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ENVIRONMENT
Mar 12, 2000

Worries balanced with hope in 'State of the World 2000'

Attempting to evaluate the state of our world is an absurdly complex task. Nevertheless, that is what the Worldwatch Institute has done every year since 1984, and has done once again this year with "The State of the World 2000."
COMMENTARY
Mar 3, 2000

Tide turning against coalition

Only three weeks ago, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's tripartite coalition was in a celebratory mood after the opposition forces ended their boycott of the Diet and all proceedings returned to normal.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 24, 2000

Italian home cooking from a solo artist

It's always depressing when news comes in that another good restaurant has bitten the dust. In the past month we've found out that two of the best (in their own ways) have given up the ghost. So it was with not a little trepidation that we hiked off into nether Ebisu to see if our long-time favorite...
JAPAN / Media
Feb 17, 2000

Tarnished shields reflect on justice

Because the public has been conditioned not to believe anything it doesn't see on TV or read in the paper, a problem is not considered a problem until the media says it is. This realization brings up the question: What was it before?
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2000

Banks quick to slam Ishihara tax proposal

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara's surprise proposal to impose a 3 percent tax on gross profits of large banks in the metropolis drew a flurry of protest from the nation's financial institutions Tuesday. "The plan is at odds with national policy," Michio Ochi, chairman of the Financial Reconstruction Commission,...
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2000

Minister claims flexibility on unpopular dam project

Construction Minister Masaaki Nakayama reiterated his readiness Tuesday to be flexible in reviewing a contentious dam planned for the Yoshino River in Tokushima Prefecture following the overwhelming rejection of the project by voters in a Sunday plebiscite in the city of Tokushima. "We have been walking...
EDITORIALS
Dec 5, 1999

Aum's surprise expression of 'regret'

Never able to stay out of the news for long, the Aum Shinrikyo cult made headlines last week, but this time with deliberate intent. The unprecedented formal admission by its current acting leader, Ms. Tatsuko Muraoka, that some of the cult's members were indeed involved in the series of crimes of which...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Nov 3, 1999

Marketing witchcraft

"The Blair Witch Project," which will finally appear at a theater near you this month, is one of the scariest movies of the '90s.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Sep 22, 1999

Where the women are

No presses need to be stopped to inform you of the growing number of women on the Internet in Japan. And the sizes of our headlines won't increase to tell you that number will continue to rise steadily, if not dramatically, over the next few years
JAPAN
Sep 16, 1999

Road to closed captions no freeway for hearing impaired

Staff writer
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 15, 1999

A true believer's perspective on the Pyongyang regime

The Korean Central News Agency is the official English-language press agency of North Korea. When tensions escalate between the two Koreas, it is to this agency that the world press corps turns for comment.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 1999

Internet station pulls in global FM tunes

Staff writer
JAPAN
Aug 23, 1999

Ministry applauds tribank megamerger

The Finance Ministry applauds a plan by Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Fuji Bank and the Industrial Bank of Japan to form a full-scale alliance, Vice Finance Minister Nobuaki Usui said Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 25, 1999

Fear and loathing for Russian journalists

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia -- Yury Stepanov, an editor at an independent program called Radio Lemma, was walking home at about 10:30 p.m. June 29 when he noticed a Toyota minivan blocking an alley near his home.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 1999

Low-key ivory sale served more than craftsmen

Staff writer
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Mar 10, 1999

And the winners aren't ...

A stunned Webmaster rises from his seat, shaking his head in disbelief. As he makes his way to the aisle, fellow programmers and designers pat him heartily on the back and shake his hand. After accepting his trophy from a cybercelebrity, he stands there speechless, and finally says with a trembling voice,...
JAPAN
Feb 9, 1999

Asahi Shimbun chief dies of pneumonia

Muneyuki Matsushita, president of the Asahi Shimbun, one of the nation's leading dailies, died of pneumonia at a Tokyo hospital Tuesday morning, the newspaper said. He was 65.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 1998

GE Capital seals purchase of Lake

GE Capital Services Corp. of the United States has closed an acquisition deal with Lake Co., Japan's fifth-largest consumer credit firm, the two companies announced Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 1998

Moody's casts pall over financial system

Japan's long-term government bond ratings, which currently stand at a prime Aaa, have been placed under possible downgrade, Moody's Investors Service announced Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1998

Defense execs to serve alongside SDF field ranks

To facilitate better understanding between civilian and uniformed officials, the Defense Agency is planning to assign would-be executive officials to local officer posts in the Self-Defense Forces, Vice Defense Minister Masahiro Akiyama said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 1998

Nobelist tells media to focus on rights, responsibility

BY AKEMI NAKAMURA
JAPAN
May 15, 1998

Matsunaga makes reassurances on Midori absorption

In a statement released Friday, Finance Minister Hikaru Matsunaga said that all deposits at Midori Bank will be transferred to the new bank and that depositors should show proper "conscience behavior."
JAPAN
May 4, 1998

Tokyo-Mitsubishi chief defends wining, dining customs

Staff writer
JAPAN
Apr 30, 1998

Hosokawa announces resignation from Diet

Former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa, who has been the glue linking the intraparty groups within the Democratic Party of Japan, announced April 30 that he will resign as a Diet member.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1998

Imports to stay slow, Volkswagen says

The nation's import car market will probably remain weak for another two to three years, the head of Volkswagen Group Japan KK said April 14, pointing to the continued sluggishness of the economy.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 1998

AT&T Japan names new president

In a move to integrate its groupwide operations here, AT&T Japan announced April 6 the appointment of Darryl E. Green as its new president.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1998

NHK introduces digital TV to Asia-Pacific

NHK April 1 kicks off a digital international television broadcasting service for the Asia-Pacific region.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 1998

IATA chief urges Asia to support aviation, tourism

Pierre J. Jeanniot, director general of the International Air Transport Association, called on Asian governments Monday to support the aviation and tourism industries, which have been hard hit by the ongoing regional economic crisis.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 1998

Japan, Malaysia mull yen-based trade settlement

Anwar Ibrahim, the visiting Malaysian deputy prime minister and finance minister, said Tuesday that his nation and Japan are discussing the possibility of making the yen a trade settlements currency to help stabilize regional currencies in the future.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 1998

USA Today going forward with paper and without

Is the deluge of Internet information having a negative impact on the newspaper business?

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