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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.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 31, 1999

Putting art back into everyday life

The Kanazawa Citizen's Art Center belies the truth of the expression that you cannot put new wine into old skins.
COMMENTARY
Jul 30, 1999

Selling out in Nagata-cho

"Japanese politics today lacks principles," former Health and Welfare Minister Junichiro Koizumi said when I met him recently as a member of a journalists' group. Koizumi also criticized government budget outlays of 80 trillion yen, against national and local tax revenues of only 50 trillion yen. He...
EDITORIALS
Jul 30, 1999

Taking up the fight against TB

Tuberculosis, a communicable disease that has been commonly linked to poverty and unsanitary living conditions, is making a troubling comeback in Japan. The situation has become so worrisome that the Ministry of Health and Welfare issued a tuberculosis emergency declaration Monday, warning the nation...
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1999

Vitz spells end for Toyota Corolla, other models

NAGOYA -- Toyota Motor Corp. has discontinued production of its Starlet passenger cars to make room for the popular Vitz, Toyota officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1999

Honda engines move from Wako to Sayama

Honda Motor Co. plans to expand its assembly plant in Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, in the next fiscal year to shift engine production from its Wako plant located in the same prefecture, Honda officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1999

Millenium bug to delay New Year's flights

Minor delays are expected for some 60 international flights departing Japan at the end of the year due to crisis management measures to deal with the Year 2000 computer problem, Transport Ministry officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1999

World Bank hit for pushing medical waste incineration

The World Bank should stop funding medical waste incinerators and ensure that its projects only allow burning of medical waste when unavoidable, according to a report presented Friday by a nongovernmental organization in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1999

Asahi profits expand on Super Dry sales

Asahi Breweries Ltd. hit record highs both in sales and pretax profits for the first half of this year, thanks to the continued popularity of Super Dry brand products, according to a financial statement released Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1999

One year down as Obuchi firmly hits political stride

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi expressed his determination Friday to successfully stage the 2000 summit of the Group of Eight major nations in Okinawa, indicating his readiness to stay at the helm for at least another year.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1999

Attachable rooms ease space problems for elderly

OSAKA -- A contemporary problem confronting many Japanese living in small homes is the search for space to enable proper care for elderly family members.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1999

5 trillion yen defense budget sought

The Defense Agency will seek 4.999 trillion yen for its fiscal 2000 budget, up 1.6 percent from that of the current fiscal year, Defense Agency chief Hosei Norota said Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1999

Coeds demand end to discrimination

A group of female college students on Friday submitted a petition to the labor minister demanding that the government improve the job market for new graduates and put an end to discrimination against women.

Longform

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How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan