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CULTURE / Stage
May 1, 1999

Expressing the microcosmos

Butoh dancer Goro Namerikawa, an ex-member of the Sankaijuku, and his troupe Art Amorphus will be holding a collaborative dance performance titled "Liminality" with Christophe Charles, a French composer and musician who has performed extensively in Japan and internationally. The event will take place...
CULTURE / Art
May 1, 1999

Unlocking the mysteries of violin-making

Violin-making is sometimes called a "lost art." More than 300 years ago, Italian great violin maker Antonio Stradivari succeeded in raising the craft of violin-making to the level of perfection. The master, however, died in 1737 without passing on the secrets of his acoustically perfect violins, even...
CULTURE / Art
May 1, 1999

To capture a moment

Photographer Jason Unrau does a lot of waiting at gigs. He glues his eye to the camera and anticipates the moment when it all comes together. If it does, he can create a picture which, as he likes to put it, "has sound."
CULTURE / Art
May 1, 1999

Chronicling Japan's modern century

Japanese-style painter Kiyokata Kaburaki's 93 years (1878-1972) spanned Japan's great modern transformation. As a popular illustrator he chronicled the changing Japanese lifestyle; as an artist he played an important part in the great wave of creativity in nihonga (Japanese-style painting) during the...
COMMUNITY
May 1, 1999

Atlus' latest offering is just talons of fun

The company that launched Print Club stickers, which had armies of schoolgirls everywhere collecting and swapping mini-photo stickers of themselves, believes it has got its hands on another hit. Atlus Co. in Tokyo has produced a machine that does your nails.
CULTURE / Music
May 1, 1999

Playing the oldies but goodies

Real classical Japanese music is a rare thing today. There is a wide-ranging repertoire for Japanese traditional instruments, but there are few performers who specialize in the classics of these genres, or whose musical education focused on those classics.
EDITORIALS
Apr 30, 1999

On the road to recovery

The outlook for the world economy is improving. The most recent World Economic Outlook, issued last week by the International Monetary Fund, forecasts 2.3 percent growth this year, and should climb to 3.4 percent in 2000. IMF First Deputy Managing Director Stanley Fischer opined earlier this week that...
JAPAN
Apr 30, 1999

Ishihara repeats junk bond pledge

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara said Friday his campaign pledge to establish a junk bond market -- a high yield stock market for small and midsize enterprises -- will be realized within the year.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 1999

March unemployment rate renews record high at 4.8%

Japan's unemployment rate in March rose to yet another record high of 4.8 percent, figures released Friday show, prompting the government to announce emergency plans to alleviate the situation.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 1999

Ready for 2000?: Shinkansen on track for Y2K compliance

Fifth in an occasional series on Japan's Y2K preparedness
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Apr 30, 1999

Buffalo Daughter reinvents new rock again

After more than a year of touring, remixing, producing and more touring, Buffalo Daughter has returned home to the more mundane matters of daily life. Bassist and Moog player extraordinaire Yumiko Ohno recently tied the knot with longtime paramour Zak (producer of the Fishmans among others) while DJ...
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 30, 1999

Kee Company travels down 'Narrow Road' of discovery

Matsuo Basho (1644-94) regarded as the father of modern haiku poetry, spent the latter years of his life hiking across Japan and recording his journeys in various travel sketches. The most famous of these travel journals titled "Oku no Hosomichi (The Narrow Road to the Deep North)," is a work of linked...
JAPAN
Apr 30, 1999

Atlus' latest offering fueling fingertip fetish

Staff writer
JAPAN
Apr 30, 1999

Japan sending envoy to Libya for post-sanction ties

Staff writer
EDITORIALS
Apr 29, 1999

Break the stalemate with Russia

During a recent meeting in Moscow, former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and Russian President Boris Yeltsin reaffirmed a 1997 Russo-Japanese agreement that the two nations will do their utmost to sign a long-pending peace treaty by 2000. Mr. Hashimoto, who enjoys a close personal relationship with...
JAPAN
Apr 29, 1999

Osaka feels blindsided, cheated out of summit

OSAKA -- Thursday's announcement by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi that next year's Group of Eight summit will be held in Okinawa, Fukuoka, and Miyazaki came as a bitter disappointment to Osaka officials, who until recently believed their city was the front-runner.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 1999

State-employed Sony candidate upset with civil servant law

Staff writer
JAPAN
Apr 29, 1999

Nago to host G8; Fukuoka, Miyazaki get ministers

After weeks of heated debate and lobbying, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi decided Thursday that Japan will hold the 2000 summit of the Group of Eight major powers in the city of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 1999

74% of firms project pension fund shortages

More than 70 percent of the nation's corporate pension programs at the end of March were either short on reserves or expecting a shortage soon, according to survey results released Thursday.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 1999

Nago's selection seen as peace offering from state

The surprise decision by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi to hold the main event of next year's Group of Eight summit in Okinawa apparently reflects the desire of the central government to improve ties with the prefecture under Gov. Keiichi Inamine.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 29, 1999

Restructuring isn't the cure-all for Japan

It must be lonely at the International Monetary Fund. Fiscal disciplinarians are never the life of the party, but the fund's tight-fisted solutions to economic crises have antagonized governments from Malaysia to Moscow, from Bangkok to Brazil.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 1999

Translation school moving onto the Net

Staff writer
COMMUNITY
Apr 29, 1999

And the Oscar goes to Splendor

Anais Anais by Cacherel first introduced me to the powers of perfume at age 12. No one told me you weren't supposed to overdo it. So not only did I leave no area of skin unscented, but I also fumigated every letter to my first boyfriend while he was away at summer camp. I began to realize the potent...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 29, 1999

D-I-V-O-R-C-E becomes final in one day

While divorce in Japan is increasing at what some people might call an alarming rate, it is still less common than it is in most Western countries, particularly the U.S., where it's projected that between half and two-thirds of all couples who marry this year will someday split.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 1999

MSDF tries out new sea patrol tactics

Staff writer
LIFE / Travel
Apr 29, 1999

Humanities offer power to the people

SEATTLE -- Journalist and author Earl Shorris believes the real difference between the haves and have-nots is political power.
LIFE / Style & Design / BEAUTY EAST AND WEST
Apr 29, 1999

Wake up and smell the roses with refreshing floral remedies

It's spring, and springtime means flowers, blossoms and blooms. Today we'll devote this column to a beauty-and-health celebration of spring flora, with a sweet-scented selection of recipes with which to make yourself happier, healthier and more lovely.
EDITORIALS
Apr 28, 1999

No victory for the security alliance

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi has his "omiyage" for U.S. President Bill Clinton. Following Monday night's approval of three bills to implement the updated Japan-U.S. defense guidelines by a special Lower House committee, the full Lower House approved them Tuesday, and Mr. Obuchi will be able to tell the...
JAPAN
Apr 28, 1999

Upper House clears porn, info bills

Two key bills -- one aimed at allowing public access to records of government ministries and agencies, and the other seeking to ban prostitution and pornography involving minors -- were approved Wednesday by the full Upper House.

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