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COMMENTARY
Mar 25, 2001

Campaign-finance reforms stifle free speech

WASHINGTON -- In opening the U.S. Senate debate on campaign-finance reform, Republican John McCain asked his colleagues to "take a risk for our country." But his proposals would stifle, not expand, political debate in America. Congress should instead relax election controls, thereby encouraging more...
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2001

Japan's prison population tops 60,000

The number of inmates at prisons and detention houses in Japan rose last year for the eighth straight year, topping 60,000 for the first time in 34 years, Justice Ministry sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2001

Help on way for parents who might abuse kids

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has allocated funds to station psychiatrists at 114 child-counseling centers nationwide to help parents who may be at risk of committing child abuse.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2001

Mori-Putin summit expectations low

After failing to meet the end-of-2000 target for resolving a territorial dispute and signing a peace treaty, Japan and Russia will hold their first summit this year in Russia's Irkutsk on Sunday, during which Japan hopes to set a future direction for resolving the decades-old row.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2001

Book, CD prices to stay fixed

The Fair Trade Commission concluded Friday that the current fixed-price system for copyrighted items such as books, newspapers and CDs should continue.
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2001

Outcast Aum aids landlord's plan

A person may offer help when seeing someone in despair, or instead opt to benefit from that desperation by taking advantage of it.
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2001

Don't keep all eggs in one falling yen basket

On hearing that deposit interest rates in Japan are near zero, an investor from Jakarta said in apparent disbelief "You must be joking."
EDITORIALS
Mar 23, 2001

The fear on the farm

Britain has closed zoos, animal parks and tourist attractions, banned protest marches and political gatherings in some rural communities, and postponed the Crufts dog show and the Cheltenham horse races. Portugal has banned bullfights. Governments in Northern African and Central European have threatened...
EDITORIALS
Mar 22, 2001

A surprisingly successful summit

The first Japan-U.S. summit since the election of President George W. Bush has gone off without a hitch. Sad to say, but low expectations get a lot of the credit for the success of the meeting. Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is a lame duck, both countries' economies are slumping and the tragic accident...
BUSINESS
Mar 22, 2001

Video game fans hurry to snap up Game Boy Advance as it hits shelves

OSAKA -- Video game fans formed long lines at electronic appliances stores from early Wednesday morning as Nintendo Co. launched its Game Boy Advance, successor to the top-selling Game Boy handheld machine.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2001

Minister wants harsher traffic laws

Justice Minister Masahiko Komura on Wednesday ordered a fall deadline for the preparation of legislation to revise the Penal Code. The bill would impose tougher penalties on reckless and drunken drivers who have inflicted severe or fatal injuries on other people.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 22, 2001

I'll see your spell and raise a goblin

Akira Kan wipes away the beads of sweat rapidly gathering on his forehead. The 15,000 yen that Pavel Matousek is asking for Juzam Djinn is beyond his budget. But the alternative -- trade in his Mox Pearl and Island of Wak-Wak -- seems like a bum deal.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2001

Used appliance shops seeing silver lining

The coming introduction of the appliance recycling law will put extra financial burdens both on consumers and manufacturers.
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2001

Haneda to begin simultaneous landings

Tokyo's Haneda airport on Thursday will start allowing simultaneous landings using two parallel runways to help reduce rush-hour delays, airport officials said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2001

Dissenting from globalism

In discussions with frontline humanitarian agencies, it becomes clear that they are experiencing a mild backlash against global human-rights instruments. Some countries have become apprehensive of signing agreements for fear of later intervention by outside powers on grounds of noncompliance.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2001

Group urges state to aid survivors of sarin gassing

A support group for survivors of the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system is urging the central government to provide support for those who still suffer from physical and psychological pain from the incident.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2001

FAQ on new recycling regulations

Questions and answers relating to the Home Appliances Recycling Law.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2001

Koizumi hints at bid for LDP presidency

CHIBA -- Junichiro Koizumi, the No. 2 man in the Liberal Democratic Party faction led by Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, suggested Tuesday he may be ready to run in a party race to choose a new leader to succeed Mori.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2001

An Asian financial crisis, Chinese-style

CAMBRIDGE, England -- The Chinese government has announced that death sentences have been imposed on seven people for tax fraud, in this case fraudulent claims for value-added-tax refunds on export sales. More death sentences, followed quickly by executions, are expected during what Premier Zhu Rongji...
LIFE / Travel
Mar 21, 2001

Where there's a spark, there's green tourism

If the thought of an entire mountaintop in flames sounds like a nightmare or a Dali painting, you'll be surprised to learn that noyaki, a land conservation technique in Kumamoto Prefecture's Aso county, looks exactly like that from a distance. Local environmental group Aso Greenstock has been teaching...
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Mar 21, 2001

Elat, Israel: This place is for the ornithologists

Perched on the southern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba, Elat is a hedonistic cluster of high-rise hotels and bronzing beach bums surrounded by blue sea and burning desert. Basically, it's as close to Las Vegas as Israel gets -- without the gambling.
LIFE / Digital / SURFERSPUD
Mar 21, 2001

Bookmarks old and new

www.newkoyo.com The New Koyo Hotel is doing for Tokyo what Kao Sahn Road has done for Bangkok. Beware of an influx of budget travelers. A gaijin zoo is springing up north of Ueno, and the temporary inhabitants are being attracted by room rates that start at 2,500 yen. The Web site is packed with other...
COMMENTARY
Mar 20, 2001

Japan wasting its top resource

LONDON -- In Britain, the Equal Opportunities Commission is a powerful body that has been working hard to ensure that there is no discrimination in the workplace, particularly on grounds of gender. Women have still not achieved complete equality in pay and conditions, but much progress has been made....
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2001

Manager of volunteer group suspected of embezzling welfare money

OSAKA -- The manager of a volunteer group in Osaka has been arrested on suspicion of embezzling welfare support money from a homeless man, police said Monday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 20, 2001

Drop in on Kanemura's Tokyo

SPIDER'S STRATEGY: Photographs by Osamu Kanemura, with a text by Arata Isozaki. Tokyo: Osiris Co. Ltd., 102 pp., 80 b/w plates, 3,780 yen. In his text accompanying this portfolio of photographs of Tokyo, architect Arata Isozaki writes of the difficulty of deciphering this city. Paris was finally properly...
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2001

Dini helps launch Italian cultural extravaganza

"Italy in Japan 2001" kicked off Monday with visiting Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini urging Japanese to learn not only about Italy's art, fashion and food, but also its advanced technology.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go