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CULTURE / Art
Dec 16, 2000

Treasure hunting at antique fairs

If you are interested in antiques but never have a chance to visit shops, don't miss two large-scale fairs slated for the yearend and soon after New Year's. Hundreds of dealers will gather at each event from all around the country to offer art, antiques and curiosities.
CULTURE / Art
Dec 16, 2000

Letting the genie of art out of its bottle

It was 112 years ago when Vincent van Gogh sat down to paint his bedroom in the famous yellow house at Arles. After a few hours of frantic work, the three-dimensional room had been transformed into a two-dimensional masterpiece.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2000

Conference to address endocrine disrupters threat

Amid mounting concerns over chemicals believed to mimic the functions of endocrines, scientists and policy experts from around the world will open a conference in Yokohama today to present new information and discuss the threat these synthetic chemicals pose to human health and the environment.
CULTURE / Art
Dec 16, 2000

Walk through a cool landscape

"N.Y. Manhattan 9 Avril" by Sho Fukumoto, 1994, oil on canvas Perhaps he is a poet, this painter who can capture the promise of a Venetian morning. Or a philosopher, who can make the New York skyline a mystery in blue.
COMMENTARY
Dec 16, 2000

An isolated government clings to power

The United States and Japan are plagued by political chaos. The fierce U.S. presidential race ended in victory for George W. Bush after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the recounting of disputed ballots in Florida. In Japan, a disturbingly wide gap exists between the fragile support Prime Minister Yoshiro...
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2000

Venezuela sends thanks for flood aid

Venezuelan Ambassador Carlos Bivero has sent a statement to The Japan Times, expressing his country's "deep appreciation and gratitude" for Japanese assistance for Venezuelans hit hard by the torrential rains and flooding of a year ago.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2000

Africa's growing thirst for democracy

There is a saying among my people in Ghana: one head alone is not enough to decide. I often think of that when I hear people say that democracy is alien to Africa, or that Africans are "not ready" for democracy.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2000

Bridgestone cuts earnings forecast

Bridgestone Corp. on Thursday slashed its consolidated earnings forecasts for the business year to Dec. 31, after a scandal over faulty tires in the United States and elsewhere gouged the group's net profits by more than 80 percent from the initial projection.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2000

Nissan now switching focus to domestic competitiveness

Looking back on a year in which Nissan Motor Co. appears to have finally stemmed its downward slide, President Carlos Ghosn said that regaining competitiveness in the domestic market will be the automaker's priority for the coming year.
EDITORIALS
Dec 15, 2000

It's official, it's Mr. Bush

It's over. Nearly five weeks after U.S. voters went to the polls, Texas Gov. George W. Bush can claim to be the official winner and the 43rd president of the United States. It has been a wrenching time, for the candidates, their parties and the American public. Now, the healing must begin. It will be...
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2000

Bankruptcies rise 22.7%, but liabilities up 200%

The number of corporate bankruptcies in November rose 22.7 percent from a year earlier to 1,683 for the 13th straight monthly increase, Teikoku Databank Ltd. said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2000

Ministry plans to approve 18 digital broadcast licenses

The Posts and Telecommunications Ministry plans to grant approval to 18 of the 41 companies and groups that applied for licenses to begin next-generation interactive digital broadcasting services via communications satellites, ministry officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2000

Clinics urged to maintain fixed fees for aged

The Japan Medical Association, an umbrella organization of doctors nationwide, plans to urge affiliated clinics to retain the current fixed-amount billing system for elderly patients instead of adopting a new, government-approved alternative of charging patients 10 percent of the bill.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2000

SDF to get four aircraft for midair refueling

Japan will introduce four airborne refueling planes to help extend the flight range of Self-Defense Forces aircraft in its midterm defense buildup plan for the five years from fiscal 2001, coalition sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2000

Obara pleads innocent to rape

The man police say may be connected to a high-profile hostess-abduction case pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of drugging and raping two other foreign women.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2000

Suspensions for school violence rise

Eighty-four students were suspended from publicly run junior high schools for violence in the 1999 school year to March 31, 2000, the Education Ministry said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2000

Retail clerks, cabbies turn pessimistic

Japanese workers sensitive to economic cycles are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the economy, according to a survey released by the Economic Planning Agency on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2000

NEC sells British arm in streamlining effort

NEC Corp. said Thursday it has sold its British operation for manufacturing mobile phones to a Canadian electronics firm as part of its effort to streamline production.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2000

Mori hopes to visit U.S. soon

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori offered his congratulations Thursday to U.S. President-elect George W. Bush and said he hopes to visit the United States "as quickly as possible" after Bush takes office in January.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2000

Bush expected to focus on Japan rather than China

Experts on Japanese-U.S. relations broadly see George W. Bush's victory in the U.S. presidential election as a good sign for Tokyo, as the Republican Party places relatively strong importance on Japan in its Asia policy, and the new administration is expected to take a less-confrontational approach to...
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2000

Yasuda Fire to merge with two insurers in April 2002

Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Japan's No. 2 nonlife insurer, signed a basic agreement Thursday to merge with middle-tier insurers Nissan Fire & Marine Insurance Co. and Taisei Fire & Marine Insurance Co.

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