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COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Aug 12, 2000

Bush makes Moscow nervous

The election year is disrupting the normally smooth, quiet summer in the United States. Newspapers replace Harry Potter books as beach reading, Republican and Democratic conventions dominate television, the two parties are finalizing platforms, the two candidates exchange mutual verbal abuse, voters...
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Aug 12, 2000

Lieberman gives Gore a boost

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut is Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore's choice for vice president. The choice is a masterful one. Lieberman brings several big pluses to Gore's candidacy:
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2000

BOJ votes to abandon ultraeasy money policy

The Bank of Japan on Friday defied acute political pressure and decided to abandon its "zero-interest-rate" policy.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 12, 2000

U.S. support crucial to international court

In 1995, during the 50th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials, U.S. President Bill Clinton endorsed the creation of an International Criminal Court, the first U.S. president to do so. Despite his sup port, however, the United States joined China, Iraq, Libya, Israel, Qatar and Yemen in voting against...
COMMENTARY
Aug 12, 2000

What are the world's options in Myanmar?

KAWTHOOLEI, Myanmar -- From a distance, the jungle looks peaceful. Dense, green growth covers hills that march endlessly onward. Primitive villages emerge in simple clearings: wood and bamboo buildings, covered by thatched roofs, sitting on stilts and open to rain, animals and mosquitoes.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Aug 12, 2000

Bringing out the flavor of the clay

Shuroku Harada is the consummate potter. First off, this highly successful ceramist doesn't put on any proud airs; he maintains a humbleness that is important when working with the earth. He shapes the clay and the clay has shaped him, so to speak, into what he is today; mutual respect at its best.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 12, 2000

Summit highlights need for new diplomacy

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — In an era of great change, diplomacy, like many other disciplines, must adapt and innovate. Some changes are already visible.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2000

Former construction minister indicted over bribes

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office indicted former Construction Minister Eiichi Nakao on Thursday on charges of receiving 30 million yen in bribes from Wakachiku Construction Co. between June 1996 and September 1996.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2000

NPA survey finds Internet-related crime, arrests surging

The number of Internet-related criminal cases in which arrests were made totaled 201 in the first six months of this year, compared with 247 cases in all of 1999, according to a National Police Agency survey released Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2000

Major political players plan to scatter for summer break

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori will play golf in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, this week, while Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa will spend about two weeks in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, beginning next week during their summer holidays.
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2000

Sony plans to offer content for CS digital broadcasts

Sony Corp. plans to provide content designed for Japan's next-generation communications satellite digital broadcasting system to be launched next summer, Sony officials said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2000

Politicians know ordinary people best: Aizawa

The government will not delay again the sale of the nationalized Nippon Credit Bank to a Softbank Corp.-led consortium on Sept. 1, despite a controversial clause in the contract, the new chairman of the Financial Reconstruction Commission said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2000

Honda cites strong yen in profit drop

Honda Motor Co. on Thursday reported consolidated pretax profits of 101.7 billion yen for the first quarter of fiscal 2000, down 15.9 percent from the same period last year.
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2000

Bridgestone forecasts loss after U.S. unit recalls tires

Bridgestone Corp. said Thursday it expects an extraordinary loss of 37.2 billion yen on a consolidated basis this business year in connection with the recall of some 6.5 million tires by its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary.
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2000

Diamond Power wins MITI contract

In a move to facilitate competition in the power industry, a yearlong contract with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry was awarded Thursday to Diamond Power Corp. -- an affiliate of Mitsubishi Corp. -- to supply electricity to MITI's main building and its annex in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district....
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2000

Panel to make rules for genome study

The government said Thursday that it has established a task force to draft guidelines by the end of next March for studying the human genome.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2000

Trip brings students closer to truth about Japan

History books and historical truths are often two different things. This valuable lesson was stressed by students participating in this year's Japan Return Program.
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2000

Sumitomo, Mitsui firms eye 401(k)

Eight companies belonging to the Sumitomo and Mitsui groups announced Thursday that they will jointly set up a company in September to handle the 401(k) type of pension plan expected to be introduced next year.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 11, 2000

'Stars top Giants in 11-HR slugfest

Takanori Suzuki and Bobby Rose each hit two-run homers and combined for seven RBIs as the Yokohama BayStars edged the Central League-leading Yomiuri Giants 12-11 Thursday in an 11-homer slugfest at the Tokyo Dome.
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2000

Current account surplus up 8.8%

Japan's current account surplus, the broadest measure of trade, expanded 8.8 percent in the first half of this year from a year earlier, due to a shrinking deficit in services, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2000

Farm households' income drops again

The average annual income of farming households in Japan dropped 2.5 percent to 8.46 million yen in 1999 for the third consecutive year of decline, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 11, 2000

Nowhere for tyrants to hide

Old age for Chile's former strongman Augusto Pinochet and Indonesia's former President Suharto looks much different from anything they had probably envisaged. These two distinguished men, each of whom fashioned himself as the savior of his country, are now rethinking their retirement plans. Instead of...
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2000

BOJ holds cards in 'zero-rate' maneuvers

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami is likely to urge the central bank's Policy Board to terminate the nearly 18-month-old "zero-interest-rate" policy at its policy-setting meeting today, monetary sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2000

Japan, U.S. plan security talks in New York

Japan and the United States plan to hold a meeting of their foreign and defense ministers in New York around Sept. 11, Japanese government officials said Thursday.

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