search

 
 
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 17, 2000

India needs a two-track approach to China

NEW DELHI -- Behind the pomp and ceremony that greeted Indian President K.R. Narayanan during his state visit to China earlier this month was an important message: Beijing wants to strengthen its engagement with India, but not at the cost of its containment strategy. Despite hailing Narayanan as an "old...
CULTURE / Art
Jun 17, 2000

Sculptures that capture the mysterious rhythms of nature

The press release for the sculptor Susumu Shingu's "Wind Caravan" project opens charmingly with a quote from Christina Rossetti: "Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I, but when the trees bow down their heads, the wind is blowing by."
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Jun 17, 2000

A tribute to Japanese world music

In two previous columns (Feb. 5 and May 20) I wrote about recently established live-music houses, WAON in Nippori and Manabiya in Yokohama, where one can hear hogaku. The familiar settings of these spaces allow for an intimate connection with the music, which ranges from relatively unknown young musicians...
BUSINESS
Jun 16, 2000

OECD to tell Japan to keep easy-money policy

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development will recommend that Japan maintain its easy-credit policy and avoid fiscal tightening to strengthen its fragile economic recovery.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2000

Students schooled in politics, not apathy

Hiroshi Harada, a 23-year-old associate of the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management, better known as Matsushita Seikei Juku, gets up before 6 a.m. every day, does exercises to an NHK radio program and cleans up around the institute's main gate with other associates.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2000

MITI stands by nuclear power policy

Nuclear power remains important to Japan despite Germany's decision to shut all its power reactors by the early 2030s, Ministry of International Trade and Industry officials claimed Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2000

Empress Dowager is on respirator

The Empress Dowager, widow of the Emperor Showa, has had difficulty breathing since Wednesday evening and is on a respirator, the Imperial Household Agency said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2000

HIV-positive man sues police for not hiring him

A man in his 20s filed a suit Thursday with the Tokyo District Court against the metropolitan government, claiming the Metropolitan Police Department refused to hire him after finding out he is HIV-positive.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 16, 2000

Yagi, Martinez go double deep

Veteran slugger Hiroshi Yagi and Takashi Yoshida both hit two-run homers off Chunichi lefty Hideo Koike in the second inning Thursday night as the Hanshin Tigers triumphed 12-6 over the Dragons at Koshien Stadium.
BUSINESS
Jun 16, 2000

Microsoft, Hitachi tie on systems solutions

Major Japanese electronics maker Hitachi Ltd. and U.S. software giant Microsoft Corp. said Thursday they have agreed to cooperate in the systems solutions business.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2000

Surveillance is unnecessary as cult poses no danger, Aum leader claims

Aum Shinrikyo chief Tatsuko Muraoka testified during the first hearing of a lawsuit filed against the Public Security Examination Commission that ongoing surveillance of the cult under the anti-Aum law is unnecessary as it no longer poses a threat to society.
EDITORIALS
Jun 16, 2000

Progress in Pyongyang

It has been a historic week on the Korean Peninsula. The summit between the leaders of North and South Korea, Mr. Kim Jong Il and Mr. Kim Dae Jung, has surpassed all expectations. It is tempting to say that the two men are writing the final chapter of the Cold War, but the temptation should be resisted....
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2000

Sumitomo halts sales of rubber gloves with hormone disrupters

Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. said Thursday that it will stop selling vinyl chloride gloves for use in preparing food, in response to a warning Wednesday by the Health and Welfare Ministry that the gloves contain hormone disrupters.
BUSINESS
Jun 16, 2000

Comsn cuts jobs due to profit decline

Major home-care service provider Comsn Co. announced Thursday that it plans to cut about 1,000 jobs, or about one-quarter of its workforce, due to weaker-than-expected earnings from services covered by the newly launched public nursing-care insurance.
COMMUNITY
Jun 16, 2000

Healing relationships bloom in 'renga'

A Japanese proverb says: Doki ai motomu (Like minds are drawn to one another).
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2000

Kubota-linked 'sokaiya' held

OSAKA — Osaka Prefectural Police on Thursday arrested two "sokaiya" corporate racketeers on suspicion of accepting 85 million yen in bribes from major machinery maker Kubota Corp. in the form of billboard rental fees, police sources said.
BUSINESS
Jun 16, 2000

Low-price shares gain favor amid IT slide

Investors are opting for low- and medium-priced shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, reflecting a major shift in investors' preferences.
BUSINESS
Jun 16, 2000

NTT to offer untimed Net access

Two local Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. group firms said Thursday that they will launch July 17 a full-scale flat-rate Internet connection service for integrated service digital network subscribers.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 16, 2000

Dedication the name of the game for aerobics 'queen'

OK, maybe I'm not in the best shape of my life, but does she really have to rub it in?
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2000

Koreans in Japan jubilant over North-South thaw

Korean residents of Japan on Thursday shared in the excitement of the landmark reconciliation pact signed by North and South Korea late Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2000

20 tons of radioactive monazite apparently sold to Toba hotelier

Most of the 20-odd tons of the radioactive substance monazite that disappeared after being purchased by the former head of a trading firm was probably sold to a man in Toba, Mie Prefecture, investigative sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jun 16, 2000

Nippon Life's capital to be increased

Nomura Securities Co. and Daiwa Securities Group Inc. plan to invest 180 billion yen in Nippon Life Insurance Co. to help the insurer beef up its capital base, sources familiar with the deal said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2000

Communists set to sacrifice policies in quest for change

The Japanese Communist Party will ask the people to help it revamp a political setup that has been completely warped by the Liberal Democratic Party's rule, according to JCP leader Tetsuzo Fuwa.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2000

Asahi backs out of planned tieup with Sanwa, Tokai

Three months after signing a basic agreement to integrate its management with Sanwa Bank and Tokai Bank, Asahi Bank reversed its stance Thursday and said it will pull out of the three-way consolidation plan.
BUSINESS
Jun 16, 2000

BTM will survive competition of new era, future chief says

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, currently the biggest bank in Japan, will strive to survive intensifying competition in the banking industry by utilizing its mostly upscale retail customer base and solid international networks, the future president of the bank said.

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