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JAPAN
Jul 27, 2000

Green tax eyed to meet Kyoto Protocol

The government is considering an environment tax to help it cut greenhouse gas emissions under a 1997 protocol, according to a draft version of measures that are to form the mainstay of a new basic plan on the environment.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2000

Hiranuma told to oversee revised plan for World Expo

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori instructed Trade Minister Takeo Hiranuma on Tuesday to do his utmost so Japan can have its revised plan for the 2005 World Expo in Aichi Prefecture submitted to the Paris-based Bureau of International Expositions in September.
COMMENTARY
Jul 26, 2000

Ethics for a turbulent age

There is much justifiable concern in Japan and Britain about rising levels of crime and bad behavior, especially among young people. The responses have been varied, including the usual calls for heavier punishments combined with "zero tolerance" policing. Yet few have much idea how this is to be enforced...
EDITORIALS
Jul 25, 2000

G8 shapes up for a new century

Despite presummit speculation about possible exchanges of views on issues not on the summit agenda, the leaders of the Group of Eight countries generally focused their debates over the past three days on issues contained in the scenario developed by working-level officials. Such speculation had preceded...
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2000

Supermarket sales plummet 4.4%

First-half sales at Japan's supermarkets totaled 7.86 trillion yen, down 4.4 percent from the same period the previous year, an industry association said Monday.
COMMENTARY
Jul 25, 2000

Media credibility is at risk

Two recent incidents have revealed the cozy relationship between government and the media in Japan. One is the appointment of a former Yomiuri Shimbun chief editorialist as a member of the National Public Safety Commission. The other is the fact that a member of the Cabinet press club wrote a memo for...
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2000

Putin to make Sept. 3-5 Tokyo visit

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. — Russian President Vladimir Putin will make an official visit to Japan from Sept. 3 to Sept. 5, Tokyo and Moscow formally agreed Sunday.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2000

Summit Mori's career high?

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. — Concluding the Group of Eight summit with a smile under the scorching sun, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori may boast he has cleared a key hurdle for his administration — but it is just one hurdle of many.
COMMENTARY
Jul 24, 2000

Echelon knows what you're thinking

Echelon is the code name for an exclusive club of Anglo-Saxon nations that long ago set out to spy on all global communications. Only now are some of its activities coming to light. The French are angry and want indignantly to know why Britain, their alleged EU partner, has joined with the United States...
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2000

G8 leaders try out 'e-voting'

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. — A few hours after adopting the IT Charter here Saturday, leaders of the Group of Eight nations had some hands-on experience with Japan's "e-voting" technology to vote for one another in such categories as "most witty" and "most stylish."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 23, 2000

I am, therefore who am I? An artist's search for self

What is the link between a 12-meter-long bronze snake slithering into the future as part of an exhibition for the physically and mentally challenged and the 20 brains (made from materials as diverse as pebbles and chili peppers), eight costumes, pieces of body armor and fragments of temple roof tile...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jul 23, 2000

Miki Wakamatsu

"The World Dance Alliance has initiated a project to join in celebrating the millennium. It is a time to consider where we have been, where we are and where we are going. Therefore the theme of World Dance 2000 is 'Dance in the Past, Present and Future,' " said Miki Wakamatsu.
BUSINESS
Jul 22, 2000

G7 upbeat on global economy

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. — Leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations on Friday hailed the positive outlook for the global economy — including Japan's — but expressed concern about high oil prices that could dent economic stability.
COMMENTARY
Jul 22, 2000

Korean summit: A potential 'win-win' for all

There has been considerable debate since last month's historic North-South Korea summit about the meeting's impact on the peninsula's neighbors and benefactors. The conventional wisdom seems to be that China fared best. However, I would argue that all four major powers have come out ahead and that the...
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2000

Groups hit G8 inaction on illegal logging

As the Group of Eight major nations kick off three days of summit meetings in Okinawa today, environmentalists are mounting an effort to steal a slice of the limelight.
EDITORIALS
Jul 21, 2000

Make the summit a success

The world's attention is focused on Okinawa, as heads of the eight leading industrialized nations kick off their 26th annual summit. Japan, the chair of this year's meeting, has invested heavily in the get-together. The 81 billion yen that the government has spent on the summit indicates the significance...
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 21, 2000

Loyal fans organize protest over World Cup tickets

You may be a loyal Japan national team fan that belongs to an official fan club and has attended every single friendly in Japan, but you still might end up watching the 2002 World Cup on television.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2000

Clinton set to arrive in time for G8 start

Despite delays, U.S. President Bill Clinton is expected to arrive today in time for the beginning of the Group of Eight summit in Okinawa, and will bring to the table such issues as debt relief and bridging the digital divide, U.S. government sources said.
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2000

Regulating body recommended for NTT

To liberalize telecommunications and encourage competition through foreign direct investment here, Japan needs to develop an effective framework for regulating dominant carrier NTT Corp., according to Erkki Liikanen, European commissioner for enterprise and the information society.
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2000

Enron plans power-ful inroad

As business opportunities loom with the deregulation of Japan's mammoth electricity market, Enron Corp. of the United States is preparing to launch comprehensive energy services in the world's second-largest economy.
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2000

Execs put priority on increasing profile

KARUIZAWA, Nagano Pref. -- As moves continue to consolidate major business organizations, members of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai) discussed ways to make their organization more prominent during a two-day annual seminar that ended Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2000

USTR welcomes NTT cuts, hopes more are on the way

U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky on Wednesday hailed the Tokyo-Washington agreement on the reduction of NTT Corp.'s interconnection charges and expressed hope for further rate cuts over the next three years.
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2000

Prodi praises NTT deal as positive sign of reform

European Commission President Romano Prodi on Wednesday welcomed the announcement of a 20 percent reduction over two years in interconnection fees charged by NTT Corp.
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 20, 2000

Fears for Okinawa's unique ecosystem

Okinawa Prefecture punctuates the Japanese archipelago as the period on its southern border. Stretching westward like an island path leading to Taiwan, the island group, though small, is teeming with a diverse abundance of plant and animal life.
MULTIMEDIA / SPORTS SCOPE
Jul 20, 2000

Euro 2000: the Good, the Bad, the Ugly

Euro 2000 maybe fading into the memory banks, but before it disappears it's worth recapping the tournament's pluses and minuses and, where applicable, what Japan and South Korea might learn for the 2002 World Cup. So here then is the Good, the Bad and the Ugly rundown of Euro 2000.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 20, 2000

Summit holds key to vision for Okinawa in the 21st century

Okinawa was placed under U.S. rule for 27 years after the end of World War II. During this time, the Japanese mainland succeeded in rebuilding its economy, in particular securing high economic growth through the development of heavy industries, and thus joined the ranks of industrialized countries.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 20, 2000

My thoughts toward Okinawa as host

MASAHIDE OTA Former governor of Okinawa Prefecture

Longform

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