Search - 2000

 
 
JAPAN
Dec 6, 1999

Yeltsin visit penciled in for spring

Japan and Russia agreed Monday to work on realizing a visit by Russian President Boris Yeltsin to Japan some time next spring, a Foreign Ministry official said. The agreement came during the first of two days of bilateral vice-ministerial talks in Tokyo under a joint peace treaty committee aiming to...
JAPAN
Dec 6, 1999

Shinagawa parents take chance on new schools

About 13 percent of parents in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward have decided to send their children to schools outside of their conventional districts next year under a unique system that starts in April, officials said Monday. Under the system, the first of its kind in the country, children scheduled to attend...
CULTURE / Art
Dec 5, 1999

Fantasy, drama: visions of a blind artist

When Carter's, the biggest children's clothes maker in the U.S., chose to use blind artist Emu Namae's pastel drawings on their children's line, new doors opened in Namae's life.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 4, 1999

In Britain now, 'tis the season to be silly

Not with a bang but a whimper, last month Britain's hereditary lords slid out of their ermine robes and off the scarlet-padded benches and retired to their country seats. A line of continuity from feudalism has finally been broken.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Dec 4, 1999

The buzz in Washington: New Millennium parties and would-be new presidents

WASHINGTON -- I experienced some interesting feelings as I typed in the date on this piece. We writers and pundits will have an emotional ride during the next few weeks as we put pen to paper -- or fingers to keyboard -- for the last time in this century and millennium. The temptations are rife: to be...
JAPAN
Dec 3, 1999

Bimetallic 500 yen coin set to be issued in August

A 500 yen coin made with a new mix of metals will debut in August to combat a vending machine con in which altered 500-won South Korean coins are redeemed for the more valuable domestic coin, the Finance Ministry announced Friday. It will be Japan's first reminting of a coin as an anti-counterfeiting...
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1999

Corporate donations to parties elude revision

The ruling triumvirate agreed Thursday to delete an article from the Political Funds Control Law that would oblige them to review corporate donations to political parties. They also agreed not to take any legal measures to ban such donations. The agreement came at a meeting of the secretaries general...
EDITORIALS
Nov 30, 1999

The other Clinton runs

There is nothing unusual about political dynasties. Every country has them. Japan has a growing list of second- and third-generation politicians. In the United States, the most prominent dynasty is the Kennedy clan, although the Bushes are providing tough competition; India has the Gandhi family. Usually,...
JAPAN
Nov 23, 1999

Pension reform plan draws flak

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 22, 1999

Futenma chronology: Outrage sparked relocation

1) Sept. 4, 1995: Three U.S. servicemen rape a Japanese schoolgirl in Okinawa Prefecture, igniting anger over the presence of U.S. military forces.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 1999

Internet disclosure bills to be submitted in 2000

The government will submit bills to the Diet next year to enable electronic authorization and disclosure of financial statements, the Finance Ministry said Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 1999

Hong Kong's GEM joins race to woo startups

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1999

Hitachi plans info-systems investment

Hitachi Ltd. announced Friday it will invest 300 billion yen in the next two years to strengthen its foothold in the fast-growing information systems business.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 1999

No date again given for Yeltsin visit

Russian President Boris Yeltsin, in a telephone conversation Wednesday with former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, underlined the importance of holding a bilateral summit in Japan but did not specify a date for any meeting, a Foreign Ministry official said.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Nov 17, 1999

Hemingway's dead; long live the future

Hemingway once said that good writing begins with the simple production of but one true sentence. OK. Here's something that's true. Hemingway is dead.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Nov 17, 1999

Getting things done

From time to time I have been asked to remind people that although Japan is a very safe country, there are times when it is not. The yearend has always been a time when people should be especially careful. In old Japan, all debts had to be paid by the end of the year, but even a cursory perusal of today's...
EDITORIALS
Nov 16, 1999

A 'final push' for recovery

The government has unveiled a new economic pack age designed to pep up the frail economy and give further impetus to structural economic reforms going into the 21st century. Titled "Economic Rebirth Measures," the package, which was announced last Thursday, focuses on building social infrastructure,...
JAPAN
Nov 16, 1999

Regional Special: Sanin

'Inaka' taps city disenchanted to repopulate>Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Ozawa denies he put merger plan to LDP leaders

Amid mounting speculation over his party's possible merger with the LDP, Liberal Party leader Ichiro Ozawa on Thursday denied media reports that claimed he put the merger plan to LDP leaders over the weekend.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Government unveils 18 trillion yen stimulus

The government unveiled an 18 trillion yen economic stimulus package Thursday that it hopes will put the economy on a full recovery track in the second half of fiscal 2000.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Obuchi plies Annan for U.N. reform

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi on Thursday told visiting U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan that Japanese are becoming dissatisfied with their nation's increasing share of U.N. expenses and the lack of progress in reforming the Security Council, a Foreign Ministry official said.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 11, 1999

Homebrewing for fun, taste and profit

"Hamm's" is the first spoken word recorded in Rob Nelson's baby book. His parents say he was influenced by the rhythmic beat of the Hamm's Beer television commercial. Now, when not consuming one of his own homebrew creations, Nelson, 47, is out searching for the perfect pint. His favorite beer to date,...
JAPAN
Nov 10, 1999

KDD, SingTel form strategic tieup

KDD Corp. and Singapore Telecom reached an agreement to form a strategic partnership that includes a joint venture for corporate data communications services and the cross-holding of shares, top officials of the two major telecom carriers in Asia announced on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 10, 1999

Air travel unruffled by Y2K: IATA chief

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 9, 1999

Daiwa-Sumitomo Trust deal driven by IT costs

Daiwa Bank and Sumitomo Trust Banking & Co.'s decision to jointly provide administrative services for corporate pension and other trust funds was motivated by their desire to share the burden of information technology investment -- a catch phrase in the financial industry these days.
JAPAN
Nov 9, 1999

Y2K problem wrecks holiday season for finance industry

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 8, 1999

LDP executives cave in to corporate donation ban

Reversing an earlier decision, top executives of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party agreed Monday that corporate donations should be banned beginning next year as stipulated in a 1995 law.
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...
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1999

Y2K fears boost cruises over New Year's

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1999

State unveils measures to slash nursing-care burden

The government formally announced a set of measures Friday aimed at reducing the financial burden on people under a planned public nursing care system to be launched in April.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan