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JAPAN

Dec 31, 1999

Another Century: Pollution legacy may linger

By Mick Corliss

This is the first installment in a yearlong series on the blueprints of Japanese society in the 21st century. Staff writer Japan's beaches may be little more than a memory when the end of the 21st century rolls around. Conservative estimates predict it will be sayonara for about half of them, while...

JAPAN

Dec 30, 1999

Nikkei ends on high, up 37% for year

The Tokyo Stock Exchange ended 1999 on an upbeat note, with the key market gauge finishing the year higher for the first time in four years. The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei average rose 123.76 points to finish the half-day session at the year's closing high of 18,934.34. In a turnaround from a 9.3 percent...

JAPAN

Dec 30, 1999

Complaints of shoddy new homes on rise

By Rob Gilhooly and Taiga Uranaka

Staff writers Despite the colorful sofa and classy light fixtures, it's the long crack running along the ceiling and down the west wall of the living room that catches the eye. Sodden floorboards in the hallway further dampen the fresh feel that usually accompanies a newly built home. That's what one...

JAPAN

Dec 30, 1999

Japan urged to consider free-trade pacts

By Tetsushi Kajimoto

Mazda Motor Corp. plans to start producing passenger cars in Europe by 2002, company sources said Thursday. Mazda will use the European production facilities of U.S. auto giant Ford Motor Co., its largest shareholder, and purchase engines from PSA Peugeot-Citroen of France, they said. The company plans...

JAPAN

Dec 30, 1999

Stores hit by Y2K stockpiler feeding frenzy

By Kenzo Moriguchi and Junko Takahashi

Staff writers With just two days left before 2000 kicks in, shoppers crowded supermarkets and department stores Thursday, making last-minute purchases of water, food, oil heaters and other stockpiles to prepare for the possible breakdown of lifelines. Daiei Inc., the nation's largest supermarket chain,...

JAPAN

Dec 30, 1999

This year's fundraising campaign for refugees and children in need, in Japan and abroad, comes to an official close today. The donations received as of Thursday totaled 3,637,158 yen. Money received after the end of this year's campaign will be included in next year's charity fund drive. We are most...

JAPAN

Dec 30, 1999

Japanese consumers opting for riskier, more rewarding investments

By Hiroshi Yamagiwa

Staff writer Are the Japanese changing the way they save money, turning to risky but potentially rewarding financial investments? The rising popularity of investment trusts may provide a clue. Net assets of investment trusts, or mutual funds, amounted to 53.3 trillion yen at the end of November, up...

JAPAN

Dec 30, 1999

Gay magazine Fabulous targets lifestyles of 'matured' community

By Hiroshi Matsubara

Staff writer Five years working as supervisor of a mainly pornographic gay magazine convinced Toh Ogura, 38, that gays in Japan need a lifestyle magazine. Although a handful of pornographic magazines have been available, no lifestyle magazine targeted gays before Ogura started Fabulous in November....

JAPAN / Media

Dec 30, 1999

A recap of 1999's top media: mavens, meddlers, madmen

By Philip Brasor

JAPAN

Dec 30, 1999

Credit card firms prepared for Y2K

By Takuya Asakura

Staff writer Despite reports from Britain detailing Y2K problems with credit cards, Japan's credit card companies, now in the midst of last-minute preparations, claim their customers have no need to worry. Even before the clock ticks over to the new year, when Y2K problems are most likely to occur,...

JAPAN

Dec 30, 1999

Japan urged to consider free-trade pacts

By Tetsushi Kajimoto

Staff writer Japan should keep its commitment to trade liberalization under the World Trade Organization, but this must not prevent it from seeking free-trade agreements with its trading partners, according to Noboru Hatakeyama, chairman of the Japan External Trade Organization. Earlier this month,...

JAPAN

Dec 30, 1999

Trains to run all night despite midnight breaks

By Akemi Nakamura

Staff writer For people who want to make predawn visits to shrines and temples Saturday, major railways throughout Japan will provide their usual New Year's Eve all-night services. However, some plan to halt trains for a few minutes both sides of midnight today to cope with possible Y2K computer problems. In...

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Construction equipment sits idle in a park near Shiba Toshogu shrine in Tokyo's Minato Ward. While Japan has a history of treating its trees with reverence, green coverage is said to be lacking in most of the major cities.

Do Japan's trees no longer occupy the sacred space they used to?

By Eric Margolis

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

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