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CULTURE / Books
Jan 30, 2001

Eminently sensible remediesfor Japan's economic woes

CAN JAPAN COMPETE?, by Michael Porter, Hirotaka Takeuchi and Mariko Sakakibara. Cambridge, Mass.: Perseus Publishing, 2000, 208 pp., $27.50 (cloth). The title has got to go. "Can Japan Compete?" What sort of question is that? Of course Japan can compete. No one disputes that the country has world-beating...
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2001

Aid to Angola to be medical: Mori

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Monday promised to offer 500 million yen in grants to Angola to help reduce polio and malaria in the southern African country.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2001

Idemitsu, Tokuyama link on polypropylene

Major chemical company Idemitsu Petrochemical Co. and second-tier chemical maker Tokuyama Corp. will enter into a broad-based tieup in the field of polypropylene to jointly gear up competitiveness ahead of a planned gradual tariff reduction by 2004, company sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2001

Japan may avert winter flu epidemic

Japan may be spared from a winter influenza epidemic like the one that claimed nearly 600 lives in the 1999-2000 season, health ministry officials said Monday.
SOCCER / World cup
Jan 30, 2001

World Cup tickets set to go on sale

The 1.35 million tickets for the 2002 World Cup, of which 675,000 will be sold in Japan, will finally go on sale Feb. 15-March 14 by mail application forms or through the Internet, the Japanese World Cup Organizing Committee (JAWOC) announced on Monday.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 30, 2001

Sugiyama plunges

Japan's top female player Ai Sugiyama has plummeted from No. 29 to No. 49 in the WTA tour's new world singles rankings, which were updated Monday after the conclusion of the Australian Open.
EDITORIALS
Jan 29, 2001

Prepare for the unexpected, Mr. Bush

While it is early days yet for the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush, the broad outlines of his foreign policy are becoming clear. His statements during the campaign hinted at a departure from traditional U.S. policies, and they caused some alarm among America's allies. Mr. Bush's foreign-policy...
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2001

Gubernatorial elections on in Yamagata, Gifu

Voting started Sunday in gubernatorial elections in Yamagata and Gifu prefectures both pitting independent incumbents against challengers supported by the Japanese Communist Party.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2001

Mori's Diet-opening remarks to touch on restoring trust

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori will pledge to strive to restore public trust in politics in his policy speech to be delivered at the outset of the 150-day regular Diet session convening Wednesday, government sources said Sunday.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2001

Airlines file requests to make overseas flights from Haneda

Japan's three major airlines and two South Korean airlines, which were given the green light to use Tokyo's Haneda airport for international charter flights from next month, have requested permission to operate a total of 49 flights, government officials said Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Jan 29, 2001

'Real' deregulation is a powerful idea

WASHINGTON -- There's no better place to spend Christmas in the United States than San Diego. Amid the warmth and sun you see snow only on television. No high heating bills here.
COMMENTARY
Jan 29, 2001

'Bubble' ethics cripple Japan

Chaos prevailed at some of the coming-of-age ceremonies held across the nation on Jan. 8. Youngsters who had joined the ranks of adults behaved like rogues, swilling sake from king-size bottles, throwing firecrackers at a mayor, or shouting "go home" to a governor. These and other acts of gross incivility,...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jan 29, 2001

Was Pearl Harbor really a surprise?

My young colleague at work, Donald Howard, comes to me and wryly asks: Why is this Japanese office having a Christmas party on Dec. 7? Impressed by his historical acuity, I only manage: Well, from the Japanese perspective, the Pearl Harbor assault didn't take place on Dec. 7, but on Dec. 8 in the predawn...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 29, 2001

Banks untouched by evolution

After three years here, I believe the essence of the difference between Japan and India can be summed up thus: In India, nothing works, but everything can be arranged (for a consideration, of course); in Japan, everything works, but nothing can be arranged. One of the surprising aspects of life in Japan...
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2001

Umbrella Group delays strategy session

Secret talks among top environmental negotiators from the so-called Umbrella Group of industrialized countries, originally scheduled for mid-February in New Zealand, have been postponed until some time in the latter half of March, informed sources said Sunday.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 29, 2001

Toward the future of medicine

How alternative is alternative medicine these days?
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2001

Time to rethink today's accepted economic principles

The beginning of a period, be it a week or a month, can spur people to reflect on the past and contemplate the future, leading them to reconsider matters long taken for granted. Thus, at the beginning of a new century, we may be justified in re-examining some of the accepted wisdom, common sense and...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Jan 28, 2001

A return to chillier times?

The Cold War is dead, long live the Cold War. Such seems to be the mood in the corridors of power in Moscow. Many Russians believe the inauguration of U.S. President George W. Bush may initiate a new period of tension between Washington and Moscow
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2001

Faked digs put archaeologists on defensive

Shock waves ran through Japan in November after it was revealed that revered amateur archaeologist Shinichi Fujimura had planted findings of early Paleolithic relics at two of his dig sites.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2001

Area's jewelers rode wave of fortune

While not as well-known as the Ameyoko shopping street to the north, Okachimachi Station's south side in Tokyo's Taito Ward has traditionally been the country's largest jewelry town.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2001

Kids want young criminals treated strictly

Many high school students believe offenders aged 14 and up should face the same penalties that adult criminals face, according to the results of a private survey released Saturday.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2001

Egalitarian values stifle creativity: researcher

The egalitarianism embedded in Japanese society deprives researchers and scholars of the economic incentives to pursue creative and innovative studies, according to 46-year-old Shuji Nakamura.

Longform

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