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COMMENTARY
Sep 26, 2000

Hazards of electoral reform

The tripartite ruling coalition is moving to submit to the Diet a bill for a new Upper House proportional-representation voting system that would allow voters to choose either individual candidates or political parties when casting ballots. The Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito and the New Conservative...
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2000

Parties' fundraising totals fell in 1999 amid slack economy

Japanese political parties collected 151.8 billion yen in donations, fees and government subsidies in 1999, down 18.6 percent, or 34.7 billion yen, from the year before, the largest decline since the government began tracking the statistic in 1976.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Sep 6, 2000

Rolling along through Ngorongoro

The first minutes in Tanzania's famed Ngorongoro crater were neatly summed up by a small boy.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2000

Government unveils guidelines for axing works projects

The three ruling parties have adopted a set of four criteria for deciding whether to scrap or suspend ongoing public works projects as part of a plan to make Japan's huge construction budgets more effective, according to coalition officials.
COMMENTARY
Aug 21, 2000

China rethinks Taiwan policy

As China's leaders discuss future policies and strategies at the summer resort of Beidaihe, future cross-strait strategy is high on their list of priorities. President Jiang Zemin has been roundly and openly criticized for mishandling events leading up to Chen Shui-bian's election as Taiwan's first non-Nationalist...
COMMUNITY
Aug 13, 2000

Women! Enhance your lifestyles with Webgrrls

Talking with American Khristine (Khris) Schaffner lowered the heat in Tokyo's Nishi-Shinjuku by several degrees. She has that kind of tall, willowy, pale blonde beauty that acts as a psychological cooler even if she is talking 10 to the dozen and making a complete fool of herself over a Starbucks chocolate...
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2000

Former construction minister indicted over bribes

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office indicted former Construction Minister Eiichi Nakao on Thursday on charges of receiving 30 million yen in bribes from Wakachiku Construction Co. between June 1996 and September 1996.
COMMUNITY
Aug 9, 2000

A lifetime spent selling pearls to the stars

Today's pop quiz: What do Jodie Foster, Harrison Ford and Brooke Shields have in common? Hint: They are all happy customers of the Wally Yonamine Company. No, they did not purchase autographed baseballs (although Yonamine, former ace slugger for the Yomiuri Giants, is still known as "the Jackie Robinson...
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2000

Kuze's excuses put spotlight on dubious LDP roster system

A day after Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's apology before the Diet appeared to alleviate the chaos over the resignation of a scandal-tainted Cabinet member, the opposition shifted its target Tuesday to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's dubious election roster system.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2000

Mori apologizes for naming shady Kuze as FRC chief

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Monday officially apologized for having appointed scandal-tainted Kimitaka Kuze as chief of the Financial Reconstruction Commission, telling the Diet he was not fully aware of Kuze's shady background.
COMMUNITY
Jul 30, 2000

Getting the measure of a master suitsmith

Vijay Wadhwani is an international tailor. A very super-duper master craftsman, who runs a miniempire of cutters, machinists and hand stitchers in Hong Kong under the name "NobleHouse." His job is to travel the world to court customers, discuss clients' needs and take the full complement of 30 required...
EDITORIALS
Jul 16, 2000

The reliable magic of Harry Potter

It's been a bit of a Quidditch match this week in bookstores across the English-speaking world as children from 8 to 80 scrambled for their copies of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," the latest book in the series that has become the biggest publishing phenomenon of the decade.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 16, 2000

Berlin Phil brings greetings: from one capital to another

Political and economic capital of Germany and home of the famed Berlin Philharmonic, Berlin is high on the list of cities Tokyoites most wish to visit and explore, as I did recently. Berlin and Tokyo have much in common, certainly including the quantity and quality of the musical scene.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jul 13, 2000

Compulsories of sake keeps brewers in top form

Last month, I gave an overview of the Shinshu Kanpyokai, the national new-sake tasting competition held each spring, and its logistics. Here is a look at what kind of sake wins, and what the big deal is about anyway.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jul 5, 2000

The tyranny of the square

When talking to Ted Nelson, strap in tight. It's quite a ride. Trained as a philosopher and film director, he is equal parts visionary and crank. Many consider him to be one of the fathers of the World Wide Web. He coined the word "hypertext" in 1965, but he has become a scathing critic of the Web and...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 3, 2000

Australia warily watches arc of insecurity

SYDNEY -- Once the world romanticized about the South Pacific paradise. Today, Australia is guardedly debating the Balkanization of the South Pacific.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2000

Two Cabinet ministers lose, dealing blow to Mori

Two Cabinet ministers seem to have lost their seats in Sunday's general election, dealing a blow to the government led by Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2000

Name isn't everything

The results of Sunday's general election indicated that while candidates from "traditional" political families did well, some legislators whose names were relatively well-known were unable to return to the Lower House.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Jun 18, 2000

Never too long

I have perhaps the world's longest list of You have been here too long if. . . It is often easy to see oneself in such lists, recognizing a trait you have absorbed since living here. It has become an automatic reflex, unnoticed until you return home and realize that no one else does it. My moment of...
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2000

Japan's faith rising in Indian software

Isamu Nitta, a former Japanese diplomat in Sri Lanka and the United States, clearly enjoys setting out a map of the world and pointing out where Japanese strategic interests lie.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2000

Mori set to dissolve Diet for elections on June 25

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is set to dissolve the Lower House today, effectively kicking off campaigning for general elections slated for June 25.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2000

No-confidence motion won't get vote

The Lower House Steering Committee said Thursday it will hold a plenary session of the chamber at 1 p.m. today to vote on a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori submitted by the opposition Wednesday.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
May 31, 2000

The Net impact of giving

Last week I looked at the power of bulk buying that is being unleashed on Web sites such as Mercata and Mobshop. I genuinely like the concept, particularly because I like new models of e-commerce that push the Web's potential. If the aggregated consumer trend takes off like eBay, the wired consumer might...
MORE SPORTS
May 28, 2000

Japanese soccer finished, or glory days still ahead?

This past week the lists of the top income taxpayers in Japan were announced and bantered about in all the media. And, as this country loves youth like just about no other, 17-year-old singing sensation Hikaru Utada and 19-year-old Seibu Lions pitching phenom Daisuke Matsuzaka garnered more attention...
JAPAN
May 18, 2000

Greenpeace complains over seizure of data

Greenpeace Japan has filed a legal complaint with the Tokyo District Court demanding that police return documents seized during an investigation into the environmentalist group's recent protest over dioxin pollution, members said.
LIFE / Digital / SURFERSPUD
May 17, 2000

Flurry of fast food

www.mcspotlight.orgThe first revolution the world eagerly followed the Americans into after World War II went largely unnoticed as a revolution. But perhaps even more than the Internet, fast food has allowed hundreds of millions of people to drastically alter their lifestyles. Now when we discuss the...
LIFE / Digital
May 17, 2000

In.five.words.or.less

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Webbys may bill themselves as the antidote to the Academy Awards, but the truth is that this Internet awards gala has a severe case of Oscar envy.
COMMUNITY
May 14, 2000

Ex-garbage man bags career as pro caddie

If Jeff Mulberry has any aspirations beyond the odd hole in one, it is to lead as uncomplicated a life as possible. His needs are modest and his interests narrowing down as he focuses on pro golf. Not that he has his eye set on being a winning player, but rather on being the best caddie that friendship,...

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan