Search - 2000

 
 
COMMUNITY
Jan 20, 2000

Multifaceted legacy is rock solid

The public will never know what Ronald Winston looks like. Until he dies, that is.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2000

Politicians brace for battle as Diet opens

The 147th ordinary Diet session was convened Thursday, as the ruling and opposition camps brace to do political battle over a controversial proposal to cut the number of seats in the Lower House and an expansive 84.99 trillion yen budget for the fiscal year. The current Diet session is scheduled to...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2000

Here comes Japan's e-boom

Let me make some predictions about Japan's economic performance in and after 2000. I believe that recovery in the next 12 to 18 months will be slow but robust expansion will take place after that. The boom will not benefit everyone, as did the past expansion, however. It will be accompanied by the polarization...
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2000

Nations must cooperate to stop illegal drugs, Azuma says

Drug abuse is not a problem that can be solved by just one nation, Shozo Azuma, parliamentary vice minister for foreign affairs, said at the opening ceremony of "Anti-Drug Conference, Tokyo 2000" on Monday. Law enforcement and financial officials as well as researchers from about 20 Asia- Pacific nations...
CULTURE / Music
Jan 18, 2000

Call it garage punk, if you insist

"I was in a band called the Titties," says Cat Scratch, squeezing her breasts.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2000

Viva Odaiba! Ishihara dreams of casinos in the bay

Cigarette smoke wafts out of noisy pachinko parlors, crowds armed with racing forms jostle one another on trains on horse racing days, and lines form in front of lottery ticket booths. You may or may not call it gambling, but playing to test your luck has grown into a huge industry in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2000

The buzz is all about Vladimir Putin, too

Talk at the Balalaika restaurant in Tokyo's Kanda district these evenings, as at the 27 other restaurants specializing in Russian cuisine in the Japanese capital, is focused on Vladimir Putin.
BUSINESS
Jan 14, 2000

New Year yen fall forecast proved accurate

My predictions have come true. The yen has stumbled into 2000, giving up much of its recent gains as anticipated.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jan 12, 2000

We have a future

Another megamerger, another Internet world-eating conglomerate emerges. Apart from its size, the AOL-Time/Warner deal is a big deal: The marriage of AOL and Time Warner matters (if it goes throtwo reasons. First, it combines one of the biggest Net presences with a broadband delivery systefinally makes...
BUSINESS
Jan 11, 2000

Minicar sales hit record high in '99

Sales of new minicars in 1999 jumped 21.2 percent from the previous year to 1.88 million units, the highest annual figure since the Japan Mini Vehicles Association started taking statistics in 1967, the association said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2000

Ministry may tax fuel efficiency to fix road-funding burden

The Construction Ministry plans to overhaul the way road construction is funded to reduce the taxation disparities brought about by the rise of alternate-fuel and energy-efficient cars, it was learned Monday. Reforms under consideration include a tax on fuel efficiency, which would affect all vehicles,...
BUSINESS
Jan 7, 2000

One false step could send dollar reeling

The dollar-yen exchange rate could remain on a roller-coaster ride through much of the year ahead.
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2000

Japan and the animal kingdom

The year 2000 is the year of the dragon in the 12-year cycle of Chinese zodiacal symbols adopted long ago by Japan. The dragon, of course, is a mythical beast. Unlike Western lore, ancient Asian legend features the dragon using its many extraordinary powers for the ultimate benefit of humanity. Asian...
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2000

Record 88 million people visit temples, shrines

A record 88.1 million people visited major shrines and temples during the first three days of the new year, while 5.3 million spent the holiday season at major leisure spots, the National Police Agency said Wednesday. According to the agency, Meiji Jingu Shrine in Tokyo attracted the largest number...
SOCCER / J. League
Jan 4, 2000

Reds' Ono looking to recover his form before seeking new challenges abroad

For Shinji Ono, 1999 started with glory and ended in agony. In April, Ono captained Japan's under-20 team to a runnerup finish at the World Youth Championship in Nigeria and went on to boost Japan's Olympic campaign in summer.
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2000

India hijacking victim returns to Japan

A Japanese woman who was held for eight days aboard a hijacked Indian airliner in December returned to Japan on Tuesday, four days after her release. Chiaki Hisada, 30, arrived at Narita Airport aboard a Japan Airlines plane from New Delhi with her family, who had flown to India to join her. Hisada...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2000

Japan must actively contribute to new world order from 2000

The past decade has exposed cracks in the various systems that have run this country for the 55 years since its defeat in World War II. These cracks appear to be expanding, ranging from rampant corruption and declining ethics among lawmakers, bureaucrats and businessmen to the collapse of family ties...
EDITORIALS
Jan 1, 2000

Let's make a new start

People around the world are celebrating the arrival of a new century and the start of a new millennium. We all feel we are in a new age, and few are willing to wait another year, as the purists insist, before we close out the 20th century.This is particularly true for Japan, where the last 10 years have...
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 1999

Rudderless politics for Japan

The year that is now passing saw a giant coalition government come into being, with a triumvirate of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and New Komeito controlling about 70 percent of the influential Lower House and more than half of the Upper House.
JAPAN
Dec 31, 1999

Japan celebrates new year free of major Y2K problems

Japan ushered in the new year with various celebratory events Friday night that included fireworks, all-night dancing and concerts while much of the public harbored concerns over possible Y2K-related problems. Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi addressed the nation from the Prime Minister's Official Residence...
JAPAN
Dec 30, 1999

Trains to run all night despite midnight breaks

Staff writer For people who want to make predawn visits to shrines and temples Saturday, major railways throughout Japan will provide their usual New Year's Eve all-night services. However, some plan to halt trains for a few minutes both sides of midnight today to cope with possible Y2K computer problems. In...
JAPAN
Dec 29, 1999

Titanic bell to ring in Nagoya's new year

Staff writer A bell recovered from the RMS Titanic will be rung for the first time in 88 years in a unique event to usher in 2000 in Nagoya. The brass bell was recovered from the bottom of the Atlantic, at a depth of more than 4,000 meters, in 1998. Andrew Quinn, the U.S. consul general to Nagoya, will...
JAPAN
Dec 28, 1999

Tokyo approves heliport relocation; time limit unresolved

The government Tuesday formally gave the green light to a plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps heliport now at the Futenma Air Station to the Henoko district of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture. Endorsing the project at a Cabinet meeting, the government adopted a basic policy on the relocation, including...
JAPAN
Dec 28, 1999

Bungling bureaucrats just another day at work for Ishihara

Staff writer The harried city official sighs as he looks at a poster designed to promote the Year 2000 countdown celebrations in Tokyo's Odaiba district. "He didn't like it," the Port and Harbor Bureau official says, bewildered. "He said we should think it out more, be more creative." A little while...
JAPAN
Dec 24, 1999

Highlights of 2000 budget

"Millennium Projects" 1) 11.9 billion yen for education projects, such as providing Internet access to all public schools by the end of fiscal 2001; 2) 15.2 billion yen for information technology; 3) 64 billion yen for projects to analyze human, rice genomes. Foreign aid 1) Official development assistance...
JAPAN
Dec 23, 1999

Carmakers jockey for inroads in slow-growing China market

Staff writer GUANGZHOU, China -- Browsing through glossy catalogs, a couple of men chat with dealers over the counter of a spacious car showroom. Beside them sit three brand-new cars. What appears to be an ordinary scene at any roadside dealership, however, is not run-of-the-mill; one of the cars --...
JAPAN
Dec 23, 1999

IOC says Osaka must not push Olympic bid abroad

OSAKA -- This city's 2008 Olympic bid will undergo a preliminary review by the International OlympicCommittee sometime between March and September, during which time it must not promote the bid internationally, IOC officials have told Osaka. "Under the new guidelines, cities wishing to bid for the 2008...
JAPAN
Dec 22, 1999

Keidanren mission to assess post-crisis Asia

As Asian countries steadily recover from the region's financial and economic crises, the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) will dispatch a mission to the area next spring, it was learned Wednesday. The Asian mission, led by Chairman Takashi Imai, will visit Indonesia, Singapore...
EDITORIALS
Dec 21, 1999

Israel, Syria take difficult first step

The key to enduring peace in the Middle East is an agreement between Syria and Israel. Syria has long been Israel's most implacable foe. Its military power and its de facto control over Lebanon give Damascus the ability to scuttle any progress Tel Aviv makes with other negotiating partners. Syria does...
JAPAN
Dec 21, 1999

Obuchi to hear Pacific island voices before G8

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi announced Tuesday that Japan will hold a meeting of leaders of Pacific island nations April 22 in Miyazaki as part of efforts to reflect viewpoints in the region on the upcoming Group of Eight summit in Okinawa this July.

Longform

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