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CULTURE / Art
Feb 11, 2001

More than 15 minutes of fame

In many ways, prints take the pulse of modern art. The flowering of techniques early in the 20th century gave artists a wild new freedom of expression, just as their personal opinions and emotions began to move center stage. Prints also reflected the growing democracy of art, the seismic shift that occurred...
CULTURE / Art
Feb 11, 2001

A passage to modern sculpture

There is a wraith of a bird stalking the basement of the Canadian Embassy, and if you are interested in contemporary sculpture it is worth tracking down. "Passages" shows 20 works by four Canadian artists, ranging from whimsical wildlife to meditations on a cube.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2001

Nine Japanese missing off Oahu

Nine people, including four high school students, were reported missing Friday after a Japanese training ship sank following a collision with a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine in waters off Hawaii, the Japan Coast Guard said Saturday.
COMMUNITY
Feb 11, 2001

Shinto priestess finds freedom while minding duties of past

On summer weekends, Kugenuma Beach turns into a parody of the nearby metropolis' encroachment on the holidaymaker, with girls in bikinis and 20-cm platform sandals struggling across the sand while loudspeakers on towers belch J-pop at 50-meter intervals, making it difficult to find a moment for quiet...
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2001

Nine Japanese missing off Oahu

Nine people, including four high school students, were reported missing Friday after a Japanese training ship sank following a collision with a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine in waters off Hawaii, the Japan Coast Guard said Saturday.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2001

Defense Agency staff, SDF to face stiffer penalties for spying

The Defense Agency plans to make penalties for personnel and Self-Defense Forces members who leak secret information harsher by raising the maximum prison term from one year to five years, agency sources said Saturday.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Feb 11, 2001

Yeltsin and Reagan revisited

This year there were two sad anniversaries in the first week of February: two former political superstars, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Russian President Boris Yeltsin celebrated their birthdays in the shadow of severe health problems. Confined to hospital, they were unable to appreciate the cheering...
COMMUNITY
Feb 11, 2001

The accidental ambassadors

Less than six months after bathing in the international attention that came with hosting the Olympic Games, Australians are celebrating their nation's 100th birthday.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 11, 2001

Takahashi to run in Ome race

Sydney Olympic champion Naoko Takahashi, who finished eighth in last Sunday's Marugame women's half-marathon in her first post-Olympic race appearance, will enter a 30-km race Feb. 18 at the Ome Marathon, organizers said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Feb 10, 2001

The best politics money can buy

The deportation of fugitive French businessman Alfred Sirven from the Philippines throws a twist into the trial of Mr. Roland Dumas, the former French foreign minister and head of the Constitutional Court. Mr. Sirven is alleged to be the missing link in the scheme to use funds from Elf-Aquitaine, the...
CULTURE / Film
Feb 10, 2001

Suspense from fear of mundanity

Director M. Night Shyamalan couldn't make it to Tokyo since he and his wife have a newborn child to look after, but that didn't stop the enterprising PR people at Buena Vista from setting up a virtual press conference for "Unbreakable."
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2001

Reflections on a ticklish relationship

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- While I fully endorse the spirit and the letter of a recent article in The Japan Times by former British Ambassador Sir Hugh Cortazzi on civil servants and politicians, I am conscious that what follows may be dismissed as an instance of the well-known bureaucratic tendency to...
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2001

Tokyo plan will allow placement in university

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to allow the enrollment in universities and colleges of applicants without high school diplomas, counter to central government policy, in as early as two years, metro officials said Friday.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 10, 2001

One for the guy upstairs

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BUSINESS
Feb 10, 2001

Foreign investors' buying spree longest in 14 months

Foreign investors were net buyers of Japanese stocks for the sixth straight week last week, the longest duration in 14 months.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2001

Who's afraid of the WTO? Not China

CAMBRIDGE, England -- Among U.S. President Bill Clinton's wilder statements on China were those he came up with when recommending that Congress pass the Permanent Normal Trade Relations Bill. The bill, which Congress passed last September, was a necessary precondition for the United States' support of...
COMMENTARY
Feb 10, 2001

Upheaval on the horizon

Diet debate started Tuesday on the fiscal 2001 government budget. The debate is likely to see head-on confrontation between the ruling and opposition forces. The government and the ruling coalition are hoping to pass the budget before fiscal 2000 ends March 31 in order to prepare for an Upper House election...
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2001

BOJ cuts discount rate to record low of 0.35%

Coming under intense political pressure, the Bank of Japan decided Friday to reduce the official discount rate by 0.15 percentage points to a record low 0.35 percent.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2001

Justice Ministry to ease visa rules for Indian IT experts

The Justice Ministry will effectively ease requirements for qualified Indian information technology experts to enter Japan for working purposes, the ministry announced Friday.
BUSINESS
Feb 10, 2001

Package not a quick fix for share prices

The package of measures to boost Japan's sagging share prices that was unveiled Friday by the ruling coalition may not be a perfect remedy, but it has brought a sense of relief to concerned analysts and market watchers.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2001

Ministry, NPA to target drunk drivers

The Justice Ministry and National Police Agency said Friday they will launch a series of joint meetings next week involving lawyers, scholars and other outside experts to effectively cope with the problem of drunken and reckless driving.
BUSINESS
Feb 10, 2001

December machinery orders rose but outlook is gloomy

Japan's core private-sector machinery orders rose a seasonally adjusted 3.8 percent to 1.096 trillion yen in December from the previous month, after a 2.9 percent drop in November, the Cabinet Office said Friday.

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