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JAPAN
Feb 14, 2000

Majority of Tokyo assembly behind Ishihara's bank tax

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara's plan to levy a 3 percent tax on the gross profits of large banks operating in Tokyo is expected to be passed by an overwhelming majority in the metropolitan assembly later this month. New Komeito's representatives in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly decided on Monday to...
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2000

FSA seeks parties who reported erroneous ratio

The Financial Supervisory Agency said Monday it has ordered Daihyaku Mutual Life Insurance Co. to clarify who is responsible for the intentional reporting of an erroneous solvency margin ratio to authorities. The struggling midsize life insurer was found to have disguised some of its loans as "subordinated...
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2000

Fourth Iranian family granted permission to stay

Justice Minister Hideo Usui on Monday granted special residence permission to four members of an Iranian family who have overstayed their visas, the third time such permission has been granted to foreigners. The minister had granted similar permission by issuing long-term visas to a family of three Iranians...
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2000

Japan keeps expo on track despite BIE's concerns

Despite environmental concerns about Japan's proposed 2005 world exposition, a top official on Monday said Aichi Prefecture is expected to register its plan at the general assembly of the Paris-based International Bureau of Expositions (BIE) in May. "The important thing is for us to continue efforts...
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2000

Nissan Motor to sell aerospace unit to IHI

Nissan Motor Co. confirmed Monday that it has agreed to sell its aerospace and defense division to Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. as part of its streamlining efforts. The two firms will decide on the cost of the deal, the number of employees involved and other details by the end of July, a...
EDITORIALS
Feb 13, 2000

When old age starts at 35

"That is no country for old men," the poet W.B. Yeats wrote more than 70 years ago, referring wistfully to the country of the young. He was not so old when he wrote it, either, barely in his 60s, but he knew that his age automatically excluded him from much that interested him -- chiefly heedless sensuality...
CULTURE / Music
Feb 13, 2000

'Fantasia 2000' live with the Philharmonia Orchestra

The Philharmonia Orchestra: Dec. 27, James Levine conducting in Orchard Hall -- Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67: Allegro con brio (Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827); "The Pines of Rome" (Ottorino Respighi, 1879-1936); "Rhapsody in Blue" (George Gershwin, 1898-1937), featuring Ralph Grierson; Concerto...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 13, 2000

Hey Rockhead, it's time to say it like you mean it

Being from the New York area (northern New Jersey, actually) and a bona-fide Mets fan, I think I'll enter the John Rocker controversy here. This situation is basically on hold after the Atlanta Braves ace relief pitcher testified this past week at a hearing where he appealed a three-month suspension...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Feb 13, 2000

Nicola Cerrone

The warmth and blue skies of Italy and the sunshine and freshness of Australia make a winning combination. These elements come together in Nicola Cerrone, young, winsome and friendly.
CULTURE / Art
Feb 13, 2000

Installation artist explores the void of all

Visualize three individuals -- one man and two women -- sitting on three chairs in an otherwise empty room. This space is painted white and measures 8 meters long by 4 meters wide by 3 meters high.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2000

Brinkmanship in the Mideast

BEIRUT -- When the Israeli-Syrian peace negotiations resumed in December, it was widely recognized that perhaps the greatest hazard they faced was the war of attrition between Hezbollah guerrillas and Israelis in occupied South Lebanon. The United States joined Israel in entreating Syrian President Hafez...
ENVIRONMENT
Feb 13, 2000

Confrontation not the answer on environmental problems

During the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle last year, they trashed a Starbucks and other brand-name stores.
CULTURE / Art
Feb 13, 2000

At the cultural crossroads of art

Paris in the '20s, a journey on the Orient Express: "Art Deco and the Orient," now at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, conjures up the Jazz Age, when everything from ocean liners to coffee cups was touched by the glamour of Art Deco.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2000

Theft runs rampant in Russian military

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia -- Weeks after the theft of radioactive material from a nuclear submarine, military prosecutors in the remote Kamchatka region have admitted the theft and added that theft of army equipment is an increasingly serious problem.
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 13, 2000

'Seasons' marks 35 years of Tokyo Ballet

On Feb. 4-5, the Tokyo Ballet premiered a new ballet by John Neumeier of the Hamburg Ballet in Germany. "Seasons -- The Colors of Time" was the latest in the company's series of commissioned works to celebrate the 35th anniversary of its establishment.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Feb 13, 2000

Decision-making

A gentleman set out on a full-day quest in Akihabara with a Japanese friend acting as interpreter ("with a patient and flexible persistence which is the hallmark of your column's advice," he adds) looking for an iMac computer with an English-language operating system installed. The end result: a long...
EDITORIALS
Feb 12, 2000

Lebanon in the middle

Lebanon is a victim of geography. A country that was once the most vibrant in the region has been reduced by civil war and occupation to a shell of its former self. Wedged between two of the mightiest armies in the Middle East, Lebanon has served as the battle ground for clashes between Israel and Syria,...
CULTURE / Art
Feb 12, 2000

Banging the pot for tradition

Copper cookware has several merits that other materials lack. Since copper conducts heat rapidly, it takes less time to cook. Professional chefs usually use a copper frying pan when making tempura because the oil heats evenly without hot spots. It is also believed that, due to the metal's sterilizing...
MORE SPORTS
Feb 12, 2000

The life and times of a sumo giant

Continuing The Japan Times' exclusive interview with yokozuna Akebono, 30, in which he talks about his life and relationships in sumo.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 12, 2000

The right kind of justice for East Timor

The quest for justice in East Timor gathered momentum last week with the submission of reports from two separate investigations into the rampage that occurred last September after the province voted for independence. But the stir raises profound questions of how to deal with transitional justice, pitting...
CULTURE / Art
Feb 12, 2000

Simple beauty from unknown craftsmen

Dotted throughout Japan are the potting centers of the common people, makers of wholesome, durable and utilitarian pots. In contrast with tea ceremony utensils and porcelain which were reserved for nobility, the wealthy or export, these folk kilns made zakki or ordinary crockery that met the needs of...
CULTURE / Art
Feb 12, 2000

A new talent blooms in the Kyoto school

Some eight years, when Chieko Oshie was a student at the Kyoto City University of Art, she went out walking on the grounds and chanced upon a wild burdock plant in bloom. It was something in the colors that caught her eye, and the plant became a favorite of the young student's fancy. When autumn came...
EDITORIALS
Feb 11, 2000

NTT shirks its responsibilities

The Japanese and U.S. governments are at odds over access charges for NTT networks. The Japanese side is balking at a U.S. demand for a deep and prompt price cut, on the grounds that it will have a crippling effect on NTT operations. As things stand, it is unclear whether an agreement can be reached...
COMMENTARY
Feb 11, 2000

Diet imbroglio over at last

The Diet returned to normal Feb. 9, two weeks after the opposition forces started boycotting all proceedings to protest against the ruling bloc's handling of a controversial bill to reduce Diet seats. The turmoil started when the three-party governing coalition passed the bill for cutting Lower House...
COMMUNITY
Feb 11, 2000

Words and eras to build character

Kanji is also prone to fashion. During the Meiji Era, the mods were chu (loyalty), kun (lord), ai (love) and koku (nation). Politics were condensed into four characters: fukokukyohei (rich nation, strong army). Kind of taps right into the psyche of the period, doesn't it. And the Taisho Era which marked...
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2000

WTO rules Canada must fix car duties

The Secretariat of the World Trade Organization recommended Friday that Canada correct its measures granting import-duty exemptions to exclusive car traders under its auto accord with the United States. The recommendation was issued in a final panel report released in Geneva, the Ministry of International...
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2000

BOJ's ultraeasy-credit policy a double-edged sword

As the Bank of Japan carries its zero-interest rate policy into the second year, there is no sign that the policy the BOJ itself calls abnormal will end anytime soon.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2000

Britain reiterates promise to act quickly on MOX fuel

A top British energy official reiterated Friday her nation's determination to promptly propose action on the mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel that was delivered to Kansai Electric Power Co. by a British company and later rejected because of falsified safety data. "We're committed to putting proposals forward as...
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2000

'Greedy' Myanmar requests $1.45 billion

Staff writer How greedy Myanmar's cash-strapped military regime is! It is trying to wheedle Japan, the world's largest aid donor, for a huge amount of money that it probably would not be able to digest. The Myanmar military regime, struggling to survive deep economic trouble amid continued isolation...
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2000

Rice self-sufficiency to stay flat around 96% in 2010

Japan's self-sufficiency in rice is expected to be roughly flat at 96 percent in fiscal 2010, up from from 95 percent in fiscal 1998, according to an estimate by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The figure is based on the assumption that both the consumption and production of rice...

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