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CULTURE / Music
May 5, 2000

Healing with grassroots harmony

Japanese-Jamaican-Korean fusion? Korean-flavored Japanese rock with a bit of Memphis blues thrown in? It's hard to put a label on the multiethnic multigenre sounds of the Pak Poe Band.
EDITORIALS
May 4, 2000

Make the high seas safe

It seems hard to believe, but pirates still roam the seas. The International Chamber of Commerce reported 285 attacks on ships in 1999, up from 42 in 1991, but even that statistic is assumed to be a fraction of the actual number. Nearly three-quarters of the attacks occur in Southeast Asian waters. A...
EDITORIALS
May 4, 2000

A swashbuckler sheathes his sword

Mr. George Soros, "the man who broke the British pound" in 1992 and forced Britain from the European exchange-rate mechanism, is going to wind down his aggressive investment funds. Citing market volatility and dwindling returns, he decided last week "to bring an epoch to an end." He is abandoning the...
JAPAN
May 4, 2000

Bureaucracy had large role in political power play

Kyodo News On the night of April 2, when then Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi suffered a stroke and fell into a coma, Teijiro Furukawa was one of the few people immediately informed, and he promptly busied himself arranging for a smooth transfer of power.
COMMENTARY / World
May 4, 2000

U.S. foreign policy overlooks democratic progress in Asia

ROBERT A. MANNING Special to The Japan Times KUALA LUMPUR A series of fascinating recent displays of democracy entrenching itself in East Asia imply an important critique of, and profound lessons for, U.S. foreign policy, making that question a central one. Yet with the notable exception of Taiwan's...
JAPAN
May 4, 2000

Divisions run deeper on Constitution Day

Activists from the left and right of the political spectrum staged rallies Wednesday as Japan observed its 53rd Constitution Day, coinciding with an increase in interest in the document because of the establishment of Diet panels to study its revision.
BUSINESS
May 4, 2000

IBJ portal promises to take e-commerce in new direction

The Industrial Bank of Japan plans to develop an Internet-based system that will enable companies to import and export products as well as settle payments online, sources close to the project said Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 4, 2000

Should Constitution lead or follow?

Wednesday marked the first time Constitution Day -- commemorating the day the document was put into effect in 1947 -- coincided with lawmakers locking horns over whether to change the sacred charter.
JAPAN
May 4, 2000

Japan targets more whale species

The Japanese government plans to expand the number of whale species it can catch, ostensibly for scientific research, to include the sperm whale and Bryde's whale, sources close to the situation said Wednesday.
LIFE / Digital
May 4, 2000

Internet radio islands floating in the stream

In a study released earlier this year, Arbitron/Edison Media Research dubbed people who listen to radio over the Internet "streamies." Bored with local programming, streamies tune in to radio stations streaming over the World Wide Web.
JAPAN
May 4, 2000

Location of leader's summit hinges on the whim of nature

OSAKA — It's billed as the Kyushu-Okinawa Summit, but if Mother Nature turns capricious, then this year's Group of Eight gathering may be forced to a different venue.
LIFE / ALTERNATIVE LUXURIES
May 4, 2000

Threads of culture weave picture of a wider world

One of the great paradoxes of world travel (especially that which is slow and makes intimate contact with the peoples of other lands) is that the traveler returns with a greater appreciation of what is valuable and troubled in her own native land. Talking with fabric artist and mother Keiko Haraguchi,...
COMMENTARY / World
May 4, 2000

Global economy faces a structural crisis

The Nasdaq has fallen 34 percent since March, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is following suit. The decline might be only a technical correction, but the world economy may be hit because the inflow of capital into the United States may decline and restrict that country's ability to import goods...
BASEBALL / MLB
May 4, 2000

Sato sparks streaking Swallows past Carp

Outfielder Shinichi Sato hit a game-tying solo homer in the sixth and followed with another solo blast in the seventh to lift the Yakult Swallows to a 5-3 victory over the Central League front-running Hiroshima Carp on Wednesday at Hiroshima Stadium.
BUSINESS
May 4, 2000

Cameras clash over digital divide

The Japanese camera market is splitting into opposite directions, with high-tech digital models catching consumers' fancy while old-fashioned range finders are staging a strong comeback.
BUSINESS
May 4, 2000

More enroll for Harley training than expected

Japan's first training course on maintaining Harley-Davidson motorcycles is proving a hit, with more people enrolling than expected, officials at a car mechanic school in Sendai said Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 4, 2000

Convict transfer agreement likely to be ratified in 2001

The Justice Ministry will seek Diet approval for the ratification of an international convention on prisoner transfers during an ordinary session to open early next year, it was learned Wednesday.
BUSINESS
May 4, 2000

Retailers forced to change their ways

Browsing through the array of goods -- from kitchenware to clothing -- at a new outlet in the Shinjuku branch of the Isetan department store in Tokyo, the price tags may surprise you: 900 yen for a nylon tote bag, 1,900 yen for a T-shirt, 550 yen for a ceramic mug.
SOCCER / J. League
May 4, 2000

Fujita nets three as Jubilo gains top spot

KAWASAKI -- Jubilo midfielder Toshiya Fujita set a J. League record by converting three penalties as Iwata rallied past Kawasaki Frontale 5-1 at Todoroki Stadium on Wednesday.
LIFE / Style & Design / BEAUTY EAST AND WEST
May 4, 2000

How to hang on to luscious locks

Rakugami, kuzume: When you're happy, your hair grows; / when sad, your fingernails -- Japanese proverb

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