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BUSINESS
May 4, 2001

Disabled drivers call for more specialized options

With the nation's population aging rapidly and disabled people leading more active lives, Japanese automakers have turned much of their attention to introducing specially designed "welfare vehicles" in recent years.
JAPAN
May 4, 2001

Humanitarian groups yet to hit their stride

Staff Writer When the Diet was immersed in heated debate in 1992 over whether to send Self-Defense Forces troops to Cambodia for U.N. peacekeeping operations, Toshihiro Shimizu thought that something very important was missing from the discussions.
CULTURE / Art
May 2, 2001

Art stripped bare: The Minimalist aesthetic

Minimalism emerged in the United States in the late 1950s, in a reaction to the emotiveness of Abstract Expressionism. Minimalist artists stressed bare geometric form, stripping away colors and textures, and leaving only shapes and lines to create an aesthetic that is still influential today, particularly...
JAPAN
May 1, 2001

OECD environment strategy faces hurdles

In its first environmental strategy to be adopted later this month, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is expected to embrace a five-point plan calling for members to slash subsidies that hurt the environment and introduce incentives to stem environmental damage.
MORE SPORTS
May 1, 2001

TSPS slates class for boating license

The Tokyo Sail and Power Squadron will hold preparatory classes in English for the Class IV boating license, which is required for anyone wanting to operate a boat with a motor.
LIFE / Travel
May 1, 2001

Taking Japan's back trails to far towns

Lonely Planet Publications has recently added to its 560-strong stable of travel books by producing a series of hiking guides, including one dedicated to the tracks and trails of Japan.
MULTIMEDIA / TALK OF THE TIMES
Apr 30, 2001

Top JAWOC official says FIFA should have studied local culture

Yasuhiko Endo assumed the post of general secretary of the Japan World Cup Organizing Committee (JAWOC) two years ago, a position that requires all the patience and diplomatic skills he acquired during his years serving in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 29, 2001

Pets in the big city

After a long, grueling day at the office, there's nothing better than returning home to a warm welcome. For some that means a freshly cooked meal, for others, a warm hug. For many, though, it's the excited bark of a dog and the affectionate nuzzle of a cat.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2001

Japan and ASEAN mull free trade pact

Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will next week set up a study group on the conclusion of a free trade agreement in a bid to compete with emerging powerhouse China and growing trade blocs in Europe, as well as both North America and Latin America, government sources said Saturday....
LIFE
Apr 29, 2001

Beast and bot battle to prove their wurff

They're unlikely to scare away the burglar or land you a slobbery early-morning kiss on the cheek, but robopets have been rapidly making their way into Japanese homes.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Apr 29, 2001

How Tiger got his game back in five easy sips

Recently Tiger Woods secured his place in golfing history by winning this past Masters tournament. But there's a secret to Woods' recent success that few know about: sake.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2001

Hunger-striking Kurd granted permission to remain in Japan

The Justice Ministry has granted special residential permission to a Kurdish asylum-seeker who had been waging a weeklong hunger strike with four fellow Kurds from Turkey at an immigration center in Ibaraki Prefecture, it was leaned Saturday.
COMMUNITY
Apr 29, 2001

Feeding your pet at long distance

You're working late at the office and your boss has just decided to hold a meeting. Dinner, you decide, will have to wait -- but what about the little ones left waiting for you at home?
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2001

Female graduates suffering in job market, survey says

One out of every five female college graduates who entered full-time employment last year were turned away on at least one occasion while job-hunting because of their gender, according to a survey released Friday by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2001

Companies predict 1.3% economic growth: survey

Major Japanese companies have predicted 1.3 percent real growth for the economy in fiscal 2001, topping 1 percent for the first time in four years, the government said Friday in releasing results of an annual survey.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2001

Hiranuma reiterates themes toward economic revitalization

Reappointed Economy Minister Takeo Hiranuma said a comprehensive approach of combining the disposal of problem loans and assets, creating new businesses and implementing regulatory reforms is needed to revitalize the economy.
EDITORIALS
Apr 28, 2001

Fit punishment for tragic error

Cmdr. Scott Waddle, skipper of the USS Greeneville, the nuclear submarine that collided with the Japanese fisheries training vessel Ehime Maru, resulting in the loss of nine lives, has been found guilty of violating military law. Offered a choice between retiring or explaining his actions at another...
BUSINESS
Apr 27, 2001

Saitama to get cheap, fast Internet service on May 25

SpeedNet Inc. announced Thursday that it will start offering a high-speed wireless Internet service based on Tokyo Power Electric Co.'s optical fiber networks in parts of Saitama Prefecture on May 25.
BUSINESS
Apr 27, 2001

BOJ, Tokyo differ on growth

Economic projections for fiscal 2001 made by the Bank of Japan's Policy Board members range from a contraction of 0.1 percent to a growth of 1 percent, all of which are below the government's 1.7 percent growth forecast.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2001

Koizumi names new Cabinet

Junichiro Koizumi, the president of the Liberal Democratic Party, was elected Japan's 56th prime minister in the Diet on Thursday and immediately inaugurated his new Cabinet.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2001

Prosecutors hunt for Snow Brand data

OSAKA -- Osaka prosecutors on Thursday searched two more Snow Brand Milk Products Co. offices in connection with a mass outbreak of food poisoning last summer caused by milk products made at its Osaka plant.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2001

China postpones legislative chief's visit to Japan

China on Wednesday said it will postpone a planned visit to Japan by legislative chief Li Peng in apparent retaliation against Japan's granting a visa to former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui.
COMMENTARY
Apr 26, 2001

Antiglobalism guarantees poverty for all

WASHINGTON -- Despite the worst efforts of violent protesters in Quebec, Canada, leaders of countries throughout the Western hemisphere concluded their Summit of the Americas by proposing a broad free-trade agreement. Bringing more of the world's poor into the global economy is the best hope for raising...
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2001

Snow Brand raided in negligence probe

OSAKA -- Osaka prosecutors searched the Sapporo head office of Snow Brand Milk Products Co. on Wednesday in their probe of suspected professional negligence that resulted in one consumer dying and some 140 others falling sick from last summer's food-poisoning outbreak.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2001

Hospitals hurt by competition

Medical institutions are struggling to survive in the wake of a government policy to curb national medical expenses from the current 30 trillion yen a year.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2001

Foreign Ministry panel urges discretionary funds be reduced, monitored

A Foreign Ministry panel of outside experts on Tuesday urged the ministry to reduce the amount of secret diplomatic funds and strengthen its inspection system in order to regain public trust in the wake of a fraud scandal involving a former ministry official.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2001

Riding roughshod over planet and people

While many of us were celebrating Earth Day on Sunday, environmental activists Rodolfo Montiel and Teodoro Cabrera spent another day in a Mexican jail. Soldiers arrested the pair in May 1999 and, says Amnesty International, tortured them until they confessed to guerrilla ties. Amnesty rejects this, saying...

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami