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JAPAN
Apr 7, 1999

Experts air views on defense bills

Further military cooperation with the United States is vital to maintain a bilateral security alliance the nation cannot do without, former Ambassador Hirohisa Okazaki told a Diet committee Wednesday.
LIFE / Travel
Apr 7, 1999

Underwater neighborhoods

PHUKET, Thailand -- The coral-rich waters of the Andaman and Similan Seas off the coast of Phuket have become a mecca for scuba divers: Here awaits a treasure of diverse marine species, some of which can be found in few other places on earth.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Apr 7, 1999

The savage splendors of Singapore

SINGAPORE -- In 1907 a tiger was discovered hiding beneath the billiard table in the Long Bar of Raffles Hotel. Probably. Some have questioned the tiger's authenticity. Particularly if they have visited the Raffles Hotel's Long Bar. It is on the second and third floor. Not traditional tiger country....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 7, 1999

Romantics roam the garden

SHARAWADGI: The Romantic Return to Nature, by Ciaran Murray. Introductions by Seamus Deane and Mine Okachi. Bethesda: International Scholars Publications, 1998, 352 pp., unpriced. As Seamus Deane says in his introduction, Ciaran Murray here proposes "a new axis for the intellectual history of the 18th...
LIFE / Travel
Apr 7, 1999

Where does the rain go?

SUVA -- Lounging by the pool of one of Fiji's most expensive resort hotels last month, an American tourist cracked open a bottle of "Fiji" mineral water and knocked it back like a draught of ice-cold beer. "Thank God for water," he sighed, examining the label of a brand that has made its developer, Canadian...
JAPAN
Apr 7, 1999

Ministry plans candid survey of hotels

In an attempt to boost tourism by giving visitors better, unbiased travel and hotel advice, the Transport Ministry will begin a project later this month to survey the nation's guest accommodations, ministry officials said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 7, 1999

Foreign policy to the fore in Washington

WASHINGTON -- After a year that was unusual, peculiar and unbelievable enough to qualify as one long April Fool's Day, the U.S. government is finally back doing governmental work. It isn't boring, but it is less colorful than the year of Monica et al. We have lost some of our more entertaining characters...
EDITORIALS
Apr 6, 1999

Enact new child sex laws now

A rare example of political unity occurred in the Diet last week. Twelve lawmakers from seven political parties and groups put aside their usual differences and together submitted to the Upper House a long-anticipated bill to strengthen the legal protection of minors from sexual exploitation. In doing...
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Apr 6, 1999

Dub hemperors go bongkers

Masa, the head honcho of Japanese dub emperors Audio Active, doesn't beat about the bush. In fact, he's probably smoked the damn thing.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 1999

Narita landowners rattle March 2000 runway target

Landowners battling plans for a second runway at New Tokyo International Airport in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, apparently forced Vice Transport Minister Masahiko Kurono on Monday to suggest scrapping the March 2001 construction deadline if the current impasse cannot be broken.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 1999

Ishihara leading the pack week before Tokyo poll

With one week to go before the Tokyo gubernatorial election, a poll by Kyodo News had former Transport Minister Shintaro Ishihara in front by a head.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 1999

Kosovar refugee aid mission ready

The Foreign Ministry decided Monday to dispatch a fact-finding mission to Macedonia and Albania this week to gather information necessary for the designation of further aid for Kosovar refugees.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 1999

EPA indicators forecast contraction, 5.2% jobless rate

The Economic Planning Agency said Monday its key economic forecasting gauge for February stayed below the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent for the third straight month.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 1999

Sony invests in Internet brokerage

Sony Corp. on Monday established a preparatory company jointly with Oki Matsumoto, a limited partner at Goldman Sachs & Co. of the United States, to enter the Internet securities business, Sony officials said.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 1999

Obuchi praises Okinawa baseball champions

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi congratulated Okinawa Shogaku, a high school in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, on Monday for winning the high school baseball tournament and bringing Okinawa Prefecture its first national baseball title.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 1999

'Tankan' shows pessimism easing

Pessimism over the nation's economic woes has eased among corporations, albeit only slightly, during the past three months, according to the Bank of Japan's latest "tankan" business sentiment survey released Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 1999

Hopes for Pyongyang pinned on Murayama mission

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka expressed hope Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il will meet with former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama for talks during his visit to Pyongyang.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 1999

NPA adopts strict policy on waste-related crime

Amid an increase in industrial waste-related crimes, the National Police Agency Monday set a policy of strictly prosecuting the illegal disposal of industrial waste and other acts that damage the environment.
EDITORIALS
Apr 4, 1999

Lunchtime in Lotus-land

Is nothing sacred? Even though we live in a place famous for its workaholic habits and stressful schedules, there has always been the comforting thought that in other, warmer countries people do things differently. In these Lotus-lands of the imagination, or so we believed, workers hardly merit the name:...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Apr 4, 1999

Many paths to follow

There are lots of ways to have fun, some centering on the Yamanote, Tokyo's more-or-less circular commuter line. Few remember that not so long ago it was known as the Yamate Line and there was great consternation when the name was changed. From the beginning, people tended to speak of inside and outside...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 4, 1999

The United States is drowning in hubris

Superpowers, like individuals in love, never have to say they are sorry. At least, that seems to be the lesson of U.S. President Bill Clinton's promiscuous use of force overseas.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 4, 1999

A hare-raising interview with the Easter bunny

Happy Easter. This morning, I bring you this exclusive interview excerpted from my unpublished book, "The Unauthorized Biography of Peter Cottontail."
CULTURE / Art / ARTS AND ARTISANS
Apr 3, 1999

Block-printed paper beauty

Chiyogami is colorful handmade paper printed with Japanese traditional patterns or designs, and is usually used by girls for making kimono-clad dolls, small boxes, or bookmarks.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 1999

Rethinking joint strategy on North Korea

North Korea continues to confound the world. The country's economy is on the rocks; it is estimated to have shrunk by more than 50 percent between 1992 and 1996. The government is unable to feed its own people; hundreds of thousands are thought to have died as a result of malnutrition-related diseases...
CULTURE / Art
Apr 3, 1999

Home sweet home discovered between public and private

Returning to Tokyo after living and working in Europe for some years, artist Tadashi Kawamata was struck by a unique characteristic of the megalopolitan Tokyo: It appears to be an unusually orderly and clean city, despite its population. Brightly lit vending machines line the streets at almost regular...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 1999

The autonomy imperative

In these post-Cold War days, the governments of the United States and its allies still routinely expose their citizens to the risks of death and destruction in the name of national security. The people of northern Italy complained for years about low-flying U.S. military aircraft, but Rome simply ignored...
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Apr 3, 1999

Shamisen ballads bridge the musical and spiritual

Kioi Hall's large hall will be used for a concert of classical Japanese music April 6, for the first time since its opening in 1995.
EDITORIALS
Apr 3, 1999

In praise of Irish 'fudge'

This year, British and Irish people alike are feeling a good deal more somber than they did on Good Friday last year. Then, Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland found common ground for a peace agreement designed to end 30 years of sectarian violence that had claimed more than 3,200 lives. Today,...
CULTURE / Art
Apr 3, 1999

New faces fail to make an impression

It is more than a little strange to be greeted at the entranceway to an art exhibition by a sign which warns that the work on the walls inside might be better appreciated if visitors lowered their expectations. But the text posted outside the NTT Intercommunication Center's current "New Media New Face...
EDITORIALS
Apr 2, 1999

Stumbling over Myanmar

Relations between Europe and Asia continue to be the weakest link in the three-legged global economy. Efforts to remedy that defect have been made. One of the most important is the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) process that began in 1997. Those meetings have made some progress, but a deeper dialogue between...

Longform

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