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JAPAN
Jan 11, 2001

Emperor attends lecture program

The Emperor and Empress attended an annual New Year's lecture program Wednesday, the Imperial Household Agency said.
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2001

Reply to No-Action Letter clarifies insurance rescues

The first article on the debut of the No-Action Letter system focused on why it is necessary to create a standardized, public interface through which the Financial Services Agency can promptly respond to financial institutions' questions and concerns about compliance with regulatory issues.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 8, 2001

Revisionists open a front in China

NORTH CHINA AND JAPANESE EXPANSION, 1933-1937: Regional Power and the National Interest, by Marjorie Dryburgh. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon, 2000, 249 pp., 50 pounds (cloth). China is not only the world's most populous nation, but it is also one of the largest. In territorial reach, Russia and Canada alone...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2001

A landmark event in Buddhist studies

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- The 72nd birthday anniversary of the king of Thailand continues to inspire a rich variety of spiritual, artistic and cultural contributions to Thai society.
BUSINESS
Dec 25, 2000

Taking a step toward transparent markets

Foreign investors and financial institutions have often criticized the Japanese financial market for being too ambiguous in its regulatory procedures and, in general, for still being a "closed" market.
COMMENTARY
Dec 15, 2000

Japan ties under Bush hinge on U.S. economy

Call it U.S. exceptionalism or a deep distrust of government. Whatever it is, Americans have demonstrated a historical preference for divided government as a check against one-party dominance. But nobody had ever expected a U.S. election with a hairline split and as much divisiveness as the one that...
BUSINESS
Dec 6, 2000

World economy better than in 1998, EPA says

Despite concerns over surging crude oil prices and the weak euro, the global conomy remains in better shape now than it was in 1998, when it was hit by the Asian financial crisis that broke out the previous year, the Economic Planning Agency said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2000

First Nordic-Japan Forum held

NAGANO -- About 950 people attended the first Nordic-Japan Forum on environmental issues held recently at a hotel in Nagano Prefecture.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2000

With affluence comes intellectual decay

Among the intellectuals it is not hard to detect the New Pessimism; among the citizenry, the Same Old Apathy. Today I wish to focus on the former.
COMMENTARY
Nov 15, 2000

Right move, wrong reason

As U.S. President Bill Clinton was getting ready to head for Asia for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' meeting in Brunei, the White House confirmed that he would not be visiting North Korea on this trip after all, since the recent U.S.-North Korean missile talks in Kuala Lumpur, while "detailed,...
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2000

Kono, Downer agree on policy

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN -- Foreign Minister Yohei Kono and his Australian counterpart, Alexander Downer, agreed Saturday to continue working to bring North Korea into the international fold, a Japanese official said.
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2000

Two suspected of harboring Shigenobu

The two men who were with Japanese Red Army founder Fusako Shigenobu when she was arrested Wednesday morning in Osaka Prefecture are believed to be key supporters of the group in the Kansai region, police sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2000

Annan expected to visit Japan, East Asia neighbors in January

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan plans to tour Japan, China, South Korea and North Korea in late January, informed sources said Thursday.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Nov 8, 2000

Nihongo dekiru?

Nihongo dekiru? Since Amazon.com opened for business, its biggest foreign market has been Japan. The company has about 193,000 customers here and they ring up about $34 million worth of sales. Mind you, the domestic Japanese market for online book sales is only $46 million. (In the name of full disclosure,...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 5, 2000

Diagnosis is key to curing the English patient

My English writing students always say they want me to correct them. But, I've decided to stop giving out correct answers. Instead, I'm going to give out prescriptions. The ESL doctor is IN.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2000

Web site gets volcano evacuees online and in touch

Hiroyuki Noda never imagined that he would become a messenger for fellow Miyake Island residents when he bought a personal computer six years ago to keep books for his inn and diving shop.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2000

Oshima, Ogata to get Purple Ribbon

Film director Nagisa Oshima and veteran actor Ken Ogata are among 29 recipients of this fall's Medal with Purple Ribbon for their contributions to the arts and academia.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 31, 2000

Just the facts, ma'am

FACTS AND FIGURES OF JAPAN, 2000 edition. Tokyo: Foreign Press Center, 116 pp., 1,300 yen. SOCIAL SECURITY IN JAPAN, by Go Miyatake. Tokyo: Foreign Press Center, 80 pp., 1,800 yen (paper). CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE RELIGION, by Nobutaka Inoue. Tokyo: Foreign Press Center, 73 pp., 1,000 yen (paper). For people...
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2000

Net becoming venue for political participation

In the United States, the Internet has become a key communication source in the political equation, as evidenced by President Bill Clinton's televised e-mail "net conference" in August.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 26, 2000

ASEM fails to live up to hype

The third Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) held in Seoul last weekend was long on ceremony and performance, but short on substance. While impeccably hosted by South Korea and held in a glittering new conference center in southern Seoul, the conference lacked "soul." For all the talk of Partnership for Shared...
CULTURE / Books
Oct 9, 2000

Limp prose from an angel of mercy

TOTTO-CHAN'S CHILDREN: A Goodwill Journey to the Children of the World, by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi; translated by Dorothy Britton. Kodansha International, 2000, 222 pp., with photographs, 2,500 yen (cloth). Tetsuko Kuroyanagi is a familiar figure on Japanese television quiz shows. She's the one decked out...
CULTURE / Books
Oct 6, 2000

'Exodus' to a country of hope?

In recent years Murakami Ryu has received much attention for his uncanny knack of writing novels taking up themes, such as teen crime and hikikomori (withdrawing from the world and shutting oneself up in one's room), just before they come to public awareness as social problems. Now Murakami's new novel...
COMMUNITY
Oct 5, 2000

Vanity, thy name is . . . Vince?

SAN FRANCISCO -- Clairol, the staid manufacturer of women's hair dyes, tried something new this year: It went after kids.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2000

U.S. teacher provides lesson for combating class collapse

William was an impatient junior high student in Karol DeFalco's Connecticut classroom, constantly bringing questions to her while she was in the middle of helping other students.
CULTURE / Books / POETRY MIGNETTE
Sep 17, 2000

Tokyo poets get a night out to Howl

Howl, the bar in Aoyama, was founded just after Allen Ginsberg's death in 1997.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2000

Talks to hold up Kitakyushu as environmental success story

Asia, with more than half the world's population and economies that continue to grow, poses one of the biggest environmental challenges of the coming century. The United Nations predicts that by 2025 more than half the region's population will have moved to the already packed metropolises.
COMMENTARY
Aug 29, 2000

Japan sits out antismoking campaign

While attending the 11th World Conference on Tobacco or Health from Aug. 7 in Chicago, I was very impressed by the enthusiasm of participants seeking tighter controls on smoking. The first conference, hosted by the American Cancer Society, was held in New York in 1967. The latest conference was hosted...
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Aug 24, 2000

Where new discoveries and old favorites await

For exploring the world of sake, nothing is more helpful than a reliable sake retailer with a wide and varying selection. There are many such retailers in all parts of Japan, and developing a good relationship with one is key.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2000

Forum calls for new WTO round

WASHINGTON — Despite the failure of last year's World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, panelists and participants at a recent symposium in Washington remain hopeful that a new round of multilateral trade talks will be launched before the end of next year.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2000

Defense Agency seeks new law to ensure military cooperation

The Defense Agency is planning to launch a study group by the end of August to research legislation ensuring that U.S. forces in Japan operate smoothly during domestic military crises, agency sources said Sunday.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.