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BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2000

Fukaya, Lamy to push WTO round

Trade chief Takashi Fukaya said he and Pascal Lamy, the European Union's trade commissioner, agreed Monday to pursue efforts to jointly hold working-level meetings with the United States and Canada in Geneva on Friday to encourage the World Trade Organization to swiftly launch a new round of free-trade...
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2000

Dioxin in Fujisawa river 16 times official standard

Samples taken from the Hikichi River in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, late last year showed dioxin levels up to 16 times the recently-set environmental standard, the Environment Agency announced on Monday.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2000

Obuchi hails Putin's win in Russia

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi on Monday congratulated acting Russian President Vladimir Putin via telephone on his victory in Sunday's presidential elections, a Foreign Ministry official said.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2000

Police arrest ministry official

Police on Monday arrested a bureaucrat at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries who was allegedly wined and dined to the tune of about 1.9 million yen by an agricultural cooperative in Kagawa Prefecture in return for favors involving farm subsidies.
EDITORIALS
Mar 27, 2000

Clinton walks the tightrope

For all the aspersions cast at U.S. President Bill Clinton, it cannot be said that he lacks courage. For no other word can describe Mr. Clinton's foray into the treacherous politics of South Asia. The decades-long standoff between India and Pakistan has become yet more threatening since the two governments...
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2000

Ever been to Nakamura?

Nakamura has turned out to be the most common town name in Japan, with 698 towns bearing the name nationwide, according to a new map produced by the Geographical Survey Institute.
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2000

Excessive currency liquidity fuels speculative rise in crude

Crude oil prices, which just a year ago appeared on the verge of falling below $10 per barrel, began a steep climb this year, at one point hitting $34 per barrel -- the highest level since the Persian Gulf Crisis. There are two major reasons behind this phenomenon.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2000

Tokyo, Seoul to discuss Pyongyang with U.S.

Japan and South Korea agreed Sunday to hold a three-way meeting involving the United States to coordinate policies toward North Korea before the April 4 resumption of diplomatic normalization talks between Japan and North Korea, Japanese officials said.
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2000

KDD set to lead new advance overseas

The three-way merger of KDD Corp., DDI Corp. and IDO Corp. in October will turn the new firm into a competitive mobile phone and Internet business that will enable KDD to shine, KDD President Tadashi Nishimoto says.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2000

State slow in Tokai fiasco, report notes

The government reacted slowly last year to the nuclear disaster in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, which resulted in the first fatality from radiation exposure in postwar Japanese history, according to a government report obtained by Kyodo News.
COMMENTARY
Mar 27, 2000

Election reform isn't the cure

The ruling coalition and the opposition Democratic Party of Japan have worked out a bill to correct defects in the existing election system. If approved by the current Diet, the proposed changes to the Public Office Election Law will apply to the next Lower House.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 27, 2000

World's forests cut to feed voracious Japanese industry

For those who suffer from cedar pollen allergies, these dry, sunny days of spring are sheer torture. After Finland and Sweden, Japan has the most forest cover in the world: 67 percent. My itchy eyes tell me 98 percent of those trees must be cedar.
SUMO
Mar 27, 2000

Lowly Takatoriki captures first Emperor's Cup

No. 14 maegashira Takatoriki stunned Miyabiyama and the entire sumo world Sunday when he upset heavily favored sekiwake Miyabiyama to clinch the championship of the Haru Basho in Osaka with a spectacular 13-2 record. It not only marked 'Riki's first yusho, but it was also the first time in sumo history...
EDITORIALS
Mar 26, 2000

A man of faith, frustrated

Pope John Paul II declared that his visit to Israel and the Middle East was a spiritual journey. The pontiff wanted to fulfill a long cherished dream and walk in the footsteps of Christ, 2,000 years after his birth. The pope did just that, with trips to the site of Christ's birth, baptism and the Sea...
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2000

Development reaches the east

Today, it's free and takes only five minutes. But getting to the other side of JR Shinagawa Station was once no easy matter.
COMMENTARY
Mar 26, 2000

All eyes on nuclear energy

It is axiomatic that any group in Japan -- doctors, dentists or candlestick makers -- will want to turn itself into a tightly bound community, closed off from the outside world. It will be concerned almost entirely with its own survival and prosperity.
BUSINESS
Mar 26, 2000

Paper firms to merge operations in 2001

Nippon Paper Industries Co., Japan's second largest paper maker, and Daishowa Paper Mfg. Co., the fourth largest, are negotiating to integrate their operations by jointly setting up a holding company by April 2001, industry sources said Saturday.
COMMUNITY
Mar 26, 2000

Lebanese Marie-Rose has a lot to say on love

Last Tuesday Marie-Rose Ishiguro was at odds with her handbag. Dressed in a bright red suit, with gold jewelry and matching buttons, she looked every inch the power executive. But her battered brown leather bag -- more a holdall really, handles secured with string and spilling papers, books and clothes...
COMMUNITY
Mar 26, 2000

So many blossoms, so little time

The last flower viewing of the century will be here and gone in a matter of weeks.
BUSINESS
Mar 26, 2000

DaimlerChrysler, Mitsubishi agree on capital tieup

DaimlerChrysler AG and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. of Japan have formally agreed on a capital tieup, auto industry sources said Saturday night.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2000

Obuchi puts G8 before election

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi indicated Saturday that he will not dissolve the Lower House for elections before the Okinawa summit of the Group of Eight major nations in July.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 26, 2000

Impressions of an overlooked artist

In February 1866, three young artists tramped along the frosty paths of Fontainebleau, declaring that nature would ever be their muse. One, handsome, rich and carefree, would follow that muse until he lost everything except the respect of his friends. He died in poverty, in a home stacked with unsold...
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Mar 26, 2000

Once around again

Except for a few well-seasoned apartment buildings, the street I moved to 10 years ago was lined with old-style houses. Now only one remains. It is still a quiet street in an upscale neighborhood, but nearby are several small industry suppliers engaged in cutting, shaping and shipping metal forms. They...
CULTURE / Art
Mar 26, 2000

Vast private collection housed in London's 'unofficial attic'

LONDON -- Museums in Britain are nervously awaiting the results of the Internet publication of an official inventory of 350 works of art in British national collections whose provenance in the period between 1933 and 1945 is unclear. More than half belong to the National Gallery and the Tate, 109 and...

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