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ENVIRONMENT
Mar 18, 2000

GMO foe sees standards as WTO lever

MAKUHARI, Chiba Pref. -- If the international community can set up strict safety standards on genetically modified foods, it would give countries a tool to stop the import of such foods to protect their people, said Jean Halloran, a representative of Consumers International.
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2000

Companies plan e-commerce site

Nissho Iwai Corp. and NTT-ME Information Xing Inc. (NTT-X), a Web site management company affiliated with NTT Corp., said Friday they will form a joint company by the end of this month to offer comprehensive electronic commerce.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 18, 2000

Japanese legend's sweetest hero

Kintaro was the childhood name of Heian Period samurai Sakata no Kintoki, who was said to have defeated a bear in sumo wrestling as a child. Toy representations of Kintaro riding a bear have come to symbolize strong and healthy boys, and are often displayed on Children's Day, May 5 (formerly Boys' Day)....
CULTURE / Art
Mar 18, 2000

Getting your roots crossed

Contemporary art on the cutting edge and traditional crafts firmly rooted in the past seem poles apart. But what if their paths crossed? One answer to the question is currently on show in Tokyo's Sumida Ward, where various crafts -- from ivory carving to hagoita battledores -- have been given a new twist...
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2000

MITI plans entrepreneurs forum

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry said Friday that it has set up a national forum to nurture Japanese entrepreneurs as part of efforts to revitalize the economy.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2000

Lawyers for top Aum lieutenant ask for clemency

Defense lawyers for senior Aum Shinrikyo figure Kiyohide Hayakawa asked the Tokyo District Court on Friday not to issue a death sentence for their client, citing what they called Hayakawa's sincere attitude in telling the truth.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 18, 2000

Distant echoes from a desert lute

"We are not reviving the original music of over 1,000 years ago," says Sukeyasu Shiba, director of the leading independent gagaku (court music) group Reigakusha, which will present a concert March 23 of music from over 1,000 years ago.
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2000

Finance Ministry strips Minami Securities' registration over bogus bonds

The Finance Ministry on Friday canceled the business registration of Minami Securities Co. for its allegedly fraudulent sales of corporate bonds and dubious asset management, saying the local brokerage violated the Securities and Exchange Law.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2000

Embattled triumvirate seeks to rally the public before polls

Although Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi encountered little difficulty in securing Diet passage of the fiscal 2000 budget Friday, the likelihood of him dissolving the Lower House for general elections in the near future seems more distant than ever.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2000

GSDF crime coverup alleged

The Ground Self-Defense Force is suspected of systematically covering up a criminal case involving a colonel in 1994, the Defense Agency said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 17, 2000

Even recovery will be painful

The Japanese economy faces a bumpy road. Japan's gross domestic product in the last quarter of 1999, October through December, shrank 1.4 percent from the previous three-month period, posting negative growth for two straight quarters. In annual terms, that works out to minus 5.5 percent, according to...
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2000

Zhu to visit Japan in October, after G8 talks in Nago

Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji is likely to visit Japan in October but will not pay a visit before July's Group of Eight summit, Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Yoshiro Mori said Thursday, quoting Chinese Ambassador to Japan Chen Jian.
COMMUNITY
Mar 17, 2000

Lighting life's gloom with the gem of joy

While sitting in the shadow of death, which one does daily amid the troubles and tribulations of this world, I mused anew upon some phases of human life. In my ponderings, I seemed to hear a voice within declare, "Life is simply a mauvais quart d'heure (wretched quarter of an hour) made up of exquisite...
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2000

Aoki urged to start reform of police

Representatives of the three ruling parties on Thursday requested that Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki begin efforts in the Cabinet to reform the nation's police system.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2000

ADB sharpens focus on the poor

MANILA -- Economic growth is a must but not the end-all in eliminating poverty and the Asian Development Bank is now determined to get to the very heart of the problem, ADB President Tadao Chino says.
SUMO
Mar 17, 2000

Yokozuna Wakanohana announces retirement

OSAKA -- Injury-prone yokozuna Wakanohana announced his retirement from sumo Thursday night after staying at the summit of the traditional Japanese sport for nearly two years along with younger brother Takanohana.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2000

Ghosn to take over as Nissan Motor president

The reins of Nissan Motor Co. will be handed over to Carlos Ghosn, known as "the cost-cutter" and presently the chief operating officer of the struggling automaker, it was announced Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2000

Palm ready to double-fist Japan's market for hand-helds

Hand-held computer giant Palm Inc. has landed in Japan, setting up a subsidiary and releasing two new models with a fully localized operating system, company officials announced Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2000

Former minister gets prison term

The Tokyo District Court sentenced former Labor Minister Toshio Yamaguchi to four years in prison Thursday in connection with illicit loans involving two failed Tokyo credit unions.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2000

JAMA targets 60% cut in diesel emissions by '05

The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association announced Thursday that it will implement a scheme to reduce by 60 percent harmful emissions from diesel-powered vehicles in 2005, two years ahead of its original schedule of 2007.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2000

NTT, gas firms eye power retail business

Tokyo Gas Co., Osaka Gas Co. and a power facility under Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. may jointly enter the electric power retailing business, industry sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2000

Train firms must erect safety barriers: panel

A special investigative committee on the deadly Hibiya Line subway train collision in Tokyo said Thursday that all railway companies should erect more railings and other safeguards along curves with a radius of 200 meters or less.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2000

Foreigner fingerprinting to end

The government plans to stop its discriminatory treatment of foreigners who refused to be fingerprinted for residency registration when it ends fingerprinting for all aliens next month, Justice Ministry officials said.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2000

A new era of democracy in Taiwan

TAIPEI -- On Saturday, the Republic of China will hold its second direct election for the presidency and the vice presidency. Throughout Chinese history, the concept of popular sovereignty has never been so strong as it is now. Therefore, this election will surely demonstrate to the international community...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2000

Clinton comes to India, though somewhat too late

NEW DELHI -- U.S. President Bill Clinton arrives in India on Sunday, the region that he recently termed the most dangerous place on Earth. There may be an element of truth in that.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2000

Reformer calls for overhaul of scandal-hit police system

The scandal-tainted police system must be overhauled, believes Kohei Nakabo, a lawyer who has just been appointed to a new government panel established to advise on police reform.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2000

Sliding market belies budding recovery

As far as the Tokyo stock market is concerned, things have gone steadily downhill since early this month.

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