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COMMUNITY
Oct 2, 1999

Grains of water and drops of sand

Every day, when the beach is quiet, a small figure can be seen walking on the sands of Hayama, gazing at the waves. She is Reika Iwami, an artist whose work is in museums in Britain and America, and who is only now, at the age of 72, becoming better known at home.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 1999

Taiwan quake shakes China's mandate

BEIJING -- Chinese news coverage of the killer earthquake in Taiwan has been both muted and sporadic, ranging from solicitous concern for the rogue province to no news at all. When the earthquake did get print or air time in the week following the temblor, coverage tended to focus on what mainland authorities,...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1999

COP5 gathering to set rules for emissions goals

Staff writer
EDITORIALS
Sep 30, 1999

The violence in East Timor

Intimidation failed in East Timor. Despite threats and violence, a stunning 98.6 percent of registered voters turned in ballots in Monday's referendum on the territory's future. Sadly, the peace on voting day was only a lull; violence resumed when the polls closed. Worse, it has become clear that the...
JAPAN
Sep 30, 1999

Tokai nuclear accident goes critical; remains out of control

A nuclear accident at a uranium-processing plant 125 km northeast of Tokyo on Thursday reached criticality, injuring three and pushing radiation levels up to 20,000 times beyond normal in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture.
EDITORIALS
Sep 29, 1999

Japan's binding promise to the G7

At the G7 conference of finance ministers and central bank chiefs that was held in Washington over the weekend, the delegates from other member nations agreed to adopt a read-between-the-lines statement in which the world's top financial managers shared their worry over the recent sharp rise of the yen....
JAPAN
Sep 28, 1999

Japan sets first specific waste-reduction target

The government for the first time on Tuesday set a specific target for reducing the mountains of waste the country produces each year.
JAPAN
Sep 28, 1999

New WTO chief to visit Tokyo next week

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 28, 1999

Norway envoy plans to pave way for trade

The new Norwegian ambassador hopes to promote cooperation in trade and technology with Japan as well as political dialogue.
JAPAN
Sep 27, 1999

MOX ships said prone to attack, accident

Staff writer
EDITORIALS
Sep 25, 1999

Cold War leftovers

"There's no such thing as retirement, really," John le Carre's secret pilgrim muses in the 1991 spy novel of that name. A few old spies in Britain and the United States have been sharply reminded of the truth of that aphorism this month following sensational revelations that the Cold War espionage web...
EDITORIALS
Sep 23, 1999

No mandate for Mr. Obuchi

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi has been re-elected president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party by warding off the challenge from former LDP Secretary General Koichi Kato and former LDP policy chief Taku Yamasaki. Many LDP Diet members have been quick to see his impressive victory as a vote of confidence...
LIFE / Food & Drink / WINE WAYS
Sep 23, 1999

Chill out with the right white

With Japan's summer still parching throats as it turns its muggy-hot head toward autumn, let's turn our thoughts, and our thirsts, to wines for refreshment as the heat lingers on.
COMMUNITY
Sep 23, 1999

Tenure in bronze for Todai's foreign professors

The number of outdoor statues of foreigners (five) on the campus of the University of Tokyo might seem unusually high for a Japanese institution.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Sep 23, 1999

Osaka still has reasons to be proud of its brewing culture

Osaka has long been a great center of commerce and activity, but likely doesn't stand out as a major brewing center in the minds of most people. True, it has never been nearly as significant as its Kansai cousins -- Kyoto, Hyogo and Nara -- but the sake brewing culture was, and still is, strong there....
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1999

Japan grabs for promise of MOX

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1999

Ex-Im Bank hit by protests over dam loans

As the board of directors prepared to meet inside, activists rallied outside the Export-Import Bank of Japan in Tokyo on Wednesday, protesting the organization's plan to resume funding for a controversial dam in the Philippines.
EDITORIALS
Sep 19, 1999

Targeting the tobacco menace

While smoking rates have plunged throughout the rest of the industrialized world, Japan continues to have the highest percentages of adults who smoke: 55.2 percent of men and 13.3 percent of women in 1998. Both rates represent increases over the figures for 1997, which were 52.7 percent and 11.6 percent...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Sep 19, 1999

Encounters

Recently I had a minor automobile accident. How often have you seen drivers discussing their accident with the police and felt great sympathy for the participants, who were obviously going to be there for a very long time. This time one of the participants was me, and I was, even though the damage was...
JAPAN
Sep 17, 1999

Obuchi, Chretien strengthen bilateral ties

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and his visiting Canadian counterpart Jean Chretien reaffirmed Friday that Japan and Canada will further strengthen their partnership for the 21st century not only in bilateral areas but on the global stage as well.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 1999

Stag beetle hunter casts doubt on reported 10 million yen deal

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 16, 1999

Japan to finance peacekeeping force for East Timor

Japan will contribute a "substantial" sum to a United Nations trust fund to finance a multinational force intended to restore order in East Timor, but will not dispatch any personnel until stability has been established, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said at a press conference Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 15, 1999

Cautious optimism on the economy

Japan's economy in the second quarter of this year, April through June, expanded slightly at an annualized rate of 0.9 percent. This is a far cry from the 8.1 percent surge in the first quarter. But two consecutive quarters of positive growth make it reasonably clear that the protracted economic slump...
JAPAN
Sep 15, 1999

New ambassador looks to further U.S. ties

The government is closely watching Okinawa's efforts to select a new site for the U.S. Marine Corps heliport now at Futenma Air Station, with hope of seeing early progress in completing the process long-stalled by local opposition, Japan's new ambassador to the Unites States said.
JAPAN
Sep 14, 1999

Airlines prove Y2K-compliance with test flights

Test flights conducted at midnight Monday proved Japan's major airlines and aviation control systems can cope with the Year 2000 computer problem, Transport Minister Jiro Kawasaki said Tuesday.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Sep 12, 1999

Praiseworthy

My earliest memories of Honolulu include my introduction to Japanese food; it had not yet become a cuisine. It was at a tiny Waikiki restaurant where each day a cook created four or five special lunches on two gas burners. One was for sauteing and frying, the other for simmering, steaming and warming....
JAPAN
Sep 10, 1999

Diplomacy central to Obuchi's APEC agenda

Staff writer
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Sep 9, 1999

Sipping sake's diversity, one cup at a time

Accessibility is key when it comes to learning about sake. You can read about it until you're blue in the face, but if you can't access it and sample various types, there's not much point.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1999

Exhibition displays horrors of Minamata disaster

Staff writer
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 1999

Beleaguered Pakistan faces tough choices

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is trying hard to put on a brave face, even as his nuclearized country's opposition politicians agitate increasingly loudly for his resignation.

Longform

Ayumi Matsuki, a priestess at Yoshiwara Shrine, shows off some "o-mamori" charms. She says visitors to the shrine have increased since the NHK drama “Unbound” began airing this month.
Tracing Tsutaya Juzaburo, Edo’s media maverick