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JAPAN
Apr 20, 2001

Seoul sends back ambassador after textbook protest

South Korean Ambassador Choi Sang Yong returned to Japan on Thursday and urged Foreign Minister Yohei Kono not to spoil bilateral relations, a Foreign Ministry official said.
BUSINESS
Apr 20, 2001

Drawing line on weak yen just lip service?

At their latest meeting in Kuala Lumpur, finance ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations voiced deep concern over a weak yen.
EDITORIALS
Apr 19, 2001

Beyond the textbook controversy

A junior high-school history textbook edited by a nationalist group continues to stir controversy and provoke anger, especially in South Korea. The textbook in question, written by the Japanese Society for Textbook Reform, which calls existing history textbooks "masochistic," recently cleared censorship...
COMMENTARY
Apr 18, 2001

Mistaken cures for the Japanese economy

The debate over economic reform in Japan, especially the alleged need to force banks to dispose of bad loans, resembles the story about the hospital patient on life support because of a serious blood-circulation problem. One result of that problem is badly swollen feet. But the doctors can only focus...
SOCCER / World cup
Apr 17, 2001

Talk straight, chew gum

Give us more backup to win the World Cup. That was the message manager Philippe Troussier had for Japan's soccer fans Sunday.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2001

Toyota sells off J-Phone stake, backs KDDI

Toyota Motor Corp. has sold its stakes in the J-Phone group to the mobile phone operator's parent, Japan Telecom Co., to clarify its commitment to rival carrier KDDI, Toyota officials said Monday.
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 17, 2001

Troussier dumps MVP Nakamura

Yokohama F. Marinos midfielder and J. League MVP Shunsuke Nakamura was dropped from Japan's 22-member squad for next week's friendly against Spain while four new players -- Shimizu S-Pulse defensive midfielder Kazuyuki Toda, Sanfrecce defender Kenichi Uemura, Marinos defender Yasuhiro Hato and Kashima...
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2001

LDP presidential candidates spar over cure for economy

The four hopefuls in the race to replace Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori remained divided Sunday over their prescriptions for Japan's diseased economy.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2001

LDP rivals back approval of textbook

All four candidates vying for the Liberal Democratic Party presidency are defending the government's recent approval of a junior high school history textbook that critics say glosses over Japan's wartime aggression in Asia.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2001

Workers to get more days off for Golden Week

Employees of major companies in Japan will get an average of 7.3 consecutive days off work during the Golden Week holiday season, according to a Labor Ministry survey released this week.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 14, 2001

Capital solution by accident rather than design

Asked whether she is surprised to find herself ruling the roost in corporate splendor on the 18th floor of the Shin-Nikko Building in Toranomon, Sakie Fukushima nods emphatically. Very surprised, she says. "I've never planned a single step of my career. Basically I'm not a very confident person."
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 14, 2001

No more excuses for not knowing your fish

Confused by all the different kinds of fish in Japan? I have learned to recognize fish by studying their facial expressions as they lay on my plate. It also helps to know which fish are served in which seasons.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2001

Government line contradictory on Lee's visa status

Top government officials showed their indecision Thursday with inconsistent comments over an application for a visa to visit Japan by former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui.
LIFE / Digital
Apr 12, 2001

Handspring holds on to the future

Move over personal computers, you're just not personal enough. Consumers are seeking something sleeker, something less sedentary. Something that will perform more technological acrobatics and perhaps be a little easier to cuddle up with on a rainy day. Or so handheld computer makers and visionaries would...
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2001

Seoul recalls ambassador over textbook controversey

South Korea's ambassador to Japan returned to Seoul on Tuesday in a move to protest Japan's approval last week of a history textbook that many Asian nations say brushes over descriptions of Japan's wartime atrocities.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2001

EU envoys urge climate teamwork

Intensified contact between countries in the runup to international climate change talks in July is needed to save the Kyoto Protocol, said a European delegation in Tokyo on Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Apr 8, 2001

Heidi gets a makeover

Perhaps because it is more relentlessly urban than most modern industrial countries -- thanks to its inhospitable geography -- Japan is also more devoted than most to the ideal of an unspoiled rural life. The faster the foreground fills up with ugly concrete structures and electricity cables, the more...
ENVIRONMENT
Apr 8, 2001

Twitching to get out in the field and bird

Birders, bird-watchers, bird-spotters, ornithologists, listers, twitchers or birding dudes: Whatever you want to call them, they are the people -- a friend, a family member or maybe an eccentric relative -- who creep about at all hours of the day spotting, studying, grilling, scoping, twitching or, in...
BUSINESS
Apr 6, 2001

Factors favoring higher yen remain elusive

The yen could come under fresh selling pressure in the weeks ahead.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2001

Wounded Koreans lose war pension suit

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a lawsuit by Koreans who sought disability pensions for wounds suffered during World War II, when they were forced to serve with the Imperial Japanese forces.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2001

Foreign Ministry to gloss over textbook uproar

The approval Tuesday of a controversial history textbook will probably prompt a new wave of criticism from China and South Korea, where concerns have already been voiced over the original draft.
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Apr 4, 2001

And the Gold Disc goes to... well, what did you expect?

Show-biz awards ceremonies -- who needs 'em? They're formulaic, plastic, inane, banal, maudlin, crass . . . There's no end to the pejoratives one can use to describe them.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 2001

Homegrown IT plans are best

The government has unveiled the "e-Japan" strategy that it hopes will turn Japan into the most advanced information-technology-based nation in five years. Most mass media and IT experts are critical of the strategy. They say it lacks vision and workable plans, is late and is designed to benefit only...
COMMENTARY
Apr 1, 2001

Banks offer no miracle cures

LONDON -- This is a tale of two banks, combined with a large dose of blind faith and credulity.

Longform

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