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LIFE / Travel
Sep 1, 1999

Eyes wide shut in North Korea

It's late afternoon in Beijing. Beside a gloomy, concrete platform an antiquated train lumbers into place. In the dim light, people scurry about looking for the right car. This is, in fact, important. The first four carriages are bound for Dandong, a small Chinese border town, but the last two will continue...
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ARCHIPELA-GO
Sep 1, 1999

Soul searching with yamabushi of Dewa Sanzan

MOUNT HAGURO, Yamagata Pref. -- Three days trekking deep into the mountains with no money, makeup, jewelry, bath, toothbrush or razor is definitely not your average walk in the hills. Add on agreeing to endure a grueling series of self-suffering ancient rituals and sacred rites, and obey every utter...
JAPAN
Sep 1, 1999

Post offices try hand at electronic sales

The nation's 100 major post offices launched a new automated shopping service Wednesday for products ranging from airline tickets to game software, entering yet another new business.
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Sep 1, 1999

The water is wide, I cannot get o'er

The mammals of the Nansei Shoto may be inconspicuous and difficult to observe, but their distribution, and the relationships between the different species and populations in these islands, provides insight into the past history of the archipelago. This interesting mixture of animals has links in the...
JAPAN
Sep 1, 1999

Asahi to close Tokyo brewery, trim workforce

Asahi Breweries, Ltd. will close its aging brewery in Tokyo's Ota Ward and transfer production to a new plant in Minami-Ashigara, Kanagawa Prefecture, President Shigeo Fukuchi told a Tokyo press conference Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 1999

New car sales down for 29th month in row

Domestic sales of new cars, trucks and buses slipped 0.8 percent in August from a year earlier to 233,418 units, marking the 29th straight monthly decline, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association reported on Wednesday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Sep 1, 1999

The 'S' word makes a happy marriage

The time has come in this column to finally discuss that passionate act that lies at the core of many an international romance. Yes, it's time for the "S" word.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 1999

Illegal workers make plea in risky immigration visit

A group of Asians who have overstayed their visas visited the Tokyo Regional Immigration Office on Wednesday to ask the Justice Minister to give them special permission to live in Japan.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Sep 1, 1999

You are here?

The future is now. Or at least it was, two Sundays ago, in Japan. That was when computers in 24 satellites reached their built-in time limit and reset their internal clocks to zero.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Sep 1, 1999

Defying changes

Volunteer organizations come and go, often depending on who runs them. Many times a group will cease to exist when the person who held it together leaves Japan. Fortunately, there are still many people who give their time to volunteer organizations. Their number, however, has decreased as more professional...
EDITORIALS
Aug 31, 1999

The DPJ at a crossroads

The Democratic Party of Japan looks set for a three-way race to select its new head next month. The current leader, Mr. Naoto Kan, and the deputy secretary general, Mr. Yukio Hatoyama, have already announced they will run in the Sept. 25 party election. The third man, Mr. Takahiro Yokomichi, chairman...
COMMENTARY
Aug 31, 1999

ODA helps Japan, the world

Medium-term policy guidelines for Official Development Assistance, announced by the government Aug. 10, set the standards for implementing Japan's ODA between 1999 and 2003. The guidelines place emphasis on aid to Asian countries to help them implement structural reforms aimed at solving their economic...
JAPAN
Aug 31, 1999

Ghosn speaks on Nissan prospects

Nissan Motor Co. must get itself back on a track toward profitability in the next fiscal year -- a goal that could be held captive by market conditions, according to Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's chief operating officer.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 1999

Daiei eyes sale of Recruit stake

As a way to accelerate efforts to repay its debts, Daiei Inc., the country's leading supermarket chain operator, plans to sell its stake in publishing firm Recruit Co., top officials of the firm said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 1999

Yokomichi enters DPJ race on battle cry of constitutional debate

Takahiro Yokomichi, chairman of the Executive Council of the Democratic Party of Japan, formally announced his candidacy in the party's presidential race Tuesday, saying he will make the war-renouncing Constitution one of the main focuses of campaign debate.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 1999

Canadian software puts face on crime

Staff writer
JAPAN
Aug 31, 1999

Industrial output slid 0.6% in July on monthly basis

Industrial output slipped 0.6 percent in July from the previous month, following a 3.2 percent rise in June, according to a preliminary report released Tuesday by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 1999

Sexologist to speak on medical ethics

Milton Diamond, a leading sexologist and professor at the University of Hawaii Medical School, will give a lecture on medical ethics concerning intersexualism, the study of people born with sexually ambiguous genitals, Friday at Tokyo Women's Plaza in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 1999

Russia still hopes for Yeltsin visit sometime

Russia is determined to have Boris Yeltsin visit Japan, visiting Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko told Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 1999

Anniversary launch unlikely, defense chief says

On the first anniversary of North Korea's surprising launch of a three-stage missile over Japan, Defense Agency chief Hosei Norota said Tuesday that Pyongyang is not yet ready to fire another one any time soon.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 1999

High dioxin ingestion found in Osaka, Saitama

Ten of 59 people surveyed from Osaka and Saitama prefectures were found to be consuming more than the tolerable daily intake of dioxin, the amount experts believe can be ingested throughout one's lifetime without any adverse effects.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 1999

Chretien to visit Japan this month

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien will visit Japan in mid-September to strengthen bilateral ties, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 1999

Coalition talks set for next week

The Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Liberal Party agreed Tuesday to begin talks next week with New Komeito on widening the ruling bloc.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 1999

Yosano protests U.S. steel trade retaliation

Trade Minister Kaoru Yosano said Tuesday he would send a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky later in the day to protest Washington's move to apply a safeguard measure to Japanese steel wire-rod imports.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 1999

LDP race unofficially under way

Staff writer
CULTURE / Books
Aug 31, 1999

Buddhist riffs that are and aren't poetry

For some time now, the trappings (if not the tenets) of Buddhism and Buddhist philosophy have been making their way into the popular Western consciousness.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 31, 1999

Songs you can hum on the Pavement

The opening act at Akasaka Blitz on Aug. 24 was an earnest Danish group called Thau, who offered a thumping and searing sound reminiscent of the Meat Puppets. The audience awarded their 20-minute set with a warm and noisy ovation, prompting effusive gratitude from the band's drummer, who mentioned what...
JAPAN
Aug 31, 1999

Obuchi tells MITI to design plan for small firms

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry will draw up measures to help nurture small firms and venture businesses ahead of the upcoming extraordinary Diet session this fall, MITI chief Kaoru Yosano said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 1999

Yanai to replace Saito as ambassador to U.S.

Former Vice Foreign Minister Shunji Yanai on Tuesday was officially appointed as the new ambassador to the United States, replacing Kunihiko Saito, who will be retiring from the Foreign Ministry.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 31, 1999

Shakespeare comes as you like it in Japan

SHAKESPEARE AND THE JAPANESE STAGE, edited by Takashi Sasayama, J.R. Mulryne and Margaret Shewring. Cambridge University Press, 1998, 357 pp., 45 British Pounds. More than 50 years ago I went to my first Japanese staging of Shakespeare. It was "Hamlet," in Tokyo, and what I remember best is that when...

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