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CULTURE / Art
Nov 11, 2000

Love, oil and Bangkok traffic jams

If you've ever been caught in a Bangkok traffic jam, it's a fair bet that "beautiful" would not be a word you'd use to describe the scene. But asurvey of Takanobu Kobayashi's new paintings gives the impression that the 40-year-old painter loves the buses and big trucks and little tuk tuks that choke...
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2000

State pushes life science in draft of five-year plan

The government on Thursday compiled a draft of Japan's next five-year science and technology plans through fiscal 2005, emphasizing four fields, including life science and data communications, government officials said.
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2000

Suspended term handed down in mauling death

The president of an animal leasing firm in Machida, western Tokyo, was sentenced Tuesday to a suspended two-year prison term in connection with the death of an employee who was mauled by a Bengal tiger in February.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2000

New Komeito convention trumpets independent agenda

New Komeito, a junior ruling-coalition member, pledged at the party's annual convention in Tokyo on Saturday to more aggressively pursue reforms rather than sacrificing its agenda to maintain the coalition.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2000

Memories of the 'Montmartre of Japan'

London has its Bloomsbury, Paris its Montmartre and New York its Greenwich Village.
CULTURE / Art
Nov 5, 2000

Redefining to rescue Kyoto

KYOTO -- When people talk about traditional Kyoto culture, all the "a" verbs come out -- everyone appreciates it, everyone admires it, many adore it. So why is it disappearing so rapidly?
JAPAN
Nov 4, 2000

Agency plans to improve SDF's welfare

The Defense Agency intends to include measures to improve the welfare conditions for members of the Self-Defense Forces in Japan's next five-year defense buildup plan for fiscal 2001-2005, agency sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 2000

Miyake pets live out evacuation in shelters

Humans are not the only ones being forced to live in an unfamiliar environment away from their homes on Miyake Island due to the continuing volcanic activity.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2000

Mori, Khatami unite on trade

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and visiting Iranian President Mohammad Khatami have agreed to expand economic cooperation in a wide range of areas and to increase dialogue.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2000

Kyoto CO2 reduction goals must be adhered to: NGO

A Japanese nongovernmental organization called on Environment Agency officials Thursday to establish efficient domestic measures to meet reduction targets for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases as stated in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, rather than exploiting potential loopholes in the agreement.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2000

Science council adopts action plan

The Science Council of Japan has adopted an action plan to tackle various scientific problems facing humanity in the 21st century.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 2, 2000

Troussier, Japan return in triumph

"Here we are, with the trophy. We've made it as we promised," Japan manager Philippe Troussier calmly but proudly said after returning to Tokyo from Beirut on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 2, 2000

English teaching comes home to roost as foreign corporations invade Japan

When I was teaching English to Japanese business people in the late '80s, the main purpose was to prepare them for overseas assignments. In many cases, the students were not management people, but technicians and blue-collar workers. They were being sent to the U.S. or Europe to train employees in factories...
JAPAN / LIFE OFF MIYAKE
Oct 31, 2000

Evacuees long for home, gird for worst

Namiko Morishita did not expect it to last this long. She and her family fled their home on Miyake Island in late August as volcanic activity on Mount Oyama intensified.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2000

Mori reviews SDF, praises performance

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori conducted his first naval review Sunday in Sagami Bay, Kanagawa Prefecture, in a ceremony involving about 10,000 people, 63 vessels and 61 aircraft from the Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defense forces.
COMMENTARY
Oct 30, 2000

Zhu puts relations to rights

Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji's visit to Tokyo this month marked a turning point in Sino-Japanese relations, which have been strained for the past two years as a result of disagreements over wartime history. In a Tokyo news conference Oct. 16, Zhu said the Japanese people, as well as the Chinese, were "victims...
CULTURE / Art
Oct 29, 2000

Local boy makes good on his own

It is practically impossible to beat the odds and attain major recognition and success in Japan as an individual artist. When an artist does achieve success it is usually the result of a miracle -- or nepotism. It is not uncommon for gallerists who want to promote a particular artist to arrange a show...
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2000

Japan-funded dam is a threat, Filipino lawmaker says

A Philippine congressman on Thursday called on Japan to put pressure on Japanese organizations funding the San Roque Dam in the Philippines to make sure that environmental considerations are taken into consideration.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2000

Rich seniors must pay more: social security panel

An advisory panel to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori wants rich elderly people to contribute to social security again to contain the rise in costs being paid by working people, the panel's final report says.
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2000

Nobel chemist to get Order of Culture

Nobel laureate Hideki Shirakawa will be among the six people to receive this year's Order of Culture from the Emperor at the Imperial Palace on Culture Day on Nov. 3, government officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2000

Net-based group helps NPOs rake in donations

LOS ANGELES -- A San Francisco-based foundation is raking in donations over the Internet for nonprofit organizations -- and paving the future path for Japanese NPOs in the process.
EDITORIALS
Oct 21, 2000

Reform starts with big business

Two of Japan's four largest business organizations, Keidanren (Federation of Economic Organizations) and Nikkeiren (Federation of Employers Associations), have decided to merge by May 2002. A task force will be working out details by the end of the year, including the proposed name and articles of association...
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2000

Japan still No. 1 ODA donor

Japan's official development assistance of $15.32 billion in 1999 made it the world's top donor to developing countries for the ninth consecutive year, according to an annual report on ODA endorsed Friday by Cabinet.
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2000

Shirakawa urges firsthand science classes

Nobel laureate Hideki Shirakawa suggested Friday that elementary school children in Japan more firsthand experience in their science education.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2000

EPA head schedules 'town meeting'

Environment Agency head Yoriko Kawaguchi said Tuesday that she will hold a "town meeting" in Kyoto next month to discuss with local residents Japan's role in preventing climate change and the future of the Kyoto Protocol.
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Oct 18, 2000

Seeing spots before your eyes

Rain brings changes to the African savanna. As storm clouds near, even the smells change. The temperature flutters, falls; the stuttering, buzzing and sawing of insects takes on a different pitch; then a hush, before the pittering of raindrops splashes dust from the baked ground. The pittering turns...
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2000

APEC panel recommends action to spread IT in Asia

An APEC advisory panel on Monday called for action plans that would promote information technology as a tool to enhance trade liberalization.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2000

Zhu tones down stance on wartime atonement

Visiting Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji said Monday that Japan needs to admit its wartime aggression and be careful not to repeat the same mistake.

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
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