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JAPAN
Jun 15, 2000

Aum law fingered in Amnesty International report

Amnesty International referred to Japan's recently enacted legislation targeting Aum Shinrikyo and a law authorizing wiretapping by police as human-rights concerns, in its annual report released Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 15, 2000

Giants fans give silent treatment

The Yomiuri Giants tried to bring a North American feel to the Tokyo Dome on Wednesday evening, asking their fans to leave the drums, trumpets and megaphones at home as they took on the Yokohama BayStars.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2000

Party chiefs launch campaigns

Official campaigning kicked off Tuesday for the June 25 general election, which will determine the fate of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and his three-party coalition government.
OLYMPICS
Jun 14, 2000

Olympic track team announced by JAAF

The Japan Amateur Athletic Federation on Monday named 23 athletes for its team at the Sydney Olympics, including injury-prone sprinter Nobuharu Asahara and Harumi Hiroyama, who narrowly missed a place in the women's marathon squad.
BUSINESS
Jun 14, 2000

Officials doubt adequacy of Canadian response to WTO auto tariff ruling

About four years after losing a legal battle at the World Trade Organization over liquor, Japan last month evened the score with Canada by winning a different legal battle there -- over autos.
BUSINESS
Jun 14, 2000

Oracle, KDD debut info Web site

Oracle, KDD Oracle Corp. Japan and KDD Corp. jointly announced Tuesday that they will start operating a Web site from today where users can receive advice from registered computer experts for fees ranging from 10 yen to 1,000 yen per question.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2000

Korean residents wary of reunifying homeland

OSAKA — Local Korean residents welcomed Tuesday's historic summit between the leaders of North and South Korea but cautioned that numerous hurdles remained to reunification.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2000

Tokyo welcomes 'smooth' start to Korean talks

Japan welcomed South Korean President Kim Dae Jung's arrival in Pyongyang on Tuesday as a "smooth" start to the first-ever inter-Korea summit and expressed hope that the three-day meeting will yield "good achievements."
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2000

Radioactive mail alleges smuggling by ministry body

A message included in envelopes containing small amounts of a radioactive substance mailed earlier last week to government offices alleged that an Education Ministry foundation is smuggling uranium to North Korea, police sources said Tuesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 14, 2000

Giants ask fans to turn down volume

Anyone familiar with Japanese baseball and the nonstop cheering that goes on in the outfield bleachers for nine innings may find Wednesday's matchup between the Yomiuri Giants and Yokohama BayStars a rather quiet affair.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 14, 2000

Martinez cracks grand slam as Giants club BayStars 7-4

Domingo Martinez belted a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning Tuesday as the Yomiuri Giants rallied for five runs en route to a 7-4 victory over the Yokohama BayStars at the Tokyo Dome.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2000

Nissan scholarships 'investing in the future'

In a ceremony earlier this week to mark the third anniversary of a Nissan Motor Co. scholarship program, Chief Operating Officer Carlos Ghosn described the program as an investment in the future.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2000

Canada uranium search rights farmed out

The government body responsible for researching and establishing nuclear recycling systems will farm out its Canadian rights to explore for uranium to a firm jointly set up by four Japanese companies, government officials said Tuesday.
LIFE / Digital
Jun 14, 2000

Japanese gaming site unveiled

A Japanese gaming community Web site was unveiled Monday in conjunction with the launch of the Japanese subsidiary of AsiaContent.com, a pan-Asian consumer Internet company.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 14, 2000

How Japan's JET program got off the ground

IMPORTING DIVERSITY: Inside Japan's JET Program, by David L. McConnell. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000, 328 pp. (paper). Stung by international criticism that Japan was too insular, the government decided in August of 1987 to initiate "one of the largest educational programs in the...
EDITORIALS
Jun 14, 2000

When politics itself is an issue

Campaigning officially started on Tuesday for the June 25 Lower House election, which is of particular significance to Japan because it will basically determine the nature and direction of Japanese politics at the beginning of the 21st century. As such, the general election -- the first in three years...
LIFE / Travel
Jun 14, 2000

On the open road to Tucson

Favorite travel fantasies come in many forms -- not everyone dreams of a deserted white-sand beach on Maui.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jun 14, 2000

Gateways to synergy

Every time I visit a particular convenience store, I wince at the repeated announcement of its Web site: "Eichi chi chi pi koron surashu surashu daburyu daburyu daburyu dotto . . . " It is supposed to be such a cutting-edge play, but it only reminds me of how clumsy the analog world can be, and of how...
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2000

Vision said key to campaign

It's all about the vision thing, or the lack of it, thinks Keio University economics professor Heizo Takenaka about the campaign for the Lower House election.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 14, 2000

Asian economic ills were homegrown

ASIAN ECLIPSE: Exploring the Dark Side of Business in Asia, by Michael Backman. Singapore: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd., 1999, 379 pp., $29.95 (cloth). An insightful adage states that a best friend dispenses "tough love," meaning that if one is turning into an alcoholic, the friend will withhold strong...
BUSINESS
Jun 14, 2000

Orix, Credit Saison offer higher rates of interest

Orix Trust & Banking Corp. and major credit card issuer Credit Saison Co. announced Tuesday that beginning in July they will offer Credit Saison card holders up to 1 percent interest per annum on ordinary deposits with the bank.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 14, 2000

The best mechanics in the world

Canada's Inuit have many talents, but one of the most impressive is their mechanical ability. With or without training, they have a reputation as the world's best natural mechanics.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 14, 2000

The return of an old classic: fresh fish and soccer for all

Shimizu, a port city in Shizuoka Prefecture, is back in fashion again. In the Edo Period, Shimizu was a popular post town on the Tokaido Highway. Travelers liked its fresh fish and tasty Oiwake yokan bean paste. But the inauguration of train service between Tokyo and Kyoto spelled doom for Shimizu, as...
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2000

Immigration sweep takes in 1,040

Immigration officers arrested 1,040 foreigners on suspicion of violating the immigration law during a three-week sweep that started May 15, the Justice Ministry said.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2000

Violation of rights by cops nets redress

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to pay 180,000 yen in compensation to a man denied the right to see his lawyer while in police detention in 1990.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 14, 2000

Japan's path from imitator to world-beating innovator

CULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY IN MODERN JAPAN, edited by Ian Inkster and Fumihiko Satofuka. London/New York: Tauris, 2000, 169 pp., unpriced. The relationship between culture and technology is complex and multilayered. Technological innovations that had profound effects on culture are easy to find: Think of...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 14, 2000

Kyogen's hero is Everyman

KYOGEN COMPANION, by Don Kenny, with a brief history by Kazuo Toguchi. Tokyo: National Noh Theater, 1999. 308 pp. with b/w plates. 1,800 yen. Kyogen are short comic plays sometimes a part of, but more often sandwiched between, the longer and often tragic noh dramas. They are spoken in the vernacular...

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan