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JAPAN
Nov 22, 1999

Profits up at JR East, JR Tokai

Two Japan Railway group companies on Monday reported a rise in their unconsolidated pretax profits during the first half of fiscal 1999, despite declines in total revenues.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 1999

Focus needed to revive Made in Japan sheen: Okuda

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 22, 1999

Nago base relocation no done deal

YOKO HANI Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 22, 1999

Restructuring of Nissan brings 323 billion yen loss

Struggling Nissan Motor Co. announced Monday a consolidated net loss of 323.5 billion yen for the first half of fiscal 1999. The automaker said the losses were due to pension and retirement expenses as well as the cost of a massive restructuring program.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 1999

Internet disclosure bills to be submitted in 2000

The government will submit bills to the Diet next year to enable electronic authorization and disclosure of financial statements, the Finance Ministry said Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 1999

Hong Kong's GEM joins race to woo startups

Staff writer
EDITORIALS
Nov 20, 1999

Only disconnect

Way back in the Orwellian year of 1984, James Cameron's movie "The Terminator" gave us a glimpse of a future swarming with cyborgs -- machines that have taken on a life of their own and turned against human beings.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 1999

Australia's republic: If not now, when?

Australian Prime Minister John Howard recently had an "audience" -- as some Australian media described it -- with Queen Elizabeth II at the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting in Durban, South Africa. During the meeting, the prime minister of Australia personally informed the queen of the United...
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1999

LTCB execs plead not guilty to window-dressing

Three former top executives of the failed Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan pleaded not guilty Friday before the Tokyo District Court to hiding 313 billion yen in losses in the bank's financial report for fiscal 1997.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1999

Hitachi plans info-systems investment

Hitachi Ltd. announced Friday it will invest 300 billion yen in the next two years to strengthen its foothold in the fast-growing information systems business.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1999

Hachioji mercury cleanup stirs up protests

A group of residents concerned that mercury from a former pesticide plant in Hachioji, western Tokyo, is making locals sick called on the Environment Agency and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Friday to check the surrounding environment for pollution and citizens for health problems.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1999

Inamine agrees to heliport relocation

Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine made it clear Friday that he will accept the relocation of key functions of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station to a new facility within the prefecture -- as long as the site is a joint military-civilian site that the U.S. military will be required to leave in 15 years....
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1999

JR West up 0.4% for first half

West Japan Railway Co. reported an unconsolidated pretax profit of 24.1 billion yen for the first half of fiscal 1999, up 0.4 percent from the same period last year, company officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1999

Cabinet OKs bills to aid smaller firms

The Cabinet of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi endorsed a legislation package to invigorate small and medium-size enterprises and boost the number of venture businesses and startups.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1999

Obuchi to talk with leader of Myanmar

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi plans to meet with the leader of Myanmar's military junta on the sidelines of a Nov. 28 Asian summit in Manila, Japanese government sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1999

SDF to fly supplies to Timor refugees

Self-Defense Forces aircraft will fly humanitarian aid supplies to East Timorese refugees in West Timor, Foreign Minister Yohei Kono formally announced Friday.
CULTURE / Art
Nov 20, 1999

Something in the air of Japan's 'Deep South'

They were known as the "girlie photographers," dozens of young female photographers who elbowed their way through the society of cameramen to rise to prominence in Japan during the early 1990s. And as the media loves an underdog, critics loved so-called onnanoko shashinka.
CULTURE / Art
Nov 20, 1999

Indigo dyers singing the artisan blues

The deep blue color of aizome (indigo dyeing), is often referred to as the color of Japan. Made from the ai (indigo) plant, a type of tade (smartweed) grown in Japan, aizome has also gained a great deal of popularity worldwide. Although indigo comes in an array of hues, the most popular is one that is...
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1999

Accidental oceanographer takes Kyoto Prize for lifework

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1999

Tokai mayor blames Tokyo for 'nuclear safety myth'

The Tokai nuclear accident was caused and mishandled by the central government, which has propagated a "nuclear safety myth" and failed to build up adequate emergency measures, Tokai Mayor Tatsuya Murakami said Friday.
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Nov 20, 1999

Still hope for the musically challenged

Several years ago a number of high-level Japanese politicians and government leaders, including the prime minister, visited the United States for a series of discussions with their American counterparts. After the serious meetings concluded, the participants all joined an informal party with their hosts....
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1999

Eight top banks claim profits

Eight of the nation's 17 major banks released their fiscal 1999 midterm earnings reports Friday in which all posted both pretax and after-tax profits at the end of September.
COMMENTARY
Nov 20, 1999

Heading for a showdown

Nov. 9 marked the 10th anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, which led to the end of the Cold War. The international situation, liberated from ideological confrontations, has changed a great deal since then.
EDITORIALS
Nov 19, 1999

The challenge of jobs for graduates

Students graduating from the nation's universities, two-year junior colleges and high schools next March are not likely to agree with the optimistic pronouncements being made about signs of a long-delayed recovery for Japan's battered economy. Better days may indeed be ahead for the corporate world,...
CULTURE / Film
Nov 19, 1999

Should auld new wavers be forgot

A film that zeroes in on the forced enthusiasm of New Year's Eve celebrations, "200 Cigarettes" will certainly appeal to those who are already tiring of this year's millennial madness. As one cynic in the film puts it, "Every year it's the same desperate scrambling around, pretending to be happy."
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 19, 1999

Buto-sha Tenkei dances the idea

Buto-sha Tenkei has picked a dark vision for its new work "Kanata," which premiered Nov. 10-11 at Kitazawa Hall in Tokyo and will tour the U.S. in February. This group has a revolving membership. Ebisu Torii and Mutsuko Tanaka, performers with more than 25 years of experience in Dai Rakudakan and their...
CULTURE / Music
Nov 19, 1999

Got juice? Cleve does

If my man Cleveland Williams' 35th birthday party at Boogies in Roppongi this past week was not the coolest off-the-hook, mind-blowing, no-holds-barred, woman-chasing, brain-cell-damaging event of the year so far, then I fear the party that might top it. It's a good thing parties like this only happen...
EDITORIALS
Nov 18, 1999

Integrity too precious to squander

The Kanagawa Prefectural Police has apparently run amok. One day after nine senior current and former officers were referred to public prosecutors on suspicion of involvement in the coverup of a fellow officer's drug use, the prefectural police headquarters meekly announced that a current and a former...
JAPAN
Nov 18, 1999

Debate grows on future of Japanese education

Education Minister Hirofumi Nakasone asked an advisory panel of experts Thursday to discuss specific steps on university reform in the next century, calling for advanced use of information technology, development of the continuing education system and more international exchanges.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 1999

Japan Telecom net profit jumps 78.3%

Japan Telecom Co. reported an unconsolidated pretax profit of 13.3 billion yen for the first half of fiscal 1999, compared with 2.2 billion yen for the same period last year, company officials said Thursday.

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