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JAPAN
Apr 1, 1999

New Komeito limits support for Akashi

In a last-minute compromise, New Komeito said Thursday it would support former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi, who is being fielded by the Liberal Democratic Party, for the Tokyo gubernatorial election -- but just "at the local level."
JAPAN
Apr 1, 1999

Listed firms' appraisal losses fall to 1.2 trillion yen

The combined appraisal loss of shares held by major firms listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange had more than halved to 1.2 trillion yen by Wednesday's close of fiscal 1998 from 2.8 trillion yen on Sept. 30, a think tank said.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 1999

New FSA employees eager to improve industry

Fourteen new recruits joined the Financial Supervisory Agency Thursday as the first new staff to be hired based on the national public service exam since the watchdog was launched in June.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 1999

Colombia urges more trade transparency

Colombia will join Japan in a comprehensive and collective approach to the coming round of global free-trade talks, but Tokyo must make efforts to abolish agricultural subsidies and improve the transparency of its farm trade rules, Colombian Foreign Trade Minister Martha Ramirez said Thursday.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 1999

Marubeni reverses earnings outlook, airs reform plan

Major trading house Marubeni Corp. lowered its earnings projection for fiscal 1998 on Thursday and announced a restructuring program to consolidate its 701 group firms into about 500 by March 31, 2001.
COMMUNITY
Apr 1, 1999

Study shows boiled rice main cause of cancer

April Fool! In Japan, April 1 is a day of beginnings and renewals, a sort of second New Year's. It's the first day of a new school year; and the start of careers for newly hired graduates. It's also the start of a new fiscal year in business. For Japanese baseball fans, April 1 is the first day of regular...
JAPAN
Apr 1, 1999

Women at JAL petition for fair pay

A group of 25 female employees of Japan Airlines Co. applied Thursday for Labor Ministry arbitration alleging sexual discrimination over pay and promotions.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 1, 1999

Can the education escalator be derailed?

There's a debate going on in government and in the media about revising the Japanese system of education. The forces for change want to do away with rote, test-based instruction, which they blame for all the youth-related problems we read about now, and replace it with something more individual-oriented...
JAPAN
Apr 1, 1999

Early passage hoped for defense bill amendments

Staff writer
COMMUNITY
Apr 1, 1999

Strike a pose, posing questions -- Klein's vogue

We've all seen the sexy, sultry, precarious, provocative and often preposterous poses of fashion models in fashion magazines. But rarely do we think about the person at the other end of the camera -- the fashion photographer. In the world of fashion, he (and they are mostly men) has become an icon on...
COMMUNITY
Apr 1, 1999

All that glitters, and more at Tiffany

What's blue and white and guaranteed to cure a mean case of the reds?
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Apr 1, 1999

Russia's new paranoia

If one nation is totally infuriated by the current bombing of Serbia, it's Russia. After numerous assaults by angry crowds, the imposing building of the U.S. Embassy in downtown Moscow now looks like an expensive piece of furniture despoiled by a wild party, its walls covered with ketchup and ink. It...
LIFE / Style & Design / SIMPLY DIVINE
Apr 1, 1999

Pint-sized polygraph

Forget the millions of dollars spent on impeachment hearings and Kenneth Starr-type harassment.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 1999

Pinochet advances human rights after all

Both the anti-Pinochet crowd that had gathered outside the House of Lords in London and the Pinochet supporters at the Pinochet Foundation in Santiago, Chile, cheered and celebrated soon after the seven Law Lords gave the gist of their judgments live on radio and television. Both pro-Pinochet and anti-Pinochet...
EDITORIALS
Mar 31, 1999

A token gesture ...

Here is an apt symbol for our era. At a news conference in New York earlier this month -- actually, on the very day that the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly bested the 10,000 mark for the first time -- the U.S. toy and game maker Hasbro Inc. announced the results of a campaign to choose a new token...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Mar 31, 1999

It's a poor workman ...

Readers probably haven't noticed, but The Japan Times has a new computer system. It's a lot like our old one, although it is speedier and it integrates a whole host of functions in one terminal; no longer do we have to leave our desk to accomplish different tasks.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1999

Taisei Corp. announces restructuring plan

Taisei Corp., a major general contractor, will launch a three-year restructuring effort to resolve 100 billion yen in groupwide liabilities by March 31, 2003, company sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1999

HLAC, RCB merger creates powerful collection agency

Staff writer
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1999

Local Elections '99: Mikami would ax megaprojects, not staff

Staff writer
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1999

Revised pension law is enacted

The revised National Pension Law was enacted Wednesday, freezing a planned premium increase in fiscal 1999 for an unspecified period.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1999

New labor law, tax cuts take effect today

New laws including one banning sex discrimination and another legalizing 4 trillion yen in income tax cuts will take effect today, the first day of fiscal 1999.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1999

New equal opportunity law called a start

Staff writer
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1999

State trade panel protests U.S. protectionism

A government trade panel voiced doubts Wednesday about the fairness of U.S. antidumping and protectionist measures under the World Trade Organization's free trade rules.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1999

Administration reluctant to alter SDF law

Senior government officials took pains Wednesday to keep the recent intrusion into Japanese territorial waters of suspected North Korean spy boats from becoming a catalyst for some legislators to galvanize the nation's legal defense frameworks.
EDITORIALS
Mar 30, 1999

Prodi steps into the breach

Wasting no time, the leaders of the 15 members of the European Union last week nominated former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi to be the new president of the European Commission. Mr. Prodi replaces Mr. Jacques San ter, who resigned March 15 along with the 19 other commission ers after an independent...
JAPAN
Mar 30, 1999

Patent Office opens doors to Internet

To encourage businesses to innovate technology, the Patent Office today will start providing comprehensive patent information via the Internet for free, officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 1999

Debt-equity swaps eyed to cut firms' excess capacity

The government will work out a "concrete scheme" to help debt-ridden firms obtain creditor bank cooperation to dispose of excess capacity accumulated during the bubble economy as part of efforts to regain Japan's industrial competitiveness, trade chief Kaoru Yosano said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 1999

Local Elections '99: Masuzoe on mission for elderly care

Staff writer
JAPAN
Mar 30, 1999

Unemployment hits record high of 4.6%

The nation's unemployment rate hit a record high of 4.6 percent in February, rising 0.2 percentage point higher than the rate recorded the previous month, the Management and Coordination Agency said on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 1999

Hino Motors plans workforce cut

Hino Motors Co., a truck maker belonging to the Toyota group, said Tuesday it has lowered its earnings projections for fiscal 1998 and will cut about 10 percent of its 10,000-strong workforce during the next fiscal year.

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