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JAPAN
Jun 11, 1999

Tokyo Sowa folds under revised capital deficit

Tokyo Sowa Bank collapsed Friday under a massive capital deficit to become the latest failure in Japan's debt-ridden financial sector.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1999

Strong GDP data fails to impress Miyazawa

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa gave a cautious assessment Friday of the nation's reported economic growth of 1.9 percent in the January-March quarter.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1999

Analysis: Job measures short-sighted

Can the emergency package of job security and industrial competitiveness measures endorsed by the government Friday help jolt the country out of record-high unemployment?
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Jun 11, 1999

When did originality go out of focus?

Hiromix, the person credited with the current popularity of "girl" photographers, has thus far lived a charmed life: After stints as a "serious" artist, a band leader and, most recently, a mayonnaise spokeswoman, she has restyled herself as a singer-songwriter with the release of her new record "Hiromix...
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1999

Citizen-numbering bill now set for Diet vote

A bill to revise the resident register law to create a citizen-numbering system was approved by a Lower House panel Friday with support from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its junior coalition partner, the Liberal Party, and New Komeito.
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 11, 1999

How to play Hamlet, that is the question

"There are few rules about playing Shakespeare, but many possibilities," said Shakespearean director, educator and theoretician John Barton, in his edifying book "Playing Shakespeare."
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1999

Suicides climb; birthrate sputters

Several national statistics hit record levels last year as the average birthrate dropped to an all-time low of 1.38 babies per woman and the number of suicides topped 30,000 for the first time, the Health and Welfare Ministry said Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1999

Jobs, extra budget packages slated for current session

The current Diet session will be asked to approve a supplementary fiscal 1999 budget and other legislation that would finance a package of job-creating measures and implement steps aimed at reviving Japan's industrial competitiveness, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 10, 1999

Peace and priorities in Kosovo

With peace tantalizingly close in Kosovo, it is important to remember why NATO has waged its air war against Yugoslavia: Over 1 million ethnic Albanian Kosovars have been murdered or driven from their homes in a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing. Yugoslav security forces were the instrument of oppression;...
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Appliance recycling comes to fore

A throwaway society has produced mountains of waste, creating a nightmare that all dumps in this country may be filled in the next seven to eight years.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Analysis: Lofty administrative goals not attained by bills

It has been said that the two sets of administrative reform bills moving on to the Upper House will bring about Japan's most sweeping reforms in 100 years and end the bureaucracy's dominance over the administration.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Sri Lankans find way to share the scholarship

In the small southern Sri Lankan town of Kataragama, high school student Gamini Nawaratne eagerly awaits his monthly mail from Japan.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Japan remains top ODA donor

Japan remained the world's top economic aid donor in 1998 for the eighth consecutive year, providing a total of $10.68 billion in official development assistance, according to statistics released Friday by the Development Assistance Committee.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Revenues dip for midsize life insurers

The nation's seven midsize life insurance firms released their fiscal 1998 earnings reports Thursday, in which all but Daido Life Insurance Co. reported declines in premium revenues.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Aoba posts first fiscal year earnings

Aoba Life Insurance Co. logged premium revenues totaling 64.9 billion yen for fiscal 1998 ended March 31, the firm said in its first full-year earnings reports, released Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

GDP expanded 1.9% in January-March quarter

The nation's economy grew 1.9 percent in the January-March quarter — an annualized rate of 7.9 percent — breaking a string of five consecutive quarters of contraction, the Economic Planning Agency said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Teachers to oppose flag, song bill

The Japan Teachers' Union began a three-day regular meeting Thursday in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward to discuss action plans with a special aim to oppose government moves to legally recognize the Hinomaru as the nation's flag and "Kimigayo" as the anthem.
EDITORIALS
Jun 10, 1999

Fear on the table

Europe is gripped by its worst food crisis since 1996. Then, scientists discovered that beef from Britain may have been infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or "mad cow disease." Now, new fears have been triggered by the discovery in Belgium that fat contaminated with dioxin -- a lethal carcinogen...
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Edo freighter replica to be tested in Osaka Bay

OSAKA — A replica of an Edo Period cargo vessel is nearly complete and will be tested in Osaka Bay early next month, according to city officials.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Cultist says Inoue lied about guru

An Aum Shinrikyo senior cultist on Thursday accused another former follower of giving false evidence in the alleged drugging-killing of a Tokyo notary public in February 1995.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Panel urges simplifying port service regulations

Regulations on port services should be gradually simplified, according to a recommendation made Thursday by an advisory panel to the transport minister.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

LDP OKs Hinomaru, 'Kimigayo' bill

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party approved a Cabinet plan Thursday to adopt a bill today to legally recognize the Hinomaru as the national flag and "Kimigayo" as the anthem.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 10, 1999

Rockers get down for Tibet Freedom weekend

What do an 11th-century Tibetan saint and a member of one of the world's more popular hip-hop groups have in common?
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Government outlines job-creation measures

The government on Thursday outlined its long-awaited emergency steps to bolster job security and revive industrial competitiveness, setting a target of 720,000 new jobs.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Analysis: Life insurers' credibility shaken

Major and second-tier life insurers' dismal earnings reports for fiscal 1998 have cast yet another shadow over the industry, already shaken by the recent collapse of midsize Toho Mutual Life Insurance Co.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1999

Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge walk set for August 1

The Japan National Tourist Organization is organizing a walk over the 4-km-long Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge, the world's first triple suspension span, on Aug. 1.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1999

Ready for 2000?: Line-by-line repairs not enough, expert says

Last in an occasional series on Japan's Y2K preparedness
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1999

C&W wins IDC stakes

Toyota Motor Corp. and Itochu Corp. on Wednesday announced their decisions to sell their 17.7 percent stakes in International Digital Communications Inc. to Britain's Cable and Wireless PLC.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jun 9, 1999

The random walk

Hoping to tap into that Amazon.com magic right here in Japan, Softbank (a software and publishing company), Seven-Eleven, Yahoo! Japan and Tohan, a book publisher and distributor, last week announced a joint venture to sell books online. e-Shopping! Books (who thinks up these names?) plans to open for...
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1999

Hopes ride high on ibis chick's wings

After teetering on the edge of extinction domestically for several years, the Japanese crested ibis took a small step away from the brink when a chick cheeped its way into the world on May 21.

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