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JAPAN
Apr 26, 1999

Japan to play multifunctional agro theme at global talks

Japan will stress the importance of the "multiple functions" of agriculture to ward off tariff reduction demands from the United States and other major agricultural exporters at global farm trade talks next year, government officials said Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 1999

Mixed feelings greet U.S. aid in Russia

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia -- A cloud of wheat billows across the Sea of Japan as the U.S. freighter Juneau vacuums its hold and unloads 80 tons of grain onto a smaller Russian vessel capable of navigating shallow ports in the region.
COMMENTARY
Apr 24, 1999

Test Pyongyang's sincerity

Senior officials from North and South Korea, China and the United States reassemble in Geneva April 24 for the fifth round of four-party talks aimed at replacing the existing 1953 Korean War armistice with a permanent peace treaty. The odds of a breakthrough appear slim, however, given North Korean Deputy...
JAPAN
Apr 23, 1999

Women in power still few in number: white paper

Japanese women's participation in the decision-making process is still far lower than that of women in other developed nations, according to a white paper released by the government Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 1999

Hitachi, Siemens join on flash memory chip

Hitachi, Ltd. and a semiconductor unit of Germany's Siemens AG announced Thursday they have agreed to jointly develop and manufacture an advanced compact memory chip suitable for portable digital products.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 1999

Yunnan pins tourism hopes on expo

Staff writer
JAPAN
Apr 22, 1999

Sharp-tongued Aoshima exits Tokyo tight-lipped

Staff writer
CULTURE / Books
Apr 20, 1999

Learning from the real world, not the schoolroom

LEARNING IN LIKELY PLACES: Varieties of Apprenticeship in Japan, edited by John Singleton. Cambridge University Press, 376 pp. For many foreigners living here, the chance to study some Japanese art or craft, be it aikido, shakuhachi or tea ceremony, is very much a part of their "Japan experience."...
JAPAN
Apr 19, 1999

GM, Toyota team up for environment-friendly cars

Auto giants General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. jointly announced Monday that they will cooperate on research and development for environmentally friendly high-tech vehicles over the next five years, including fuel-cell, electric and hybrid cars.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 1999

BOJ to keep ultra-easy monetary policy

The Bank of Japan will maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy until the threat of deflation is gone, BOJ Gov. Masaru Hayami reiterated Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 1999

Silicone Valley clones lack the right stuff

All over Asia, governments are trying to replicate California's Silicon Valley. Each of the projects, so far, is a failure. The main reason for the failure is that Asian leaders have not yet realized that it takes more than a plot of land, an impressive budget, a graduating class of computer engineers...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 18, 1999

In Japan, if it can be done, it can be certified

Be honest, how many certificates do you have? Count them all -- in your desk drawer, on the wall, in the ashes in the incinerator.
EDITORIALS
Apr 17, 1999

A long shadow over Malaysia

After a 78-day trial, former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was found guilty Wednesday of four counts of corruption and sentenced to six years in prison. The verdict, which has triggered protests by Mr. Anwar's supporters, was condemned by the defendant and questioned by others around...
CULTURE / Art
Apr 17, 1999

Mortality caught in the blink of a shutter

Death. We don't like it, but sooner or later we all have to face it. British photographer Cesca Sims, however, has been looking it straight in the eye (through the lens of her camera) ever since she began shooting. Her first major exhibition was set in Canterbury Prison, Kent, and narrated by snippets...
CULTURE / Art
Apr 17, 1999

Life lessons in pottery and prints

KOBE -- Traditional Japanese art aficionados in Kansai will have a rare chance to learn the finer points of both Bizen pottery and ukiyo-e woodblock prints through a double exhibit of John Wells' Bizen works and Peter Ujlaki's ukiyo-e collection at the Community House and Information Center (CHIC) on...
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Apr 17, 1999

New version of the old koto makes music for the future

While Japanese traditional instruments boast long histories (up to 1,200 years in some cases, since their importation from the Asian continent) most reached their present forms hundreds of years ago and have not changed since.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 1999

Toys chemicals pose risk to children, experts say

Children who nibble on plastic toys containing polyvinyl chloride and phthalate additives are ingesting a considerable amount of possible endocrine disrupters, European and U.S. scientists said Friday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 1999

Arianespace inks contract to launch Japanese satellites

Arianespace, the world's leading commercial satellite launcher, has signed a contract with Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp. to launch two broadcasting satellites for a Japanese company, Jean-Marie Luton, chairman of Arianespace said Thursday.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 1999

WTO to get Tokyo complaint on U.S. law in May

Staff writer
JAPAN
Apr 15, 1999

Ready for 2000?: Gartner Group sees no big Y2K failures

This is the first in an occasional series on Japan's Y2K preparedness.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 15, 1999

Japanese women say single life fine — if they're financially independent

Some say that '70s feminism began its fall from grace in 1986 when a study claimed that a woman's chances of marrying sometime in her life drops to 5 percent after she passes her 35th birthday. The notion that so many nominally liberated women found this conclusion distressing gave rise to the cynical...
CULTURE / Film
Apr 13, 1999

Death and the maiden filmmaker

Death can do wonders for one's reputation. James Dean was a hot young actor with one hit -- "East of Eden" -- when he crashed his Porsche on a California back road and became an instant legend.Would his admirers have become so devoted -- and in some unfortunate cases, suicidally deranged -- if he had...
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1999

Djibouti ambassador sees chance to improve ties

Staff writer
CULTURE / Music
Apr 10, 1999

Angelic voice heals wounded hearts

Jochen Kowalski has the voice of an angel. A Berlin chamber singer, Kowalski, from the former East Germany, is a countertenor, or more precisely a male alto. The high range of these lovely voices makes it fairly difficult to discern whether they are male or female; hence, they are sometimes called "the...
EDITORIALS
Apr 9, 1999

Justice for victims of Pan Am 103

On Dec. 21, 1988, Pan Am flight 103 exploded in midair over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people. Three years after the blast, a Scottish court petition named two Libyan officials, Mr. Al-Amin Khalifa Fhimah and Mr. Abdel Basset Ali al Megrahi, as the individuals responsible for the atrocity. Earlier...
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1999

Japan claims near-readiness for Y2K

The government unveiled its latest report Friday on efforts to tackle the Year 2000 computer problem, saying the government and private sector are well on their way toward completing necessary tests and measures to avoid disaster.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 1999

Steel industry ready to approach WTO

The chairman of the Iron and Steel Federation of Japan said Thursday the industry will take steps toward a complaint with the World Trade Organization if Washington imposes sanctions and unilateral restrictions in its steel imports.
LIFE / Food & Drink / WINE WAYS
Apr 8, 1999

Sommeliers blowing smoke over corks

Years ago as a university student in Tokyo it was my good fortune to have a job with a famous design firm that had me in every week to critique their designs, write the English-language text for their creative work and occasionally translate and interpret for colleagues visiting from abroad.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 7, 1999

Fading hopes for faltering Japan

JAPAN TODAY, by Roger Buckley. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1999, (3rd edition), 233 pp. This is a succinct and reliable introductory survey of post-World War II Japanese history. This third edition is substantially rewritten and updated by the inclusion of recent material and analysis....

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