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EDITORIALS
Jun 20, 1999

Fast, faster and fastest

Last week, sprinter Koji Ito, Japan's fastest man, became the first Asian to run 100 meters in less than 10 seconds. Performing at a college meet in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Mr. Ito was timed with a stopwatch at 9.90 seconds; his achievement will only be unofficial, however, since the Japan Amateur...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 20, 1999

Y2K: The liability millennium

The coming new millennium means different things to different people. Some fatalists believe it presages the end of the world. Some religious people believe it portends the return of Christ. Some lawyers believe it promises yet another financial cornucopia.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 20, 1999

All it takes is a miracle to save the Earth

Last weekend I attended the 55th All Japan UNESCO conference in Okayama, where together we solved Japan's environmental problems. It's easy for everybody to do their part to help the environment. But it's surprising how many people don't do anything. So many people are environmentally unconscious --...
EDITORIALS
Jun 19, 1999

Scary home companion

Just a couple of weeks after R2D2 and C3PO clicked and whirred their way back into public consciousness with the release of the latest "Star Wars" movie, Sony Corp. unveiled a rich person's toy that may be the best preview humanity has yet had of real-life "droids" to come. It was an instant hit, too....
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 1999

China's oppression of Tibet continues

Fifty years after being invaded by Chinese troops in 1949, Tibet is still experiencing repression and violence on the part of Chinese occupying forces. According to Amnesty International reports, human-rights violations such as ill-treatment of prisoners and torture are widespread in Tibet. Even those...
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Jun 19, 1999

From court to village across the centuries

During the upcoming early summer weeks, one can experience a wide variety of fine hogaku concerts, including sublime gagaku court music, a lively group of kagura performers from Iwate Prefecture, contemporary koto music played by several fine young women performers, a large-scale biwa presentation and...
CULTURE / Music
Jun 19, 1999

Between rock and a warm place

Having never been pregnant myself, I'm not sure what it is obstetricians are recommending these days for expectant mothers. As little excitement as possible, or business as usual?
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 19, 1999

Exploring tropical forests of poetry

Stephen Forster has released a new volume of poetry titled "The Good Mouth." In this collection of poems, Forster takes the reader on an imaginative journey to distant lands where conquistadors in tropical forests meet their savage doom, or to places where the omniscient voice of a child uttering the...
COMMUNITY
Jun 19, 1999

Making the case for quality

They say, "The clothes make the man," but a briefcase is just as important for a salaryman. It is not only a symbol of his profession but also an indispensable part of his accouterments, something he can't leave home without.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 19, 1999

A little madness goes a long way

Madness sells.
EDITORIALS
Jun 18, 1999

Candidates off and running

It was only a matter of time, but it still seems too soon. In the past week, Mr. George W. Bush, the governor of Texas, and Mr. Al Gore, the vice president, officially opened campaigns for the U.S. presidential elections to be held in November next year. The two men are not the only candidates in the...
JAPAN
Jun 18, 1999

Two Americans, Frenchman picked for Kyoto Prizes

KYOTO — The 1999 Kyoto Prizes will go to an American materials scientist, an American oceanographer, and a French choreographer, it was announced Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 1999

13% of Japanese tapped into Internet in '98

More and more Japanese are using the Internet, with the number reaching about 17 million, or 13.4 percent of the population, in fiscal 1998, according to the 1999 White Paper on Communications in Japan released Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 1999

Bill aims to cut 50 Lower House seats

The Liberal Democratic Party and the Liberal Party have agreed to submit a bill to the Diet aimed at cutting 50 Lower House seats elected by proportional representation as early as Wednesday, party officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 1999

Empress' father passes away from old age at 95 in Tokyo

Hidesaburo Shoda, father of the Empress and honorary chairman and adviser of Nissin Flour Milling Co., died of old age at a Tokyo hospital Friday morning. He was 95.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 1999

Miyazawa pleased by New Komeito tax-for-welfare scheme

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa expressed his appreciation Friday for the recent decision by New Komeito, a de facto ally of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, to push for applying consumption tax revenues only for welfare purposes.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 1999

FEMA urges awareness, cooperation to handle Y2K

Kay Goss, associate director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, on Friday called for cooperation between world emergency managers in preparation for what she termed the most "unnatural hazard" ever — the Year 2000 problem.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 1999

Report paves way for state to sell land to reduce deficit

The government should be more flexible in leasing or selling state property to help reduce huge fiscal deficits, an advisory panel to the finance minister proposed Friday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 17, 1999

Symbols of unity or division?

As national symbols go, few can define the identity of a state as succinctly and evocatively as the national flag and anthem. Whether in time of war or peace, the national flag and the anthem unify the country and dignify national pursuits. These are icons that are fundamental to a nation's standing...
JAPAN
Jun 17, 1999

Prudential to step into Japanese pension market

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jun 17, 1999

Environment groups critique revised Sanbanze plan

Four nongovernmental organizations on Thursday submitted critical opinions to Chiba Gov. Takeshi Numata regarding the local government's revised plan to reclaim 101 hectares of Tokyo Bay's Sanbanze tidal flats.
JAPAN
Jun 17, 1999

Portugal — the next hot European tourist draw?

OPORTO, Portugal — The government of Portugal is trying to convince Japanese tourists that provinces in the south of France are not the only destination for a relaxing vacation in Europe. Instead, it is pushing the Iberian countryside with its ecotourism opportunities and locally made brandy-laced...
JAPAN
Jun 17, 1999

War currency need not be honored, court rules

The Tokyo District Court on Thursday rejected reimbursement and compensation demands by 17 Hong Kong residents who had been forced during World War II to exchange their money for Japanese military currency, which became worthless when the war ended.
JAPAN
Jun 17, 1999

WPP launches group in Tokyo

WPP Group, the world's second-largest advertising group, on Thursday launched a new media planning company in Tokyo to offer consulting services on strategic investments in advertisement.
JAPAN
Jun 17, 1999

Ainu women exhibit traditional handicrafts

An art exhibit put on by Ainu women opened this week in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward, offering a rare opportunity for the public to see, touch and even buy some 500 traditional handicrafts of the indigenous Hokkaido minority.
JAPAN
Jun 17, 1999

Fisher hits U.S. 'quota bill' on steel imports

Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Richard Fisher reiterated Thursday that his administration will oppose the Senate's expected move next week to enact a "quota bill" to restrict the amount of steel imports.
JAPAN
Jun 17, 1999

Police arrest suspected motorcycle thieves

OSAKA — Police on Thursday arrested five suspects believed to have been involved in large-scale thefts of motorcycles and scooters in Osaka, Wakayama and other neighboring prefectures.
LIFE / Style & Design / BEAUTY EAST AND WEST
Jun 17, 1999

Do you have that not-so-fresh feeling?

After writing the column on flowers and flowery teas and all things bloomingly lovely and springlike, I came across an article about the current trend for all things "fresh." The feeling of now, it seems, is freshness. The millennium approaches, and with it the newness of the year 2000, and the 21st...
JAPAN
Jun 17, 1999

DPJ slumping in face of alliance

In sharp contrast to the governing Liberal Democratic Party, which is flexing more political muscle as it woos New Komeito to join the ruling coalition, the Democratic Party of Japan seems to be at a loss on how to find a way to shore up its sagging position in national politics.
JAPAN
Jun 17, 1999

10-year prison term sought for Daiwa manager

OSAKA — Prosecutors demanded a 10-year prison term Thursday for a former branch manager of Daiwa Securities Co. who is accused of defrauding clients out of some 4.2 billion yen by luring them into fabricated investment schemes.

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