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CULTURE / Music
Mar 20, 2001

Gion's coolest geiko carves out her own funky groove

She's small, she's cute, she's lively and at 14 she used to do Deep Purple covers fronting her brother's rock band.
EDITORIALS
Mar 19, 2001

Mr. Sharon goes to work

After nearly a month of negotiations, Israel's new prime minister, Mr. Ariel Sharon, has cobbled together his "unity Cabinet." It may represent a broad spectrum of political opinion, but it is unlikely to be united for long. Once Mr. Sharon gets down to resuming peace talks with the Palestinians -- his...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2001

Good signs for Japan-U.S. alliance

Since the end of the Cold War, Japan-U.S. relations have been in turmoil. A highly significant development was a 1996 Japan-U.S. summit, in which Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and President Bill Clinton redefined the terms of the bilateral security system. The 50-year-old alliance will continue into...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2001

Indonesia's future is visible in Kalimantan

HONG KONG -- As the Indonesian province of Central Kalimantan has been effectively cleansed of its Madurese minority, it has been another forceful reminder that communal conflict can be a terrifying reality that requires a quick and firm response if its effects are to be minimized and national unity...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2001

An African win in the war against AIDS

LONDON -- Half of all teenage boys in South Africa will eventually die of AIDS, predicted a United Nations report last year. "The world has never before experienced death rates of this magnitude across young adults of both sexes across all social strata," it added -- and noted that 70 percent of all...
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2001

Technological advances pose challenge for 21st century

Progress and technological innovation bring economic prosperity, as everyone knows. The advent of the steam engine brought about the Industrial Revolution, and the information technology revolution has reinvigorated the U.S. economy today. It is only natural for us to expect technology to continue contributing...
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 19, 2001

Volunteers for World Cup can apply in April

The Japanese organizing committee for next year's World Cup finals (JAWOC) will accept volunteer applications from April 16 to June 15 for soccer's showcase event to be cohosted by Japan and South Korea.
COMMENTARY
Mar 19, 2001

U.S.-South Korea summit a good start

South Korean President Kim Dae Jung's Washington summit meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush was not the unqualified success Kim had hoped for, but he did accomplish his primary objectives. As expected and desired, Bush endorsed Kim's Sunshine Policy of reconciliation and cooperation with North...
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2001

Dollar to test upside this week

The U.S. dollar is expected to test its upside against the yen this week as U.S. investors continue to cash in foreign assets for dollars to make up for their losses on plummeting U.S. stocks.
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 / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 19, 2001

Earthlings, meet your parent

The four planets closest to the sun are siblings of a sort. Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars have similar core properties and densities, suggesting that they probably formed from the same dust cloud in the early solar system, but they have very different surfaces and atmospheres. Mercury is hot, has low...
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2001

Coalition splits over timing of LDP poll

The ruling tripartite coalition on Sunday split over the timing of the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election, with the LDP's partners signaling that they want a successor for lame-duck Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori as soon as possible.
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

Mori should follow through on economic package: Kamei

Shizuka Kamei, policy chief of the Liberal Democratic Party, said Sunday that Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori should implement the ruling coalition's emergency economic package before the party holds the election to pick his successor.
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.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2001

State funds lavished on Diet members

Japanese diplomatic establishments in foreign countries used discretionary government funds to wine and dine visiting Diet members, a Foreign Ministry internal document revealed.
EDITORIALS
Mar 18, 2001

A hole in the sky

Sometime this week, space station Mir -- the brightest star in the once mighty Soviet and Russian space program -- will flicker out. After circling the planet for 15 years, at least three times its planned life span, the massive, aging station is scheduled to finally "deorbit" on Tuesday, "give or take...
COMMENTARY
Mar 18, 2001

Solving the democracy deficit

LONDON -- Transparency and accountability are the buzzwords of the age. No gathering of policy experts or seminar on public affairs is complete without demands all round that the institutions of modern government, both national and global, especially global ones, should become more accountable and open...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2001

'Zapatour' gives hope to Mexico's poor

Seven years after stunning the world, the leaders of the Zapatista rebels have come out of hiding in the Lacandon jungle and traveled to the concrete jungle of Mexico City to promote indigenous rights and work toward a just and peaceful resolution to the simmering conflict in Chiapas state.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 18, 2001

Donald Richie: being inside and outside Japanese cinema

In his five decades as a writer, Donald Richie has investigated everything from the glories of noh to the mysteries of the Japanese tattoo, while attempting everything from the travel narrative ("The Inland Sea") to the historical novel (the meticulously researched, wittily engaging "Kumagai"). He is...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2001

Torture continues to be big business

Recent events highlight the importance of the torture-weapons trade and the role that private companies in some countries, notably the United States and Britain, have in it. Their role was stressed in a recent Amnesty International document, "Stopping the Torture Trade," which calls for a stop to the...
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2001

Three Fukuoka judges reprimanded

Three judges have been reprimanded in connection with a scandal involving copies of police investigative documents concerning a Fukuoka High Court judge's wife, who was arrested on suspicion of sending death threats.

Longform

The students at Mitaka Municipal No. 7 Junior High School have access to various cooling devices for when they play sports.
Japan's extreme heat is causing a rethink of school sports