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COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2001

Give aid to China, but remain vigilant

The 21st Century Committee for Japan-China Friendship held its 14th meeting on China's Hainan Island Dec. 24-25, and I was among those present. Former Chinese Ambassador to Japan Yang Zhenya, the conference chairman, said he was pleased that the Chinese and Japanese governments were promoting regional...
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2001

Hashimoto off on three-nation trip

Ryutaro Hashimoto, minister in charge of administrative reform, departed Monday on a six-day trip to Switzerland, Turkey and France.
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2001

Export decline portends slowdown for recovery

A decline in exports will slow the pace of economic recovery by slowing industrial production, the Bank of Japan said Monday in a monthly report.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2001

Japan's conformist culture attacked

Hayao Kawai, one of Japan's leading clinical psychologists and the former head of a government advisory panel, emphasized the importance of fostering individuality among Japanese while admitting it is a difficult task in light of the nation's conformist culture.
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2001

Economic indexes sink below 50%

The government said Monday its leading, coincident and lagging economic indexes all slipped below the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent in November for the first time in 23 months.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 23, 2001

Okinawa's fate through women's eyes

WOMEN OF OKINAWA: Nine Voices from a Garrison Island, by Ruth Ann Keyso. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2000, 168 pp., $16.95 (cloth). Ruth Ann Keyso traveled to Okinawa in 1997 to write a history of the island's postwar past. Following conversations with various people on the island, she decided...
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 23, 2001

Keeping it all in the family

The Kabukiza Theater in Tokyo is starting 2001 with special programs to celebrate the succession (shumei) of Yasosuke Bando, 45, to the prestigious stage name Mitsugoro Bando X, left to him by his father Mitsugoro IX on his death in April 1999.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2001

Lottery proceeds to fund local projects

The Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications on Monday announced the launch of a new lottery, the proceeds of which are to be distributed among local governments to be used to finance revitalization projects.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2001

China parents said top task masters: poll

While the development of children's skills and interests is a primary concern among Japanese parents, the majority of Chinese moms and dads attach greater importance to the education and discipline of their offspring, according to the results of a recent survey.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2001

Obituary: Soko Koike

Soko Koike, founder of the magazine that provides Japan's leading music chart rankings, died Saturday of a cerebral hemorrhage at a hospital in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward, his family said Monday. He was 68.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2001

Global warming danger rises for Northern Hemisphere

Evidence that human-induced global warming is occurring is stronger than ever and Japan, along with other Northern Hemisphere countries, could see the most drastic rises in temperature as a result, according to a new report released Monday.
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Jan 23, 2001

Artists with eclectic tastes dispute the 'healing' tag

Of all the nonsensical musical genres, perhaps the most irksome is one coined here in Japan: "healing" music.
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2001

DoCoMo to launch roaming phone

Cellular operator NTT DoCoMo Inc. announced Monday that it will start marketing on Jan. 29 a dual-mode cellular phone that can be used in Japan and much of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania.
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2001

Paper production posts record high

Japan's paper and cardboard output grew 3.9 percent in 2000 from 1999 to 31.83 million tons, marking a record high for the second year in a row, the Japan Paper Association said Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2001

Dentistry exam also leaked in 1999

A professor at Nippon Dental University who allegedly leaked questions on a national dentistry examination to another professor had been doing so for two straight years, sources close to the case said Monday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 23, 2001

Gender, identity, plain old eros

MALE HOMOSEXUALITY IN MODERN JAPAN: Cultural Myths and Social Realities, by Mark J. McLelland. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, 2000, 268 pp., b/w plates 17, 15.99 British pounds (paper). Mark McLelland begins this pioneering study by quoting Alfred Kinsey to the effect that nature rarely deals with...
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2001

Three held over smuggling of 'konnyaku' from China

OSAKA -- Three men have been arrested on suspicion of smuggling about 14 tons of "konnyaku" flour from China, police and customs officials said Monday.
COMMENTARY
Jan 22, 2001

Fairness for foreign workers

The recent arrest of Tadao Koseki, former president of KSD, a mutual-aid society for small business, on bribery charges has turned the spotlight on problems involving foreigners working here as "trainees." Koseki was also director of an agency called IMM Japan that takes care of trainees from Indonesia....
EDITORIALS
Jan 22, 2001

Mr. Bush gets down to business

Texas Gov. George W. Bush was sworn as the 43rd president of the United States at noon on Saturday in Washington. Mr. Bush leads a nation that is more politically divided than at any time in its history. He must bring the country together. The U.S. must be united if it is to assume its role as a leader...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2001

Cities merge to become Nishi-Tokyo

The city of Nishi-Tokyo was born in northwestern Tokyo Sunday as Tanashi and Hoya merged into a new entity of 15.8 sq. km and about 180,000 people, mostly commuters who work in downtown Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2001

Third teacher arrested in dental exam scandal

A 56-year-old professor at Nippon Dental University was arrested Sunday on suspicion of leaking questions on a national dentistry examination last year, bringing the number of those jailed in the scandal to three, police sources said.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2001

Nukaga likely to step down

State minister Fukushiro Nukaga is likely to resign from his Cabinet post today in the wake of allegations he received 15 million yen from KSD, a provider of industrial accident insurance, in 1999 and 2000, political sources said Sunday.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2001

Experts reach agreement to preserve disputed isles

Scientists, conservation experts and policymakers from Japan and Russia on Sunday called for joint scientific research and a cooperative program transcending politics to preserve four pristine Russian islands that punctuate the southern Kuril archipelago northeast of Hokkaido.
SOCCER / World cup
Jan 22, 2001

World Cup fans face multiple-entry visa ban

The government has decided not to issue multiple-entry visas to foreigners visiting Japan next year for the World Cup finals because of concerns over hooligans, government sources said Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 22, 2001

The clock is ticking for Gen. Musharraf

ISLAMABAD -- Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military ruler, has vowed to give Pakistanis a new life through the establishment a new political order. This promise will be put to test in the next few months.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
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