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EDITORIALS
Feb 25, 1999

Lahore offers hope for the future

The rhetoric surrounding last weekend's summit meeting between Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and his Pakistani counterpart, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, could hardly have been grander. The vehicle for the consultations -- the inauguration of the first bus service between the two countries...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 25, 1999

Courage pays off in Seoul

The crisis that has hit emerging-market economies around the world may not yet be over, but the "policy courage" that the South Korean people and the Seoul government have shown in reaction to it is already bearing fruit. South Korea has impressed its OECD partners by turning the crisis into an opportunity...
CULTURE / Art
Feb 25, 1999

Uncovering the treasures around us

KYOTO -- Some adventurers explore shipwrecks for lost treasure. Jay Gregg makes a living "uncovering" treasure simply by recognizing it before anyone else does.
LIFE / Food & Drink / WINE WAYS
Feb 25, 1999

If you must be snowbound, try a cozy winery in Europe

As winter wanes I'm reminded of its vinous pleasures in places along my latest wine route, such as Austria, Slovenia, Belgium, Luxembourg and, just before Christmas, Germany, where I visited Adolf Schmitt, an outstanding wine maker whose estate is one of those in the wine association Saar-Mosel-Winzersekt...
JAPAN
Feb 24, 1999

Cambodia aid donors mull $450 million aid package

Aid donors to Cambodia are likely to pledge a total of $450 million in economic aid to Phnom Penh during a two-day meeting of the Consultative Group for Cambodia beginning today in Tokyo, according to the chairman of the meeting.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 1999

Osaka high court rejects voting rights for minorities

The Osaka High Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court decision rejecting demands by 43 Koreans with permanent resident status that long-term foreign residents be granted the right to vote and run in local elections.
COMMENTARY
Feb 23, 1999

Small weapons, big problems

The major challenge for post-Cold War disarmament negotiations on conventional weapons is to devise ways of controlling machine guns, automatic rifles and other small arms. Those are main weapons used in civil wars in Asia, Africa and Central America. To tackle the challenge, the U.N. Group of Governmental...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 21, 1999

Two-legged enlightenment in land of soccer gods

Let's talk about religion. Soccer, that is. Many Americans don't like soccer because they say there's not enough action. Americans like fast action sports like American football, rugby and ice hockey. Not me. I like soccer because it's slow. I can get up, go to the bathroom, refill my beer and popcorn,...
EDITORIALS
Feb 19, 1999

The Japan-U.S. performance gap

The U.S. economy has extended its sparkling performance into a ninth year, albeit attended by sentiments of rising caution on Wall Street. The contrast with Japan's decline in the 1990s is so strong that events in the United States look as though they are happening on another planet. In a global era,...
EDITORIALS
Feb 18, 1999

Europe discovers its Kurdish problem

Europe has worked hard to put considerable distance between itself and the Kurds. There have been condemnations of Turkey's violent, repressive policies toward its Kurdish minority, but sensitivities about Ankara's strategic role in European defense and concerns about the reaction of the 1 million Kurds...
EDITORIALS
Feb 17, 1999

The true meaning of the dioxin scare

Nose, a small town on the northern outskirts of Osaka, first put the fear of dioxin into nation's consciousness last year. Now, just 10 months later, another dioxin scare has hit the headlines. This time, the site is Tokorozawa, the Saitama bedroom community on the northwestern outskirts of Tokyo. The...
EDITORIALS
Feb 16, 1999

Post-impeachment Clinton

Officially, the impeachment ordeal of U.S. President Bill Clinton is over. Last Friday, the Senate -- in two bipartisan votes -- rejected both charges against the president. By a vote of 55 to 45, they threw out the first article of impeachment that alleged Mr. Clinton committed perjury when testifying...
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1999

Aum regrouping for Armageddon in September: PSIA

Aum Shinrikyo followers are striving to hold together to reconstruct their cult, believing Armageddon will come this year in accordance with founder Shoko Asahara's prediction, according to a report released Friday by the Public Security Investigation Agency.
EDITORIALS
Feb 11, 1999

Hope for East Timor

East Timor has never fit comfortably within the sprawling archipelago that is Indonesia. The province was a Portuguese territory from the 17th century until 1975, when a socialist government in Lisbon abandoned the country's colonial pretensions. That triggered a struggle for control of the region. The...
JAPAN
Feb 11, 1999

Japan seeks WTO ruling on U.S. antidumping law

Japan has requested the World Trade Organization to rule on a U.S. antidumping law, charging that the law is not in compliance with WTO rules, government officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 1999

Tokai Bank plans to close over half of overseas units

Chubu area leader Tokai Bank intends to close down more than half of its overseas branches, offices and subsidiaries by March 2001 to focus on domestic operations, bank sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 1999

Constitution-backers protest defense guideline bills

Braving falling snow, supporters of Japan's pacifist Constitution gathered in Tokyo on Thursday to object to the revised Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines set to be debated in the current Diet session and the possibility of Japan drafting emergency defense legislation.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 1999

Nuclear sanctions debate on India, Pakistan in disarray

Officials from the Group of Eight nations and seven other countries disagreed in Tokyo on Thursday over whether to ease international economic sanctions on India and Pakistan, with some saying that the two countries have yet to demonstrate a further commitment to joining the global regime of nuclear...
JAPAN
Feb 11, 1999

Gaming fans snatch up latest Final Fantasy

Hundreds of electronic game lovers mobbed stores in Tokyo's Akihabara Thursday to snap up the latest version of Final Fantasy, a popular PlayStation computer game that went on sale in the morning.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 1999

LDP counters with Akashi in race for Tokyo governor

The Liberal Democratic Party plans to field Yasushi Akashi, former U.N. undersecretary general, as its candidate for the Tokyo gubernatorial race, LDP sources said Wednesday.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Feb 10, 1999

You've got e-mess!

Calling the Internet a borderless world isn't far from the truth, but try saying that every time you get an e-mail you can't read. You know, one of those buggers that is full of incomprehensible code or one that has a mysterious file attached that refuses to open no matter how hard you click it.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 1999

Mint Museum slated for 2001 move to Chuo Ward

The Mint Museum of the Finance Ministry's Mint Bureau will be moved from Osaka's Kita Ward to the old site of the Osaka Arsenal on the grounds of Osaka Castle Park in Chuo Ward.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 1999

Osaka releases 4.1 trillion yen budget proposal

The Osaka Municipal Government released a 1999 fiscal year budget proposal of 4.1 trillion yen Tuesday that calls for additional welfare assistance programs and 935 million yen for promoting its bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 1999

Bill to amend Constitution breaks taboo

In a move that could break a longtime political taboo, a suprapartisan group of lawmakers decided Tuesday to submit a bill to create a research panel in both chambers of the Diet to review the 51-year-old Constitution for possible amendments in the future.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 1999

Panel preps battle plans for WTO trade talks

A government panel endorsed two interim reports Friday calling for the government, businesses and academia to work together to prepare for a new round of global trade negotiations scheduled to begin in 2000.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 1999

Will government bonds help? It's a trick question

Debate on how Japan can pull itself out of its worst postwar economic slump has entered a new stage.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 1999

May deadline set to buy Narita airport land

Are three months enough time to persuade Narita landowners to sell after three decades in which they have steadfastly refused to make way for the New Tokyo International Airport?
JAPAN
Feb 4, 1999

JOC panel to probe Nagano over Games bid

Japanese Olympic officials said Wednesday they have launched an inquiry into possible misconduct by International Olympic Committee members during Nagano's bid to host the 1998 Winter Games.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 1999

Diet to get patent bill

To facilitate creation of innovative businesses and protect Japanese corporate trademarks worldwide, the government will submit to the Diet today a bill to revise the patent and trademark acts, government officials said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Feb 4, 1999

Still waiting for a real defense debate

The debate in the current Diet session, unlike previous sessions that focused on economic problems, highlights security issues. Among the key subjects of discussion are the bills to implement the new guidelines for Japan-U.S. defense cooperation and the participation and cooperation of the Self-Defense...

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