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ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Jul 14, 1999

Sendai garden lets it all hang out

Garden designers around the country could take a few ideas from the Sendai Yasoen (Wild Flower Garden) by using more native plants in their own designs.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Jul 14, 1999

Substitutes

A woman tells us she is a vegetarian in the real sense -- no meat, fish or animal byproducts, even gelatin. In England she could buy dried mixes that could be reconstituted by adding water and then used to make sausages (Sosmix) and burgers (Veggie Burger Mix). She wonders if there are any similar products...
LIFE / Travel
Jul 14, 1999

Getting into hot water in Fukushima

The sleepy town of Kitakata in northwest Fukushima hasn't much to interest tourists. The ramen is famous, but once you've seen the lacquer museum and some of the old storehouses, you may be stuck for ideas. The locals are rather proud of their Daibutsu, an 11th-century golden Buddha, but it is hardly...
LIFE / Travel
Jul 14, 1999

Memphis, where the 'King' still rules

In reference to the legacy of Elvis Presley, Neil Young once sang "The King is dead, but not forgotten."
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Jul 14, 1999

The Russian capital's bazaar economy

Every nation has a dream. For Iraq, it is a world oil crisis. For Croatia, it is NATO membership. For Serbia, it is a tornado hitting Washington, D.C. As for Russia, its dream is to be recognized as a part of Europe.
EDITORIALS
Jul 13, 1999

Hard questions for Hong Kong

It has been a bitter two years for Hong Kong. On July 1, 1997, the British Crown Colony reverted to the mainland amid an outpouring of pride and Chinese nationalism. The celebrations were short-lived. The very next day, the Thai baht imploded, launching Asia on a downward economic spiral from which it...
COMMENTARY
Jul 13, 1999

Break deadlock on base issues

U.S. President Bill Clinton expressed hope June 25 that all pending issues concerning U.S. military bases in Okinawa, including the issue of the Marine Corps Futenma Air Station, will be resolved before he attends a Group of Eight summit there in July 2000. "I don't want to go over there and have all...
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Jul 13, 1999

Cuban music revolution heats up airwaves

Within the world music genre, success -- in terms of sales -- doesn't compare with the likes of mainstream pop and rock categories. What world music successes there have been have had a rather short shelf life, and were mainly cultivated by the major record companies.
EDITORIALS
Jul 10, 1999

From the Rhine to the Spree

The German government was on the move this week, busily shipping desks and files 600 km east to its new home in the former capital of Berlin. On July 1, Parliament sat in Bonn for the last time. On Monday, the trucks and trains started rolling. By September, most of the federal ministries should be up...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 10, 1999

India's window of opportunity in Kashmir

As the war drags on to a slow and gory conclusion on the Himalayan heights, India has an unprecedented opportunity to seize the moral high ground and take the Kashmir problem right off the international agenda.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 10, 1999

Tasting the politics of food

LONDON -- There are international trade disputes about steel or telecommunications, but as the gathering debate about trade in genetically modified food makes clear, there is nothing quite as intense as an argument about food. Similarly, there are domestic political scandals about money or sex, but as...
EDITORIALS
Jul 9, 1999

New Komeito's role

New Komeito will be holding a party convention July 24 that will surely be closely watched by politicians of all stripes, as well as by the public. If the party decides to join the LDP-LP coalition, it will give a major fillip to the government's legislative capacity. Together, the three parties control...
COMMENTARY
Jul 9, 1999

National symbols deserve legal recognition

The percentage of those who approve the performance of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's government has been rising, reaching 47.8 percent according to one of the media's opinion surveys. Compared to a similar survey taken at the time of the inauguration of the government, the percentage those who do not...
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Jul 9, 1999

'Showa 64' puts reverse spin on club scene

With his goatee and finely pointed ears, James Vyner has a puckish quality that makes it difficult to imagine him, bewigged, in Her Majesty's court. In an alternative life, yes, Vyner was a barrister.
EDITORIALS
Jul 8, 1999

Living without fear

The toll from natural disasters is increasing. Since the 1960s, the economic cost of catastrophes has increased nine times. Last year, over 700 "large loss" disasters caused nearly $100 billion in economic losses. Were that the only price to be paid. According to the International Federation of Red Cross...
COMMUNITY
Jul 8, 1999

Lepidoptera farming for fun and profit

SEATTLE -- In 1994, Lt. Sheri Moreau took early retirement from the navy and put to the test her belief that "your goal in life should be to figure out what you most love to do, then figure out a way to make a living doing it." With a goal of connecting with nature and wildlife, she began her second...
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jul 8, 1999

Oasis of serenity found in rowdiest Roppongi

One of Tokyo's greatest charms, and one of its greatest oddities, is its occasional lack of congruency. Like architectural hiccups, you often see a building where you would least expect it, completely unrelated to everything around it. Aburaya in Roppongi is like that, albeit it is more a matter of atmosphere...
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 8, 1999

'Wabi-sabi' with a modern edge

Wasabiya epitomizes the very 1990s genre that has come to be known in Japanese as "dining bars." That means you can treat it as a restaurant, as an izakaya or even as a kind of designer drinking hold; it just depends on how hungry or thirsty you are.
LIFE / Food & Drink / WINE WAYS
Jul 8, 1999

Wines you'll still love the morning after

As far back as the 11th century, Norse explorers, in what was to become America, had already perceived the winemaking possibilities of this vast, verdant land. Seven centuries later the sagacious American statesman Thomas Jefferson began dabbling in grape-growing. One might assume, then, that by now...
EDITORIALS
Jul 7, 1999

Toward a debate on national security

The Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition group, has so far lacked a clear-cut security policy. The reason is clear. As a "scratch team" put together by breakaways from various parties, including the Liberal Democratic Party and the former Japan Socialist Party, the DPJ has found that its...
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1999

Sony quits North America cell phone market

Sony Corp. announced Wednesday it will withdraw from the cellular phone business in North America, citing dwindling market share and profits due to intensifying competition.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1999

Ishihara to ban Aum members from facilities

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara told the metropolitan assembly Wednesday that he will not allow members of Aum Shinrikyo to use Tokyo's public facilities.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1999

Favor sought for protecting corporate accounts

The Financial System Council is recommending that corporate deposits for use in settling business transactions be protected after the introduction of a reduced guarantee scheme in April 2001.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1999

Economic progress hoped for at China summit

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1999

Will wiretapping hurt the news?

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1999

Highway signposts found defective

Five steel posts supporting signs along Tokyo's Metropolitan Expressway system have been removed due to cracks found in inspections following an accident involving a broken pole Tuesday, the Metropolitan Expressway Public Corp. said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1999

Toshiba, IBM scrap DRAM deal

Toshiba Corp. and IBM Corp. have agreed to cancel a memory chip production tieup in the U.S., and Toshiba will purchase all shares of a joint venture of the two firms by the end of next year, Toshiba officials in Tokyo said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1999

Osaka puts on job fair to help the unemployed

OSAKA -- In a bid to help job-seekers in the Kansai region, where the unemployment rate exceeds the national average, Osaka Prefecture Wednesday kicked off Job Information Fair '99, featuring 200 computers listing 15,000 jobs.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 7, 1999

Numbers shape U.S. political landscape

WASHINGTON -- For the past two decades, Americans have been living in the shadow of the "twin towers of debt" that overhung the federal government and threatened the economic well-being of future generations: the national debt and the international balance of payments. Both grew geometrically during...
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1999

Japan an eavesdropping paradise

Staff writer

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