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JAPAN
Jul 24, 2000

Putin to make Sept. 3-5 Tokyo visit

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. — Russian President Vladimir Putin will make an official visit to Japan from Sept. 3 to Sept. 5, Tokyo and Moscow formally agreed Sunday.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2000

Forecast optimistic for Japan despite rapidly aging society

Japan's population has been increasing steadily since 1945, but the most pessimistic government estimates indicate that it will decline after peaking at 127 million in 2004. By 2025, the nation's population is expected to shrink by roughly 10 million.
EDITORIALS
Jul 24, 2000

Reaping the whirlwind in Fiji

Fiji has long sought the world's attention as a vacation getaway. It has won the headlines in recent months, but for the wrong reasons. Fiji is in the midst of political turmoil that threatens to divide the country, uproot the rule of law and damage relations with neighbors and friends.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2000

NGOs eye future cooperation

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. — With the official closing of the Group of Eight summit here Sunday, some nongovernmental organizations say they have strengthened their ties and will cooperate in working toward — among other things — resolved conflicts, a healthy environment and human rights.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 24, 2000

Persistent organic pollutants: toxic chemicals here to stay

The acronym POPs sounds harmless enough, bringing to mind glasses of bubbly champagne and harmless fireworks. The reality is far less celebratory.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2000

Summit Mori's career high?

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. — Concluding the Group of Eight summit with a smile under the scorching sun, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori may boast he has cleared a key hurdle for his administration — but it is just one hurdle of many.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 24, 2000

South Korea's new take on the world

The emotional pendulum swings in Korea are mesmerizing -- and predictable. First there was the euphoria triggered by last month's historic summit between the two Korean leaders. Then there was the inevitable reaction as more sober heads pointed out the difficulties that lie ahead: continuing talks to...
COMMENTARY
Jul 24, 2000

Ethical void damages Japan

The political ethics issue confronts the new administration of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori. The question at stake is whether Japan will be able to put an end to the politics of patronage.
COMMENTARY
Jul 24, 2000

Echelon knows what you're thinking

Echelon is the code name for an exclusive club of Anglo-Saxon nations that long ago set out to spy on all global communications. Only now are some of its activities coming to light. The French are angry and want indignantly to know why Britain, their alleged EU partner, has joined with the United States...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 24, 2000

G8 nations vs. the rest of the planet

On July 17, the United Nations University hosted a symposium on "The Kyushu-Okinawa Summit: The Challenges and Opportunities for the Developing World in the 21st Century." The conference was jointly organized by the Tokyo-based Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development, the Toronto-based...
EDITORIALS
Jul 23, 2000

As mighty as the mouse

Here is an odd thing: The more people use electronic means of communication -- PCs, Internet-linked cell phones and organizers, and the like -- the more stationery stores there seem to be and the more customers they attract. These are not all mauve-haired old ladies in kimono either, although if you...
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2000

G8 leaders try out 'e-voting'

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. — A few hours after adopting the IT Charter here Saturday, leaders of the Group of Eight nations had some hands-on experience with Japan's "e-voting" technology to vote for one another in such categories as "most witty" and "most stylish."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 23, 2000

I am, therefore who am I? An artist's search for self

What is the link between a 12-meter-long bronze snake slithering into the future as part of an exhibition for the physically and mentally challenged and the 20 brains (made from materials as diverse as pebbles and chili peppers), eight costumes, pieces of body armor and fragments of temple roof tile...
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2000

Nakao's middleman arrested in bribe case

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office has arrested the manager of an art gallery on suspicion of taking 10 million yen in bribes from Wakachiku Construction Co. in August 1996 in collusion with former Construction Minister Eiichi Nakao.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 23, 2000

Bernstein lives on in sounds of summer

In the nether regions near the waterfront wherein lie most of the nation's major cosmopolitan areas, Japan's tropical sun and heavy humidity militate against the kind of lighthearted family outdoor concerts which find so much favor in Europe and America. Nevertheless, summer is here again, and here again...
CULTURE / Art
Jul 23, 2000

True gem in the rough of Aichi

The first time you see her, Mika Kato does not appear very different from the typical young female Tokyo contemporary art insider, another of the attractive and sophisticated sort that flutter from gallery opening to gallery opening each Friday evening to sip white wine and style the scene so fashionably,...
COMMUNITY
Jul 23, 2000

Fair dinkum, no drongos at the Strine Olympics

The Japan Olympic Committee and official sponsor NOVA have struck upon the bright idea of offering free English lessons to athletes in the peak of their training for the Sydney Games.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 23, 2000

Baffling Japanese mysteries solved at last

There are many myths about Japan. Let's look at some of them and see whether they're true or false.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 23, 2000

Something's in the air, but it isn't very deep

Vacant space is the subject -- and the content. Chie Yasuda's exhibition at Taro Nasu Gallery is a pallid, melancholic affair of photographs of empty, vacant spaces. Quite clearly some of these places -- the three largest photographs were taken inside the desolate, tiled interior of a ruin flooded with...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 23, 2000

Petagine propels CL stars past PL

Before the All-Star Series opener, Pacific League manager Sadaharu Oh gave his team a pep talk.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jul 23, 2000

Miki Wakamatsu

"The World Dance Alliance has initiated a project to join in celebrating the millennium. It is a time to consider where we have been, where we are and where we are going. Therefore the theme of World Dance 2000 is 'Dance in the Past, Present and Future,' " said Miki Wakamatsu.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2000

Japan as a global environmental model

Japan's miraculous postwar recovery and spectacular economic growth earned it worldwide admiration and led many to view it as a growth model. Subsequently, however, it became clear that Japan's economic growth came at a huge cost in terms of environmental degradation and human health.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2000

New warrant served on Nakao for bribery

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's office on Friday served former Construction Minister Eiichi Nakao with a new arrest warrant on suspicion of receiving 30 million yen in bribes from Wakachiku Construction Co. between June and September 1996.
BUSINESS
Jul 22, 2000

Four carmakers raised output in first half of 2000

Four of Japan's five largest automakers increased domestic production in the first half of 2000 from the same period last year, according to data released by the companies Friday.
BUSINESS
Jul 22, 2000

S&P keeps watch on NTT for possible downgrading

Standard & Poor's said Friday its long-term rating for Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. remains on credit watch for possible downgrading.
BUSINESS
Jul 22, 2000

Softbank to set up sports site

Softbank Media & Marketing Corp., a media-related business unit of Softbank Corp., announced Friday that it will set up a joint venture with Rivals.com Inc. of the United States to launch a Japanese version of Rivals' sports Web site.

Longform

The students at Mitaka Municipal No. 7 Junior High School have access to various cooling devices for when they play sports.
Japan's extreme heat is causing a rethink of school sports