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JAPAN
Dec 24, 1999

Cabinet OKs 85 trillion yen 'final push' budget

The Cabinet on Friday approved an 84.99 trillion yen budget for fiscal 2000 that leans more heavily than ever on bond issues in what is being billed as the final push to strengthen the long-fragile economy. The general-account budget, the same size as the Finance Ministry's draft proposed Monday, will...
EDITORIALS
Dec 23, 1999

Nuclear program under fire

Japan's nuclear power program is at a critical moment. Earlier this week, Mr. Hisashi Ouchi died as a result of exposure to massive doses of radiation during an accident three months ago at the Tokaimura uranium processing facility. He is the first Japanese to die in a nuclear accident. That tragedy...
JAPAN
Dec 23, 1999

Carmakers jockey for inroads in slow-growing China market

Staff writer GUANGZHOU, China -- Browsing through glossy catalogs, a couple of men chat with dealers over the counter of a spacious car showroom. Beside them sit three brand-new cars. What appears to be an ordinary scene at any roadside dealership, however, is not run-of-the-mill; one of the cars --...
JAPAN
Dec 23, 1999

WTO ruling pumps up Japan for battle

Staff writer Emboldened by a preliminary World Trade Organization ruling that deals a serious setback for Washington's antidumping policy, Japan is likely to up the ante in an anticipated series of its own legal WTO battles with the United States over steel trade. In an interim report presented to the...
JAPAN
Dec 23, 1999

IOC says Osaka must not push Olympic bid abroad

OSAKA -- This city's 2008 Olympic bid will undergo a preliminary review by the International OlympicCommittee sometime between March and September, during which time it must not promote the bid internationally, IOC officials have told Osaka. "Under the new guidelines, cities wishing to bid for the 2008...
JAPAN
Dec 23, 1999

Iwakuni loses backing for Osaka governorship

OSAKA -- Senior officials of the Osaka chapter of the Democratic Party of Japan agreed Thursday that they will not back House of Representatives lawmaker Tetsundo Iwakuni, who submitted a letter of resignation to the party Wednesday, as its candidate for the upcoming Osaka gubernatorial election. Instead...
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Dec 23, 1999

Sake tools you can trust

Happy Holidays to all Japan Times readers.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 1999

SDP legislator demands apology for comic

Diet member Kiyomi Tsujimoto of the Social Democratic Party has demanded that major publishing house Shogakukan Co. and cartoonist Yoshinori Kobayashi apologize to her for a cartoon in the magazine SAPIO that she claims libeled her. Tsujimoto told a news conference Wednesday that she made the demand...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Dec 23, 1999

Yearend nostalgia

There is something about the holiday season that brings out nostalgia. Old times are recalled. We reach out with Christmas and New Year's cards to friends we haven't seen for years. A lot of conversations begin with, Do you remember . . . It seems that although most people anticipate the opportunities...
COMMUNITY
Dec 23, 1999

A cry to help children in need

If Joseph Lam were to take a vocational aptitude test, the results would no doubt point to a career in either politics or tele-evangelism.
LIFE / Style & Design / BEAUTY EAST AND WEST
Dec 23, 1999

Santa's bag full of health and beauty

Are you still faced with filling a lengthy Christmas wish-list and find yourself running out of time? Consider investigating the range of one-stop health-and-beauty gift options before you give up and buy those last-resort presents that lack imagination and personal suitability -- the candles, calendars...
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 23, 1999

The best of the rest(aurants) of 1999

Before our memory cells get erased by the momentous celebrations and the post-millennial hangover, let's pause for a moment to consider some of the many places we visited and enjoyed in 1999 but which, for whatever reason, never made it into print.
LIFE / Food & Drink / WINE WAYS
Dec 23, 1999

As millennium's end looms, go with the flow of timeless wine

In Japan eight is a lucky number. And in just eight days we'll be living the last day of the second millennium anno Domini.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 1999

Police identify kidnapping suspect

OSAKA -- Police looking into the abduction earlier this week of an 8-year-old girl in Settsu, Osaka Prefecture, have singled out a 47-year-old man residing in northern Osaka Prefecture as an important witness, sources close to the investigation said Thursday. According to the sources, fingerprints found...
JAPAN
Dec 23, 1999

Nago approves relocation of U.S. Marines' heliport

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. -- The Nago Municipal Assembly adopted a resolution Thursday that supports the relocation of a key U.S. Marine Corps heliport to the city, setting the stage for Mayor Tateo Kishimoto to officially accept the project as early as Monday. The resolution, submitted by members of the ruling...
CULTURE / Art
Dec 23, 1999

A gift for appraising in Washington

WASHINGTON -- She was an appraiser for the White House on gifts Ronald Reagan and George Bush received from Japan and is the owner of a reputable gallery in Washington, D.C.
EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 1999

The Kremlin wins, for now

Russia's parliamentary elections, held last weekend, were a victory for the government. Pro-Kremlin parties appear -- and the qualifier is important -- to have won a commanding share of seats in the 450-member Duma. The immediate benefactors of the vote are President Boris Yeltsin and his prime minister,...
JAPAN
Dec 22, 1999

Nishimura urges military upgrade, carrier fleet

Former Parliamentary Vice Minister of Defense Shingo Nishimura urged Japan on Wednesday to adopt a more positive role for the security of East Asia through such steps as forming its own legitimate military forces and introducing its own aircraft carriers. Nishimura, who resigned in October after suggesting...
JAPAN
Dec 22, 1999

High court upholds dismissal of Korean redress suit

The Tokyo High Court has upheld a lower court ruling that dismissed a lawsuit by 189 Koreans demanding that the government officially apologize and pay each of them between 30 million yen and 50 million yen in damages for their suffering after they were conscripted into the Imperial Japanese forces during...
COMMENTARY
Dec 22, 1999

Popularity of cults reflects Japan's gaping spiritual void

Why are increasing numbers of Japanese now turning to new religions? Because Japanese today feel they have nothing to fall back on. Even those who do not embrace new religions feel this way. That is why new religions continue to spring forth like mushrooms.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 1999

Emperor glad reign has been peaceful so far

The Emperor, who turns 66 today, expressed happiness Wednesday that the first 10 years of his reign have passed relatively peacefully. The Emperor contrasted the first decade of his Heisei era to that of his late father, Emperor Hirohito, saying "various violent incidents occurred" in that period. Emperor...
JAPAN
Dec 22, 1999

Walking Queen contestants take pride in stride

Staff writer Chest out, stomach in! Forget that chic Private Label suit, the 20-cm platform boots, cowgirl hat or bleached hair. If you want to truly express yourself, take pride in how you regulate your gait. That was the message sent out at the '99 International Walking Contest held last Sunday at...
JAPAN
Dec 22, 1999

Kurdish citizens request political asylum

Fearing persecution upon their return to Turkey, a group of Kurds facing deportation have visited the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau to reapply for refugee status. Besides the 34 Kurds applying for refugee status a second time after their first applications were dismissed, six others filed their first...
JAPAN
Dec 22, 1999

Insanity cited in serial killer's death penalty appeal

The counsel for convicted serial killer Tsutomu Miyazaki did not dispute allegations that he murdered four girls in Tokyo and Saitama prefectures in the late 1980s, but they claim he was insane at the time. The lawyers made the claim in their opening statement Wednesday of the appellant trial before...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Dec 22, 1999

The accidental ambassador

Stop me if you've heard this one: A mustachioed fun-loving Turkish guy throws up a personal Web page that, in simple, bad English, depicts him as a regular Renaissance stud muffin, who loves to travel, plays numerous instruments, is single, and -- the kicker -- he states, "I like sex." He offers a picture...
JAPAN
Dec 22, 1999

Keidanren mission to assess post-crisis Asia

As Asian countries steadily recover from the region's financial and economic crises, the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) will dispatch a mission to the area next spring, it was learned Wednesday. The Asian mission, led by Chairman Takashi Imai, will visit Indonesia, Singapore and...
JAPAN
Dec 22, 1999

Kidnapped girl freed without payment of ransom

OSAKA -- An 8-year-old girl was safely reunited with her parents Wednesday morning, 42 hours after she was apparently kidnapped while on her way home from school. Sayaka Teranishi had been held for a 42 million yen ransom, but was reunited with her parents outside a convenience store near her home in...
JAPAN
Dec 22, 1999

New game rides in the slow lane

Staff writer After test-driving a simulation game and ramming right into a curb, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara announced Wednesday, "I guess I wasn't meant to be a bus driver." "Tokyo Bus Guide," created for Sega Enterprises Ltd.'s Dreamcast game console, focuses on an ungainly, slow-plodding mode of...
JAPAN
Dec 22, 1999

JCO worker succumbs after 83 days

One of three JCO Co. workers exposed to massive radiation in September in the nation's worst nuclear accident died of organ failure at a Tokyo hospital late Tuesday night, becoming the first fatality of his kind in Japan. Hisashi Ouchi, 35, was critically injured during an accident Sept. 30 at the JCO...
JAPAN
Dec 22, 1999

Judicial Reform: Change vital to elite training process

Last of three parts Staff writer The push for judicial reform in Japan is prompting universities and bar associations to consider introducing postgraduate programs that will not only increase the number of legal professionals but also improve their skills. Unlike the United States, Japan does not have...

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals