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JAPAN
Aug 31, 1999

Obuchi tells MITI to design plan for small firms

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry will draw up measures to help nurture small firms and venture businesses ahead of the upcoming extraordinary Diet session this fall, MITI chief Kaoru Yosano said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 1999

Yanai to replace Saito as ambassador to U.S.

Former Vice Foreign Minister Shunji Yanai on Tuesday was officially appointed as the new ambassador to the United States, replacing Kunihiko Saito, who will be retiring from the Foreign Ministry.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 31, 1999

Shakespeare comes as you like it in Japan

SHAKESPEARE AND THE JAPANESE STAGE, edited by Takashi Sasayama, J.R. Mulryne and Margaret Shewring. Cambridge University Press, 1998, 357 pp., 45 British Pounds. More than 50 years ago I went to my first Japanese staging of Shakespeare. It was "Hamlet," in Tokyo, and what I remember best is that when...
CULTURE / Books
Aug 31, 1999

Thailand's hard journey into modernity

FOUR REIGNS, by Kukrit Pramoj, English version by Ms. Tulachandra. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 1996, 663 pp. Kukrit Pramoj (1911-1995), politician, writer, classical dancer and film actor ("The Ugly American") wrote this book in 1953. The first English translation appeared in 1981.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 1999

U.S. foreign service test deadline September 24

The 1999 Foreign Service Written Examination required for entry-level career appointments as foreign service officers with the U.S. State Department will be given Nov. 6 at approximately 200 locations in the U.S. and at Foreign Service posts, the U.S. Embassy said.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 1999

Commercial sales fall for 25th month in row

Domestic commercial sales fell 4.7 percent in July to 46.25 trillion yen from the same month a year ago, marking the 25th consecutive month of declining sales, according to a preliminary report issued Monday by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 1999

Osaka recruits killifish for clean water campaign

HIRAKATA, Osaka Pref. -- Children and teachers from 42 elementary and junior high schools in Osaka Prefecture learned the importance of clean water through a study of the Japanese killifish at a lecture held here Monday by the prefectural government and freshwater fish experimental station.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 1999

Firms duped by MITI-sanctioned co-op

A Tokyo-based cooperative association sanctioned by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry charged companies 1 million yen as an initial membership fee, in violation of its founding contract, MITI said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 1999

LDP, New Komeito reach policy accords

The Liberal Democratic Party and potential coalition partner New Komeito agreed Monday to formulate a second supplementary budget for fiscal 1999 focusing on reinforcement of telecommunication networks and other infrastructure, officials of the two parties said.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 1999

Japan confident of victory in auto row with Ottawa

Staff writer
JAPAN
Aug 30, 1999

New guaranteed credit near for small, midsize firms

The government is considering providing small businesses with an unspecified amount of new credit guarantees starting from the beginning of fiscal 2000 in April to promote creation of new enterprises, vice trade minister Osamu Watanabe said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 1999

Imperial Hotel announces anniversary events

To commemorate its 110th anniversary since it opened on Nov. 3, 1890, in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, the Imperial Hotel Ltd. has announced special programs for its guests.
COMMENTARY
Aug 30, 1999

The social safety net tightens

LONDON -- The moral obligation to help the poor and ensure that they have adequate food and shelter is recognized and promoted by the main religions of the world. The obligation has been assumed by civilized governments worldwide, but implementation varies hugely and there are no easy answers to the...
JAPAN
Aug 30, 1999

Police probe hospital in drip-related death

Police are investigating suspected professional negligence at Teikyo University Hospital in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward after a 66-year-old heart patient there died soon after being hooked up to an intravenous drip machine to raise his blood pressure, authorities said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 28, 1999

The slow road to gender equality

Barely two months have passed since the govern ment enacted the Gender Equality Law. While defenders of the new law insist that is hardly enough time for its effectiveness to be tested, many women's groups, and their male supporters, disagree. The reason, they say, should be obvious: Like the Equal Employment...
COMMENTARY
Aug 28, 1999

Politicians go head to head

Political chaos in August ended when the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, the Liberal Party, agreed to form an alliance with New Komeito, despite widespread fears that the tripartite negotiations would fail because of policy differences. By successfully playing a political...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 1999

Aid that gets 'lost' en route to the poor

NEW YORK — Recent reports indicate a massive diversion of funds from international donors providing aid to Bosnia. According to officials from the antifraud unit set up by the Office of the High Rep- resentative, the international agency responsible for carrying out the civilian aspects of the Dayton...
CULTURE / Art
Aug 28, 1999

Nihonga exhibit blossoming

To be able to admire paintings by the nation's top 120 nihonga artists in the confines of a single room sounds quite remarkable. Yet when the new assembly building of Zojoji Temple in Tokyo opens its doors in the spring of 2001, the coffered ceiling of its hall will be adorned with that number of Japanese-style...
CULTURE / Film
Aug 28, 1999

Rooting for a new life on the open road

After a bad day, I pamper myself by mapping out, hour by hour, scene by scene, a fantasy date with Jean Reno.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Aug 28, 1999

Fall's ceramic finds fire up auction

The summer drought of pottery exhibitions is slowly ending and the wonderful autumn season, so full of good exhibitions, is about to start. Come September, exhibitions too numerous to list will fill gallery spaces throughout Japan and pottery enthusiasts will have their hands full -- with a few good...
CULTURE / Art
Aug 28, 1999

Getting past the glitter in daily life

In Japan heavily forested mountains cover over 70 percent of all the land, and the Japanese have taken advantage of wood since ancient times.
EDITORIALS
Aug 27, 1999

Jitters in Central Asia

The information is sketchy, but this much is certain: Islamic guerrillas have taken hostages, including four Japanese, in the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan. The number of hostages, the number of guerrillas, their nationality and their demands are uncertain. This incident set the stage for the Central...
JAPAN
Aug 27, 1999

New coast guard unit sought against intruders

The Defense Agency plans to set up a coast guard unit separate from the Maritime Safety Agency that would use high-speed patrol boats, according to papers submitted to a Liberal Democratic Party meeting Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 1999

Educators seek funds for computerization

The Education Ministry will ask for nearly double its previous share of tax money in fiscal 2000 to put more of the nation's schools online, according to its draft budget request for next year, released Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 1999

'Zaito' for 2000 likely to decline 3.5%

Government-affiliated firms and local governments are expected to request 37.96 trillion yen for the fiscal 2000 investment and loan program, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 1999

Kanzaki sees September start for coalition

The coalition government of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and New Komeito will start as early as late September, New Komeito head Takenori Kanzaki said Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 1999

Day laborers slam plans for tent city

OSAKA -- A group of local day laborers slammed the Osaka Municipal Government's plans to erect a tent village to provide evening shelter for the city's growing homeless population, citing insufficient conditions and limited capacity, it was learned Friday.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 27, 1999

The beat keeps getting stronger for music personality Barakan

...
JAPAN
Aug 27, 1999

Budget requests likely to expand by 2%

Budget requests from government ministries and agencies for fiscal 2000 will total 83.54 trillion yen, 2 percent higher than the initial budget for the current year, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 1999

IOC warns Osaka over bidding conduct

Staff writer

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