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LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 11, 1999

Japanese white lightning from a still in Tonga

I admit it. I had to travel all the way to the Kindom of Tonga to learn about shochu. In my six years in Japan, I had simply not heard of it. Sounds ridiculous, but it's true. No, the Tongans don't make it, never mind drink it. They hadn't heard of it till recently either. In fact, most of them still...
JAPAN
Nov 9, 1999

Patients pushed to take control of their own health

Staff writer
COMMENTARY
Nov 3, 1999

The CTBT is not dead yet

"All bets are off! You'll see a lot of testing . . . . You'll have Russia testing, you'll have China testing, you'll have India testing, you'll have Pakistan testing . . . and we will be in a much, much more dangerous world."
CULTURE / Books
Nov 2, 1999

This poetic chameleon wore khaki

SHREDDING THE TAPESTRY OF MEANING: The Poetry and Poetics of Kitasono Katsue (1902-1978), by John Solt. Harvard University Asia Center, 1999, 395 pp., $49.50. On Jan. 4, 1942, less than a month after Japan's assault on Pearl Harbor, Katsue Kitazono -- the spelling that John Solt gives the name in "Shredding...
EDITORIALS
Oct 30, 1999

Leaving the scene

An odd thing has happened in the wake of the disaster in London three weeks ago in which two commuter trains collided, killing as many as 100 -- or was it only 30? -- people. The tally has dropped sharply since the accident, as police find many of those who were initially presumed dead turning up alive...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Oct 27, 1999

Eyes on the storm

You don't have to be the wonky sort to want to keep tabs on what is going on in Northeast Asia. Yes, diplomacy can be tedious -- although North Korean rhetoric does liven things up a good bit -- but most Japan Times readers live in Japan and that puts them within range of those missiles ostensibly threatening...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 1999

Jospin rides high, blessed by luck and skill

PARIS -- When Lionel Jospin was appointed prime minister of France in June 1997, there were not many people willing to bet on his longevity in office. The "plural left" majority on which he had to rely looked too divided on most issues, from Europe to immigration, to enable him -- or so it seemed at...
COMMENTARY / World / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Oct 24, 1999

Farewell to Russia's final Romanov

Few years in recent Russian history have been as turbulent as 1999. In five months, from May till October, the country has seen three different prime ministers, an Islamic fundamentalist invasion in Dagestan and five terrorist assaults against Russian cities that cost the lives of 300 civilians. In the...
JAPAN
Oct 22, 1999

Obuchi offers apology for Nishimura's remarks

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi apologized to the public Friday for recently appointed Parliamentary Vice Defense Minister Shingo Nishimura's remarks on rape and nuclear armament, which have led to Nishimura's resignation.
JAPAN
Oct 21, 1999

Tokyo Motor Show: GM to expand Asia-Pacific presence

Staff writer
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Oct 20, 1999

Nature scenes pure eye Kandy

If you visit the Sri Lanka hill capital of Kandy and fall in love, be content. You are in illustrious company.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 1999

ANA ordered to take back dismissed stewardess

OSAKA -- All Nippon Airways was ordered Monday by the Osaka District Court to rescind its decision to dismiss a female flight attendant who had taken four years off due to work-related injuries.
JAPAN
Oct 14, 1999

Envoy says Malaysian economy 'out of the woods'

The Malaysian economy is "out of the woods" and on the path to recovery, Malaysia's Ambassador to Japan Dato Marzuki bin Mohammad Noor said during a visit to The Japan Times Thursday.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 14, 1999

Food dilettantes need not apply

There are so many plants around the entrance of A Tes Souhaits you'd be forgiven for thinking this is one of those feminine restaurants where flowers and fancy frills take precedence over the food. The sight of the sous-chef squatting by the kitchen door plucking a wild fowl should disillusion you of...
EDITORIALS
Oct 10, 1999

Dishonored by the honors system

Twice a year, the government confers orders and honors on eminent citizens in recognition of their service to the nation or their local communities. This decoration system, which has been in place since the Meiji Era, has been drawing flak from part of the business world. Some business leaders are calling...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Oct 10, 1999

Loyalty

A gentleman writes with great affection about his hairbrush. It is, he says, a very nice, heavy hairbrush with a teak back and it is in need of new boar bristles, not surprising since he has used it for 20 years. He hopes to find a shop that can do this kind of work, but where?
EDITORIALS
Oct 9, 1999

A resounding win for Mr. Vajpayee

Political stability has been a rare commodity in India of late. In the last three years, the country has had five governments and three general elections. The cycle seems to have been broken in the national elections held five weeks ago, however. As the final results come in, it looks as if Mr. Atal...
CULTURE / Art / ARTS AND ARTISANS
Oct 9, 1999

Whisked away by an age-old tradition

IKOMA, Nara Pref. -- "It is totally handmade and finely crafted work, but no matter how well it is made, chasen (a bamboo tea whisk) is a commodity with a limited life span," says Keizo Kubo, 59, who has been manufacturing the tea-ceremony utensil for 36 years.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 1999

U.S. alliances under strain

The U.N.-authorized humanitarian intervention in East Timor might provide the model for ad hoc coalitions among democracies in East Asia -- based on the U.S. alliance structure, supported by Washington, but not requiring U.S. combat forces. Australia is leading the International Force for East Timor....
LIFE / Style & Design / BEAUTY EAST AND WEST
Oct 7, 1999

Need a new millennium look? Try going over-the-top glam

The world of fashion is one of the best places to search for signs of millennial spirit. If you look at what designers are creating for 2000, you'll find an overall atmosphere where everything is over the top, pushed to the outer edges and carried to astonishing extremes, from which there are several...
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Sep 28, 1999

Afrobeat lights up the dance floors

Strange how music trends seem to go around in circles. Since spearheading the world music boom at the end of the '80s, African music sales have been on a downward spiral for much of this decade. Now in the form of Afrobeat, the music is making a strong comeback and sweeping dance floors around the world....
JAPAN
Sep 27, 1999

Retail sales fall 29th month in row

Japan's retail sales slipped 1.4 percent in August from a year before to reach 10.78 trillion yen, extending a record slump to 29 consecutive months, due to the continued consumption decline and cool weather in western Japan, according to a preliminary report issued Monday by the Ministry of International...
JAPAN
Sep 24, 1999

More bumps ahead on road to new coalition

Following Tuesday's re-election of Keizo Obuchi as Liberal Democratic Party president, the secretaries general of three would-be political allies met for the first time Friday to launch full-scale talks toward forming a tripartite coalition.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 24, 1999

Ellington's 100th birthday feted with Japan premiere

Numerous jazz concerts have been offered this year to celebrate the 100th year since the birth of Duke Ellington, but trumpeter Mike Price says they've got the focus all wrong.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 23, 1999

Translator bridges Japan-Spain gap

SEVILLE, Spain -- Seville in the summer is so hot, they say, that even the dogs don't go outside. The athletes didn't at the recent World Championships, at least from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. The white walls of the city reflect the southern Spanish sun down the narrow corridors that resemble wintry Alpine passes...
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Sep 23, 1999

Osaka still has reasons to be proud of its brewing culture

Osaka has long been a great center of commerce and activity, but likely doesn't stand out as a major brewing center in the minds of most people. True, it has never been nearly as significant as its Kansai cousins -- Kyoto, Hyogo and Nara -- but the sake brewing culture was, and still is, strong there....
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1999

Ruling party slams BOJ over policy decision

A top economic adviser to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi harshly criticized the Bank of Japan's decision Wednesday not to ease its monetary policy, a matter he said Obuchi took "very seriously."
LIFE / Travel
Sep 22, 1999

Good things come in Iki packages

Iki Island, administratively part of Nagasaki Prefecture but located in the straits between Fukuoka and Korea, has some of the finest white sand beaches in Kyushu.
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Sep 21, 1999

Honeys, ah sugar, sugar

I'm sitting opposite Vivi, Yuri, Kotome and Zina, trying desperately hard not to think about sex. But it's hard, it's very hard.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 21, 1999

Get ready for the second nuclear age

FIRE IN THE EAST: The Rise of Asian Military Power and the Second Nuclear Age, by Paul Bracken. HarperCollins, 1999, 186 pp., $25 (cloth). The last two years have upset a lot of strategic certainties. Rather than moving toward nuclear disarmament, the nuclear club has expanded as India and Pakistan exploded...

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