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JAPAN / History
Jun 28, 2000

China's Korean War POWs find you can't go home again

BEIJING — In a hotel room in the Yangtze River port of Wuhan, a dozen elderly Chinese men fight back tears to sing a song written almost 50 years ago in a U.S. prisoner-of-war camp in South Korea. At the end of the song, their tears flow freely, for friends lost in the conflict and for their own harsh...
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2000

G7 wants IMF votes redistributed

Finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrial nations are poised to push for a redistribution of voting power within the International Monetary Fund when they assemble in Japan next week, an international financial source said Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2000

LDP snubs own to back ally's man

Kensaku Morita, who before the dissolution of the Lower House was a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker, is running as an independent in the Tokyo No. 4 constituency in Sunday's election because of what he calls an "unreasonable" decision by the LDP to back a candidate from one of the party's coalition...
BUSINESS
Jun 22, 2000

Japanese women: the new faces of small business

Most people would assume that to start a business you need plenty of time and money, or at least experience working in a relevant field. But an increasing number of Japanese women are proving this assumption wrong by setting up their own companies based on little more than a good idea and the will to...
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2000

Keeping it in the Takeshita family

IZUMO, Shimane Pref. — The younger brother of the late Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita, the Liberal Democratic Party kingmaker, recently addressed a crowd of some 5,000 people, pledging to carry on his brother's wish to revitalize Japan's "furusato," or hometowns.
JAPAN
May 28, 2000

Miyazawa prayed at Yasukuni

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa broke the taboo of worshipping at Yasukuni Shrine, which is dedicated to Japan's war dead, in 1992 or 1993 when he was prime minister, sources close to family members of the war dead told Kyodo News on Saturday.
JAPAN
May 17, 2000

Miyazawa cannot recall 3 million yen Nakamura admits getting as payoff

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said Tuesday that he has no recollection of handing a paper bag containing 3 million yen to Kishiro Nakamura, a politician who was convicted of accepting bribes, in 1991 to buy his support to raise antitrust fines.
EDITORIALS
May 13, 2000

A first step in electoral reform

With the passage of a bill amending the flawed Public Offices Election Law, the next Lower House election -- which most likely will be held late in June -- promises to be a fairer one. The current system, which was used for the first time in the 1996 Lower House election, is a combination of single-member...
BUSINESS
May 11, 2000

Foreign reserves get IMF lift

The nation's foreign exchange reserves totaled $338.58 billion at the end of April, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 9, 2000

Conductors introduce some new stars

It is fair to assume that anyone reading this column is a music lover of some degree. Take a moment to reflect, though, that there was a time in your life when you had never heard a note of music. What was it that inveigled your innocent ear? When was it? Where were you? Who introduced you?
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2000

Police begin questioning 3 Red Army members

The Metropolitan Police Department on Sunday began questioning three of the four Japanese Red Army members sent back to Japan from Lebanon over the weekend, police sources said.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 18, 2000

Rules said key to easing modified-food fear

MAKUHARI, Chiba Pref. -- As the trade in biotechnology-derived foods increases, consumer concerns over the safety of such foods are growing.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 18, 2000

GMO foe sees standards as WTO lever

MAKUHARI, Chiba Pref. -- If the international community can set up strict safety standards on genetically modified foods, it would give countries a tool to stop the import of such foods to protect their people, said Jean Halloran, a representative of Consumers International.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2000

Former minister gets prison term

The Tokyo District Court sentenced former Labor Minister Toshio Yamaguchi to four years in prison Thursday in connection with illicit loans involving two failed Tokyo credit unions.
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2000

Talks on modified foods move to working groups

MAKUHARI, Chiba Pref. -- Participants at a meeting to establish international standards for genetically modified foods decided Wednesday to move their discussions to working groups.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2000

German ambassador focuses on promoting G8's success

Building seems to be very much on Uwe Kurt Kaestner's mind.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2000

Budget's passage puts focus on polls

The Lower House approval Tuesday of the fiscal 2000 budget, a major hurdle in the ongoing 150-day regular Diet session, is expected to give Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi a freer hand in dissolving the chamber for a general election.
JAPAN
Feb 29, 2000

With budget set, elections may be next

Lower House approval of the fiscal 2000 budget, a major hurdle in the ongoing 150-day regular Diet session, is expected to give Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi a freer hand in dissolving the chamber for a general election.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2000

Quest on for firm English footing

First of two partsStaff writer Do all Japanese need to speak English? And will they? Yes, says an advisory panel to the prime minister that recently outlined Japan's goals for the 21st century. In the past, Japan has taken steps to improve English education by reportedly making textbooks more communication-oriented...
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2000

Landmark decision grants residency to Iranian family

In a landmark decision Wednesday, three members of an Iranian family were granted special residence permission by Justice Minister Hideo Usui. The three, having overstayed their visas, petitioned immigration authorities for special status in September. It is the first time the government has issued...
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2000

Opposition parties headed for breakthrough

Staff writer Cashing in on the unpopularity of the "gigantic" ruling coalition, opposition parties are optimistic of making a big leap forward in the next general election -- and forecasts by political analysts suggest they have a favorable wind behind them. But it is not clear if the opposition forces,...
JAPAN
Nov 26, 1999

Airline heads vow to boost, develop Asia-Pacific region

Top officials of international airlines in the Asia-Pacific region adopted a package of resolutions Friday to develop the area's civil aviation industry and provide better services to passengers.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 1999

2000 may be watershed year for yen

Staff writer
EDITORIALS
Nov 17, 1999

Bringing China into the fold

The breakthrough trade agreement signed in Beijing on Monday between China and the United States heralds the imminent global debut of the world's last-remaining large market that is basically free and operates on the basis of common global rules. This is a real boon, not only for the two nations concerned,...
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1999

New Komeito's ethics clash with new partner

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 2, 1999

Nishimura called on to resign seat

A group of female lawmakers of the Social Democratic Party submitted a written request Tuesday to the office of Liberal Party member Shingo Nishimura, demanding he immediately resign over recent remarks that led to his resignation from his post as Defense Agency parliamentary vice minister.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 19, 1999

Japan searches for status, finds only frustration

JAPAN'S QUEST FOR A PERMANENT SECURITY COUNCIL SEAT: A Matter of Pride or Justice?, by Reinhard Drifte. MacMillan Press, St. Antony's Series, 1999, 269 pp., 47.50 British pounds. From the day Japan surrendered to end World War II, its leaders have sought to rehabilitate the country and restore its prewar...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 14, 1999

Megawati has lost her way

HONG KONG -- Indonesia faces a more profound immediate national crisis than India or Japan -- but all three face the same basic political problem: They badly need an effective ruling coalition. In New Delhi and Tokyo, a coalition government is in place. In Jakarta, it isn't.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building