search

 
 
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2000

Danger of eruption tapers off

Fears of a volcanic eruption on Miyake Island tapered off Wednesday as experts from the Meteorological Agency said there was "no possibility" of an eruption on the eastern part of the island or at the top of Mount Oyama.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2000

Key to kids' learning English is fun approach and listening

A private advisory panel to Education Minister Hirofumi Nakasone set up to review and revise English-teaching methods in Japanese schools has recommended that entertaining methods be used to teach in elementary schools.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 29, 2000

Takahashi blasts Giants past Tigers

Yoshinobu Takahashi belted a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday to lift the Central League-leading Yomiuri Giants to a 6-5 "sayonara" victory over the Hanshin Tigers at the Tokyo Dome.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2000

Record 530 HIV cases reported in '99

A record 530 cases of HIV infection were reported in Japan in 1999 while the number of newly detected AIDS cases also hit a record 300 last year, according to the Health and Welfare Ministry.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2000

Candidates slide in despite weak support

Nearly 60 percent of the 300 winners in single-seat constituencies in Sunday's House of Representatives general election were endorsed by less than 30 percent of the voters in their electoral districts, analyses of the results show.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2000

Medical group probes endoscope defects

A national association of medical and dental practitioners has begun questioning its members about defects in endoscopes and manufacturers' responses to complaints, according to a group bulletin made available Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2000

Employment, income make BOJ keep interest-rate policy

The Bank of Japan said Wednesday that it will maintain its "zero-interest-rate" policy, which has been in place since February last year.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2000

Mori scrambles to assign key Cabinet positions

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and top aides on Wednesday stepped up efforts to make key placements ahead of next week's Cabinet reshuffle, with coalition partner New Komeito likely to receive the health and welfare portfolio.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2000

Rules set for hunting, trapping

The government is set to ban the use of some steel-jawed, leg-holding animal traps, limit the number of traps per person, and allow hunting of female deer during the hunting season until 2005, according to an Environment Agency report released Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2000

Car firms' exports rose 1.9% in May

Japan's 11 automakers exported 314,602 cars, trucks and buses in May, up 1.9 percent from the same month the previous year, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Wednesday.
COMMUNITY
Jun 29, 2000

Making home a school away from school

A typical day at school for 12-year-old Sophie Kimura could be a social studies lesson which involves finding out what life is like in Illinois where her "e-pal" Dawn lives.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2000

1,040 illegal immigrants rounded up around Tokyo

The Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau booked 1,040 foreigners in the metropolitan area for allegedly violating the immigration control law during an intensive crackdown between May 15 and June 2, the bureau announced Wednesday.
COMMUNITY
Jun 29, 2000

Fresh ideas keep old traditions alive

"A hundred people must have told me it was impossible," said Sarah Cummings as we sipped sake in the stylish Kurabu restaurant in the village of Obuse.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2000

Shinsei asks DIC to take Sogo loans

Shinsei Bank on Wednesday formally asked Deposit Insurance Corp. to take over 205 billion yen of its loans to embattled department store chain operator Sogo Co., bank officials said.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2000

Cut compulsory car insurance payments: panel

An advisory council to the commissioner of the Financial Supervisory Agency on Wednesday proposed eliminating the compulsory premiums drivers must pay under the state-run automobile insurance system.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2000

Red Army fugitive returned for trial

Red Army Faction fugitive Yoshimi Tanaka arrived Wednesday in Japan to face trial for his role in a Japan Airlines jetliner hijacking 30 years ago, following his arrest in Thailand by Japanese police the previous night.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2000

200 major firms hold shareholders' meetings

About 200 major companies across the nation held their annual shareholders' meetings Wednesday, beating the huge crush for such meetings that will take place today.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2000

Nikkei claims heavy dealing linked to SQ fixation day

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Inc. said Wednesday that a special quotation fixation day was a major factor behind the heavy trading of specific issues during the two days before the announcement of a change in the benchmark Nikkei stock average's components in April, denying a report linking the deals to...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jun 29, 2000

Redemption just a haircut away

We've seen how popular shaved heads have become in sports. Whether for fashion or function, Michael Jordan, Andre Agassi and Brazilian soccer stars are among countless male athletes noted for taking it all off.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 29, 2000

Take the sunset road to Fukuoka's natural lifestyle zone

"Everyone wants to head west," an architect friend told me recently. "It's natural. That's where the sun sets, and where thoughts of relaxation turn to at the end of the day."
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2000

Tomen reviewing Sri Lanka mine deal

Tomen Corp. is reconsidering its planned investment in a huge phosphate mine in Eppawala, an ancient village in central Sri Lanka, according to members of a Japanese nongovernmental organization supporting residents who oppose the project.
COMMENTARY
Jun 29, 2000

Japan's voters call for change

Voters apparently called for a change in the nation's politics in Sunday's elections for the House of Representatives. The Democratic Party of Japan consolidated its position as the No. 1 opposition party by winning an additional 35 seats, although it failed to win enough votes to allow it to establish...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 29, 2000

Marriage guide for men begs the question, 'Et tu, Brutus?'

In the cultural wars secular liberalism continues its slow, laborious march toward victory (two steps forward, one step back), but one bastion of male-centered tradition remains inviolate: the marriage proposal. Men do the asking, and women wait for them to ask. The vector indicated by this dynamic mimics...
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2000

NTT breakup fails to level playing field

Nearly a year after the splitup of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., the big experiment is coming under scrutiny as questions are raised over whether its new profile has actually made a difference.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2000

A Chinese teenager's dream of a better life ends in tragedy in the back of a truck

CHANGLE, Fujian -- Smartly dressed in a Calvin Klein T-shirt, jeans and white trainers, the teenager props up a motorbike in Changle, a city in the southern Chinese province of Fujian. His hair flopping over sunglasses, he flashes a shy grin at the camera. Jin Xicai hardly resembles the stereotype refugee,...
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2000

Supreme Court upholds detention of Nepal man

The Supreme Court upheld Wednesday a high court decision to detain a Nepalese man for appeals procedures in a murder and robbery case, despite the man being found not guilty of all the charges by a lower court.
EDITORIALS
Jun 28, 2000

The finest map in the world

Rival researchers this week announced that they had completed a draft model of the human genome -- the blueprint of the human being. The breakthrough was hailed as "a milestone in science," a "revolution in medical science" and "the most important, most wondrous map ever produced by humankind." For once,...

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