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JAPAN
Apr 13, 1999

Public debate on defense guidelines set for April 21

The Lower House Special Committee on the Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation on Tuesday set the date of a public hearing in the Diet for April 21, paving the way for the chamber's passage of bills related to the nation's new defense role before Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's scheduled departure...
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1999

Djibouti ambassador sees chance to improve ties

Staff writer
CULTURE / Books
Apr 13, 1999

Despair and disillusionment, after the revolution

SPIDER EATERS, by Rae Yang. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1998, 296 pp. w/ 10 pp. photos, $16.95 (paper). In her memoir "Spider Eaters," Rae Yang writes about how she wasted years of her life in China's northern countryside during the Cultural Revolution. She was an educated youth who,...
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1999

DPJ drafts changes to SDF guidelines

The Democratic Party of Japan finished its proposals Tuesday for revising bills covering updated Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines, including the requirement of advanced Diet approval for plans involving the Self-Defense Forces.
COMMUNITY
Apr 13, 1999

Dancing to make the world keep turning

Excuse me, has anyone seen Steven A. Haynes today? No? That's funny, he seems to be everywhere: on TV, on posters, in the papers, and in plays, movies and discos -- even on cruise ships. He acts, sings and dances his way around Japan, as if he's afraid the world might suddenly stop turning.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1999

Osaka police work to get rape victims counseling

OSAKA -- Osaka Prefectural Police, in cooperation with a nonprofit organization, will on Thursday debut on a trial basis a program to introduce victims of rape to professional counselors.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 13, 1999

Writer forever true to himself

THE LEGEND OF GOLD and Other Stories, by Ishikawa Jun. Translated by William J. Tyler. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1998, 300 pp., $46 (cloth), $27.95 (paper). Jun Ishikawa (1899-1987) remains less known in the West than other Japanese writers of equal stature. With the publication of this...
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1999

State accepts prosecutor's resignation

The resignation of the nation's No. 2 prosecutor, Mamoru Norisada, was accepted by the government Tuesday in connection with his affair with a 28-year-old former bar hostess.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 1999

Keidanren backs off debt-equity swap scheme

Takashi Imai, chairman of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), on Monday turned cautious on a debt-equity swap scheme proposed to save manufacturers from folding under mountains of debt.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 1999

'Knock' named in staffer's sex harassment suit

OSAKA -- A female university student has filed a complaint with the Osaka District Public Prosecutor's Office alleging that she was sexually harassed by Osaka Gov. "Knock" Yokoyama.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 1999

Emergency meeting targets joblessness

The Labor Ministry held an emergency meeting Monday of employment security division chiefs for local governments to try to find ways to curb the rise of unemployment.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 1999

Airport foes gain ground in Kobe assembly race

Staff writer
JAPAN
Apr 12, 1999

MITI pledges aid for Egyptian exports

Trade chief Kaoru Yosano and visiting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak agreed Monday to step up joint efforts to boost Egypt's exports to Japan and develop social infrastructure in the region, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 1999

Kofuku Bank faces capital shortage

OSAKA -- Kofuku Bank said Monday that its capital-to-asset ratio may have fallen below the government-prescribed level of 4 percent when it closed its books at the end of March.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 1999

Kokumin's capital deficit about 71.2 billion yen

Kokumin Bank, which was declared insolvent Sunday, had a 71.2 billion yen capital deficit as of Sept. 30, 1998, the Financial Supervisory Agency revealed Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 1999

Talks vital to peace , Obuchi, Mubarak say

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak agreed Monday on the need for talks on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state to be resumed as swiftly as possible in order to secure fair and solid peace in the Middle East.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 1999

Ishihara takes aim at Yokota

As the Liberal Democratic Party scrambled to squelch any finger-pointing over the poor showing of its candidate, Shintaro Ishihara took his first stab Monday at the U.S. following his election to the Tokyo governorship, saying bilateral ties will improve if the U.S. Yokota Air Base is returned or used...
EDITORIALS
Apr 11, 1999

Spring, the sweet spring

"Nothing is so beautiful as Spring," declared a poet looking about him at this time of year more than 120 springs ago. He wasn't a Japanese poet; he was an English one. Still, he seems to have grasped the essence of the season pretty well, even though in this particular sonnet he was recommending the...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Apr 11, 1999

Along the way

When we think about takeout lunches in Japan, we must go back a long way. Surely you have seen in museums the beautiful lacquer lunch boxes the nobility used when they went to the countryside on excursions. These picnics were quite elegant occasions with poetry writing and incense ceremonies. But long...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 11, 1999

Kindergarten graduation: the great transformation

There's no escaping the formalities of spring in Japan: graduation ceremonies, entrance ceremonies, retirement parties, etc. And each of these events is orchestrated as if it was the Academy Awards. If you've ever wondered where all the pomp and circumstance comes from, it starts in kindergarten, when...
COMMENTARY
Apr 11, 1999

Shadows of Vietnam in Europe

The shadow of Vietnam hangs heavily over events in Yugoslavia. Once again Western policymakers have proven unable to grasp the reality of events in distant lands with complex backgrounds.
EDITORIALS
Apr 10, 1999

Key defense questions need answers

The House of Representatives Special Committee on Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation is winding down its deliberations on the guidelines legislation. Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi is eager to secure passage of the bills in the Lower House before he leaves for the United States later this month...
CULTURE / Film
Apr 10, 1999

Making the grade from the couch

When I think of the wealth of America, I think of its national concern for psychological well-being. People will actually set aside a number of hours each week to talk to therapists or attend group. They will go to court to demand justice for such crimes as "emotional damage" and "acute psychological...
CULTURE / Art / ARTS AND ARTISANS
Apr 10, 1999

The cutting edge of artisanship

Edo-kiriko craftsman Shuseki Suda does not blink while engraving intricate lines on the surface of glassware. Sometimes he can even keep his eyes open as long as five minutes.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Apr 10, 1999

A keen ear for the voice of the clay

Japanese ceramists often talk of the materials they use as having spirits and souls. A kiln, for instance, has its own kami, and the clay has a voice that if listened to carefully will reveal a shape that has lain dormant for centuries.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 10, 1999

Angelic voice heals wounded hearts

Jochen Kowalski has the voice of an angel. A Berlin chamber singer, Kowalski, from the former East Germany, is a countertenor, or more precisely a male alto. The high range of these lovely voices makes it fairly difficult to discern whether they are male or female; hence, they are sometimes called "the...
EDITORIALS
Apr 9, 1999

Justice for victims of Pan Am 103

On Dec. 21, 1988, Pan Am flight 103 exploded in midair over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people. Three years after the blast, a Scottish court petition named two Libyan officials, Mr. Al-Amin Khalifa Fhimah and Mr. Abdel Basset Ali al Megrahi, as the individuals responsible for the atrocity. Earlier...
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1999

More students get serious about part-time work

OSAKA -- More students are taking their part-time jobs seriously as training for the future despite decreasing pay during Japan's economic slump, according to a survey released Friday of 500 students in the Kansai region.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1999

Obuchi to consult with Mubarak on Palestinians

Minister Keizo Obuchi will explain to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak next week why Japan is trying to dissuade the Palestinians from unilaterally declaring independence on May 4, when their interim autonomy expires, Foreign Ministry officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1999

April proves lethal to Japanese workforce

April is the month that Japanese workers are most likely to die suddenly, as the start of the nation's business year is believed to cause more stress-related deaths than any other month, according to a Kyoto University study group.

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