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JAPAN
Sep 22, 1999

Keidanren suggests increased use of tied loans

The Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) called on the Japanese government to increase the ratio of tied loans in yen loans to Asia as part of proposals on Japan's official development assistance announced Wednesday.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Sep 22, 1999

Qualified clarification

Today's column attempts to clarify some common questions about Japanese health insurance. First it is necessary to understand the differences between the two types. Shakai Hoken (SH), or Employees Health Insurance, covers employees/dependents of companies that subscribe to some health insurance plan....
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1999

Ex-Im Bank hit by protests over dam loans

As the board of directors prepared to meet inside, activists rallied outside the Export-Import Bank of Japan in Tokyo on Wednesday, protesting the organization's plan to resume funding for a controversial dam in the Philippines.
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Sep 21, 1999

Honeys, ah sugar, sugar

I'm sitting opposite Vivi, Yuri, Kotome and Zina, trying desperately hard not to think about sex. But it's hard, it's very hard.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 21, 1999

Get ready for the second nuclear age

FIRE IN THE EAST: The Rise of Asian Military Power and the Second Nuclear Age, by Paul Bracken. HarperCollins, 1999, 186 pp., $25 (cloth). The last two years have upset a lot of strategic certainties. Rather than moving toward nuclear disarmament, the nuclear club has expanded as India and Pakistan exploded...
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 21, 1999

The sorrow and the pity: fateful meetings at Kabukiza

Through the month of September, the Kabukiza Theater in Ginza is offering an excellent selection of historical and realistic plays and a dance number for the afternoon and evening, starring Uzaemon Ichimura, Kichiemon Nakamura, Tomijuro Nakamura and Baigyoku Nakamura. Participating also in the current...
EDITORIALS
Sep 20, 1999

Negotiating with North Korea

The United States and North Korea have struck yet another deal. This time, the two parties seem to have negotiated a framework for the relaxation of U.S. economic sanctions against North Korea in exchange for the suspension of Pyongyang's ballistic missile testing program. Some ask, why does the U.S....
JAPAN
Sep 20, 1999

Obuchi certain to win re-election to LDP presidency

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi is almost certain to win re-election as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, easily defeating rivals Koichi Kato and Taku Yamasaki, in a vote by party members today.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 1999

Cresvale's office blames parent for investor losses

The Tokyo branch of Cresvale International Ltd. said Monday it knew nothing about the losses incurred on the privately placed bonds it had marketed since 1991, blaming its parent company for the mismanagement of clients' money.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 1999

Tear-stained faces are just another fad

RYAN NAKASHIMA Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 20, 1999

Fashion followers scoff at danger of super-high soles

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 20, 1999

Major airlines launch fare war on Skymark

Staff writer
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...
EDITORIALS
Sep 17, 1999

Eyes on the ball at APEC

Ever since 1993, when U.S. President Bill Clinton turned the annual meeting of the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation forum into a gathering for heads of state, critics have had a field day. Expectations have usually outpaced results, forcing participants to justify their attendance at what has been...
JAPAN
Sep 17, 1999

Nail salons ringing up cell phone profits

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 17, 1999

Insurers to sell Aoba Life to Artemis of France

The Life Insurance Association of Japan will sell Aoba Life Insurance Co. to Artemis, a holding company of major French retailer Pinault Printemps Redoute, for 25 billion yen, the association announced Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 1999

Nuclear utilities' Y2K assurances difficult to sell

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 17, 1999

Inclusion of flag, anthem in grad ceremonies up

Twenty-eight prefectures and four specially designated cities had all their public elementary, junior high and high schools hoist the Hinomaru and sing "Kimigayo" during graduation and entrance ceremonies this spring, the Education Ministry said Friday.
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Sep 17, 1999

Chari Chari's evergreen sound

The term legend is often used lightly in music journalism. Kaoru Inoue, known as Chari Chari, is one of the few Tokyo DJs who could reasonably be called legendary.
EDITORIALS
Sep 16, 1999

New skills, old skills

New communications technologies pose unique dilemmas for parents. While a substantial majority of adults believe that familiarity with the Internet is an essential skill for children in the 21st century, they also fear the hazards lurking in cyberspace. They worry that adventurous youngsters will be...
JAPAN
Sep 16, 1999

Stag beetle hunter casts doubt on reported 10 million yen deal

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 16, 1999

Protesters slam WTO trade as Keidanren sets council

Carrying placards and handing out leaflets, more than 20 protesters gathered Thursday outside the Foreign Ministry, demanding that the government oppose the next round of World Trade Organization negotiations slated to begin in November.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 1999

Miyazawa and Hayami huddle over yen

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami held an emergency meeting Thursday afternoon in a bid to curb the yen's surge against the dollar but failed to achieve an immediate halt to the yen-buying trend.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 1999

Execs' arrest to reveal Kofuku's idea of 'family business'

OSAKA -- The arrest of former top executives of the failed Kofuku Bank is expected to unveil the dubious nature of the bank's "family-run" business, which is believed common among many second-tier regional banks.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 1999

Kanazawa to get wired in experiment

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Matsushita Communication Industrial Co. will begin a one-year joint experiment on a community-based information network in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, from April 2000, the companies said Thursday.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 1999

Road to closed captions no freeway for hearing impaired

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 16, 1999

Nikkei drops 700 at one point as dollar tumbles

Tokyo share prices plummeted broadly Thursday amid concerns about a preceding tumble in New York share prices and the yen's rise against the dollar.
EDITORIALS
Sep 15, 1999

Cautious optimism on the economy

Japan's economy in the second quarter of this year, April through June, expanded slightly at an annualized rate of 0.9 percent. This is a far cry from the 8.1 percent surge in the first quarter. But two consecutive quarters of positive growth make it reasonably clear that the protracted economic slump...
JAPAN
Sep 15, 1999

Report on faulty MOX fuel slow to reach Japan

Four days passed before concerned parties in Japan were told that mixed plutonium-uranium oxide fuel pellets to be shipped to Japan were improperly checked in Britain, it was learned Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 15, 1999

Office Depot tinkering to get it right

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