Search - 2000

 
 
JAPAN
Mar 25, 1999

Local Elections '99: Showdown in cash-dry Tokyo

Staff writer
LIFE / Food & Drink / WINE WAYS
Mar 25, 1999

Cornucopia's savory memories

Spring is here, hard on the heels of Foodex '99, the food-and-beverage spectacular I mentioned two weeks ago during its four-day run at Makuhari Messe.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1999

Coalition agrees on deputy minister numbers

The Liberal Democratic Party and Liberal Party agreed Wednesday to introduce 26 deputy minister posts in January 2001, when the government must slim down the administration.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1999

Japan to help Russia dismantle nuclear subs

Staff writer
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1999

Trade chiefs to hold WTO powwow in May

Trade ministers from four major world economies will gather in Tokyo in mid-May to hold annual trade talks aimed at kick-starting preparations for the millennium round of global free trade negotiations, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 1999

Gist of lawmakers' past initiatives

Bills initiated by Diet members in recent years:
JAPAN
Mar 19, 1999

Tokyo steps up wartime weapon disposal plan

The Cabinet adopted a plan Friday to reorganize the government office tasked with expediting the disposal of chemical weapons left behind in China by the Japanese military at the end of the war.
COMMENTARY
Mar 19, 1999

A battle that earned a place in history

I listen to NHK radio every morning. In one program, titled "What happened on this date," the announcer introduces notable events that occurred on that day in Japanese history.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 1999

Osaka wants usual IOC turnout

OSAKA -- In response to the International Olympic Committee's decision to revise the guidelines for selecting the 2006 Winter Games, Osaka Mayor Takafumi Isomura said limiting the number of members allowed to visit candidate cities was not appropriate for the Summer Games.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Mar 17, 1999

The doctor is in

Steve Chang has a fondness for viruses. It's not as ghoulish as it sounds; he's obsessed with the computer variety, not the human kind. Fortunately for him -- unfortunately for us -- there are a lot out there.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 17, 1999

Disputed territory is a paradise in peril

Any Japanese schoolchild can wax eloquent about the Hoppo Ryodo or "Northern Territories," the tiny islands Japan has demanded back from Russia since World War II. And with Japan keen to resolve its border dispute with Russia and wrap up a peace treaty by the end of next year, the issue looks likely...
JAPAN
Mar 16, 1999

Slash corporate levies, raise sales tax, think tank urges

The government should scrap the 5.4 percent residential tax for businesses and halve the 9.9 percent local corporate tax to reinvigorate business activity, a private think tank proposed Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 1999

Taiwan's strategic options

Following the return of Hong Kong in July 1997 and the return of Macau in December 1999, Beijing's attention will logically turn to Taiwan. The island's survival depends on preserving its technically advanced air force and enlisting the help of the United States.
EDITORIALS
Mar 5, 1999

Dispel illusions in Sino-U.S. relations

The last few weeks have been difficult ones for Sino-U.S. relations. The U.S. canceled the planned sale of a satellite to a Chinese-led consortium, the annual State Department human-rights report released last week slammed Beijing's policies and the Pentagon has warned of an ominous Chinese missile buildup...
JAPAN
Mar 4, 1999

15 major banks ask state for 7.46 trillion yen

Fifteen major banks applied Thursday for 7.46 trillion yen in public funds to ease the weight of bad loans.
EDITORIALS
Feb 27, 1999

A wakeup call to the nation

After six months of racking their brains, members of a prime ministerial advisory council have produced yet another blueprint designed to nurse the seriously ill Japanese economy back to health. The worthy work of the Economic Strategy Council should be commended. In their final report to Prime Minister...
EDITORIALS
Feb 26, 1999

A year of triumph for Mr. Kim

It has been a tumultuous first year for South Korean President Kim Dae Jung. On every front -- political, economic and diplomatic -- he has faced enormous challenges. His moral authority, his willingness to make hard choices and his vision have stood him in good stead. By virtually every measure, South...
JAPAN
Feb 26, 1999

ESC report formulates recovery in next 10 years

The government must restructure its deficit-ridden fiscal condition within the next 10 years, hopefully by the end of fiscal 2008, the Economic Strategy Council recommended in its final report submitted Friday to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi.
EDITORIALS
Feb 23, 1999

Up in arms in Northern Ireland

One sticking point -- if not the key obstacle -- in the Northern Ireland peace process has been the question of when the Irish Republican Army would give up its arms. A fair amount of fudge has been allowed to obscure this issue. That is understandable. After all, no arms would be surrendered until trust...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Feb 17, 1999

Designing for dollars

Say what you will about Jeff Bezos, president of Amazon.com, but he is a savvy guy. He and his company may not be worth the gazillions of dollars that the market is throwing at them, but he deserves credit for making the market believe in him.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1999

Osaka budget plan calls for pay freeze, payroll reduction

The Osaka Prefectural Government, facing a financial crisis, announced a 3.5 trillion yen budget plan Friday for fiscal 1999 that reduces prefectural personnel costs for the first time since the Local Government Law took effect in 1947.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1999

Celebrate the millennium bug

Japan has drawn up draft proposals for an "APEC Y2K Week" to help the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, especially developing members, cope with the Year 2000 computer bug problem.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 1999

Osaka releases 4.1 trillion yen budget proposal

The Osaka Municipal Government released a 1999 fiscal year budget proposal of 4.1 trillion yen Tuesday that calls for additional welfare assistance programs and 935 million yen for promoting its bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 1999

Osaka forms bidding body for '08 Games

The Osaka Olympic Bidding Committee for the 2008 Summer Games was formally launched Monday amid an ongoing bribery scandal that has rocked the International Olympic Committee.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 1999

Panel preps battle plans for WTO trade talks

A government panel endorsed two interim reports Friday calling for the government, businesses and academia to work together to prepare for a new round of global trade negotiations scheduled to begin in 2000.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 1999

Fukushima urges Japan, U.S. to talk over trade differences

Now that Washington has decided to revive the controversial "Super 301" procedure, Japan should start market-opening discussions with the U.S. to prevent trade conflicts, according to Glen S. Fukushima, a former deputy assistant U.S. trade representative for Japan and China.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 1999

Finance Ministry separation still in debate

Policy officials of the Liberal Democratic Party and two major opposition parties agreed Monday to work toward a conclusion on whether to strip the Finance Ministry of its policy-planning powers before the fiscal 1999 budget clears the Lower House.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1999

Sony, Toyota enter data service venture with IIJ

A joint data communications venture established by Toyota Motor Corp., Sony Corp. and Internet Initiative Japan Inc. announced Tuesday that it will begin high-speed data services of up to 600 megabits per second in April for corporate users.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 1999

Logistic SDF support of U.N. forces constitutional: Obuchi

The Constitution allows the Self-Defense Forces to provide logistic support to United Nations-led multinational forces, but the provision of weapons and ammunition by the SDF will be determined on a case-by-case basis, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 22, 1999

An Olympic-size mess

What a difference a year makes. One year ago, Nagano City was pulling out the stops to welcome athletes from all over the world for a mammoth festival on ice and snow. Such was the universal appeal of the Olympic Games that even warring nations laid down their arms for the duration of the competition...

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