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JAPAN
May 27, 2000

Laws enacted to reduce garbage and promote recycling

The Diet enacted two laws Friday obliging businesses to reduce garbage output, promote recycling and be responsible for the final disposal of their waste.
JAPAN
May 27, 2000

Fuji mayor urges ministries to dissolve Honohana cult

The mayor and assembly chairman of Fuji city, in Shizuoka Prefecture, on Friday asked the government to dissolve the Honohana Sanpogyo religious cult, which is headquartered in the city.
JAPAN
May 27, 2000

Greenhouse gases still on the rise in some areas: MITI

An advisory panel to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry has announced that emissions of greenhouse gases such as hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons have yet to decrease in some areas.
BUSINESS
May 27, 2000

Nichiei in red for fiscal 1999 after loan collection outcry

OSAKA -- Nonbank moneylender Nichiei Co. said Friday that its group net balance sank into the red in fiscal 1999 for the first time since its founding in 1970, due largely to a public outcry over its loan collection methods.
JAPAN
May 27, 2000

Teshima Island waste dispute nears end

A 25-year-old dispute over industrial waste dumped on Teshima Island in Kagawa Prefecture was close to being resolved on Friday when a government commission formally presented a settlement plan to the prefectural government and Teshima residents.
BUSINESS
May 27, 2000

Softbank net profit fell 77.5% in '99

Softbank Corp. said Friday it registered a consolidated net profit of 8.45 billion yen in fiscal 1999, down 77.5 percent from the previous year.
BUSINESS
May 27, 2000

Sega president to step down over weak business showing

Major video game console maker Sega Enterprises announced Friday that President Shoichiro Irimajiri will step down as of June 1 to take responsibility for the firm's poor business performance.
JAPAN
May 27, 2000

European satellite slated to go on first H-IIA launch

Japan's H-IIA rocket will carry a European data-transmission satellite on its maiden launch, scheduled for next February, Science and Technology Agency chief Hirofumi Nakasone said Friday.
BUSINESS
May 27, 2000

Government says EPA not pressured

The Japanese government on Friday denied a foreign newspaper report that hinted the Economic Planning Agency manipulated gross domestic product data for the October-December quarter for political reasons.
BUSINESS
May 27, 2000

Honda Motor aims to boost global output 20% by 2003

Honda Motor Co. said Friday it will raise annual groupwide car sales to 3 million in fiscal 2003, up about 20 percent from the current volume.
BUSINESS
May 27, 2000

DVD firms, copyright groups near royalty deal

DVD equipment producers and copyright organizations are expected to reach an agreement under which makers will raise wholesale prices of their DVD recording machines and discs by 1 percent to cover the cost of paying royalties to the organizations, industry sources said Friday.
CULTURE / Art
May 27, 2000

A vision of hope in a life of disaster

Painting the kind of life he would like to live instead of the hard one he actually has, artist Andrew Boerger creates an appealing, serene world on canvas that has art buyers snapping up his work.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
May 27, 2000

Sweet treats on a canvas of glaze

Though most of the world loves labels, it's hard to give one to the pottery of Norio Kamiya. Many collectors of Japanese pottery feel more comfortable if they know that this style is called Kutani or that one Arita or that this potter has won this award and exhibits at such-and-such gallery. Only after...
BUSINESS
May 27, 2000

Economy still slowing automakers

A stronger yen and the nation's stagnant economy continued to plague all Japan's five major automakers except Toyota Motor Corp. in fiscal 1999, which ended March 31, according to their annual earnings reports released by Friday.
BUSINESS
May 27, 2000

NTT group's robust earnings belie deregulation rhetoric

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. on Friday released its first consolidated financial statement since its group reorganization in July, posting pretax profits of 825 billion yen on the group sales of 10.4 trillion yen for fiscal 1999.
BUSINESS
May 27, 2000

Japan retains world's top creditor slot

Japan probably remained the world's top creditor nation in 1999 for the ninth straight year, with net external assets of 84.74 trillion yen at the end of December, despite a plunge in assets due to reduced overseas loans by Japanese banks.
BUSINESS
May 27, 2000

Secret four-party talks to steer toward new WTO round

Senior officials from Japan, the United States, Canada and the 15-nation European Union will hold secret talks in Ottawa next month to coordinate policy toward a new round of global trade liberalization negotiations, government sources said Friday.
CULTURE / Art
May 27, 2000

Issey Miyake: artist, sculptor or fashion designer?

"Issey Miyake Making Things," Miyake's current offering, presents the master in three different aspects. Broadly speaking, of course, sculpture, painting and fashion design are related, but no one else has such ability to convince us that these three arts can be made one.
JAPAN
May 27, 2000

State universities to be independent

The Education Ministry on Friday announced its final decision to turn Japan's 99 national universities into independent administrative institutions, a move that will streamline the management of colleges and give them greater autonomy in budget and personnel matters.
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2000

Politicians don't create jobs, people do

As Japan's leaders do battle against the ravages of deflation and recessionary conditions that grip their economy, unemployment rates are at a postwar high. Government data indicate the unemployment rate set a record high for the second consecutive month in March and now stands at 4.9 percent.
JAPAN
May 27, 2000

Green energy nearing takeoff in Japan

Movements to promote so-called green energy, such as wind and solar power, are gaining momentum in Japan as opposition to the use of nuclear power increases following last year's fatal nuclear accident and rising pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2000

Wars drag on in an interconnected world

LONDON -- Two wars should be ending this month, for the Tamil separatists have all but won in Sri Lanka, and Ethiopia has already won in the Horn of Africa. Neither result is wonderful, but -- at least in the past -- outcomes as decisive as these used to end the fighting and let ordinary people get on...
EDITORIALS
May 26, 2000

Out of the Lebanese mud

The familiar sounds of war were heard in southern Lebanon this week, but this time the bombs were falling and the artillery was firing for a different reason. Israel was ending its 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon, and as the troops withdrew, they were destroying positions and materiel to ensure...
JAPAN
May 26, 2000

'Divine' comment to stand

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said Thursday that he will defy calls for him to withdraw a controversial remark that Japan is a divine country centering on the Emperor at a press conference scheduled for this afternoon.
JAPAN
May 26, 2000

Three arrested over 22 billion yen fraud case

OSAKA -- Public prosecutors said Thursday that they have arrested a former employee of trading house Yuasa Trading Co. and two executives of a machinery company on suspicion they swindled firms out of more than 20 billion yen by forging contracts using Yuasa's name.
JAPAN
May 26, 2000

U.S. pushes global child custody pact

In order to prevent children from being forcibly taken to another country by a parent in an international marriage, Japan should sign an accord to provide a legal framework for settling international child custody cases, a U.S. State Department official said Thursday in Tokyo.

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