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JAPAN
Mar 4, 2000

Farm ministry searched after arrest

Police searched the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry and several dozen other places Friday in connection with charges that a former ministry official received about 500,000 yen in cash for helping an agricultural cooperative receive favors related to government-backed projects.
BUSINESS
Mar 4, 2000

Japan to pay Taiwanese to junk boats

Japan has agreed in principle to pay Taiwanese tuna fishing boat owners to scrap boats that have been registered to countries not under an international treaty limiting tuna catches, the Fisheries Agency said Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2000

Parents sue to learn truth of son's death

The parents of a 14-year-old boy who was killed in what a family court deemed to have been a one-on-one fight with another boy are to file a damages suit next week against the state and Ibaraki Prefecture, claiming the investigation was unfair, it was learned Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2000

Nine staff of Hiroo hospital charged

A case credited with shedding light on a tendency within the medical community to cover up malpractice has taken another step into uncharted waters.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 4, 2000

Olympic wrestler fights for money to fuel dream of reaching Sydney

Dan Henderson wishes he didn't have to compete in last weekend's King of Kings no-holds-barred tournament in Tokyo. But the stocky American has an Olympic dream, and if he wants to realize it he needs money.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2000

New LTCB boss details his vision for the future

The chief executive officer of the newly privatized Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan has vowed that he will strive to transform the institution into a highly profitable commercial bank, utilizing high-level expertise from western financial institutions.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2000

Japan compiles new rules against illegal trash exports

The government announced Friday that it has tightened rules to require authorities to keep a lookout for illegal exports of garbage.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 4, 2000

Ota Memorial Museum of Art marks 20th anniversary

To mark its 20th anniversary, the Ota Memorial Museum of Art in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward is holding a series of special ukiyo-e exhibitions through April 26.
BUSINESS
Mar 4, 2000

Hokkaido Bank seeks 45 billion yen

Hokkaido Bank, the second largest lender in the northern prefecture, formally asked the Financial Reconstruction Commission on Friday for some 45 billion yen in public funds to shore up its capital base, the bank said.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2000

Agency Internet sites hacked from Web servers in China

Of 16 illegal hacking attacks on Japanese government Web sites that began in January, 12 were carried out through servers in China, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2000

401(k) pension plan OK'd

The government approved legislation Friday to introduce a Japanese version of U.S.-style 401(k) pension plans providing for tax breaks aimed at encouraging firms and workers to take up the new programs, officials said.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 4, 2000

Synthesizing the old and the new

The individual genres of the traditional Japanese performing arts rarely stood alone. Each instrument or genre had a role to play, either religious, theatrical or social, and Japanese instrumental music, with a few exceptions, existed to provide accompaniment to song, dance or theater.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2000

Cultist designed bank program

An Aum Shinrikyo follower in her 30s was involved in the development of computer systems for Wakayama-based Kiyo Bank and several other financial institutions, it was learned Friday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 4, 2000

China menaced by corruption

In the runup to the National People's Congress that opens Sunday, Chinese authorities have intensified their crackdown on corruption and smuggling. Chinese leaders, who see 2000 as a milestone in their anticorruption drive, are gripped by a sense of crisis: They will lose the trust and support of the...
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2000

N. Korea diplomatic talks set for April

Japan and North Korea have agreed in principle to launch negotiations in early April on normalizing diplomatic relations, resuming talks that collapsed in 1992, Japanese government sources said Friday.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 4, 2000

Reaching for light beyond darkness

KYOTO -- Many foreigners new to Japan feel the pulls and strains of adapting to the feeling of demanding but hidden rules in this country, trying to understand things that seem generally accepted but never quite articulated.
BUSINESS
Mar 4, 2000

Updated PlayStation lands in stores

PlayStation2, the advanced version of the world's most popular video game console, goes on sale today amid growing expectations that the new machine will serve as a powerful tool connecting homes to cyberspace in the near future.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2000

U.K. activist seeks testimony in quest to ban nuclear arms

A British antinuclear activist acquitted by a Scottish court in October of criminal responsibility for damage she inflicted on a British nuclear submarine facility called for Japanese citizens to support her efforts to outlaw atomic weapons.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 4, 2000

Twisted tradition that's knotty but nice

A kimono is never complete without an obijime (narrow braided sash cord). Although the color and pattern of the kimono and obi (belt) are what catch the eye on first glance, an obijime is essential to pull the whole look together.
EDITORIALS
Mar 3, 2000

'But it couldn't happen here'

There is no refuge from the senseless gun violence that plagues the United States. Homes, offices, places of worship, city streets and even schools -- no place is safe. This week, there was an especially horrifying episode: the shooting of one first-grader by another. The details tell a tragic story,...
COMMENTARY
Mar 3, 2000

Tide turning against coalition

Only three weeks ago, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's tripartite coalition was in a celebratory mood after the opposition forces ended their boycott of the Diet and all proceedings returned to normal.

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