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JAPAN
Jan 20, 2000

Politicians brace for battle as Diet opens

The 147th ordinary Diet session was convened Thursday, as the ruling and opposition camps brace to do political battle over a controversial proposal to cut the number of seats in the Lower House and an expansive 84.99 trillion yen budget for the fiscal year. The current Diet session is scheduled to...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jan 19, 2000

Um, you know, like, how to be fluent in Japanese

Lots of people think one sure way to improve your Nihongo skills is to marry a Japanese. They hold this view even knowing a good textbook is cheaper and takes up less space. In my case, however, not only did I marry a Japanese, I married one licensed to teach her native tongue.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2000

Mazda to make Net its new sales outlet

OSAKA -- In an effort to increase sales opportunities, Mazda Motor Corp. plans to make all its passenger cars available over the Internet beginning this summer, company president Mark Fields said Wednesday. The move will follow last month's initial foray onto the Net in which Mazda offered only the...
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2000

Nations must cooperate to stop illegal drugs, Azuma says

Drug abuse is not a problem that can be solved by just one nation, Shozo Azuma, parliamentary vice minister for foreign affairs, said at the opening ceremony of "Anti-Drug Conference, Tokyo 2000" on Monday. Law enforcement and financial officials as well as researchers from about 20 Asia- Pacific nations...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 17, 2000

Cut U.S. military presence

Japan faces intense pressure to settle uncertainties regarding the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps heliport now at the Futenma Air Station in Okinawa before July, when it hosts a Group of Eight summit. Unless the problems are settled by then, U.S. President Bill Clinton is likely to face a firestorm...
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2000

Man and his dog conquer disabilities to continue aid crusade

YOKOSUKA, Kanagawa Pref. -- "Love me, love my dog," say many pet owners. But for Satoshi Kabaya, it's the other way around.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2000

Protesters step up Kobe airport campaign

Staff writer KOBE -- The continuing saga of Kobe airport enters its next phase later this month as citizens opposed to the project begin a campaign to recall the mayor, and foreign firms step up pressure to be included in construction work. For nearly a year following the December 1998 rejection of...
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 13, 2000

A winning resolution: wine tastings among friends

If you've already broken a few New Year's resolutions, welcome to the club: You belong to the majority. But don't worry; just put a positive new twist on the onerous matter of New Year resolutions. Resolve to make wine an even greater pleasure. Herewith, a few ideas:
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2000

Dam opposition group rallies for vote in plebiscite

Staff writer TOKUSHIMA -- The group smiled and waved as they jogged through the city of Tokushima earlier this week, calling on local residents to go to the polls. Theirs is no usual campaign. The men and women on this two-day "sacred run" are part of an effort by local citizens' groups to rally residents...
COMMUNITY
Jan 12, 2000

Camellias and camels on Izu Oshima

Izu Oshima has another special attraction: the camellia park. The whole park has an area of 327 hectares, including the camellia garden, a small zoo and a campground known as Umi no Furusato Mura, situated close to the Goze River, all managed by the Tokyo Parks Department.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2000

Ring funneling cash to China busted

OSAKA -- Police here recently announced that after a yearlong investigation, they have broken up an underground banking operation that funneled an estimated 20 billion yen a year to China through an elaborate network of falsified accounts in Tokyo and Osaka.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 10, 2000

Asia's forgotten civilization

THE MONS: A Civilization of Southeast Asia, by Emmanuel Guillon, translated and edited by James V. Di Crocco. Bangkok: Siam Society, 1999, 900 baht. Every student of Southeast Asian culture is bound to become aware of a kind of empty chapter that is nevertheless pregnant with meaning and substance....
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2000

Police bust Chinese money-laundering ring

Staff writer OSAKA -- Police here recently announced that after a yearlong investigation, they have broken up an underground banking operation that funneled an estimated 20 billion yen a year to China through an elaborate network of falsified accounts in Tokyo and Osaka. Since early 1999, 10 Chinese...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2000

High stakes in the war on terrorism

Special to The Japan Times
COMMENTARY
Jan 9, 2000

Little hope for the future of humanity

Special to The Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 9, 2000

Buy the best, keep for 1,600 years

The first Emperor of Japan ascended the throne perhaps 1,600 years ago, and after his direct descendent, the present Emperor, inherited the office 12 years ago, he donated 6,000 heirlooms to the nation. Nearly 200 are being exhibited together for the first time at the Heiseikan galleries in Ueno.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 9, 2000

M.S. Swaminathan

In August, a special double issue of Time magazine selected professor M.S. Swaminathan of India as one of the most influential Asians of the 20th century. The magazine called him a "green revolutionary . . . who helped half a world get enough to eat."
COMMUNITY
Jan 9, 2000

Good I-house innkeeper still making world news

Meet my first man of the 2000s after last Sunday's press holiday. Hiroshi Matsumoto may be 70, and a "banto," but a more civilized and forward-thinking innkeeper you are unlikely to meet in the next 99 years (or 999 years, for that matter).
CULTURE / Art
Jan 8, 2000

Top of the line in toys

HIMEJI, Hyogo Pref. -- For a long time, koma (tops) were commonly given to children during the New Year's season. These days, however, the traditional toy is wobbling on the edge of extinction.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2000

Police unit offers victim counseling

YOKOHAMA -- Kanagawa Prefectural Police inaugurated a special headquarters Friday to provide counseling for victims of domestic violence, child abuse and stalking and to fight such crimes.
BUSINESS
Jan 7, 2000

Japan, EU to call for new WTO talks ASAP

Japan and the European Union will issue a special joint statement next week calling for a new round of global trade liberalization negotiations to be launched as soon as possible, government sources said.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2000

Japan and EU unite in calls for WTO talks

Staff writer Japan and the European Union will issue a special joint statement next week calling for a new round of global trade liberalization negotiations to be launched as soon as possible, government sources said Wednesday. The sources said that the joint statement, exclusively focusing on a new...
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2000

Privatization premature, JR Tokai says

Suffering from an increasing debt burden, Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) voiced opposition Wednesday to the government's plan to fully privatize six JR group firms at the earliest possible date. During a meeting with Transport Minister Toshihiro Nikai, JR Tokai President Yoshiyuki Kasai said that...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2000

Take politics out of economic decisions

It is amazing how quickly conventional wisdom can shift. Just a few years ago, most people would have considered as heretical a proposal that central banks should make decisions independent of the influence of the executive and legislative branches of government. Today, central bank independence is universally...
BUSINESS
Jan 4, 2000

NTT may halve monthly ISDN fee

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. is considering halving its fixed monthly charge designed for heavy Internet users -- now in a trial phase -- from the current 8,000 yen to around 4,000 yen as early as April, NTT officials said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 4, 2000

Childish reading for kids and adults

TALE OF THE BAMBOO CUTTER, by Kawabata Yasunari, translated by Donald Keene, illustrations by Miyata Masayuki. Kodansha Intl., 1998, 177 pp., 2,300 yen. SOMETHING NICE: Songs for Children, by Kaneko Misuzu, translated by D.P. Dutcher, Japan University Library Association, 1999, 146 pp., 2,500 yen. These...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2000

Korean Peninsula's political awakening

Special to The Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2000

Opposition parties headed for breakthrough

Staff writer Cashing in on the unpopularity of the "gigantic" ruling coalition, opposition parties are optimistic of making a big leap forward in the next general election -- and forecasts by political analysts suggest they have a favorable wind behind them. But it is not clear if the opposition forces,...
COMMENTARY
Jan 3, 2000

Building peace in a new era

As we greet the new millennium, we should ask ourselves what Japan should do to contribution to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, establish military and nonmilitary security, help solve global problems and prevent conflicts.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 3, 2000

It's not an easy trick to pick one out of 108 for best of year

It is time once again to look back over some of the most significant events of the previous year, 1999.

Longform

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