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JAPAN
Jan 14, 2001

Homelessness being tackled from new angle

Asked why he became homeless, he said he was a victim of the current economic trend.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2001

Making gardens accessible proving a slippery path

Legend has it that when the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden in Bunkyo Ward was built in the early Edo Period, it boasted gigantic rocks and majestic, ancient trees reminiscent of the steep mountains and dark valleys of China.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2001

Finance ministers to show caution on U.S. slowdown

KOBE -- Finance ministers from 25 Asian and European countries agreed Saturday to take cautious steps to minimize the impact of a U.S. economic slowdown on their economies, a Japanese government official said.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2001

Thai firms must lead reform

KOBE -- The Thai government should encourage Thailand's private sector to forward financial reform rather than create a national corporation to help banks out of the mire of massive bad loans, Thai Finance Minister Tarrin Nimmanahaeminda said Saturday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 14, 2001

Hope for Myanmar's democrats

The announcement that Myanmar's military government and prodemocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi had entered into direct talks is a welcome surprise from a country that has only managed to disappoint in recent years. Given the junta's stubborn refusal to negotiate with Ms. Suu Kyi, it is hard to be optimistic...
COMMENTARY
Jan 14, 2001

New Cabinet does little to boost Mori

Japan is enveloped in gloom at the dawn of the 21st century, as is much of the rest of the world. The administration of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori continues to suffer from dismally low public-approval ratings, despite the major Cabinet reshuffle he carried out last month. The reorganization of the central...
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2001

Miyazawa, Jin worried over U.S. economic woes

KOBE -- Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and his counterparts from South Korea and Europe expressed concern Saturday that the slowing U.S. economy could deal a major blow to the economies of their respective regions, Japanese government officials said.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2001

Artist lauds Ueno's unchanging view

Eisaku Miyajima, 68, has watched the town of Ueno every day for more than 30 years from a small folding chair on the concrete stairway leading to the stone statue of Saigo Takamori in Ueno Koen park.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2001

China tightens grip on the Net

CAMBRIDGE, England -- The Chinese government has been issuing more regulations to control the use of the Internet. As with the earlier ones, there are no surprises. They simply tidy up what was already accepted practice and add nothing new. It is still the slow bureaucratic machine catching up with reality....
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2001

How Washington turns virtue into vice

WASHINGTON -- Only in the morally sick society of Washington would the charitable actions of Linda Chavez, George Bush's nominee for labor secretary, be condemned as political vices rather than celebrated as civic virtues. Her withdrawal of her candidacy unveils the perverse policies that the new administration...
COMMUNITY
Jan 14, 2001

Turning gray offices into great places to work

Steven Louie, vice president and design director of Gensler Tokyo, is not only warm, open and charming; he's also sensitive, patient, and very very kind. This was illustrated by his treatment of the 16-year-old student from the U.K. (on a work experience program) who accompanied me, listening attentively...
CULTURE / Art
Jan 14, 2001

Pursuing Japan's great love affair with Toulouse-Lautrec

The Japanese love Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901). His art is lively and interesting, and strong Japanese influences can be detected in it. The current exhibition at the Tobu Museum of Art makes much of this mutual admiration, with the French artist's work revealing his love for Japan while the...
MORE SPORTS
Jan 14, 2001

Kanto Gakuin wins college title

Kanto Gakuin University clinched the Japanese college rugby union crown for the first time in two years by outplaying Hosei University 42-15 in the final of the National Collegiate Championship on Saturday at Tokyo's National Stadium.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 14, 2001

Sandra Gamo

Sandra Gamo is just old enough to be able to say that she was "a rare species" in the late 1950s, when she was a bilingual Pan American Airways flight hostess. In those days few young women in this part of the world had achieved her level of two languages, poise and presence. Remarkably, and very early...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 14, 2001

Danger! Americans may smother you in kindness

I always get a kick out my students when they come back from the United States and exclaim, "Wow! Americans are so friendly!" Of course, what they really mean is, "Wow! No one even tried to kill us!"
CULTURE / Art
Jan 14, 2001

Ensor, Delvaux span era of art

Skeletons in fancy dress fight over a corpse with brushes and mops. Women wearing nothing but pink bows and dreamy smiles trail through classic courtyards, while mountains crumble at their feet. "From Ensor to Delvaux," is a glimpse into the weird and wonderful world of 20th century Belgian art. The...
BUSINESS
Jan 13, 2001

NEC realigns American operations

Electronics maker NEC Corp. said Friday it has realigned its personal computer and server business based in the Californian city of Sacramento as of Jan. 1 to enhance its North America operations.
BUSINESS
Jan 13, 2001

Don't fret about economy: IMF chief

International Monetary Fund chief Horst Koehler told Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa on Friday that there is no need to worry about the outlook for the Japanese economy, although Japan will experience pain as its labor market goes through a transitional period.
BUSINESS
Jan 13, 2001

Hiranuma welcomes Zoellick nomination

Japan's minister of economy, trade and industry on Friday hailed President-elect George W. Bush's decision to name Robert Zoellick as his nominee for U.S. trade representative.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2001

Tanaka payoff eased Kim abduction row

South Korea handed hundreds of millions of yen to the late Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka in 1973 to help arrange a breakthrough in the diplomatic standoff between the two countries over the kidnapping of Kim Dae Jung, Tanaka's former aide said in a recent issue of a Japanese monthly.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2001

Drunk driver's term not extended

The Tokyo High Court dismissed an appeal by prosecutors Friday who claimed that a four-year prison term for a drunken trucker who caused the deaths of two toddlers was too lenient.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2001

Defense head to tell U.S. forces to tighten discipline

Defense Agency chief Toshitsugu Saito said Friday that he will urge the U.S. military to take steps to prevent unruly behavior following Tuesday's arrest of a Marine suspected of lifting up a high school girl's skirt.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2001

NPA clarifies chief's crime quotes

The National Police Agency on Friday clarified remarks made by chief Setsuo Tanaka on Thursday that were interpreted as indicating he was concerned that the ability of the Japanese police to prevent crime is weakening.

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