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CULTURE / Art
Mar 11, 2000

Antique restorer teaches old furniture new tricks

Western antique furniture has an ambivalent reputation. Some people are so enchanted with it that they become collectors, while others simply think of it as old, dirty -- and often unreasonably expensive.
EDITORIALS
Mar 10, 2000

Not quite as planned

The results of "Super Tuesday" are in, and by all appearances, all is as it should be. The U.S. presidential campaign looks just as it did before the race officially started. Vice President Al Gore will be squaring off against Texas Gov. George W. Bush. But appearances are deceiving. The election dynamics...
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2000

Upkeep eyed in wreck

The wheels of the last car of a subway train and the track it was running on may have been improperly shaved and polished, possibly contributing to Wednesday's deadly accident, informed sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2000

45% food self-sufficiency targeted for 2010

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry plans to increase Japan's food self-sufficiency in terms of caloric intake to 45 percent in fiscal 2010, ministry officials said Thursday.
COMMUNITY
Mar 10, 2000

Getting to the belly of the matter

In the West, the heart is the seat of the emotions. Here it's the hara (stomach).
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2000

Three firms join hands on broadband venture

Sony Corp., Toyota Motor Corp. and railway operator Tokyu Corp. announced Thursday that they will set up a joint company in April to offer broadband Internet application services through cable TV networks.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2000

Konishiki proves a man can be an island

Not many people planning their summer holidays from, say, Australia or America would hot-foot it to the travel agent when confronted with a picture of a 270-kg former sumo wrestler in shorts.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2000

India debates killing killers

NEW DELHI -- The recent execution of serial husband-killer Betty Lou Beets in Texas has been condemned by human rights institutions in many countries. They find it strange that the United States, which calls itself a champion of human rights, should resort to something as barbaric as capital punishment....
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2000

Truck blaze injures 18 in Osaka tunnel

OSAKA -- A fire broke out on a 2-ton truck carrying plastic products as it was traveling through a tunnel in Osaka Prefecture on Thursday, injuring 18 people.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2000

Aum cultists told to pay 668 million yen for attack

The Tokyo District Court on Thursday ordered former members of Aum Shinrikyo to pay a total of 668 million yen to survivors and the next of kin of those killed in the March 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2000

NEC, Sanyo agree to unite on LCD chip production

OSAKA -- NEC Corp. and Sanyo Electric Co. have agreed to collaborate in the production of semiconductors for liquid crystal displays used in personal computers, the two major Japanese electronics makers have announced.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2000

NPSC panel eyes reforms of police system

The National Public Safety Commission, Japan's highest institution on internal security, announced Thursday it will set up a panel to review the nation's police system following a series of high-profile scandals.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2000

Aichi drops plan to build on expo site

NAGOYA -- Aichi Prefecture has dropped a controversial plan to build a housing development in the Kaisho Forest, site of the 2005 World Exposition and close to the city of Seto, after the event concludes.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2000

DPJ to accept Pyongyang invitation

The Democratic Party of Japan plans to dispatch a delegation of lawmakers to North Korea, possibly this summer, at the request of Pyongyang's de facto No. 2 man, party officials said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2000

FSA surprises Nippon Life with inspection of its assets

The Financial Supervisory Agency on Thursday conducted a surprise inspection of Japan's largest life insurer, Nippon Life Insurance Co., the latest in a series of inspections of life insurers, sources close to Nippon Life said.
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2000

DIC set to divide up Niigata Chuo before bank's sale

The government-backed Deposit Insurance Corp. plans to split up the operations of Niigata Chuo Bank, a collapsed second-tier regional bank based in Niigata Prefecture, ahead of its sale to three regional banks in the prefecture, financial industry sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2000

Yen gearing up to flex its muscles again

The yen is pulling out of its corrective phase.
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2000

Department store chains study distribution merger

The nation's two leading department store chains, Takashimaya Co. and Mitsukoshi Ltd., announced Thursday they will study the integration of their distribution and information networks.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2000

More support daylight savings time

Nearly 60 percent of people are in favor of introducing a daylight savings time program in Japan, according to a government survey.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 10, 2000

Still much to savor in PPM

Take three vintage bottles of wine. Ignore every rule about proper storage. Open them about 40 times a year and serve them to whomever you meet. Within moments of tasting them, everyone is certain to experience the same thing: a deep, warm glow guaranteed to last a lifetime.
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2000

IT sector leads way for huge gains in corporate pretax profits

A triple-digit surge in the pretax profits of personal computer makers and telecommunication companies more than offset a steep decline in other sectors as the combined figure jumped 41.8 percent in the October-December quarter.
EDITORIALS
Mar 9, 2000

Pyongyang's intransigence must end

The Japanese government on Tuesday formally announced that it will provide 100,000 tons of rice to North Korea through the U.N. World Food Program. Japan is taking humanitarian action to follow up an agreement that the countries recently reached to resume the normalization talks -- which broke down in...
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2000

Fall in Obuchi's popularity blamed on recent scandals

Public support for Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's Cabinet has fallen to 41 percent, down 4.6 percentage points from December, an indication of discontent over scandals involving government officials, according to a Kyodo News public opinion survey.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2000

Passengers describe the sudden impact

Police, firefighters and subway workers shouted instructions to each other Wednesday as they attempted to rescue injured commuters and get them to hospitals in the immediate aftermath of a subway collision that ruptured Tokyo's morning rush hour.
COMMENTARY
Mar 9, 2000

Telecommunications matters

Telecommunications has long been a contentious issue between the United States and Japan. This is because although Americans believe that the U.S. has the most advanced and most competitive telecommunications system in the world, market penetration in Japan for U.S. equipment suppliers and service providers...
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2000

BOJ makes dollar jump 1.5 yen but settles below expectation

The dollar shot up almost 1.5 yen at one point Wednesday in Tokyo as the Bank of Japan intervened to head off the yen's rise, but the intervention failed to have a lasting effect on the market.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2000

Rail firm told to inspect all similar subway cars

A special committee under the Transport Ministry ordered the Teito Rapid Transit Authority to inspect all subway cars of the same type as the one that was involved in the fatal accident near Tokyo's Nakameguro Station on Wednesday morning.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2000

Chronology of MOX falsification

* Aug. 20, 1999 -- BNFL discovers MOX data falsification related to fuel being produced for Takahama No. 3 reactor.

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