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JAPAN
Mar 25, 2001

Attitudes toward AIDS contradictory

More than 80 percent of Japanese responding to a poll believe AIDS patients and people infected with HIV should not be discriminated against -- but many are still reluctant to even share an office with them -- according to a Cabinet Office survey released Saturday.
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2001

Investment in science sought by panel

A government panel recommended to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Thursday that the government invest 24 trillion yen in scientific research and development over the coming five years, panel members said.
EDITORIALS
Mar 22, 2001

A surprisingly successful summit

The first Japan-U.S. summit since the election of President George W. Bush has gone off without a hitch. Sad to say, but low expectations get a lot of the credit for the success of the meeting. Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is a lame duck, both countries' economies are slumping and the tragic accident...
JAPAN / GREENING PAINS
Mar 21, 2001

Recycling law lets producers off hook, taxes consumers: critics

Eleven days from now, Japan will usher in a new era of recycling. For the first time, consumers will have to foot the bill to recycle and dispose of four major home appliances -- refrigerators, televisions, washing machines and air conditioners.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Mar 21, 2001

Elat, Israel: This place is for the ornithologists

Perched on the southern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba, Elat is a hedonistic cluster of high-rise hotels and bronzing beach bums surrounded by blue sea and burning desert. Basically, it's as close to Las Vegas as Israel gets -- without the gambling.
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2001

G8 may help poor states develop solar, wind power

The Group of Eight countries plan to pledge at their July summit in Italy that they will help developing countries develop solar and wind power generation, Japanese government sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2001

Emissions-based grading system drafted for trucks

The transport ministry has drafted a plan it hopes will encourage trucking companies to use low-emission vehicles and reduce engine idling, ministry sources said Sunday.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2001

Poll shows public concerned about safety, education

A rising number of Japanese are concerned that public safety and education have worsened over the past few years, according to a government poll.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2001

Japan to push ties with Latin America

East Asia and Latin America should shore up their cooperation and exchanges across the Pacific not only in politics and economics, but also in social areas, according to a report compiled by the Japanese government.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2001

Failed experiment haunts Jakarta

SINGAPORE -- As Indonesia assesses the carnage from the recent ethnic violence in its province of Kalimantan, a poignant legacy of the failure of its transmigration policy slowly but surely emerges.
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2001

All told, a strong rebound is in the offing?

There has been mounting alarm around the world that a global stock market rout might be developing.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2001

Endocrine disrupter check widened

The Environment Ministry on Wednesday added four more substances to a priority list of agents that are being studied to determine the risks they pose as endocrine disrupters, ministry officials said.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2001

Saving the forests through photos

KYOTO -- The blue mushrooms in the Australian state of Tasmania seemed like windows onto the soul of the forest to French photographer and environmentalist Jerome Hutin.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2001

Grad jobs set to rise again in '02

About half of 40 major Japanese companies polled by Kyodo News plan to hire more new university graduates next spring than this year, making it certain overall job offers will increase for the second year in a row.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 15, 2001

Soccer lottery: A tax to fund bureaucrats' whims

The worst thing about the new soccer lottery system may be its name. "Toto" is taken from the Italian word totocalcio, which is the name of a similar lottery that has been in place in Italy for more than 50 years.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Mar 15, 2001

Storm on the mountaintop, wind in the pines

The Japanese archipelago is home to five or six species of pine tree. The number is debated because among these species are geographical subspecies, varieties, ecotypes and "physiological races," the last expression referring to pine varieties that look similar, but are physiologically different, as...
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2001

Isahaya Bay project may be suspended

The government will seek the suspension of a reclamation project in Isahaya Bay, Nagasaki Prefecture, to check water quality in a reservoir behind the bay's dike from this week, officials said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2001

Five-month Canada festival begins

The Canadian Embassy kicked off Canada's largest festival in Japan on Tuesday, aiming to increase Japanese awareness of the country.
EDITORIALS
Mar 13, 2001

China's misplaced priorities

China's new defense budget, released last week, provides penetrating insight into the mind-set and priorities of the Beijing leadership at the dawn of the 21st century. It is not a particularly encouraging picture. The double-digit increases in defense spending indicate that the Chinese government sees...
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2001

Hedges, rooftop gardens grow in Tokyo

While you won't find any virgin forests in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward, you will find hedges -- nearly 30 km of them. Ironically, these strips of greenery were planted to combat the problem of the ward's dearth of other vegetation. These verdant stripes, bordering roads and buildings, are part of a ward-engineered...
EDITORIALS
Mar 10, 2001

An untimely defense move

The government and the ruling parties are making preliminary moves toward enacting legislation designed to meet future military crises directly involving Japan. The assumption is that in the event of an armed attack from abroad, the Self-Defense Forces will be mobilized to defend the country with the...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Mar 8, 2001

'Samurai' blazing a trail in XFL

Being a pioneer has its rewards, but as many a sports trailblazer has learned over the years, going where no one else has gone before is not all glory. In fact, it can be downright tough.
JAPAN / STAGING A COMEBACK
Mar 8, 2001

Business law changes just scratch surface

Satoshi "Sonny" Koike believes Japan's commercial laws are rigid and inhibitive. Instead of accepting the status quo, however, the 41-year-old entrepreneur has used loopholes in vaguely worded legal terms to stake a claim in the fast-changing world of the Internet.
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2001

Eyes in the sky to combat illegal dumping

UTSUNOMIYA, Tochigi Pref. -- Searching for garbage from space -- it sounds like a science fiction plot of questionable quality.

Longform

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