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JAPAN
Jun 21, 2000

Toxic compound found in breast milk

OSAKA — High concentrations of a chemical compound widely used as a flame retardant have been detected in mother's milk and marine life in Japan, according to a study announced this week by Japanese researchers.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2000

Expansion of whale sanctuary proposed

Australia and New Zealand have proposed that the International Whaling Commission designate a wide area of water between Australia and Chile as a whale sanctuary, Japanese Fisheries Agency sources said Sunday.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2000

Panel proposes carbon tax on fossil fuels

The government's Tax Commission is to propose a carbon tax on gasoline, coal, natural gas and other fossil fuels as a way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in an interim report to be presented to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori next month, commission sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2000

Yokohama sin tax prompts cries of no fair

YOKOHAMA — After Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara announced his controversial plan to impose a local tax on the city's banks earlier this year, other local governments have been searching for new revenue sources to replenish coffers drained by recession.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2000

HIV-positive man sues police for not hiring him

A man in his 20s filed a suit Thursday with the Tokyo District Court against the metropolitan government, claiming the Metropolitan Police Department refused to hire him after finding out he is HIV-positive.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2000

20 tons of radioactive monazite apparently sold to Toba hotelier

Most of the 20-odd tons of the radioactive substance monazite that disappeared after being purchased by the former head of a trading firm was probably sold to a man in Toba, Mie Prefecture, investigative sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2000

Party chiefs launch campaigns

Official campaigning kicked off Tuesday for the June 25 general election, which will determine the fate of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and his three-party coalition government.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2000

Makeup TOEFL exam scheduled for July 8

A popular English-proficiency test that was canceled nationwide Friday due to a problem with testing booklets has been tentatively rescheduled for July 8, the exam organizer said Saturday.
BUSINESS
Jun 10, 2000

0.5% '99 growth first rise atop minus line in two years

The economy grew 0.5 percent in fiscal 1999 from the year before, recovering from negative growth logged for the preceding two years but slightly falling short of the government target of 0.6 percent growth for fiscal 1999, the Economic Planning Agency said Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2000

EBC chair urges politicians to work for deregulation

Foreign businesses in Japan expect political leaders to facilitate fair competition by promoting further deregulation and harmonizing Japanese standards with global rules, said Isabelle Hupperts, chairwoman of the European Business Community.
BUSINESS
Jun 7, 2000

Resurgent Honda sticks to the high road

As a global wave of consolidation sweeps through the automotive industry, Honda Motor Co. is taking the road less traveled in its search for greater market share.
BUSINESS
Jun 7, 2000

NKK ready to hit retail electricity market

Major steelmaker NKK Corp. said Tuesday that it will begin to supply electric power to trading house Mitsubishi Corp. this summer, making it the first Japanese steelmaker to retail electricity.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 7, 2000

A magical world of wonder on the urban fringes

Hotaru (fireflies) are one of nature's smaller, yet sublime occurrences. The tiny, 15-mm-long bugs live only two weeks after hatching, but are blessed with phosphorescent rear ends which make clusters of them a captivating sight on summer nights. Their almost-fluorescent glow also ensures the continuation...
BUSINESS
Jun 6, 2000

Midsize life insurers continue to polarize

Polarization among the nation's midsize life insurers is accelerating due to a business environment that is becoming increasingly severe, according to the fiscal 1999 earnings reports the seven firms had released as of Monday.
BUSINESS
Jun 6, 2000

IT emphasis sees Mori order 2001 budget quota

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Monday instructed the Finance Ministry to get ready to introduce a special quota for information technology projects in the fiscal 2001 budget, government officials said.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2000

Ultrasound machines are breaking all barriers

A new class of miniaturized, all-digital ultrasound devices is about to be introduced in Japan by SonoSite Inc., promising to improve patient care and dramatically cut costs for medical facilities nationwide.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2000

Companies must re-engineer anew

Information technology has revolutionized the economic system of the United States, and it is believed the U.S. economy is now in a long-term, high-growth phase in which growth is being led by rising productivity.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jun 4, 2000

Ayako Aoki

Today in Casablanca a Japanese soccer team is playing for the Third Hassan International Cup. The match will be televised worldwide.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 4, 2000

Unlikely hero fights for Mindanao

MANILA -- The potential locked up in the island of Mindanao -- in its resources, its environment and, perhaps most importantly, its people -- is just waiting to be tapped.
COMMENTARY / World / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Jun 4, 2000

U.S.' unfathomable gun laws

Russians and Americans like to emphasize similarities between their two nations: size, patriotism, the sense of a mission, a passion for casual dress and so forth. But in some ways, Russians and Americans live on two different planets. In spite of increased interaction, extensive travel and shared cultural...
CULTURE / Art
Jun 3, 2000

Paintings that invite you to linger longer

The first thing you notice are the fingers. These are big, long fingers, four of them radiating outward from each half of a stretching oil on canvas diptych the artist calls "Double Fist."
JAPAN / ELECTION 2000
Jun 3, 2000

Public spending unproductive, economist says

Masaru Kaneko, an economics professor at Hosei University, is harshly critical of the way the Liberal Democratic Party has been spending taxpayers' money on public works projects and to bail out big banks.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2000

New school brings outsiders to town

BEPPU, Oita Pref. — "A friend of mine began using some hair cream and perfume after he was asked for directions by a young lady. He is too old to attract coeds, though," chuckled Kiminori Kumada, in a leisurely local dialect.
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
May 31, 2000

A royal reserve of nature

It is a rare occasion, in a busy schedule, that allows me to spend a whole morning doing almost nothing, but this is one of those times. As I write, I am enjoying the sunshine and the view from the roof of a stone summer house. My sleeping quarters are down below, cool in the shade, but those I have...
COMMENTARY
May 30, 2000

A losing fight against smoking

Amid global moves to tighten controls on smoking, the Health and Welfare Ministry, nongovernnmental organizations and other groups will hold various events in Japan to mark World No Tobacco Day on May 31.
COMMUNITY
May 28, 2000

Conductor says yes to noh style 'Don Giovanni'

Theaters in Nagoya were aghast when Yoko Matsuo came calling. Even though she was born in the city and is conductor and director of the Aichi Prefecture Symphony Orchestra, her plan to stage Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni" in the style of Japan's most revered and challenging dramatic form, noh, created...
CULTURE / Art
May 28, 2000

Blastoff for the outer limits of art

A soft blowup globe projected on a small TV screen, which spins on an axis inside three aluminium rings, and seven 15-cm plastic satellites perched on a white table can be seen at Gallery Side 2, in two exhibits by England's Steven Pippin and Japan's Taro Shinoda.
JAPAN
May 28, 2000

177 illegal aliens caught in two raids

Immigration authorities are taking measures against 177 people who have either overstayed their visas or arrived in Japan illegally after a series of raids on premises in Tokyo's Kabukicho district this month, Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau authorities said Saturday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
May 28, 2000

Gaj Singh

JODHPUR, India -- Mehrangarh Fort dominates the skyline of this walled, gated, desert city in Rajasthan, India. Five hundred years ago a hermit chose this imposing site for the fort, which commands the wide stretch of land below. Huge spikes were erected on massive barrier gates to counter the charges...

Longform

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