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EDITORIALS
May 8, 2000

The return of 'Red Ken'

Red is the color of the British Labor Party. Last week, British voters were a little too red for Prime Minister Tony Blair. The election of Mr. Ken Livingstone, known as "Red Ken" for his feisty leftwing politics, as London's first directly elected mayor, left Mr. Blair with a nasty black eye, but that...
BUSINESS
May 8, 2000

E-commerce tax under construction

PARIS -- Talk about the information technology revolution is everywhere. Electronic commerce is taking off, financial institutions are trading online, and schools are holding class on the Internet.
COMMUNITY
May 7, 2000

Activist with gypsy soul returns to roots

Reading years ago that the majority of us end our lives within 30 km of where we were born, I remember thinking: Not me. But after meeting Margareta Weisser, who knows.
JAPAN
May 5, 2000

Self-brewing helps to combat Japan's indistinguishable ales

It's warm and sunny -- a nice day to have a cold glass of beer. At supermarkets and convenience stores, beers with a variety of colorful labels, tempting names and intriguing catch phrases line the shelves.
BUSINESS
May 5, 2000

Bluetooth wants bite of mobile market

Portable computers' claim to fame is that they allow you to access and send information anytime and anywhere. But what if you leave a cable at home or bring the wrong one on a business trip?
CULTURE / Music
May 5, 2000

Santana keeps the flame -- with a little help from friends

Eric Clapton's appearance halfway through Carlos Santana's April 28 concert at the Budokan, the last date on his recent Japan tour, was unexpected but, in hindsight, not surprising.
BUSINESS
May 4, 2000

Retailers forced to change their ways

Browsing through the array of goods -- from kitchenware to clothing -- at a new outlet in the Shinjuku branch of the Isetan department store in Tokyo, the price tags may surprise you: 900 yen for a nylon tote bag, 1,900 yen for a T-shirt, 550 yen for a ceramic mug.
COMMENTARY
May 4, 2000

Will Clinton crumble again?

If Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's overseas foreign-policy tour this week has a theme, it is "coverup" and "damage control." Mori, known as a colorless political fixer, has been tasked with assuring foreign leaders that the July G8 summit will go forward successfully no matter what happens on the Japanese...
BUSINESS
May 3, 2000

Kyoei sounding out Prudential

Compiled from staff and wire reports Ailing Kyoei Life Insurance Co. is negotiating with Prudential Insurance Co. of the United States on a capital tieup, Kyoei Life officials said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 3, 2000

Toshiba eyes AOL-Time Warner tieup

Toshiba Corp. has started talks with America Online Inc., the world's largest Internet service provider, on tieup possibilities with the new firm to be created through its merger with Time Warner Inc., industry sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 2, 2000

Labor chief a no-show at May Day fete

An estimated 1.7 million people took part in May Day rallies at some 1,070 locations nationwide Monday, calling on the government to alleviate the worsening employment situation and protect workers' rights, but the labor minister was conspicuously absent from the festivities.
BUSINESS
May 2, 2000

Domestic auto sales down 0.4%

Domestic sales of new cars, trucks and buses decreased 0.4 percent in April from a year earlier to 268,259 units, down for the second consecutive month, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Monday.
EDITORIALS
May 1, 2000

The prime minister's empty chair

Four weeks after former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi was hospitalized with a stroke on April 2, the administration headed by new Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, former secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, appears to be functioning in a business-as-usual manner. In the past month, however, government...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 29, 2000

Containing authoritarianism in Myanmar

The answer to Myanmar's problems is obvious: The sooner the will of the majority of its people is respected, the better for all concerned in the country, the region and beyond.
EDITORIALS
Apr 28, 2000

The fight over Elian

It is a very long way from Japan to Miami, both physically and psychologically. For that reason, the brouhaha over little Elian Gonzalez that engulfed the United States this week has been a bit mystifying to people here. And yet perhaps distance lends a useful perspective.
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 28, 2000

A powerful show of grace fit for royalty

History was made in the world of ballet in Japan with the gala performance of the two Nederlands Dans Theater companies at Saitama Arts Theater April 23. For the first time ever, the young and veteran companies, NDT II and NDT III, performed together, in this case to commemorate the 400 years of bilateral...
COMMENTARY
Apr 24, 2000

Help Japan: take time off

Japan's unemployment rate remains disturbingly high, as companies step up job-cutting efforts and bankruptcies increase. Although there are signs that the economy is recovering, there are no indications that the serious job shortage is easing. The Federation of Employers Associations, in recent negotiations...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 24, 2000

Whales, ivory, orangutans and Japanese wildlife policies

The argument goes something like this: Developing countries are just trying to feed their teeming poor and hungry. All they want is a chance to sell what is rightfully theirs to sell. Carefully managed, of course, to ensure "sustainable use."
EDITORIALS
Apr 23, 2000

A nation of chatterboxes

People who at first glance seem to be carrying on animated conversations with themselves, complete with bows and gestures and sometimes so loudly they annoy anyone near them, are a common sight nationwide. Of course, they are not conversing with imaginary listeners. As most of us know because we are...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Apr 23, 2000

Japan as No. 1 (in being bullied by U.S.)

With a refreshing bit of journalistic acuity, the USA Today reporter James Cox has reminded me how bizarre the U.S. attitude toward Japan has become. Under the headline, "U.S. bullies Japan like no other nation," Cox noted the astonishing extent of U.S. high-handed meddlesomeness with Japan, suggesting...
COMMUNITY
Apr 23, 2000

JR East's No. 20 'just your average station'

Like many Yamanote Loop stations, Gotanda's name speaks of the area's past. Gotanda literally means 5,000 sq. meters of rice paddies, "tan" formerly being a measure for land area equivalent to 1,000 sq. meters.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 21, 2000

Racism in business rampant: groups

A group fighting to eradicate discrimination in Japan reported on a number of recent cases of discriminatory practices by businesses across the country on Thursday at a gathering in Tokyo and called for legislation to ban such practices.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Apr 20, 2000

Loose lips can sometimes sink skips

After the New York Mets lost their season opener in Tokyo last month, a few players headed to Roppongi for some beers. On their way to hailing a taxi, one of the team's starting infielders turned to his teammates and said: "I'll tell you one thing about Bobby Valentine. He's the smartest mother (expletive)...
EDITORIALS
Apr 18, 2000

Drawing the line in Peru

In most countries, a runoff ballot in a presidential election is unwelcome. It means the public is divided, and it delays the crucial business of putting together a government. In Peru's case, news of a runoff is a positive sign. It means that President Alberto Fujimori is heeding the concerns of international...
MORE SPORTS
Apr 18, 2000

Cowboys star Emmitt Smith running after NFL records

Nobody will argue that Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys is one of the premier running backs in National Football League history.
ENVIRONMENT
Apr 17, 2000

Southern white rhino comes back

HLUHLUWE-UMFOLOZI, South Africa -- The ample white rhino sighted on a visit to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park might lead one to believe that they are plentiful in the wild.
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...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 17, 2000

Chance meeting provides valuable insights on Japan and environment

In early April I had a chance to meet with Rea Litty, an environmentalist from the Netherlands, and Fushi Zen, president of the Association for the Conservation of Humans Against the Natural Environment, and former director of Humans First!

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