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JAPAN
Aug 12, 2000

Young journalists cover Republican National Convention

PHILADELPHIA -- Mika Maeda, a 16-year-old high school student from Kanagawa Prefecture, made her journalistic debut last week here at the Republican National Convention.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Aug 12, 2000

Lieberman gives Gore a boost

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut is Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore's choice for vice president. The choice is a masterful one. Lieberman brings several big pluses to Gore's candidacy:
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Aug 12, 2000

Bringing out the flavor of the clay

Shuroku Harada is the consummate potter. First off, this highly successful ceramist doesn't put on any proud airs; he maintains a humbleness that is important when working with the earth. He shapes the clay and the clay has shaped him, so to speak, into what he is today; mutual respect at its best.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2000

Aum rulings set line between life and death

While the trial of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara continues at a snail's pace more than five years after his arrest in 1995, a series of court rulings handed down this year has drawn a clear line between who among the cult's senior figures will live and who will die.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2000

Military incursions end China loans

In response to recent Chinese naval operations near Japanese territorial waters, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday decided not to extend around 17.2 billion yen in special loans to China, LDP officials said.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2000

It's summertime, and the news is slim

LONDON -- Those of us whose job is to feed the world a steady diet of "news" (99 percent of which is actually recycled "olds") are always grateful when a loon like Rabbi Ovadia Yosef opens his mouth and lets fly. Especially in August.
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2000

TSE, Australian bourse sign collaboration pact

The Tokyo Stock Exchange on Tuesday signed a comprehensive collaboration agreement with the Australian Stock Exchange, exchange officials said.
COMMUNITY
Aug 9, 2000

Echoes of the past in an oasis of beauty

The Japanese lords of yesteryear certainly lived in grand style. Famous gardens in Japan are like very expensive works of art. Luckily the Ritsurin Garden in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, cannot be sold at Christie's.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Aug 8, 2000

The Bush machine rolls along

WASHINGTON -- There are three defining events for a candidate in the U.S. presidential campaign, events that reveal the candidate in a unique and important way. They are the selection of the vice-presidential candidate, the candidate's appearance at the convention, and the debates.
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2000

1.4 trillion yen spent to curb yen's rise

In a rare detailed report released Monday, the Finance Ministry said monetary authorities spent 1.3854 trillion yen April 3 on a dollar-buying binge to curb the currency's rapid appreciation.
EDITORIALS
Aug 7, 2000

Information law loaded with perils

A government panel is now fleshing out a blueprint for basic legislation designed to protect personal information held by public and private organizations -- information that makes it possible to identify the individuals involved, such as depositors lists held by banks. It is, in principle, necessary...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 7, 2000

Muslims under fire in Russian Far East

PETROPAVLOSK-KAMCHATSKY, Russia -- When Usman Usmanov laid the cornerstone of the first mosque in the Russian Far East last summer, he was thrilled to see the start of a spiritual center for 30,000 Muslims in the Kamchatka region.
BUSINESS
Aug 6, 2000

Seibu mulls business tieup with Sogo

Seibu Department Stores Ltd. is considering a wide-ranging business tieup with collapsed Sogo Co. in a move that could lead to a merger and herald an era of retail industry realignment, industry sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2000

British ex-POW takes redress crusade to Net

A former British prisoner of war campaigning for Japanese compensation is designing a Web site to document the torture and suffering British POWs endured at the hands of their captors during World War II.
COMMUNITY
Aug 6, 2000

Founder of ballooning in Japan plans pioneering flight

A licensed hot air balloon pilot herself, Ichiyoshi Sabu's wife knows about fear. After her husband came close to losing his life trying to fly over Mount Everest, she put her foot down. No more daredevil stunts, she declared; you've a family to think of. This explains why he will be ground master of...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 6, 2000

It's Delhi's move in Kashmir

India recently celebrated the first anniversary of victory over Pakistan-backed incursion into the Kargil sector of Kashmir. Some victory: The two had faced off in the most dangerous nuclear confrontation since the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. They have gone to full-scale war three times already and...
CULTURE / Music
Aug 6, 2000

Bach Collegium Japan fetes anniversary year with passion

Bach Collegium Japan: July 28, Masaaki Suzuki conducting in Suntory Hall -- "Saint John Passion," BWV 245 (Johann Sebastian Bach, 1685-1750) featuring Gerd Tyrk, Stephan MacLeod, Chiyuki Urano, Midori Suzuki and Robin Blaze
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2000

Truancy reaches record high

More than 130,000 elementary and junior high school students were truant for 30 or more school days during the 1999-2000 academic year, according to an Education Ministry survey released Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2000

A decade on, Hussein remains a force

Special to The Japan Times UMM QASR, southern Iraq -- The Iraqi-Kuwaiti frontier officially ranks as one of the world's most dangerous flash points. But these days, the only threat to man or beast beneath a ferocious sun is the snakes and scorpions that inhabit these burning sandy wastes. "This is the...
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Aug 4, 2000

Reggae's past and future heard on the Tokyo scene

Although talking about influences is a staple of the music press, copying (a charge leveled at so much Japanese music), even respectfully, is often the subject of scorn in serious rock journalism. Novelty, no matter how abstract or silly, generally trumps the enjoyment of the familiar, no matter how...
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2000

Steam trains staging a rural comeback

NIITSU, Niigata Pref. -- Greeted by cheers Tuesday from about 1,000 rail fans, steam locomotive D51-498 chugged into Niigata Prefecture's Tsugawa Station and stopped alongside the C57-180, known as "the Lady" for her beautiful appearance.
MULTIMEDIA / SPORTS SCOPE
Aug 2, 2000

Part 2: Jealousies, revenges and tradeoffs

European soccer chief Lennart Johansson has never shied away from attacking FIFA boss Sepp Blatter, especially since being defeated in the race for the FIFA presidency two years ago.
COMMUNITY
Aug 2, 2000

Making peace between humans and Earth

The upcoming Festival of Life (Inochi no Matsuri) in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture takes as its theme "symbiosis," or the coexistence of humans with all other life forms.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2000

Disneyland offers gays chance to come out in the sun

As is always the case at weekends during summer vacation, Tokyo Disneyland was packed by tens of thousands of visitors Sunday.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 1, 2000

Best of Asian music on offer

Asian Music Week 2000 in Yokohama (the 21st Asian Composers League, Conference and Festival) will be held at Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall and elsewhere in Yokohama Aug. 3-9, featuring a variety of music by Asian composers and performers. Programs will include many Japan premieres and world premieres as...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 31, 2000

Japan-Russia exchanges build vital trust

Last month I had an opportunity to visit Kunashiri and Etorofu Islands -- two of the four Russian-occupied islands claimed by Japan -- under a visa-free exchange program. It was my second trip to the Northern Territories, which consist of Kunashiri, Etorofu, Shikotan and Habomai Islands. On my first...
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2000

A dollhouse of sorrow and villainy

Dolls of Japanese warriors Oda Nobunaga and Takeda Shingen from the Sengoku Period are on display at doll museum Jusaburo-kan in Ningyo-cho, Tokyo. -- JT: Toshiki Sawaguchi photos Although the face of the kimono-clad puppet is set, Jusaburo Tsujimura deftly manipulates the two wires controlling its hands...
CULTURE / Art
Jul 30, 2000

Of solitude and simple settings

In the early 20th century, Europe played host to a procession of distinct art movements which continued until a procession of black boots stomped the creative life out of the continent.

Longform

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