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CULTURE / Music
Dec 17, 2000

Putting the double bass on top

Widely considered the greatest double bass soloist of our time, world-renowned virtuoso Gary Karr will perform tonight at Taishi Bunka Kaikan Hall in Hyogo Prefecture with the piano accompaniment of his long-time duo partner Harmon Lewis, one of the final concerts of his 11-city, 3-week tour of Japan....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 17, 2000

Ruby Pawankar

The Fourth International Symposium on Basic Approach to Allergic Rhinitis will be held in Tokyo on Feb. 10 and 11. Its central theme, "allergy -- from the nose to the lung," is to focus on the impact and relation of allergic rhinitis and asthma. President of the Fourth ISBAAR and a founder of the series...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Dec 17, 2000

No place for tainted symbols

The Soviet Union is dead; long live the Soviet Union. This seems to be the current mood in the corridors of power in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has persuaded the Parliament to restore the Soviet anthem as Russia's national hymn and the czarist red banner, which was used in Soviet times...
EDITORIALS
Dec 16, 2000

Draw the line at human clones

It all started with the announcement of the birth of Dolly the sheep, the first clone of an adult mammal, in February 1997. That breakthrough experiment has led to the cloning of cows and mice, creating the perception that humans might eventually also be cloned. The big challenge, of course, is drawing...
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2000

25 trillion yen budgeted for SDF expenditures

The government's Security Council on Friday approved a new five-year procurement plan for the Self-Defense Forces totaling 25.16 trillion yen.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2000

Police complain public wants them to solve other problems

The public tends to rely on the police to resolve all kinds of issues, including domestic matters, and more discussion between the police and the public is needed to determine police responsibilities, National Police Agency chief Setsuo Tanaka said Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2000

Sales up 0.2% at Tokyo department stores in November

Sales at department stores in Tokyo's 23 wards inched up 0.2 percent in November from a year earlier to 189.3 billion yen, following a 1.8 percent fall the previous month, the Japan Department Stores Association said Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2000

Ogi rocks the boat with airport review

Transport Minister Chikage Ogi recently sparked a row over a key part of the nation's future infrastructure plans when she suggested a review of the roles of Haneda and Narita airports.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2000

Red Army figure admits hijacking

Former Red Army Faction member Yoshimi Tanaka pleaded guilty Friday to hijacking a Japan Airlines jet and forcing it to fly to Pyongyang in 1970.
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2000

Canadian firm reaches agreement to buy insurer

Government-appointed administrators for Daihyaku Mutual Life Insurance Co. reached a basic agreement with Manulife Financial Corp. of Canada to take over the failed midsize insurer's operations, a life insurance industry association said Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2000

Mori phones Bush, seeks meeting

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and U.S President-elect George W. Bush confirmed over the telephone Friday that the two nation's partnership should be further strengthened, Japanese officials said.
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2000

Reform panel chief hits wall of regulations, vested interests

After making steady progress in the economic field, Japan's deregulatory efforts are now entering a more difficult stage as they come to grips with social regulations, according to Yoshihiko Miyauchi, chairman of Orix Corp. and head of a government panel on regulatory reforms.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2000

Subcommittee urges clarity over copyright role of ISPs

A subcommittee of a government advisory panel compiled a report Friday calling for rules to clarify the legal responsibility of Internet service providers for copyright infringements, subcommittee sources said.
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2000

1.8% growth eyed in 2001 forecast

The government is putting the final touches on its economic growth projection for fiscal 2001, with the Economic Planning Agency eyeing a target of around 1.8 percent, which would mark a third straight year of growth, government sources said.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2000

LDP moves step closer to cutting China's ODA

The Liberal Democratic Party's top foreign policy planners approved a panel report Friday proposing that Japan's official development assistance to China should be reduced in the light of the domestic economic situation.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2000

New U.N. relief chief hopes to up funds, aid worker safety

Securing adequate financial resources and improving the safety of U.N. aid workers are two of the most important tasks to ensure the United Nations can carry out its humanitarian activities, according to the newly appointed chief overseeing such activities.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2000

Tokyo bans 'dirty' diesel vehicles

The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on Friday unanimously approved a revised ordinance banning diesel-powered commercial vehicles from the streets of Tokyo unless they meet a limit on emissions of carcinogenic particles.
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 16, 2000

Japan, South Korea OK visa deal

Japan and South Korea agreed Thursday to issue multiple-entry visas valid through 2002 to executive board members of FIFA, soccer's world governing body, to facilitate preparations for the 2002 World Cup finals, to be jointly hosted by the two countries.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2000

Yatsu hits Yokohama betting tax plan

Yoshio Yatsu, the minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, said Friday he opposes Yokohama's plan to introduce Japan's first local tax on horse-race betting.
CULTURE / Art
Dec 16, 2000

Op-ting out of the conventional frame

"Yellow-Green Spiral" by Jun Fujita, 2000, acrylic on board Op Art, pioneered by Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely in the '60s, creates the impression of swirling movement and tricks the eye into perceiving three dimensions. Optical discrepancy is achieved by placing the geometric shapes precisely onthe...
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2000

Japan, Russia to cut fishing quota for 2001 by 30%

Japan and Russia agreed Friday to reduce each other's fishing quotas in their respective exclusive economic waters in 2001 by 30 percent from this year, the Fisheries Agency said.
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2000

Nissan looks to enter minivehicle market

Nissan Motor Co. is negotiating to sell minivehicles made by Suzuki Motor Corp. under its own brand name, with an annual sales target of tens of thousands in 2002, sources familiar with the negotiations said Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2000

Tokyo, Seoul to increase linking flights

The Transport ministries of Japan and South Korea agreed Friday to greatly increase the passenger capacity of the crowded air routes linking the two countries in preparation for the 2002 World Cup soccer championship, which they will jointly host, Japanese officials in Tokyo said.

Longform

Capsule hotels were created as a way to deal with the amount of overwork employees tend to do in Japan. Can't commute home? Then spend the night in an tiny, affordable sleeping space.
Japan wakes up to the market for a proper sleep