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CULTURE / Books
Aug 8, 2000

Think global, act local; or is it think local, act global?

LANDSCAPES AND COMMUNITIES ON THE PACIFIC RIM: From Asia to the Pacific Northwest, edited by Karen K. Gaul and Jackie Hiltz. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2000, 254 pp., $24.95 (paper). Lives are complex, and if this era of globalization has taught us anything, it is that this complexity extends beyond local...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 8, 2000

Japan: everything and more

THE MIKADO'S EMPIRE: A History of Japan from the Mythological Age to the Meiji Era, by William Elliot Griffis. A facsimile printing of the 1895 edition. New York, Tokyo, Osaka & London: ICG Muse, Inc. 2000, 462 pp., 1,300 yen. William Elliot Griffis, educator and clergyman, first came to Japan in 1870....
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 8, 2000

Recognizing Japan's key role in Asia

U.S. policymakers seem to have given up on Japan, laments Michael Green, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. The exasperation is premature, Green says, for by most yardsticks, Japan is more important to U.S. interests than is China. This is important as U.S. Republicans choose...
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Aug 8, 2000

Keepers of the flame take Gypsy sounds to the world

Under Soviet communism, the ethnic and folk music of Eastern Europe was often hijacked as a form of propaganda. Words were changed to express patriotic sentiments and slogans of peace. In Romania, Nicolae Ceausescu, the country's dictator for 25 years, would bus out thousands of peasants to sing such...
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2000

MITI to ask FTC to probe Tepco over power deals

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry plans to file a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission over Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s involvement in an upcoming bid to be the power supplier of the ministry's main building, MITI sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2000

Rightists kill two gangsters in central Tokyo shooting

Two gangsters were shot and killed and five others were injured, one seriously, during a flareup in a rightist group's office Monday afternoon in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2000

Mori, Kuze still disagree over money given to Daikyo

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori continued to differ Monday with former Financial Reconstruction Commission chief Kimitaka Kuze over the use of 100 million yen provided by condominium developer Daikyo Inc.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Aug 8, 2000

The Bush machine rolls along

WASHINGTON -- There are three defining events for a candidate in the U.S. presidential campaign, events that reveal the candidate in a unique and important way. They are the selection of the vice-presidential candidate, the candidate's appearance at the convention, and the debates.
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2000

1.4 trillion yen spent to curb yen's rise

In a rare detailed report released Monday, the Finance Ministry said monetary authorities spent 1.3854 trillion yen April 3 on a dollar-buying binge to curb the currency's rapid appreciation.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2000

Japan submits carbon-sink proposal

Japan has notified a U.N. body that it is calling for forests and forestry activities to be defined in such a way that "forest management" would give nations credit toward their target cuts of carbon dioxide emissions.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 8, 2000

White guys to the rescue

OUTPOSTS OF CIVILIZATION: Race, Religion and the Formative Years of American-Japanese Relations, by Joseph M. Henning. New York and London: New York University Press, 2000, 243 pp., $35 (cloth). U.S. foreign policy has a mission. Many American politicians or diplomats would be proud rather than hesitant...
CULTURE / Books
Aug 8, 2000

Japan's media watchdog is a lap dog

CLOSING THE SHOP: Information Cartels and Japan's Mass Media, by Laurie Anne Freeman. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000, 256 pp. $39.50 (cloth). This excellent book lays bare the mechanisms of the information cartels in Japan that prop up the state, insulate the elite from sustained critical...
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2000

Keidanren, Nikkeiren verging on merger

The Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) and the Japan Federation of Employers' Associations (Nikkeiren) will soon start drawing up detailed plans to merge the two groups, Keidanren Chairman Takashi Imai said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 7, 2000

Information law loaded with perils

A government panel is now fleshing out a blueprint for basic legislation designed to protect personal information held by public and private organizations -- information that makes it possible to identify the individuals involved, such as depositors lists held by banks. It is, in principle, necessary...
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2000

'New breed' of woman emerges in Japan

Two weeks after Sakae Sasaki decided to open a cake shop in Tokyo's Meguro Ward in 1996, she realized she was pregnant.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 7, 2000

Falcons fly sky high in Tokyo

The Atlanta Falcons made their first ever international game a successful one Sunday as they defeated the Dallas Cowboys 20-9 behind reserve quarterback Tony Graziani's two touchdown passes in NFL Tokyo 2000 to extend the frustration of "America's team" to 0-7-1 in international preseason play.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2000

Magnitude 7.3 quake thumps Ogasawara Islands

An earthquake measuring a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 hit the Ogasawara Islands south of Tokyo on Sunday afternoon, jolting large areas in eastern and northeastern Japan, the Meteorological Agency said.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2000

Lawson recalls 7,700 'bento'

OSAKA -- Convenience store chain operator Lawson Inc. said it was recalling 7,700 box lunches from its stores in Osaka and Hyogo prefectures in western Japan following complaints from customers.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2000

If Europe can unify currency, why can't Southeast Asia?

The Southeast Asian economy has reportedly found the path to recovery after being crippled by the regional financial crisis of 1997.
COMMUNITY
Aug 7, 2000

Dieters take lesson from diabetics

In the health-food section of many major department stores, large quantities of boil-bag diabetic meals have become a familiar sight. Recently the meals have been selling well, but sales are being boosted not by diabetes sufferers, but by healthy women in their 20s and 30s who want to lose weight.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 7, 2000

Big boys come up big as Giants avoid sweep

Pinch-hitter Domingo Martinez and outfielder Hideki Matsui came up big Sunday as the Central League-leading Yomiuri Giants avoided their third straight defeat with a 4-1 win over the Yakult Swallows at Tokyo's Jingu Stadium.
COMMENTARY
Aug 7, 2000

Laissez faire destroys itself

The market economy is akin to nature. Government intervention in the market is comparable to the destruction of the natural environment and should be avoided. Nature untouched by the human hand is great. The fury of the elements dwarfs human power. Essentially, that is the opinion of free-market advocates,...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 7, 2000

Muslims under fire in Russian Far East

PETROPAVLOSK-KAMCHATSKY, Russia -- When Usman Usmanov laid the cornerstone of the first mosque in the Russian Far East last summer, he was thrilled to see the start of a spiritual center for 30,000 Muslims in the Kamchatka region.

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