in a circle in a silent room.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2002

Nicos head to step down over scandal

Yoji Yamada, president of Nippon Shinpan Co., said Thursday he will resign next month to take the blame for the "sokaiya" racketeer payoff scandal rocking the major loan company but will remain involved in the firm's management plans.
EDITORIALS
Nov 22, 2002

Achilles' heel in FTA progress

In a major shift of trade strategy, Japan is moving toward concluding bilateral and regional free-trade agreements. In January of this year the nation signed its first FTA with Singapore. Now it is negotiating a similar arrangement with Mexico. And looming over the horizon are FTAs with South Korea and...
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Planned Pyongyang security talks at risk

Planned security talks with Pyongyang may not be held this month due to the North's refusal to drop its demand for the return of five Japanese it abducted in 1978 and recently allowed to go home, Katsunari Suzuki, Japan's ambassador in charge of normalization talks with North Korea, said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Former Pyongyang agent speaks to DPJ

A former North Korean agent on Wednesday urged the government to help Japanese-born ethnic Koreans and their Japanese spouses who have defected from North Korea to this country, saying they are living under severe conditions without jobs or Japanese nationality.
COMMENTARY
Nov 21, 2002

Hu inherits but Jiang still leads China

HONG KONG -- As Chinese Communist Party's 16th Party Congress convened on Nov. 8, the delegates stood for two minutes of silence in memory of past leaders. Along with Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, one of the names read out was that of Liu Shaoqi. It was a pointed reminder of CCP tumult and strife in past...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2002

Pyongyang's abductions spell fallout for Chongryun

OSAKA -- The junior high school girl, who asked to be referred to only as "Son," appeared on the verge of tears when she recalled what happened.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 20, 2002

Next best thing

Three tunes into his 2 1/2-hour extravaganza at Tokyo Dome on Nov. 11, Sir Paul McCartney introduced a "song that's never been played live until this year. The thing is, if you don't tour, then when you record a song, that's the last time you ever sing it." He then launched into the simple, unmistakable...
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2002

Nicos president quits consumer credit group

Yoji Yamada, president of Nippon Shinpan Co., resigned Tuesday as chairman of the Japan Federation of Consumer Credit Companies to take responsibility for a racketeer-related scandal at his company.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2002

Mexico expects access to fruit, vegetable marts

Mexico expects Japan to open up its fruit and vegetable markets under a bilateral free-trade agreement for which the two countries have just begun negotiations, a senior Mexican official said Tuesday.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 17, 2002

Media refuses to aim spotlight on prison life in Japan

At a news conference Nov. 12, Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama apologized for an incident that occurred at Nagoya Prison in September, when five guards allegedly used excessive force on a prisoner, who subsequently spent three weeks in hospital. Moriyama told the press it wouldn't happen again. She also...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 17, 2002

Sit up and beg, there's a good boy

The fatal stabbing of an independent-minded Diet member by an unbalanced ultrarightist last month raised the specter of the kind of political terrorism seen in pre-World War II Japan. If the global economy should worsen, could Japan once again fall into ultranationalism?
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2002

Nuclear institute misused 1.5 million yen

Officials of the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute misappropriated 1.5 million yen in funds in fiscal 2000 to cover unauthorized food and drink expenses, the state-run body said Friday.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb