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JAPAN
Jun 21, 2000

Toxic compound found in breast milk

OSAKA — High concentrations of a chemical compound widely used as a flame retardant have been detected in mother's milk and marine life in Japan, according to a study announced this week by Japanese researchers.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2000

Panel advocates two-week holidays

An advisory panel to the labor minister will propose the introduction of a two-week vacation system in a report to be presented in July, Labor Ministry sources said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 20, 2000

Tales of love, pride, loyalty and death

Murder leads off and finishes up the Kabukiza's June playbill in the usual midori sampler of acts from different plays separated by dance numbers.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 20, 2000

Po Chu-i's eternal pleasures

PO CHU-I: Selected Poems. Translated by Burton Watson. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000, 172 pp., unpriced. When he died at the age of 75 in 846, Po Chu-i left behind a legacy of some 2,800 poems. A civil servant, he early on wrote poetry critical of authority and was consequently demoted...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 20, 2000

No easy fix for Japan's economic woes

The debate over monetary policy in Tokyo is shaping up to be the mother-of-all-battles over economic policy. The latest skirmish began when Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami spoke out in favor of ending Japan's zero-interest policy.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2000

Expansion of whale sanctuary proposed

Australia and New Zealand have proposed that the International Whaling Commission designate a wide area of water between Australia and Chile as a whale sanctuary, Japanese Fisheries Agency sources said Sunday.
ENVIRONMENT
Jun 19, 2000

Chromosome 21: new hope for Down's

The second human chromosome sequence to be mapped, chromosome 21, was published in the science journal Nature May 18, and is available free on the Internet.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2000

Japan needs system to handle emergencies, crisis expert says

Any government to be formed after the June 25 Lower House election should take steps to increase Japan's preparedness for natural disasters and other emergencies that could endanger national security or the lives of the citizens, said Kazuhisa Ogawa, an expert in crisis management.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2000

Domestic violence victims demand new law

Ninety-six percent of female victims of life-threatening domestic violence and their supporters say a law to prevent such acts should be drawn up, a survey by a women's group showed Saturday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 18, 2000

Rain, rain, go away

It's that time of year again. Perpetually iron-gray skies, puddles, mud, clashing umbrellas, fogged-up train windows, damp shoes and damper spirits. It's "tsuyu": the rainy season, when nature goes into its annual wet-blanket act.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 18, 2000

Fuse burning on the Mideast powder keg

LONDON -- Ignore all the empty chatter about the future of a "Middle East peace process" that died months ago, and waste no time in futile speculation about the character of Syria's new president, mild-mannered ophthalmologist Dr. Bashar Assad. The regime that was run for the past 30 years by Bashar's...
JAPAN
Jun 17, 2000

Empress Dowager dies at 97; family at her side

The Empress Dowager, the widow of Emperor Showa, died Friday afternoon, two days after she began experiencing breathing difficulties, the Imperial Household Agency said. She was 97.
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.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 17, 2000

Putting things into perspective

Imagine a social mixer for celestial beings. A casual affair, a brunch maybe, with olives and wine and the tones of a harp wafting through the ether. Our God is there, looking good, and by way of introduction he reaches into his wallet and takes out some photographs to pass around for the other cosmic...
CULTURE / Art
Jun 17, 2000

Sculptures that capture the mysterious rhythms of nature

The press release for the sculptor Susumu Shingu's "Wind Caravan" project opens charmingly with a quote from Christina Rossetti: "Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I, but when the trees bow down their heads, the wind is blowing by."
COMMUNITY
Jun 16, 2000

Healing relationships bloom in 'renga'

A Japanese proverb says: Doki ai motomu (Like minds are drawn to one another).
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 16, 2000

A ghost brings actress back into the spotlight

"I was deeply impressed by the beauty of the words," says actress Keiko Matsuzaka, 47, breathless with enthusiasm as she talks about the play she's producing: "Tenshu Monogatari."
COMMENTARY
Jun 15, 2000

Mori's slip ill-chosen but well-intended

Debate continues over Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's statement last month that Japan is "a country of gods with the Emperor at its center."
LIFE / Travel
Jun 14, 2000

On the open road to Tucson

Favorite travel fantasies come in many forms -- not everyone dreams of a deserted white-sand beach on Maui.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 14, 2000

The return of an old classic: fresh fish and soccer for all

Shimizu, a port city in Shizuoka Prefecture, is back in fashion again. In the Edo Period, Shimizu was a popular post town on the Tokaido Highway. Travelers liked its fresh fish and tasty Oiwake yokan bean paste. But the inauguration of train service between Tokyo and Kyoto spelled doom for Shimizu, as...
LIFE / Travel
Jun 14, 2000

Bombardiers and polar bears

TORONTO -- The Bombardier died about 10 km out of Arviat, and that was a stroke of luck. It's nearly 800 km from Churchill to Rankin Inlet as the snowmobile travels and there are only two settlements along the way. We broke down close to one of them.
COMMENTARY
Jun 13, 2000

Future rides on this election

The Japanese archipelago will be deafened by the din of election campaigning for the Lower House for about two weeks beginning today. Given the growing public distrust of politics, however, the ranks of voters who claim no party affiliation are swelling. Political parties have repeatedly embraced unprincipled...
EDITORIALS
Jun 11, 2000

For want of an ale

Visitors to Japan just lost one of their favorite tell-the-folks-back-home anecdotes, the one that goes: They sell beer in vending machines here! Every guidebook mentions the fabled dispensers; sooner or later, every tourist gets photographed standing next to one. It is modern Japan's answer to Mount...
CULTURE / Music
Jun 11, 2000

High jinks dropped as orchestra grows up

Budapesti Festivali Zenekara May 31, Ivan Fischer conducting in Suntory Hall -- Variations on a Theme of Haydn, Op. 56a (Johannes Brahms, 1833-97), Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 1 (Bela Bartok, 1881-1945) and "Zigeunerweisen" for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 20 (Pablo Martin Militon de Sarasate...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Jun 11, 2000

How to say goodbye

I have over the years researched readers' questions diligently, but never have I been quite as well prepared as for this column, on how to get married in Japan. I would like to tell you why. On May 25, William Sherman and I proceeded through the process as outlined below. Bill has had three postings...
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2000

EBC chair urges politicians to work for deregulation

Foreign businesses in Japan expect political leaders to facilitate fair competition by promoting further deregulation and harmonizing Japanese standards with global rules, said Isabelle Hupperts, chairwoman of the European Business Community.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 10, 2000

Filmmaker lights a fire under corruption

Well known for kaiju (monster) films populated by giant luminaries such as Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan, Toho Inc. now brings us "Cross Fire," an sf thriller about a pyrokinetic office lady at odds with Japanese corruption. Adapted from a novel by best-selling author Miyuki Miyabe, the movie is directed...
EDITORIALS
Jun 9, 2000

Justice for all in Chile

The fight for justice in Chile moves forward. The decision by a Chilean court to strip former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet of his congressional immunity from prosecution is proof that the wheels of justice may turn slowly, but they grind nonetheless. The ruling may still be appealed to the supreme...
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2000

6,000 attend Obuchi's funeral

Some 6,000 mourners, including dignitaries from more than 100 countries, paid their final respects Thursday to the late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi at an official funeral at Nippon Budokan hall in central Tokyo.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?