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JAPAN
Jun 21, 2000

Socialists basing campaigns on upholding the Constitution

The Social Democratic Party is upholding its longtime defense of the Constitution, especially war-renouncing Article 9, in its campaign for the June 25 Lower House election, SDP Chairwoman Takako Doi said.
JAPAN
Jun 17, 2000

Milan bombing suspect files libel suit in Japan

A 52-year-old man wanted by Italian authorities for his alleged involvement in the deadly 1969 bombing of a Milan bank filed a defamation suit Friday with the Tokyo District Court against two newspapers and two magazine publishers.
COMMENTARY / World
May 29, 2000

A brief reprieve for the nuclear club

NEW DELHI -- The five original nuclear powers have won a much-needed reprieve at the first review of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty since its indefinite extension five years ago. That reprieve, however, could serve as the lull before the storm.
COMMENTARY / World
May 7, 2000

Controversial look at Constitutional change

Resurgent nationalism by Japan's youth, a feeling that military dependence on the United States cannot last forever and a sense that Tokyo should be more ready to participate unambiguously in peacekeeping are reasons for a renewed interest in constitutional change, analysts say.
JAPAN
May 3, 2000

Constitution writer backs limited role for SDF

A former officer of the GHQ of the Allied Forces who helped draft Japan's postwar Constitution suggested Tuesday that the nation's possession of armed forces and their roles be clearly written down in the supreme law.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 20, 2000

Kaigo hoken throws spotlight on life in 'nursing care hell'

A few weeks ago I submitted a proposal for an April Fool's story to a local publication. The piece would have been a news report about Japanese airline companies taking advantage of "Japan's rapidly aging society" by offering "nursing care miles" to frequent flyers in order to attract middle-aged travelers....
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 2000

China clamps down on Hong Kong press

SYDNEY -- While the rest of the world debates the terms under which they might engage China, Beijing is busy trampling on its agreement with the British over Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty. In the handover agreement, both parties agreed upon Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, as...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 12, 2000

The wellspring of pacifism in Japan

PROPHETS OF PEACE: Pacifism and Cultural Identity in Japan's New Religions, by Robert Kisala. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1999, 242 pp., $24.95 (paper). The so-called Peace Constitution is a defining feature of modern Japan. In the aftermath of World War II, Japan has perceived itself, and...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2000

Beijing resorts to rattling its saber again

In Washington, politicians and pundits alike are debating how to understand and react to the white paper released on Feb. 21 by Beijing. And even in China, there seems to be some discussion on how to interpret the verbal missile lobbed at the United States, Taiwan and Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2000

If only Greenpeace told the truth about whaling

On Nov. 9, 1999, Japan's whale research fleet departed for the Antarctic to begin the 13th year of its research program. The research program involves both a sighting survey whose primary purpose is the estimation of trends in abundance, and a sampling component that involves the take of up to 440 minke...
COMMENTARY
Feb 11, 2000

Diet imbroglio over at last

The Diet returned to normal Feb. 9, two weeks after the opposition forces started boycotting all proceedings to protest against the ruling bloc's handling of a controversial bill to reduce Diet seats. The turmoil started when the three-party governing coalition passed the bill for cutting Lower House...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Feb 6, 2000

Philip Harper

To be billed as Japan's only foreign sake brewer conveys a claim unusually intriguing. Even the man in question, Philip Harper, expresses some surprise at the way things have gone for him as he gets close to achieving the status of master brewer in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2000

Don't discount grandmothers' courage

The reunion of Mariela Quintana and Raquel Rodriguez with their grandson Elian Gonzalez in Miami may be the first step in the eventual return of the Cuban child to his father. If this happens, it will be in no small measure thanks to the tireless efforts of these two heroic women. They may succeed in...
JAPAN
Dec 30, 1999

Japan urged to consider free-trade pacts

Staff writer Japan should keep its commitment to trade liberalization under the World Trade Organization, but this must not prevent it from seeking free-trade agreements with its trading partners, according to Noboru Hatakeyama, chairman of the Japan External Trade Organization. Earlier this month,...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 28, 1999

Happy in the Gucci nation

What kind of country will Japan be in the 21st century? The millennial forecast is in and it looks like this: Japan's cultural elite is quickly converging around the notion that Japan should be the first boutique state of the 21st century -- distinctive, well designed and expensive.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1999

New Komeito's ethics clash with new partner

Staff writer
JAPAN
Aug 12, 1999

Lawmaker urges halt in cash flow to North Korea

Staff writer
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 1999

How globalization can undercut security

Globalization is already a fact of life in the international-missile and military-armaments "community."
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 1999

Come clean on defense policy

In July last year I took issue with an article written by former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa ("Japan-U.S. Security Treaty: A kind of insurance policy" July 11, 1998). In his recent May 31 article "A de facto treaty revision," Hosokawa called for "a full dress debate on se curity issues, including...
JAPAN
May 31, 1999

Prange exhibit recalls Occupation's censorship

Staff writer
COMMENTARY
May 16, 1999

Does NATO really have justice on its side?

Tokyo is urging Beijing to accept U.S. explanations that the bombing of its Belgrade embassy was a genuine mistake. Maybe it was. But why automatically rule out the possibility it was a devious scheme by rogue hawks in the powerful U.S. military/intelligence machine to encourage China to veto any U.N.-backed...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jan 27, 1999

Links you can trust

In the past few months, this column has addressed the trend of "portals," those jump-station sites where you're supposed to begin your journey onto the Web. Although Wired.com hasn't officially become a portal, it is where I often begin my Web sessions. I go to read Wired's superior tech features, but...
JAPAN
Jan 5, 1999

Lawyers see pain as consumers navigate investment risks

As the government's "Big Bang" financial deregulation moves into full gear, there is growing concern among lawyers that there has been one-sided emphasis on consumer responsibility for making investments at their own risk.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 1998

LDP, Liberals aim to keep tieup afloat

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Liberal Party on Monday agreed to launch five project teams on five key issues in an effort to continue their talks toward establishing a coalition government.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 1998

Government nationalizes Nippon Credit Bank

The government has effectively placed Nippon Credit Bank under temporary state control, concluding the bad loan-laden institution had a capital deficit of 94.4 billion yen at the end of March.
JAPAN
Oct 23, 1998

Government nationalizes Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan

The government placed the troubled Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan under state control Friday after the bank reported it may have to suspend repayments of deposits and other obligations.A report released by the Financial Supervisory Agency on the same day said the LTCB is insolvent, with liabilities...
JAPAN
Jun 3, 1998

Japan-U.S. societies say cultural assimilation top priority

Staff writer
JAPAN
Oct 21, 1997

Prime minister may get a chance to speak

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its two smaller non-Cabinet allies agreed Oct. 21 that Article 4 of the Cabinet Law should be rewritten to empower the prime minister to propose policy-related topics during Cabinet meetings.But the LDP failed to reach a consensus with the Social Democratic Party...
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1997

Supreme Court rules lawmaker not liable for her remarks in Diet

The Supreme Court on Sept. 9 turned down a damages suit filed by the wife of a mental hospital chief who claims her husband killed himself in 1985 because of a slanderous remark made against him by a Diet member.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat