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EDITORIALS
Jul 13, 2000

Drawing lines in the Middle East

It is hard to exaggerate the risks involved in the Middle East summit that began this week at the Camp David presidential retreat in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland. The main players — Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and U.S. President Bill Clinton — are gambling...
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2000

Snow dairy plants quiet as output halted

Things were quiet at Snow Brand Milk Products Co.'s factories across the country Wednesday morning after Japan's top dairy product manufacturer announced the suspension of operations at all of its 21 plants for inspections.
LIFE / Food & Drink / WINE WAYS
Jul 13, 2000

Legacy of Thomas Jefferson thrives in Virginian vineyards

All the rich green trees Mother Nature ever created seemed to be growing here, covering low-lying mountains festooned with wispy mist, under a mantle of robin-egg blue. Once again I was back in Virginia, and once again glad of it. Even without a single winery the Commonwealth of Virginia would rank among...
COMMUNITY
Jul 13, 2000

Members of La Leche League rewrite breast-feeding rules

For new mothers with an abundance of milk and beginner's confidence, the choice to breast-feed may be the simplest and most obvious one to make.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 13, 2000

Will Arafat follow Sadat?

BEIRUT -- It will be something less than a miracle if U.S. President Bill Clinton does achieve the high purpose he has set himself in summoning Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to Camp David: an end to conflict between Arab and Jew in Palestine. After all, it won't...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 12, 2000

Remedies for globalization's side effects

GENEVA -- After intense negotiations on social remedies for poverty and other destructive side effects of globalization, the United Nations has hammered out an international policy pact that can make the world economy less turbulent, less cruel and much more fair.
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2000

North Okinawa mixed on planned military-civilian airport

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. -- From a tiny desert island off the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Schwab, Takuma Higashionna looks out over the coral reef amid clear water.
EDITORIALS
Jul 9, 2000

Putting out more flags

Even this far from America, the whiff of U.S. patriotism -- a heady blend of gunpowder, barbecue smoke and hot air -- was unusually palpable last week. Tuesday was Independence Day, always an occasion for Americans to put out more flags, if only because they like the look of red, white and blue in July...
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2000

Alternative school targets dropouts

KYOTO -- Parents whose sons or daughters stop attending school often research methods to encourage their children to return by reading books and attending lectures by experts.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 8, 2000

Taiwan wary of Chen's willingness to talk

TAIPEI -- The honeymoon is over for Taiwan's new president, Chen Shui-bian. Just over a month after taking office, the man hailed as the champion of the island's independence movement has been branded a heretic by critics within his own party. Analysts in Taipei believe his willingness to pander to pressure...
LIFE / ALTERNATIVE LUXURIES
Jul 6, 2000

Mixing traditions in a quest for freedom

A frog smokes a cigarette in this detail from "The Waiting" by Taeko Takezawa. "I am a totally different type from the other people you've interviewed," says painter Taeko Takezawa as she lights up a clove cigarette. "I am not living my life with any kind of issue consciousness. I'm just trying...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 6, 2000

Law inhibits election coverage and debate

Prior to the Lower House elections June 25, commentators both here and abroad complained that the parties weren't putting forth concrete proposals, but instead only vague assurances that they would rebuild the economy and return Japan to its former glory as the world's last bastion of civility.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Jul 6, 2000

Bush pulls ahead in presidential polls

Texas Gov. George W. Bush continues to enhance his lead in the polls over Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 presidential race. Despite what we believe about the value of polling at this time in the contest, Bush's success on the campaign trail contrasts with Gore's constant difficulties (with staff,...
LIFE / Style & Design / BEAUTY EAST AND WEST
Jul 6, 2000

Cosmetics with the personal touch

One of the most interesting new trends in the world of beauty right now is the development of the personalized product. This is a phenomenon that started to emerge some years ago, along with the trend toward fresh beauty products, the sort of things sold by companies like Lush: refrigerated face packs...
BUSINESS
Jul 5, 2000

All things pointing to high-priced activity

The Tokyo stock market appears poised to snap out of a three-month correction. Having reached a high of 20,833 on April 12, the 225- issue Nikkei average fell to 16,008 on May 15 and is now hovering around 17,500.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 5, 2000

Drags gain ground

Kazuyoshi Tatsunami belted a two-run homer in the fourth inning Tuesday and Lee Jeong Bum followed with a solo blast in the fifth to pace the Chunichi Dragons to a 7-4 win over the Yokohama BayStars at the Nagoya Dome.
BUSINESS
Jul 5, 2000

Upbeat 'tankan' may lead to rate hike

Business sentiment among the nation's corporations improved over the past three months, underscoring a recent recovery trend, according to the Bank of Japan's "tankan" business sentiment survey for June.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Jul 5, 2000

Species hidden in the mist of Tikal

TIKAL, Guatemala -- Early morning, and thin mist licks around the feet of Tikal's towering Mayan temples. It is that haunted time, not quite light, not quite dark, when one feels that the odds of seeing a jaguar padding golden-eyed through the ruins are at their highest.
COMMENTARY
Jul 5, 2000

Advancing smartly backward

LONDON -- It is an old American saying that "the pioneer is the one who gets the arrow in his back." So when President Jacques Chirac of France recently proposed a "pioneering" project to bring France and Germany still closer together at the political level and, as he put it, to "move further and faster...
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 4, 2000

Japanese, Koreans study cohosting at Euro 2000

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands -- Senior officials from both the Japanese and Korean World Cup organizing committees said Saturday they expected to learn many things from the cohosted Euro 2000 Soccer Championship, but emphasized that the 2002 World Cup was a different kettle of fish with its own attendant problems....
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Jul 4, 2000

Festival fun for the young and those who just wish they were

The main excuses I've heard for not attending one of this summer's two international rock festivals in Japan are: "None of my favorite bands are coming" and "there's hardly any big names."
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 4, 2000

Japan searches for itself and finds 'Genji'

YOSANO AKIKO AND "THE TALE OF THE GENJI," by G.G. Rowley. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan, 2000, 222 pp., $32.95. There seems to be something of a "Genji" frenzy going on right now. Liza Dalby has the author writing her memoirs in her new book, "The Tale of Murasaki"; Ichinohe Saeko has a full-length...
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 3, 2000

Okano says Troussier's his man

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands -- Japan Football Association president Shunichiro Okano confirmed on Saturday that Philippe Troussier will stay on as manager of the Japan national team until the 2002 World Cup, pending contract negotiations.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 2, 2000

Prime: color and form again the norm

"Prime" at Tokyo Opera City is a magnificent demonstration of color, form and size. Sparse yet well displayed, this exhibition breathes freely and expressively in the high open space, which in Tokyo is a rare and valuable experience. Each artist is chosen to develop various aspects of curator Santo Oshima's...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 2, 2000

Way too much jello has been going to waist

My husband is in to soft-porn: the Victoria's Secret catalog. Whenever a new catalog comes in the mail, he's got it ripped open before I even get a glance at the latest cheetah-print lingerie Naomi Campbell is modeling. Victoria's Secret is most famous for their lingerie, but they also sell an array...
EDITORIALS
Jul 1, 2000

Cutting the price of diamonds

The links between diamonds and some of the world's deadliest conflicts are becoming clearer every day. Diamonds play a critical role in the wars in Africa. It is estimated that Angolan rebels earned more than $4 billion in 1998 from the sale of the gems. The sale of mining rights has spurred foreign...
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2000

Japan and Russia plan new pact on economy

Japan and Russia are likely to compile a new comprehensive package of economic cooperation measures to replace the three-year Hashimoto-Yeltsin Plan, which is to expire at the end of this year, government sources said Friday.
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 30, 2000

Real characters, made in Japan

KYOTO -- Humor may be, along with art and music, universal, but it often doesn't travel across borders very well. What has them rolling in the aisles in London may leave them rolling their eyes in Laos. A comedian who brings down the house in Athens, Greece, may receive only polite applause in Athens,...
LIFE / Digital
Jun 28, 2000

A thinker's journey back to the future

Paul Saffo spends a lot of his time thinking about the past. That might seem a bit odd for a man who makes his living as a futurist, but perspective is critical, argues Saffo, director of the Institute for the Future, a Silicon Valley think tank that contemplates the way things will be.

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