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COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 1999

Jospin rides high, blessed by luck and skill

PARIS -- When Lionel Jospin was appointed prime minister of France in June 1997, there were not many people willing to bet on his longevity in office. The "plural left" majority on which he had to rely looked too divided on most issues, from Europe to immigration, to enable him -- or so it seemed at...
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Oct 27, 1999

The benefits of Aromas therapy

Aromas, with its Picasso-like red-and-gold logo, at first appears to be another in a long line of hip, new coffee bars from America, poised to take its place among other heavyweight "contenders" in the ongoing race to unseat Starbucks.
COMMUNITY
Oct 27, 1999

A walk through the Kyoto antiques district

KYOTO -- Long a Mecca for fans of Japanese antiques, Kyoto is more enticing than ever these days. Unscathed by the bombs of World War II, old family storehouses continue to yield a small but steady stream of somewhat dusty delights, while a host of new shops plying the antiquity trade promises something...
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Oct 27, 1999

Hemlocks murmur in Kasuga's forest primeval

NARA -- Japan's first permanent capital, Heijo-kyo, was built on the Yamato plain where the modern city of Nara is located. Heijo-kyo was founded in the year 710 (from which year the Nara Period is dated) with a design based on that of the contemporaneous Chinese Tang Dynasty capital Changan.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 1999

Lenders hit for exhorbitant interest rates

Amid rising criticism of commercial loan firms over their exorbitant interest rates and frequent trouble with clients, the Financial Supervisory Agency said Wednesday the three leaders in the industry have charged an average of 20.87 percent in interest on loans, or about nine times the rate they pay...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 1999

New policy left driverless

Nine months in the making, revision of a now admittedly flawed policy toward North Korea is an important step in the right direction in dealing with a problem where there is no good option. But there is a troubling gap in logic between former U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry's sagacious assessment...
JAPAN
Oct 27, 1999

Former hostages reported in good health

The four mining engineers who returned to Japan on Tuesday night after being held hostage for more than two months by Islamic rebels in Central Asia do not suffer from any serious health problems, doctors said Wednesday after the four underwent medical checkups at Tokyo hospitals.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Oct 27, 1999

What's going on

Last summer I wrote about Tokyo's upcoming wine event, the prestigious Japan International Wine Challenge, a competition that brings together the world's leading sommeliers, producers, importers and experts, giving devotees a chance to meet leaders in the world of wine and to taste some of the world's...
EDITORIALS
Oct 26, 1999

Money talks in U.S. politics

Ms. Elizabeth Dole last week ended her trailblazing bid for the U.S. Republican Party's presidential nomination. Hers was the first serious run for the presidency by a woman in either party. Yet Ms. Dole's withdrawal from the race highlights not only the failure of American voters to take a woman candidate...
CULTURE / Books
Oct 26, 1999

This 'East Wind' blows ill

RIDING THE EAST WIND, by Otohiko Kaga. Kodansha International, 1999, pp. 518, 3,500 yen (cloth). The history of Japanese-American soldiers who fought for the United States in World War II is well-documented, but the story of an American-Japanese pilot who served in the Japanese Imperial Army remains...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 26, 1999

Enjoy the neglected noh plays

DRAMATIC REPRESENTATIONS OF FILIAL PIETY: Five Noh in Translation, by Mae J. Smethurst. Cornell East Asia Series, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 1998, pp. 172, unpriced. Most Western writings on noh have been concerned with that category known as "mugenno," visional noh -- highly poetic, spiritually...
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Oct 26, 1999

The times for Nenes, they are a-changin'

I feel like I'm writing something akin to an obituary for the group Nenes, though Sadao China, the group's mentor, composer, sanshin player and the man whose idea the group was in the first place, wouldn't agree.
JAPAN
Oct 25, 1999

Parties to freeze health premiums for elderly

The three ruling coalition parties agreed in principle on Monday to temporarily freeze collection of premiums for a planned public-care insurance system for the elderly, to be launched in April, party officials said.
JAPAN
Oct 25, 1999

Nasdaq is ready to go head-to-head with Mothers

Staff writer
JAPAN
Oct 25, 1999

Jospin's first visit to Japan slated for December

French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin will make his first official visit to Japan in mid-December for talks with Japanese leaders on international issues and ways to further strengthen bilateral relations, government sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Oct 25, 1999

DSL technology enables high-speed digital data

transmissions through existing telephone lines.
JAPAN
Oct 25, 1999

Hostages released; no ransom paid

The Japanese government has confirmed the release of all four Japanese nationals captured by Islamic rebels two months ago in Kyrgyzstan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Oct 24, 1999

Save the beaches

There are words that wake us up -- like "free" or "prize" or "espresso" -- and then there are words that put us to sleep. Unfortunately, the latter group includes most of the working vocabulary of some very well-meaning people: "environment," "global warming," "greenhouse gases," all the way up to the...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 1999

Australia out for justice in East Timor

SYDNEY -- Still the broken skulls are being unearthed. And still the United Nations talks on. Soon, Australia fears, the evidence of atrocities in East Timor will be scattered and, worse, forgotten.
COMMENTARY / World / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Oct 24, 1999

Farewell to Russia's final Romanov

Few years in recent Russian history have been as turbulent as 1999. In five months, from May till October, the country has seen three different prime ministers, an Islamic fundamentalist invasion in Dagestan and five terrorist assaults against Russian cities that cost the lives of 300 civilians. In the...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 24, 1999

Who needs coffee when you've got kids around?

On Saturdays I volunteer at the Shiraishi Island Kindergarten, where I teach English at high volume. That's because Japanese kindergarten students are taught to shout everything in unison. So, a simple "good morning" becomes "GOOD MORNING!" Multiply that by 15 students and it's kind of like an alarm...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Oct 24, 1999

Never-ending need

There could have been no better selection for the Nobel Peace Prize than Doctors Without Borders with its volunteers who ignore hardships and dangers and go to the world's most troubled places. Doctors Without Borders is a symbol, standing for many other organizations, groups and individuals who give...
EDITORIALS
Oct 22, 1999

Speaking without thinking

Barely two weeks after he was named parliamentary vice minister for defense, Mr. Shingo Nishimura of the Liberal Party was forced to resign Wednesday over outrageous views made public in a Japanese weekly magazine. In a two-hour interview, Mr. Nishimura suggested that the Diet consider discussing whether...
JAPAN
Oct 22, 1999

Renault may execute Nissan share option

Renault SA of France may exercise an option to raise its stake in Nissan Motor Co. in the near future, Louis Schweitzer, chairman of the automaker, hinted Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 1999

Suicides left 12,000 orphans in '98, group says

The number of children under 18 orphaned by suicides last year is estimated to have reached about 12,000, a report released by an educational organization revealed Friday.
COMMENTARY
Oct 22, 1999

Voters send LDP a message

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi won re-election in the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election held Sept. 21. Four days later, Yukio Hatoyama was elected chief of the top opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan. On Oct. 5, Obuchi launched his new three-party coalition government after New...
JAPAN
Oct 22, 1999

State to bolster credit guarantees by 10 trillion yen

The government decided Friday to add 10 trillion yen to a special 20 trillion yen credit-guarantee scheme to help small firms and startup ventures overcome fundraising difficulties, trade chief Takashi Fukaya said. The program will be extended through the end of fiscal 2000.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 1999

Keene to lecture on Emperor Meiji

Donald Keene, an expert on Japanese literature, will give a lecture in English titled "Emperor Meiji and War" on Oct. 30 at Ueno Gakuen University in Tokyo's Taito Ward.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 1999

Obuchi offers apology for Nishimura's remarks

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi apologized to the public Friday for recently appointed Parliamentary Vice Defense Minister Shingo Nishimura's remarks on rape and nuclear armament, which have led to Nishimura's resignation.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 1999

Tax Commission questions need for 401(k) breaks

The Tax Commission, an advisory panel to the prime minister, expressed caution on Friday about granting tax advantages under the planned new pension system.

Longform

Dul Saroth (left) and Soeum Samrach, deminers with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, practice using the Advanced Landmine Imaging System in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province in August.
The Japanese tech that could one day make Southeast Asia landmine-free