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JAPAN
Apr 20, 1999

Readers Prize deadline near

The deadline is now approaching for readers of The Japan Times to apply for a total of 4.5 million yen worth of shopping coupons. The Readers Prize will offer 50,000 yen in vouchers to 30 subscribers and a 10,000 yen coupon to 300 other readers.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 20, 1999

Learning from the real world, not the schoolroom

LEARNING IN LIKELY PLACES: Varieties of Apprenticeship in Japan, edited by John Singleton. Cambridge University Press, 376 pp. For many foreigners living here, the chance to study some Japanese art or craft, be it aikido, shakuhachi or tea ceremony, is very much a part of their "Japan experience."
JAPAN
Apr 20, 1999

Focus: Economy's implications for Japan-U.S. ties

Japan's economic recovery and U.S. ties Demand deficit, overcapacity called highest hurdles to recovery Firms urged to cut labor excess, foster market dynamism A weak Japan seen as a bigger threat
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 20, 1999

Nakamuras highlight double-suicide plays

During the month of April, the Kabukiza in Ginza is offering its annual Nakamura-kai program, featuring such major actors as Kichiemon, Jakuemon, Ganjiro, Tomijuro and Baigyoku, who belong to the Nakamura line of kabuki actors.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 1999

Teen girls held in phone club assault

Two teenage girls have been arrested on suspicion of assaulting and robbing a 35-year-old corporate worker after meeting him through a telephone dating club in Machida, western Tokyo, police said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 20, 1999

East Timor reveals West's hypocrisy

Two places on opposite sides of the world share similar circumstances: innocent people killed and displaced by government forces and paramilitaries. The violence on one side of the world begets harsh condemnation and a series of threats from Western powers, followed by a massive bombing campaign. The...
JAPAN
Apr 20, 1999

Coupons fail to spur shopping, but 'dango' sales up

Although municipalities have finished distributing the central government's shopping coupons to the public, the result of the hard-fought effort to boost domestic demand seems as flat as the vouchers themselves.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 20, 1999

Soseki's deep well of sadness

CHAOS AND ORDER IN THE WORKS OF NATSUME SOSEKI, by Angela Yiu. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1998, 251 pp., $42 (cloth). This, the first full-length study of Soseki in English, is based upon the proposition that "beneath the emphasis on order, responsibility and a clear sense of morality, [there]...
COMMENTARY
Apr 20, 1999

Last gasp for political parties?

The raison d'etre of established parties is in serious doubt following their serious setbacks in the April 11 local elections. A case in point was Shintaro Ishihara's overwhelming victory in the Tokyo gubernatorial election. Ishihara, a former lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, now running...
JAPAN
Apr 19, 1999

48th Asia travel conference kicks off

NAGOYA -- The 48th Pacific Asia Travel Association conference officially kicked off Monday at the Nagoya Congress Center with 1,000 delegates from 45 countries in attendance.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 1999

Ishihara's China stance throbbing headache for Japan

Japan has no intention of changing its policy toward China, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Monday when asked to comment on Tokyo Gov.-elect Shintaro Ishihara's series of anti-China remarks.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 1999

Hokuriku Special: Illegal immigrants find new gateway

Staff writer
JAPAN
Apr 19, 1999

GM, Toyota team up for environment-friendly cars

Auto giants General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. jointly announced Monday that they will cooperate on research and development for environmentally friendly high-tech vehicles over the next five years, including fuel-cell, electric and hybrid cars.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 1999

BOJ to keep ultra-easy monetary policy

The Bank of Japan will maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy until the threat of deflation is gone, BOJ Gov. Masaru Hayami reiterated Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 1999

The Asahara Trial: Guru tossed from courtroom

Shoko Asahara, founder of the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, was ordered out of a courtroom Monday because he refused to put his fingerprint on a written oath after being called as a witness in the trial of one of his former disciples.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 1999

In with a Bang: Allstate banks on discount edge

Last in our series on financial deregulation
JAPAN
Apr 19, 1999

Hokuriku Special: Love battling time for rare ibises

NIIGATA -- Aggressiveness is all you need to triumph in unrequited love.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 1999

Business chiefs to flank Obuchi on trip to U.S.

Four of Japan's top business leaders will accompany Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi on his upcoming trip to the United States to exchange views with their U.S. counterparts, government sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 1999

Hokuriku Special: Russian village goes modern

NIIGATA -- Niigata Russian Village at the foot of the Gozu mountain range will make a new start at the end of this month with additional attractions, including a record-large hot air balloon and a theater featuring the latest technology to lure more tourists to the theme park.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 1999

Hokuriku Special: Bone find linked to relocated Christians

KANAZAWA, Ishikawa Pref. -- When construction workers first dug human bones out of a ridge on Mount Utatsu in Ishikawa Prefecture in October, they had no idea what they had unearthed.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 1999

Cyberspace offers chance to study business at USC

Beginning in September, Japanese will have the opportunity to take a University of Southern California business course in their homes -- using the Internet and satellite TV.
EDITORIALS
Apr 18, 1999

Goodbye to all that

Sometimes -- make that usually -- the range of rational reactions to life on this planet seems dismally narrow, beginning with bafflement, passing through exasperation and rage, and ending in sorrow. We may distract or console ourselves with the doings of babies and small animals, the pleasures of music...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Apr 18, 1999

Travel report

Never before have I returned to Japan after an overseas trip at the end of the cherry blossoms. Don't do it! The season is best when it is being anticipated. When I left, there was just the hint of a pink haze around the trees, the first indication that the blossoms were readying their show. That is...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 1999

Silicone Valley clones lack the right stuff

All over Asia, governments are trying to replicate California's Silicon Valley. Each of the projects, so far, is a failure. The main reason for the failure is that Asian leaders have not yet realized that it takes more than a plot of land, an impressive budget, a graduating class of computer engineers...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 1999

It's the (domestic) economy, stupid

Forget about export-led growth. The global economy has changed everything. Leaders of countries locked in the economic doldrums need to understand that they never experienced "miracles," nor can they count on one to resolve their problems. Quite simply, they must undertake radical restructuring of their...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 18, 1999

In Japan, if it can be done, it can be certified

Be honest, how many certificates do you have? Count them all -- in your desk drawer, on the wall, in the ashes in the incinerator.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 1999

Learning to break the cycle of poverty

Lack of education, particularly among children, continues to be one of the main challenges to the well-being and quality of life of children worldwide, concludes a recent Oxfam International report titled, "Education Now: Break the Cycle of Poverty." According to this report, there are currently 125...
EDITORIALS
Apr 17, 1999

A long shadow over Malaysia

After a 78-day trial, former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was found guilty Wednesday of four counts of corruption and sentenced to six years in prison. The verdict, which has triggered protests by Mr. Anwar's supporters, was condemned by the defendant and questioned by others around...
CULTURE / Art
Apr 17, 1999

A confectioner for all seasons

Japanese tea and wagashi (Japanese-style confections) are inseparable in the tea ceremony. Wagashi, served before the tea itself, are said to draw out the essence of the tea.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 17, 1999

Mortality caught in the blink of a shutter

Death. We don't like it, but sooner or later we all have to face it. British photographer Cesca Sims, however, has been looking it straight in the eye (through the lens of her camera) ever since she began shooting. Her first major exhibition was set in Canterbury Prison, Kent, and narrated by snippets...

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