Search - information

 
 
EDITORIALS
Jan 11, 2001

Uranium munition in the cross-hairs

NATO is coming under increasing pressure to investigate possible health risks associated with the use of depleted-uranium ammunition. A number of "Balkans Syndrome" cases have raised fears that the munitions exposed soldiers and civilians to unsuspected danger. Thus far, the threat is more imagined that...
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2001

Emperor attends lecture program

The Emperor and Empress attended an annual New Year's lecture program Wednesday, the Imperial Household Agency said.
LIFE / Food & Drink / WINE WAYS
Jan 11, 2001

Kick off your year of wine-drinking with a refresher

Here's wishing you a Happy New Year, a bit belatedly. After all the hoopla a year ago, isn't it ironic that the new millennium didn't actually begin until 11 days ago?
BUSINESS
Jan 11, 2001

NEC plans to spin off specialized chip unit

NEC Corp. plans to spin off its semiconductor business for high-speed communications networks, as demand is expected to grow in coming years, the company said Wednesday.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jan 10, 2001

What's it all about, IT?

2001 may well be the year of the IT revolution, but as far as I'm concerned, we're talking about utilITy. From here on, usefulness is going to be the benchmark for information technologies.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 10, 2001

Three decades of Mario and friends

In the beginning (about 30 years ago), geeky college students in the United States stole into engineering buildings at night and turned huge and expensive mainframes into playgrounds.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2001

Evidence of exam leak destroyed

Investigators suspect an executive of Ohu University in Fukushima Prefecture instructed school officials to destroy papers related to a leaked exam immediately after the incident came to light, police sources said Tuesday.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 10, 2001

Asian news and connections

atimes.comAlmost immediately after the Asia Times added Western standards to Asian journalism back in 1996, it was pushed under by the debt it took on to launch, becoming one of the first bankruptcies of the region's financial meltdown. Now it's back, at least online, and although it's still a mere shadow...
BUSINESS
Jan 9, 2001

Cellphone shipments set to hit 420 million

Worldwide shipments of mobile phones will likely reach 420 million units in 2000, far outpacing the 280 million shipped in 1999, the Japanese unit of U.S. high-tech consulting firm GartnerGroup Inc. said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 2001

Ministry shakeup just a beginning

The government reorganization that took effect last Saturday is designed to create an administrative system more responsive to the needs of the times, with politicians, not bureaucrats, taking the initiative in shaping public policy. In the most drastic bureaucratic reform in half a century, the number...
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Jan 9, 2001

Hitting the high notes of jazz

At the age of 5 or 6, Cassandra Wilson recalls hearing the music of Miles Davis for the first time. "Sketches of Spain" was part of her father's record collection, himself a jazz musician and was one of the records he would often play in their home in Jackson, Mississippi.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 8, 2001

When two worlds collide

JAPAN AND THE DUTCH 1600-1853, by Grant K. Goodman. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, 2000, 304 pp., 40 pounds. Thanks to the Tokugawa shogunate's decision at the beginning of the 17th century to expel the Portuguese and other Christian missionaries who had started to meddle in Japanese affairs, the...
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2001

Deaths at sea up fifth year in a row

The number of people who died or went missing at sea in 2000 was 1,620, up from 1,601 in 1999, the fifth consecutive year of increase, according to information released by the Japan Coast Guard.
EDITORIALS
Jan 6, 2001

Good luck, Mr. Bush, you'll need it

At the start of a new century, the world situation remains in flux. The much-heralded "new world order" has yet to arrive. The United States, of course, holds the key. Developments in the next few years -- not only in the field of economics, but also in politics and security -- will depend largely on...
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2001

Mori to embark on African trip

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori leaves Sunday for a nine-day trip to South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Greece with the aim of boosting diplomatic ties with sub-Saharan Africa. He will be the first Japanese prime minister to visit the region.
BUSINESS
Jan 5, 2001

Osaka pins revitalization on 90% corporate tax cut

The Osaka Prefectural Government said Thursday that it will slash as much as 90 percent off the corporate business tax it levies on new companies headquartered in the prefecture in a bid to attract more firms.
BUSINESS
Jan 5, 2001

Cooperative-style condos let owners realize dreams

New condo owner Emiko Kaji says her brand new color-coordinated kitchen keeps her happy while she slaves over the stove cooking for her family.
EDITORIALS
Jan 4, 2001

HAL, are you out there?

2001 is not just another year. For over three decades, those four digits symbolized the future, and triggered hopes, dreams and fears about what lay over the horizon. Brilliant though it was, Sir Arthur C. Clarke's imagination and Stanley Kubrick's rendering of life in the 21st century have also missed...
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2001

July election to be verdict on Mori

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori appears to be pinning his survival on a shift from postwar economic materialism to a revival of traditional values, but his true prospects will depend more on his ability to avoid making blunders.
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2001

Shirt may be linked to family's killer

Police have found a bloodstained sweat-shirt in the home of a family of four discovered slain Sunday morning in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward, investigation sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2001

Majority of business leaders not optimistic on economy

Nearly 70 out of 100 Japanese business leaders forecast slow economic growth for fiscal 2001, which begins April 1, with 31 saying a full recovery will not come until after 2002, according to a Kyodo News poll.
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2001

Returning holidaymakers congest transport routes

The flow of New Year holiday travelers returning to Tokyo before work resumed for most people today reached its peak on Wednesday, leaving airline flights, bullet trains and expressways operating well beyond their usual beyond capacity.
EDITORIALS
Jan 3, 2001

The dangers that lie ahead

One of the biggest holiday gifts last year was the Sony PlayStation2 video game console. Good luck trying to find one. Hundreds of thousands of gamers around the world are still waiting to get their hands on the elusive item. But, according to news reports, one customer managed to collect about 4,000...
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2001

Five-year, muscle-pumping defense plan passed easily

The Cabinet approval last month of the 25-trillion yen medium-term defense buildup program came without heated debate among lawmakers or the public, to the apparent surprise of some Defense Agency officials.
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2001

Economy expected to limp toward recovery

The consensus among economists at private think tanks is that the economy will continue to grow, albeit slowly, for the remaining three months of fiscal 2000 and through the next fiscal year.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes