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COMMENTARY
Sep 19, 2000

Dispute defies quick solution

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed in their recent Tokyo summit to resolve the bilateral territorial dispute over the Northern Territories, stirring mixed reactions in the two countries. Although they agreed to continue peace-treaty talks toward the yearend deadline,...
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2000

Current 'soft' Myanmar policy was threatened by Suu Kyi's detention

Foreign-policy makers are relieved -- at least for now -- that their long-standing policy of "constructive engagement" toward Myanmar survived its biggest potential challenge with Thursday's release of prodemocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from 12 days of effective house arrest.
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Sep 16, 2000

Japanese music millennium: new music for the Heisei Era

As the days grow shorter and evenings cooler, the hogaku season begins to pick up. September, October and November are the best months for experiencing the arts in Japan as the creative impulses, stifled by the summer's oppressive humidity, break forth in an array of interesting concerts, recitals and...
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2000

Koreans welcome 'cultural invasion'

SEOUL -- The Japanese are coming -- but this time they're being welcomed with open arms.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 15, 2000

An activist Emperor, pulling the strings

HIROHITO AND THE MAKING OF MODERN JAPAN, by Herbert P. Bix. New York: HarperCollins, 2000, 800 pp, $28 (cloth). This is a blistering and persuasive reassessment of Emperor Showa's reign, debunking the various myths that have accumulated about his allegedly powerless role in Japan's prolonged period...
SOCCER / World cup
Sep 14, 2000

World Cup 2002 tickets to sell Oct. 2

Tickets reserved for residents of Japan for the 2002 World Cup will start selling Oct. 2 after a computer draw selects who can buy them, the Japanese World Cup Organizing Committee (JAWOC) announced Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2000

U.S. bases to preserve environment

The United States and Japan have reached an agreement obligating U.S. military bases in Japan to preserve the environment, government sources said.
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Sep 12, 2000

Intercultural influences

East-West fusions are nothing new. Nearly 100 years ago, some Western classical music was influenced by Indian classical or Javanese gamelan music. In the 1950s, violinist Yehudi Menuhin performed with Indian sarod player Ali Akbar Khan and sitar maestro Ravi Shankar. By the 1960s, John Coltrane was...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Sep 10, 2000

Chris McDonald

To commemorate his having lived for 50 years in Japan, Chris McDonald produced an engaging book of memories. In it he wrote: "If I were asked to single out one aspect of Japan that I have found more rewarding and enjoyable than any other, I would not hesitate to answer quite simply: 'Its people.' From...
BUSINESS
Sep 9, 2000

Moody's cuts rating on state's yen bonds

Moody's Investors Service Inc. said Friday it has lowered its rating on yen-denominated domestic securities issued or guaranteed by the Japanese government to Aa2 from Aa1, given Japan's massive public-sector debt.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2000

Mori, Putin make little progress

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded their two-day summit in Tokyo on Tuesday, agreeing to continue peace treaty negotiations toward the yearend deadline but with a territorial dispute stuck at an impasse.
COMMENTARY
Sep 6, 2000

A haphazard path to recovery

LONDON -- Reports from Tokyo suggest that Japanese government and business leaders have not properly thought through economic policies designed to ensure recovery. Each problem seems to be treated in isolation, and decisions appear to be taken on the basis of what is most likely to satisfy the various...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2000

A sea of troubles for Russia

While many questions remain unanswered about the recent sinking of the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk, the disaster has exposed some of the grave problems that afflict Russia today. It attracted much attention worldwide because it caused many people to ponder the life-or-death situation that the Kursk...
MORE SPORTS
Sep 1, 2000

Japanese rugby player Iwabuchi hopes to make mark at Saracens

The 2000-01 season will be a significant landmark for Kensuke Iwabuchi. The former Japan international rugby player joined English club Saracens, the team he has dreamed of playing for.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2000

Jumbo vessel unveiled to clean ocean oil spills

The government on Tuesday unveiled Japan's largest oil-recovery vessel, ordered by the Transport Ministry in the wake of a huge oil spill on the Sea of Japan coast three years ago.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 27, 2000

SHARE and help the world

SHARE is Japan's version of Medecins Sans Frontieres, a small nongovernment aid organization that sends volunteer doctors, nurses and health workers to assist in stricken areas abroad. It also helps those in need on the domestic front -- women involved in the sex industry and people who have overstayed...
MULTIMEDIA / SPORTS SCOPE
Aug 24, 2000

Shooting the breeze with affable Eddie

Sanfrecce Hiroshima manager Eddie Thomson HIROSHIMA -- Former Australian national team coach Eddie Thomson is the longest-serving manager in the J. League, but two weeks ago he announced that he would be leaving Sanfrecce Hiroshima at the end of the current season. However, the affable, 53-year-old...
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2000

Immigration in need of repair

Topmost in the mind of pro soccer player Alex is the 2002 World Cup.
COMMENTARY
Aug 22, 2000

Still coping with the Gulf War

Ten years ago, the world was in turmoil over the Persian Gulf crisis that started with the Iraq invasion of Kuwait. Now a new crisis appears to be brewing between Arabs and Israelis.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2000

Tokyo, Pyongyang discussions face same obstacles

While the 10th round of normalization talks between Japan and North Korea will be held in Japan this week, it remains to be seen whether breakthroughs can be made on a series of pending issues that have stalled previous negotiations.
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2000

WTO asked to mediate in auto trade row

In response to a request from Japan, the 15-nation European Union and Canada, the World Trade Organization will mediate in their dispute over how Ottawa should specifically correct its controversial auto-trade policy, government sources said Sunday.
COMMUNITY
Aug 20, 2000

A decade of anecdotes to order

There are books about spending time in Japan, written in the main by Alice-in-Wonderlands who believe a short stretch makes them authoritative on all things Japanese. And there are books about Japan. Bruce McCormack's "Tokyo Notes and Anecdotes: Natsukashi" falls into this second, far more recommendable,...

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?