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EDITORIALS
Aug 13, 2000

Not-so-lonely planet

Sometimes we forget how recently we Earthlings thought our planet was the center of the universe, which up until the 17th century ended at Saturn and used the "fixed" stars as a mere decorative backdrop. It was only in 1610 -- barely 400 years ago -- that Galileo looked at the heavens through a telescope,...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 6, 2000

Yankees Day at Tokyo Dome on Sept. 3

The Nippon Ham Fighters have announced their annual Yankees Day promotion will be held on Sunday, Sept. 3, when the team will play host to the Chiba Lotte Marines in a Pacific League game to begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Tokyo Dome. AIWA Co., Ltd., will sponsor the event and, as usual, the Nippon Ham club...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 27, 2000

A tale of two protests in Bangkok and Beijing

BANGKOK -- Last week, rural adherents of the Falun Gong movement in China surreptitiously made their way from provincial towns to stage short-lived protests in the heart of Beijing's Tiananmen Square. At the same time in rural Thailand, thousands of Thai peasants boarded trains for Bangkok to take an...
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2000

Consumer confidence rose slightly in June, EPA reports

The Economic Planning Agency said Tuesday its quarterly survey of consumer confidence showed an improvement in June for the fourth consecutive quarter.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2000

Swastikas under the onion domes

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia It is a muggy Wednesday afternoon in the nation's largest Pacific seaport, and as people meander home, a handful of men and boys position themselves around the central square, an asphalt plaza decorated with a monument to the communist revolutionaries who conquered the Far East.
EDITORIALS
Jul 14, 2000

Japan, by the numbers

Japan's economic statistics are, by and large, rated highly for their diversity and accuracy. So it comes as no surprise that Japanese experts are helping developing countries improve their own statistical systems. Recently, however, that reputation seems to have been somewhat tarnished because of media...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 18, 2000

Giants and 'Maru-chan' a perfect match

Yomiuri Giants first baseman Domingo Martinez last week celebrated his one-year anniversary with the team, and plucking him out of the Mexican League last June and bringing him back to Japan was one of the best things the Giants have ever done.
BUSINESS
Jun 16, 2000

BTM will survive competition of new era, future chief says

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, currently the biggest bank in Japan, will strive to survive intensifying competition in the banking industry by utilizing its mostly upscale retail customer base and solid international networks, the future president of the bank said.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2000

Nissho Iwai sees profits quintupling in five years

Restructuring trading house Nissho Iwai Corp. is hoping to increase its annual group pretax profit to 100 billion yen in five years, more than a fivefold increase from the 18.2 billion yen it registered in fiscal 1999, company sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 31, 2000

No payoff to U.S. for Okinawa, Kono says

Foreign Minister Yohei Kono on Tuesday denied a report that Japan secretly paid $200 million to the United States over the 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japanese rule, saying he has checked it directly with the official allegedly involved.
JAPAN
May 30, 2000

State denies Okinawa deals with U.S. ever took place

The government on Monday denied a report by a major Japanese daily that Japan paid about $200 million to the United States in clandestine deals over the May 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japanese rule.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2000

A quest for human rights

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's military ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has launched a drive to improve his country's human rights.
EDITORIALS
Apr 23, 2000

A nation of chatterboxes

People who at first glance seem to be carrying on animated conversations with themselves, complete with bows and gestures and sometimes so loudly they annoy anyone near them, are a common sight nationwide. Of course, they are not conversing with imaginary listeners. As most of us know because we are...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Apr 19, 2000

The first to go

The outlook for the economy may be brightening, but the glow is not apparent among museums. First to close was Seibu's museum in Ikebukuro, followed by the Roppongi Arts and Crafts Museum in 1998 and Mitsukoshi's Shinjuku museum which closed last year. Next will be Tobu's Ikebukuro museum, which will...
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2000

Obuchi aims to maintain coalition

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi on Tuesday morning expressed his intention to maintain the current framework of the tripartite coalition and realize policy goals set by the three ruling parties.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2000

Three-bank tieup terms settled

Sanwa Bank, Tokai Bank and Asahi Bank formally announced Tuesday that they have reached a basic agreement to come under a joint holding company in April 2001, creating the world's third-largest banking group.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2000

Jobs shows importance of Japan at Apple expo

MAKUHARI, Chiba Pref. -- In all the hype of Apple's new product announcements Wednesday at MacWorld Expo Tokyo 2000, one thing went unnoticed: It was the first time Apple has introduced a new computer outside its home market. That the first occurred here underscores the increasing importance of the...
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2000

Chuo relinquishes helm of merged bank to Mitsui

Top executives of Mitsui Trust & Banking Co. and Chuo Trust & Banking Co. were inundated with questions from reporters Monday as they announced the reversal of an earlier decision regarding the leadership structure of a bank to be set up through a merger of the two firms in April.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2000

Chuo relinquishes presidency of merged bank

Staff writer Top executives of Mitsui Trust & Banking Co. and Chuo Trust & Banking Co. were inundated with questions from reporters Monday as they announced the reversal of an earlier decision regarding the leadership structure of a bank to be set up through a merger of the two firms in April. When...
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Jan 19, 2000

New opportunities

I have a letter from a 15-year-old girl in Germany. She has blue-gray eyes and dark blond hair. She speaks English, French and German. She tells me of her school and her hobbies. She has a cat called Blacky. She is looking for pen-friends in Japan.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 1999

Joyu might disband Aum in order duck new law: expert

Staff writer After he is freed today from a Hiroshima prison, senior Aum Shinrikyo member Fumihiro Joyu will probably announce the voluntary dissolution of the cult, according to a freelance journalist who has extensively covered the sect. It would be a move to avoid a new law designed to curb the cult's...
JAPAN
Dec 22, 1999

New game rides in the slow lane

Staff writer After test-driving a simulation game and ramming right into a curb, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara announced Wednesday, "I guess I wasn't meant to be a bus driver." "Tokyo Bus Guide," created for Sega Enterprises Ltd.'s Dreamcast game console, focuses on an ungainly, slow-plodding mode of...
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Nov 24, 1999

When the going gets tough, the tough drink coffee

When I was a child, my mother didn't hesitate to drag me along on her shopping sprees, and if she managed to find some bargains, she would celebrate (and reward my good behavior) by treating me to something sweet at the department store coffee shop.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Nov 17, 1999

A Web DJ saved my life

Let's look at the headlines from Net music news. Maestro, hit the rewind:
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Nov 7, 1999

Our troubled world

Only 55 more days to go until the end of this century. It has been a troubled one, yet one filled with new discoveries and hope. More people have been assured of at least the basics of comfort in life while large numbers have been left in devastating poverty. Perhaps it will be remembered as a century...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Oct 20, 1999

The comfort of strangers

"Susunu Denpa Shonen," which airs every Sunday night on NTV, has become a bona fide phenomenon partly by tweaking noses and partly by joining hands -- call it cynicism cut with altruism
CULTURE / Books
Sep 21, 1999

Does the American Dream beat Hong Kong custard?

PAPER DAUGHTER: A Memoir, by M. Elaine Mar. HarperFlamingo, New York, 1999, 240 pp., $23. "From Hong Kong to Harvard" proclaims the publicity cover letter accompanying M. Elaine Mar's first book. As a memoir, it is but one drop in the growing flood of reminiscences engulfing publishing houses, and Mar's...
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
Aug 2, 1999

Teachers not teaching 'Kimigayo' face reprimand

Teachers who fail to guide students "appropriately" during ceremonies involving the Hinomaru and "Kimigayo" can face disciplinary action, an Education Ministry official said Monday.
LIFE / Travel
Jul 14, 1999

Memphis, where the 'King' still rules

In reference to the legacy of Elvis Presley, Neil Young once sang "The King is dead, but not forgotten."

Longform

It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?