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JAPAN
Jul 21, 2000

Clinton set to arrive in time for G8 start

Despite delays, U.S. President Bill Clinton is expected to arrive today in time for the beginning of the Group of Eight summit in Okinawa, and will bring to the table such issues as debt relief and bridging the digital divide, U.S. government sources said.
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2000

Corporate Japan needs concierges, group head says

OSAKA -- Not many Japanese know this, but the corporate concierge business is booming in the United States and Sara-ann Kasner predicts the same will soon happen in Japan.
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2000

26 banks to collect via convenience stores

Twenty-six regional banks will launch a system to collect payments on behalf of businesses through convenience stores, banking sources have said.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2000

Greenpeace calls for action on forests

Environmental group Greenpeace on Thursday urged the Group of Eight countries to stop subsidizing "destruction of the last ancient forests" within two years.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2000

G8 summit ready to open in Okinawa

Leaders of the Group of Eight major nations began arriving in Okinawa Prefecture on Thursday to prepare for today's opening of the three-day summit.
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2000

Next-generation TVs set to bring interactive future

Following NTT DoCoMo Inc.'s success in turning cellular phones into gateways to the Internet, Japanese electronics makers are putting their efforts into making TV sets the next doorway to cyberspace.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2000

Human chain surrounds Kadena base

NAGO, Okinawa Pref.-- In a unified expression of opposition to the U.S. military's presence in Okinawa, some 27,000 citizens from Okinawa and the mainland formed a human chain around the U.S. Kadena Air Base on Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2000

Moderate, shallow quakes hit Izu isles

A series of moderate but shallow earthquakes shook the Izu Islands on Thursday, with the strongest jolting Shikine Island with an intensity of upper 5 on the 7-point Japanese intensity scale, the Meteorological Agency said.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 21, 2000

Nourishing one's own inner source of joy

Just as the sun draws life from the earth, urging flowers to bloom and fruits to ripen, thus creating an earth "worthy" for humans to dwell in, so, I believe, in each person's soul an "inner sun" shines which makes human life well worth living.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2000

Once-needed water tanks now a concern

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- In times when the water supply was chronically short, locals learned to cope by storing water on their own. Today, even though the supply is secure, they keep up the practice, saving it for a rainy day, as it were.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2000

Nigeria leader frustrated at G8 inaction on debt

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo expressed frustration Thursday over the lack of concrete action by the Group of Eight major nations to cancel the debts of developing countries.
COMMENTARY
Jul 21, 2000

Spotlight shines on Okinawa

A three-day Group of Eight summit opens today in Okinawa, an unusual location for such a conference. Okinawa was the last major battlefield in the Pacific War, where Japanese Imperial soldiers fought the onslaught of U.S. military forces. During the fierce fighting, an estimated 100,000 Okinawan civilians...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 21, 2000

Matsuzaka hit hard but still gets victory

Pinch hitter Masahide Kaizuka hit a go-ahead RBI single in the Lions' three-run seventh inning at the Seibu Dome Thursday as Seibu came from behind to beat the Orix BlueWave 6-4 and climb into a first-place tie with the Daiei Hawks in the Pacific League standings.
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2000

Stimulus policy should continue: Imai

While acknowledging that the much-anticipated economic recovery has become more evident, Takashi Imai, chairman of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), is emphasizing that the government should continue its current stimulus-oriented fiscal and monetary policies for the foreseeable...
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Jul 21, 2000

Just say yes! yes! yes! to Seagulls' 'No! No! No!'

Negative charisma has been a staple of rock from Jerry Lee Lewis to Courtney Love. With its latest album "No! No! No!" (Trattoria), Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her takes it to a whole new level.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2000

Few anti-base protests before summit

NAHA, Okinawa — Japanese police, whose only new equipment for the event are 23,200 pairs of sunglasses, have effectively caused anti-U.S. bases demonstrations at the Okinawa G8 Summit to flop badly.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2000

Kadena Air Base noise stirs memories of war

NISHINOMIYA, Hyogo Pref. -- For many elderly people living near the U.S. Kadena Air Base in central Okinawa, aircraft noise is intolerable not only because it disrupts their sleep but also because it brings back unbearable memories of war, according to Kozo Hiramatsu, an expert in acoustic ecology.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2000

State to review gas emissions plan

Japan will review a plan to push for allowing signatory nations to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to partially achieve mandated carbon dioxide cuts through forest absorption, government sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2000

Amerasian kids get short shrift in divorce capital of Japan

Staff writer GINOWAN, Okinawa Pref. -- After dropping out of junior high school here, Steve Oakley, 16, spent all his time at home because it was the only place he would be understood.
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2000

Dollar probably stuck in 105-110 yen range

Given that Japanese monetary authorities have indicated their commitment to keeping the dollar from falling below 105 yen, the dollar-yen rate appears unlikely to snap out of its current 105-110 yen range anytime soon.
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2000

Regulating body recommended for NTT

To liberalize telecommunications and encourage competition through foreign direct investment here, Japan needs to develop an effective framework for regulating dominant carrier NTT Corp., according to Erkki Liikanen, European commissioner for enterprise and the information society.
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2000

Japan, U.S. formalize cuts to NTT rate

Japan and the United States officially announced Wednesday an agreement that would reduce local connection fees charged by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. by over 20 percent in two years.
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2000

NTT structure new focus of debate

With the trade dispute between the United States and Japan over connection fees charged by NTT Corp. resolved, focus has now shifted to how the nation's telecom giant should be structured in the long term.
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2000

U.S. suggests one-year extension of bilateral deregulation framework

United States Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky told Foreign Minister Yohei Kono on Wednesday that the U.S. wants a one-year extension of a bilateral deregulation framework due to expire in March 2001, a Foreign Ministry official said.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2000

Typhoon Tenbin forms south of Japan

This year's fifth typhoon, named Tenbin, Japanese for the constellation Libra, has hatched in the Pacific Ocean south of Japan, the Meteorological Agency said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2000

Enron plans power-ful inroad

As business opportunities loom with the deregulation of Japan's mammoth electricity market, Enron Corp. of the United States is preparing to launch comprehensive energy services in the world's second-largest economy.

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