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ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Oct 27, 1999

Hemlocks murmur in Kasuga's forest primeval

NARA -- Japan's first permanent capital, Heijo-kyo, was built on the Yamato plain where the modern city of Nara is located. Heijo-kyo was founded in the year 710 (from which year the Nara Period is dated) with a design based on that of the contemporaneous Chinese Tang Dynasty capital Changan.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 1999

Lenders hit for exhorbitant interest rates

Amid rising criticism of commercial loan firms over their exorbitant interest rates and frequent trouble with clients, the Financial Supervisory Agency said Wednesday the three leaders in the industry have charged an average of 20.87 percent in interest on loans, or about nine times the rate they pay...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Oct 27, 1999

What's going on

Last summer I wrote about Tokyo's upcoming wine event, the prestigious Japan International Wine Challenge, a competition that brings together the world's leading sommeliers, producers, importers and experts, giving devotees a chance to meet leaders in the world of wine and to taste some of the world's...
EDITORIALS
Oct 26, 1999

Money talks in U.S. politics

Ms. Elizabeth Dole last week ended her trailblazing bid for the U.S. Republican Party's presidential nomination. Hers was the first serious run for the presidency by a woman in either party. Yet Ms. Dole's withdrawal from the race highlights not only the failure of American voters to take a woman candidate...
CULTURE / Books
Oct 26, 1999

This 'East Wind' blows ill

RIDING THE EAST WIND, by Otohiko Kaga. Kodansha International, 1999, pp. 518, 3,500 yen (cloth). The history of Japanese-American soldiers who fought for the United States in World War II is well-documented, but the story of an American-Japanese pilot who served in the Japanese Imperial Army remains...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 26, 1999

Enjoy the neglected noh plays

DRAMATIC REPRESENTATIONS OF FILIAL PIETY: Five Noh in Translation, by Mae J. Smethurst. Cornell East Asia Series, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 1998, pp. 172, unpriced. Most Western writings on noh have been concerned with that category known as "mugenno," visional noh -- highly poetic, spiritually...
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Oct 26, 1999

The times for Nenes, they are a-changin'

I feel like I'm writing something akin to an obituary for the group Nenes, though Sadao China, the group's mentor, composer, sanshin player and the man whose idea the group was in the first place, wouldn't agree.
JAPAN
Oct 25, 1999

Hostages released; no ransom paid

The Japanese government has confirmed the release of all four Japanese nationals captured by Islamic rebels two months ago in Kyrgyzstan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Oct 24, 1999

Save the beaches

There are words that wake us up -- like "free" or "prize" or "espresso" -- and then there are words that put us to sleep. Unfortunately, the latter group includes most of the working vocabulary of some very well-meaning people: "environment," "global warming," "greenhouse gases," all the way up to the...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 1999

Australia out for justice in East Timor

SYDNEY -- Still the broken skulls are being unearthed. And still the United Nations talks on. Soon, Australia fears, the evidence of atrocities in East Timor will be scattered and, worse, forgotten.
COMMENTARY / World / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Oct 24, 1999

Farewell to Russia's final Romanov

Few years in recent Russian history have been as turbulent as 1999. In five months, from May till October, the country has seen three different prime ministers, an Islamic fundamentalist invasion in Dagestan and five terrorist assaults against Russian cities that cost the lives of 300 civilians. In the...
JAPAN
Oct 22, 1999

Suicides left 12,000 orphans in '98, group says

The number of children under 18 orphaned by suicides last year is estimated to have reached about 12,000, a report released by an educational organization revealed Friday.
COMMENTARY
Oct 22, 1999

Voters send LDP a message

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi won re-election in the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election held Sept. 21. Four days later, Yukio Hatoyama was elected chief of the top opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan. On Oct. 5, Obuchi launched his new three-party coalition government after New...
JAPAN
Oct 22, 1999

State to bolster credit guarantees by 10 trillion yen

The government decided Friday to add 10 trillion yen to a special 20 trillion yen credit-guarantee scheme to help small firms and startup ventures overcome fundraising difficulties, trade chief Takashi Fukaya said. The program will be extended through the end of fiscal 2000.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 1999

Keene to lecture on Emperor Meiji

Donald Keene, an expert on Japanese literature, will give a lecture in English titled "Emperor Meiji and War" on Oct. 30 at Ueno Gakuen University in Tokyo's Taito Ward.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 1999

Obuchi offers apology for Nishimura's remarks

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi apologized to the public Friday for recently appointed Parliamentary Vice Defense Minister Shingo Nishimura's remarks on rape and nuclear armament, which have led to Nishimura's resignation.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 1999

Tax Commission questions need for 401(k) breaks

The Tax Commission, an advisory panel to the prime minister, expressed caution on Friday about granting tax advantages under the planned new pension system.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 1999

The 401(K) Approach: Firm offers pension guidance

Staff writer
COMMUNITY
Oct 22, 1999

Creator of offbeat manga happy to break the rules

Manga artist Sekaiichi Asakura has three types of fans: Those who enjoy his work purely for the humor; those who read philosophy and world religion into his comic strips; and those who claim that they are as weird as him.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 1999

Nomura, Nikko post hefty first-half profits

Boosted by a stock market surge that began in spring, Nomura Securities Co. and Nikko Securities Co. posted bubble era-like pretax profits in the first half of fiscal 1999, according to their earnings reports released Friday.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 22, 1999

They still want you to want them

An enduring myth about rock is that the best artists crash before they settle into a professional rut. Jazz, blues, and folk musicians are allowed the dignity of improving with age, while rock 'n' rollers descend into redundancy.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 1999

Latin America urged to help KEDO process with oil

Staff writer
JAPAN
Oct 21, 1999

Tokyo Motor Show: Ford targets baby-boomer offspring

Staff writer
JAPAN
Oct 21, 1999

State not fighting gender bias: activist

Staff writer
JAPAN
Oct 21, 1999

Coalition eyes funding for loan program

The ruling triumvirate called Thursday for adding 5 trillion yen to a special loan-guarantee program to help small and midsize companies suffering from the tight lending practices of financial institutions.
JAPAN
Oct 21, 1999

Tokyo Motor Show: GM to expand Asia-Pacific presence

Staff writer
JAPAN
Oct 21, 1999

Top court rejects Fujinami appeal, ends Recruit saga

The Supreme Court has turned down an appeal by Liberal Democratic Party legislator Takao Fujinami in the 1980s Recruit bribery scandal, finalizing a high court ruling that gave him a suspended jail term and a fine of 42.7 million yen, it was learned Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Oct 20, 1999

'Nissan is in bad shape'

That blunt comment says it all. At a press conference Monday, Mr. Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's chief operating officer, ticked off the company's failings: mismanagement, inefficient production, lack of vision, unappealing products. Their impact has been plain: Nissan, Japan's second largest carmaker, has lost...
JAPAN
Oct 20, 1999

Tokyo Motor Show looks both to future, past

MAKUHARI, Chiba Pref. -- The 33rd Tokyo Motor Show is set to begin Saturday, bringing together automobile enthusiasts, automakers and auto parts manufacturers from around the world.
JAPAN
Oct 20, 1999

Eatery gives elderly more than good food

Staff writer

Longform

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it