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CULTURE / Music
May 28, 2000

Gergiev faultily great with the Rotterdam Phil

Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
COMMENTARY
May 28, 2000

U.S. bogged down in Kosovo quagmire

The Clinton administration has ensnared the United States in the irrelevant turmoil of the Balkans. After NATO's nearly yearlong occupation of Kosovo, the General Accounting Office in Washington warns that "many difficult political, social and other issues remain unresolved" in the "volatile" territory....
EDITORIALS
May 28, 2000

Say it with buses

Some Tokyo residents have been grumbling or sneering (or both) in the past few weeks about the latest head-turning novelty on the capital's streets: those giant moving billboards that used to be just plain old green-and-cream buses.
EDITORIALS
May 27, 2000

Myanmar's lost decade

Ten years ago today, Myanmar had a brief taste of democracy. It was a heady experience: Prodemocracy activists decisively rejected the military junta that had ruled for 28 years. Stunned, the cabal then rejected that verdict, imprisoned its opponents and shut down the country. And so things stand today....
JAPAN
May 27, 2000

Visitors to Japan reach record 4.4 million

The number of visitors to Japan hit a record high of 4.44 million in 1999, up 8 percent from the pervious year, mainly due to the economic recovery in Asia following the 1997 financial crisis, according to a government tourism report released Friday.
JAPAN
May 27, 2000

Oldest international school's closure leaves many questions

One of Japan’s oldest international school closes its doors today, leaving behind a 99-year legacy that started as a result of nationalist upheaval and ended under a cloud of bitter protests and suspicions of greed.
JAPAN
May 27, 2000

Mori sorry but stands by quote

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori apologized once more Friday for having caused a misunderstanding with his remark that Japan is "a divine nation centering on the Emperor," but he refused to withdraw it. "I deeply reflect upon and apologize that my comment has caused misunderstanding among many people," Mori...
JAPAN
May 27, 2000

Dai-ichi Hotel files for 125.5 billion yen bankruptcy

Dai-ichi Hotel Ltd. effectively failed Friday morning when the Tokyo-based hotel chain and its four group firms filed with the Tokyo District Court for protection from creditors under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law.
JAPAN
May 27, 2000

Rigid schools failing kids in tough times

The rigidity of Japanese schools is suffocating children and is one of the causes behind the recent rise in youth crime, according to education experts.
JAPAN
May 27, 2000

Court rejects judge trainee's bias claim

OSAKA -- The Osaka District Court on Friday turned down an 11 million yen damages suit filed against the state by a former legal trainee who claimed the Supreme Court rejected his application to become a judge based on discrimination.
JAPAN
May 27, 2000

Anti-stalker insurance on market

Sumitomo Marine & Fire Insurance Co. will start selling insurance policies for women from next month that will entitle policyholders injured by stalkers to receive twice the standard benefit, the company said Friday.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 27, 2000

Lions blank Hawks 1-0

Seibu ace Fumiya Nishiguchi tossed a three-hitter for his fourth victory to lead the Lions past the Daiei Hawks 1-0 Thursday in a tight pitching duel at the Seibu Dome.
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.

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