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COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2001

Australia's humble founders got it right

SYDNEY -- Egalitarianism has always ruled here, ever since the first white settlers arrived in Sydney Cove from their London jails in 1788. One of the first convicts off the boat became chief magistrate and another chief architect. Jack is not only as good as his master; here he considers himself a damn...
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2001

New government opens doors

The new-look streamlined government opened its doors for the first time on Saturday, shorn of almost half the powerful central government entities that built post-war corporate Japan.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 7, 2001

Beyond technical perfection: the best from 2000

It is time once again to look back over some of the most significant musical events of the year 2000.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2001

Corruption trials show justice is working

LONDON -- The impeachment trial of President Joseph "Erap" Estrada resumed in the Philippines Senate on Jan. 2, with further revelations promised by the prosecution and "even more explosive" evidence promised by the defense. Estrada is accused of bribery, betrayal of public trust, violation of the constitution,...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 7, 2001

Demolition derby in world's biggest game center

Whenever you step off the airplane in a new country, you are forced to throw all common sense aside and sacrifice your body and possessions to a complete stranger -- the taxi driver. From the moment you get inside his car, you become his.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 7, 2001

Yoshitami Arai

As a precocious 15-year-old in 1946, Yoshitami Arai looked around at a Japan that was, he said, "totally destroyed." Then at school in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, he was already beginning to understand the need of the nation to produce businessmen who would rebuild the economy. From that time on, he...
COMMUNITY
Jan 7, 2001

Good manners make comfortable relations

In Japan, there has been much discussion of late of both morals and manners. Indeed, one national newspaper on Jan. 1, in a section devoted to scrutinizing how Japanese have changed in recent years, devoted a whole page to the question: Are good manners a thing of the past?
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2001

Book of Allied surrender fliers proves hot draw for publisher

OSAKA -- The publisher of a book reproducing a series of "rakkasan" (parachute) news leaflets that were dropped on battlefields in Japan and Southeast Asia by the U.S. military toward the end of World War II is excited over the high demand for his book.
EDITORIALS
Jan 6, 2001

Good luck, Mr. Bush, you'll need it

At the start of a new century, the world situation remains in flux. The much-heralded "new world order" has yet to arrive. The United States, of course, holds the key. Developments in the next few years -- not only in the field of economics, but also in politics and security -- will depend largely on...
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2001

Yen hits 17-month low on fears that economy is losing steam

The yen has come under fresh downward pressure on world currency markets amid lingering worries about the flagging Japanese economy.
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2001

Nippon Life, Tokio Marine start cancer insurance sales

Nippon Life Insurance Co. and Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co.'s life insurance unit started selling cancer insurance policies Thursday, the two firms said.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 6, 2001

The movie's the thing

Who do you think you are, the Prince of Denmark? Such is the complaint I'd like to lodge with wordy, lordly, self-obsessed people whose introverted grievances often manifest themselves in extroverted acts of harm. Hamlet had always struck me as a curious choice for a hero. It's true he gave some great...
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2001

NEC in talks on the sale of Mexican unit

NEC Corp. is negotiating with several prospective buyers for Technologias NEC de Mexico S.A. de C.V., a cellular phone unit in Mexico, with a deal expected to be reached soon, an NEC spokesman said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2001

Foreign Ministry starts year with misappropriation probe

The Foreign Ministry has set up an in-house team to investigate an alleged pocketing of public funds by a senior ministry official and will disclose the findings "as soon as possible," Foreign Minister Yohei Kono said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2001

Hashimoto prospering in new Cabinet

Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, who joined Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's Cabinet in the December reshuffle, is showing great zeal and is even outshining Mori, according to political pundits.
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2001

Business chiefs gauge economy

The leaders of Japan's four most powerful business groups on Friday voiced cautious optimism over the nation's economy, predicting an annual growth rate of between 1.5 percent and 2 percent for 2001.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2001

One tuna fetches 20 million yen at Tsukiji

A single tuna fetched a record 20.2 million yen Friday at the year's first auction at Tsukiji Uoichiba Co., Tokyo's biggest fish market for marine-product wholesalers, Tsukiji officials said.
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2001

Young information technology execs join social revolution

The role played by young people in promoting information technology in society was highlighted in early December when a teenage company executive was recognized and won an award for being the person most representative of the IT revolution.
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2001

Four major department stores plan to merge home deliveries

Four of Japan's leading department store chains will jointly launch in April a unified goods home-delivery system in Tokyo and end their separate services, Mitsukoshi Ltd. said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2001

Record 89 million visit shrines over New Year

A record 88.75 million people visited major Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples across Japan on the first three days of the 21st century to pray for good fortune, the National Police Agency said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2001

U.S. halted base cuts in '60s due to Soviet threat

The United States considered scaling down its military bases in Japan due to difficulties in deploying nuclear weapons here in 1962, but scrapped the idea because of fears of a nuclear war with its communist enemies, declassified U.S. government documents showed Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2001

Mori endures back pain

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who has long suffered low public support ratings, found himself suffering physical pain on Friday, enduring a backache that forced him to walk with a cane.
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2001

Japan's economic outlook 'highly uncertain'

Japan's economic outlook "remains highly uncertain" and is likely to remain volatile, economic indicators released Friday by a U.S. business research group suggest.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2001

'Anime' invade Akihabara's electronics monopoly

The Akihabara district of Tokyo appears to be changing in response to the increasing number of discount computer shops, previously a district mainstay, that have opened in other areas. Considering Electric Town's old reputation as a testing ground for new products, some say the future lies in "otaku."...
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2001

Ford to get new batteries from Sanyo

OSAKA -- Sanyo Electric Co. will exclusively supply battery systems for Ford Motor Co.'s first hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), which will appear on roads in 2003, the two firms announced Friday.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji