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COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 1999

Facing the reality of Taiwan

Later this week, government officials I have never used the words "one China." In fact, I have never learned the usage of "one China," and today I have found that this is not my singular experience. One of the distinguished participants from the United States told us that he did not remember having used...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Aug 4, 1999

Consider the alternatives

A woman asks about cats. She would like to do something to help them. She doesn't tell us what kind of help she would like to provide, but it is a reasonably safe assumption to think she wants to help homeless cats, the ones that gather in any neighborhood where residents will give them food. Mine is...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Aug 4, 1999

How to keep the main clause interesting

Many years ago when she was studying for the TOEFL exam, my wife asked me to explain the difference between a main clause and a subordinate one. She somehow had it in her head that as a native speaker I would instinctively know what those words meant.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 1999

Finance firm held up for 2 million yen

OSAKA -- A knife-wielding man robbed a consumer finance company in the Nanba district here Wednesday morning and made off with about 2 million yen in cash, police said.
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Aug 4, 1999

Islands of diversity and divergence

Although the islands of New Zealand, which I wrote about last time, are fascinating, we don't need to travel so far to find isolated islands supporting interesting biodiversity. Japan's own southern archipelago, straggling from Kyushu toward Taiwan, known as the Nansei Shoto, is so rich in both flora...
EDITORIALS
Aug 3, 1999

Mending relations with Russia

NATO's bombing campaign may have won the war in Kosovo but damaged relations between Russia and the West were part of the price of victory. The decision by Moscow and Washington to open new talks on arms control and renew efforts to integrate Russia into the world economy is a welcome sign that the breach...
JAPAN
Aug 3, 1999

Tokyo probes Sumida Ward hospital infections

Metropolitan authorities have inspected a hospital in Tokyo's Sumida Ward after it was found that seven inpatients were infected with serratia bacteria, of whom three died last week, officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 1999

Brief JR service stoppage planned for New Year's Eve

East Japan Railway Co. will halt trains at stations for a few minutes shortly before midnight Dec. 31 to forestall possible Year 2000 problems, JR East sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 1999

Yasuda Kasai CIGNA eyes 5% of 401(k) market

Staff writer
JAPAN
Aug 3, 1999

Justice Ministry to exempt media from wiretaps

The Justice Ministry has decided in principle to exempt the media from being wiretapped in a bill currently before the Diet, ministry sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 1999

Ex-campaign worker sues Yokoyama over groping

OSAKA -- A 21-year woman filed a 12 million yen damages suit Tuesday against Osaka Gov. "Knock" Yokoyama, accusing him of sexually harassing her while she was working for his re-election campaign in April.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 1999

Colombian ambassador seeks support over guerrillas

Colombia's new ambassador to Japan, Ricardo Gutierrez, on Tuesday urged the international community to support his government's efforts to achieve peace after 35 years of conflict with guerrillas.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 1999

Nissho Iwai announces major restructuring

Nissho Iwai Corp., a major trading firm struggling under heavy financial burdens, will carry out a drastic restructuring that will halve its textile business, company sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 1999

Airlines want aviation costs in Japan halved

Representatives of foreign airlines operating in Japan called for public support on Tuesday to reduce the country's aviation-related fees, which they claim far exceed the level of other major international airports.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 1999

Aum turns to bar for help against closed localities

Aum Shinrikyo followers, whose residency applications have been refused by municipalities nationwide, asked the Japan Federation of Bar Associations Tuesday to defend their human rights.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 3, 1999

Never let them see you surf

The bikini-clad teenage girls lie on mats on the sand and massage each other with low-protection sun-tan oil while examining the advancement of their tans with pocket mirrors.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Aug 3, 1999

Endangered turtles vs. encaustic tourists

Something happened to the face of the Greek car rental man when we mentioned that we'd come to Zakynthos to see loggerhead sea turtles. His easy smile slipped.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 1999

New Komeito rails against Diet seats bill

New Komeito chief Takenori Kanzaki warned Tuesday that further Diet deliberations on a bill aimed at cutting 50 proportional representation seats from the Lower House would "seriously affect" his party's upcoming talks on entering the Liberal Democratic Party's ruling coalition.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 1999

Tokyo Forex, Ueda Harlow to unite brokering, lending

Japan's two largest foreign exchange brokers on Monday announced an agreement to set up a joint company in September to handle their brokerage business and foreign currency lending in an effort to raise profitability.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 1999

Minister downplays dismal jobless figures

Vice trade minister Osamu Watanabe brushed aside concerns Monday over the nation's record-high 4.9 percent unemployment rate logged last week, reassuring that the recession touched bottom in the first quarter of the year.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 1999

Dioxin in breast milk high: ministry survey

Dioxin in the fat of breast milk measured in women 30 days after childbirth averages 22.2 picograms per gram, a survey by the Health and Welfare Ministry revealed Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 1999

Teachers not teaching 'Kimigayo' face reprimand

Teachers who fail to guide students "appropriately" during ceremonies involving the Hinomaru and "Kimigayo" can face disciplinary action, an Education Ministry official said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 1999

Nissan to unload stake in nine Tu-Ka firms

Nissan Motor Co. announced Monday that it will sell all its shares in nine Tu-Ka and Digital Tu-Ka cellular phone companies to DDI Corp. and Japan Telecom Co. in a move that will likely accelerate the ongoing realignment of cellular phone operators into three major groups -- DDI, Japan Telecom and NTT...
JAPAN
Aug 2, 1999

Nuclear plant accident blamed on metal fatigue

Metal fatigue is the suspected culprit of last month's nuclear plant accident in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, where a massive amount of radioactive coolant water leaked from a cracked reactor pipe, the plant operator announced Monday.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Aug 1, 1999

Russia's Navy lists in port

There is only one place where modern submarines dock in Venetian canals, the replica of Aya Sofya is home to a naval theater company, and young people date in the ruins of old Scandinavian forts. Few small towns have such a special destiny, but Kronshtadt, situated on barren Kotlin Island, a mere 29...
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 1, 1999

Giving kyogen the center stage

By counterpointing the gassy comedy of kyogen with noh's abstract symbols, Japanese theater keeps body and soul together. The effect is rather like a poet ending his song -- then slipping on a banana skin. Correspondingly, when performed separately it isn't half as funny.
COMMENTARY
Aug 1, 1999

Congress squanders another opportunity

Although Republicans retain the control of the U.S. Congress that they won in in 1994, they have done little good with their power. U.S. President Bill Clinton, despite his endless scandals, continues to aggressively expand government. His administration has enacted 10,866 new regulations since 1997...
EDITORIALS
Jul 31, 1999

Renewed hope for the ARF

This year's meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum could not have been more timely. China and Taiwan were engaged in a vicious exchange as Beijing threatened war against the island it regards as a renegade province. Tensions in Indonesia were high as political parties rejected the results of the June national...
COMMENTARY
Jul 31, 1999

Provocation or extortion?

The latest North Korean crisis, now that the mysterious underground facility at Kumchang-ri has proven to be nothing more than a huge hole in the ground, centers on the reportedly imminent launch of another multistage long-range missile. The last launch, on Aug. 31, 1998, involved an overflight of Japan...
CULTURE / Art
Jul 31, 1999

Time-honored craft may be blowing away

In Japan the sound of a furin (wind bell) tinkling in the breeze is believed to invoke a sense of coolness during a hot and humid summer.

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