Search - 2000

 
 
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2000

Japan open to return of two disputed isles

The government is leaning closer to accepting a two-stage accord over four disputed islands off Hokkaido in which Russia would hand over two of them with assurances that the remaining two will also eventually be returned, government sources said Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Oct 2, 2000

Japan's ills threaten the world

Japan's Naoko Takahashi won the gold medal in the women's marathon in the Sydney Olympics Sept. 24. In winning the tough race on a difficult, up-and-down course, she established an Olympic record and became the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic marathon gold medal. She also gave Japan its first...
EDITORIALS
Oct 1, 2000

Life after the Olympics

What do we do now with our evenings and weekends? For two happy, mindless weeks, we have flopped down in front of the TV any spare minute we had, just to get our daily fix of the big show going on in Sydney. Cynicism, the pre-Games attitude du jour, went out the window the second the teams entered the...
OLYMPICS
Oct 1, 2000

Takahashi still gracious after win

SYDNEY -- The strong performance of Japanese women to claim 13 of the 18 medals that the nation has won at the Sydney Olympics reflects women's growing independence in society, women's marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi said Saturday.
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2000

Unsold land leaves cities in debt

As many as 31 municipalities in Tokyo and neighboring prefectures are suffering from the fiscal burden of long-unsold plots of land owned by public-sector developers to which they have provided loan guarantees, according to the latest survey by Kyodo News.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 1, 2000

African artists hold display, classes to boost awareness

OSAKA -- Anthony Monda has been living here for six years and he cannot help but wonder at how little Japanese people know about Africa.
BUSINESS
Sep 30, 2000

KDDI aims to stay solid No. 2

A new stage of competition will begin Sunday in the telecom industry when three major firms merge into KDDI, a long-awaited rival to the behemoth telecom group led by NTT Corp.
BUSINESS
Sep 30, 2000

Mizuho executives express confidence in future

Chief executives of the Mizuho Financial Group expressed confidence Friday that their company is destined to lead the Japanese banking industry and become one of the world's top banks.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 30, 2000

Thomas Wolfe: 20th-century America's warped looking glass

"No one has ever written any books about America -- I mean the real America," he wrote to a friend in 1931.
COMMENTARY
Sep 30, 2000

Russian contempt for Japan nothing new

I have never been able to feel any sense of affinity with the political leaders of Russia, let alone those of the former Soviet Union. The reason why may be illustrated by the following incident, which occurred when Nikita Khrushchev was the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and head of...
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2000

Government takes steps to stop the drop in rice prices

The government adopted a package of measures Thursday that are designed to put a halt to declining prices of rice.
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2000

New Komeito failing to make mark

New Komeito, a junior member of the ruling coalition, continues to struggle as it strives to score points and impress the public before Upper House elections next summer.
OLYMPICS
Sep 29, 2000

Welcome to Sydney's juiced-up Games

SYDNEY -- It was easier to follow at the start.
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Sep 29, 2000

'Those Parisian guys' way out west

Japanese music aficionados have a knack of tuning into the musical zeitgeist. Post-rock, Brit-pop and grunge all had substantial audiences in Japan before the rest of the world caught up.
BUSINESS
Sep 28, 2000

Banks agree to forgive Hazama debt

Hazama Corp. said Wednesday that its four main creditor banks have agreed to forgive a combined 105 billion yen in loans to the debt-saddled construction company.
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2000

Yokohama mayor denies 'sin tax' plan aimed at politically weak

Yokohama Mayor Hidenobu Takahide has denied claims that the city's controversial "entertainment tax" plan unfairly punishes the politically weak by singling out unpopular businesses.
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2000

Share prices give up most of recent gains

Although the Tokyo stock market is still in a bit of a corrective phase, a light is beginning to flicker at the end of the tunnel.
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2000

'IT cards' dropped from supplementary budget

The government decided Monday that the supplementary budget for fiscal 2000 will not cover "IT cards" that would have subsidized tuition for Internet-related courses, government officials said.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 26, 2000

Welcome return of four classics

THE IZU DANCER, by Yasunari Kawabata, translated by Edward Seidensticker. THE COUNTERFEITER; OBASUTE; THE FULL MOON, by Yasushi Inoue, translated by Leon Picon. Singapore, Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 2000, 144 pp., $14.95. Here is a new, reset quality-paperback edition of one of the staples of modern...
CULTURE / Books
Sep 26, 2000

'New Order' was an old nightmare

INDONESIA: The Long Oppression, by Geoff Simons. London: MacMillan/ N.Y.: St. Martins, 2000, 289 pp. $35. Indonesia is just beginning the long process of coming to terms with and overcoming the consequences of three decades of dictatorship under President Suharto. His New Order regime was dominated...
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 25, 2000

Giants claim 29th Central League pennant

Yomiuri shortstop Tomohiro Nioka smashed a game-winning solo homer in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday as the Giants came from behind to beat the Chunichi Dragons 5-4 with a "sayonara" win at the Tokyo Dome to clinch their 29th Central League pennant.
OLYMPICS
Sep 25, 2000

Japan improves record in the pool

SYDNEY -- Japan's women's 400-meter medley relay team wrapped up the Olympic swimming competition Saturday with a bronze medal in a national record time as the U.S. team smashed the world record at the Sydney Olympics on Saturday.
OLYMPICS
Sep 24, 2000

Japanese swimmers claim bronze in 400m medley

SYDNEY -- Japan's women's 400-meter medley relay team won bronze in a new national record time as the U.S. team smashed the world record in the event on the last day of the swimming competition at the Sydney Olympics on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 24, 2000

Debt relief key to poor nations' progress

NEW YORK -- A pledge by wealthy nations, to be announced officially this week in Prague, to provide substantial economic aid to poor nations, is an important step in the right direction. To be truly effective, however, economic aid should be part of a more general aid package -- including cancellation...
BUSINESS
Sep 23, 2000

MITI urges dialogue on oil prices

International Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma on Friday played down the impact of soaring crude oil prices on the economy and stressed the importance of dialogue between oil-consuming and -producing countries.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2000

Police report more crimes and mistrust

Crimes are increasing as police grapple with a less cooperative public and criminals' increasing use of high technology, the National Police Agency said in its 2000 white paper released Friday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 23, 2000

Politicians face a busy fall

The 72-day extraordinary Diet session opened Thursday. It will last until Dec. 1, which is unusually long for an extra session. The political schedule will be very tight in December: The government will compile a fiscal 2001 budget and lay the groundwork for the reorganization of the central bureaucracy...

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?