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EDITORIALS
Jul 25, 1999

The growing threat of suicide

Over the last three years Japan has witnessed a steady, seemingly inexorable, rise in the national suicide rate. Many of these deaths are attributable to financial worries caused by the prolonged economic slowdown. It is well known that Japanese culture has never condemned the taking of one's own life,...
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.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 25, 1999

Soong's presidential bid is good for Taiwan

No one blinked when longtime Kuomintang politician James Soong (Sung Chu-yu) announced last week that he would defy party elders and run independently for president of the Republic of China on Taiwan in the March 2000 elections.
COMMENTARY
Jul 24, 1999

The 'Third Way' once again

LONDON -- "The Third Way" has become the height of intellectual fashion. But what on earth is it?
CULTURE / Art / ARTS AND ARTISANS
Jul 24, 1999

The food that never lets you down

Eventually, a bowl of steaming noodles will go soggy, the lettuce in a salad will go limp and turn brown and a piece of sushi will dry up.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 24, 1999

Africa, a blind spot for Europe's left

The European left has been so stung by the rise of nationalism and religious sentiment in Eastern Europe since the fall of the Iron Curtain that it no longer knows if it has a reason to exist.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 1999

End to entrance exams proposed

Some advice for the Education Ministry: ban entrance exams, provide low-interest loans to all students and require that school principals be licensed.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 1999

Keidanren execs vocal over Asian interests

OYAMA, Shizuoka Pref. -- Several corporate executives of Japan's most powerful business lobby voiced concerns Friday over the nation's declining economic status in Asia and called for measures to further stabilize financial and currency exchange systems in the region.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 1999

Mazda to end austerity days with new engine line

Mazda Motor Corp. said Friday it will set up a production line for new types of engines with displacements of 2,000cc to 3,000cc at its Ujina plant in Hiroshima.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 1999

Tour agents target families to survive lean times

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jul 20, 1999

Experts ponder state's next great spending project

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jul 19, 1999

Adachi Ward joins Aum ban

Tokyo's Adachi Ward will neither accept resident registration applications from Aum Shinrikyo followers nor allow them to use ward-run facilities, Adachi Mayor Tsunetoshi Suzuki said Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 19, 1999

Yamaguchi-gumi don celebrates a decade at the top

Staff writer
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 1999

Time for women to 'hold up half the sky'

Adrian Cozette Chandler, a U.S. educator and colleague of mine, has come up with a great idea and hopes to see it materialize: the publication of a bilingual book, written in easy-to-understand English and Japanese, in which ordinary American and Japanese women review and candidly discuss issues crucial...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jul 14, 1999

Lost and found fnords

The Net is a terrific reference tool. There, I said it, the obvious. It's like stating that you should use a saw to cut down a tree. But have you ever tried to do an online search for the currency of Bhutan in the 18th century, who did the music for "The Third Man," the meaning of CLEP, DHCP or DQMOT...
LIFE / Travel
Jul 14, 1999

Memphis, where the 'King' still rules

In reference to the legacy of Elvis Presley, Neil Young once sang "The King is dead, but not forgotten."
EDITORIALS
Jul 13, 1999

Hard questions for Hong Kong

It has been a bitter two years for Hong Kong. On July 1, 1997, the British Crown Colony reverted to the mainland amid an outpouring of pride and Chinese nationalism. The celebrations were short-lived. The very next day, the Thai baht imploded, launching Asia on a downward economic spiral from which it...
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jul 8, 1999

Oasis of serenity found in rowdiest Roppongi

One of Tokyo's greatest charms, and one of its greatest oddities, is its occasional lack of congruency. Like architectural hiccups, you often see a building where you would least expect it, completely unrelated to everything around it. Aburaya in Roppongi is like that, albeit it is more a matter of atmosphere...
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1999

Will wiretapping hurt the news?

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1999

Osaka puts on job fair to help the unemployed

OSAKA -- In a bid to help job-seekers in the Kansai region, where the unemployment rate exceeds the national average, Osaka Prefecture Wednesday kicked off Job Information Fair '99, featuring 200 computers listing 15,000 jobs.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 1999

Australia, Japan stick to pushing free trade

Japan and Australia on Tuesday reaffirmed their intention to cooperate in pursuing free trade during the next round of international trade liberalization negotiations at the World Trade Organization.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 1999

Panel urges sweeping investor protection law

A financial service law should be designed to cover all relevant sectors to better protect investors and improve efficiency in financial services, an advisory panel to the finance minister said Tuesday in an interim report.
JAPAN
Jul 5, 1999

Parents unprepared for child seat law

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jul 5, 1999

Government sees role in nurturing venture firms

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi instructed his Cabinet Monday to start working out industrial "millennium projects" that will enable the government and private sector to concentrate joint efforts on growth industries such as information technology.
EDITORIALS
Jul 4, 1999

Stone the crows!

Tokyo, Scene 1: A man is waiting patiently for a bus in Roppongi, thinking about nothing, minding his own business. Suddenly, out of a clear blue sky, a bomber-shaped bird watching from atop an adjacent building delivers its payload. Splat! Dabbing at the white mess dripping down his jacket, the victim...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 4, 1999

To buy or not to buy Russian?

Advertising is the third oldest profession after prostitution and journalism. Pyramids of ancient Egypt sold the promise of afterlife. Alexander the Great kept founding one Alexandria after another. Roman palaces advertised state authority. The multicolor banners of kings and princes promoted the glory...
EDITORIALS
Jul 2, 1999

Complacency is the threat

Two years ago today, the world got its first exposure to "bahtulism." The Asian contagion then circled the globe, infecting governments in Northeast Asia, Russia and South America. The crisis that followed was the worst since the Great Depression and has shaken the foundations of the world economic architecture....
JAPAN
Jun 29, 1999

Japanese passports big ticket for forgers, scam artists

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jun 29, 1999

NTT Communications sets 100 billion yen sales target

NTT Communications Corp., a new international and long-distance telecommunications carrier, will try to achieve annual sales of 100 billion yen by fiscal 2001, President Masanobu Suzuki announced Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 1999

Telecom Realignment: Rival carriers prepare to combat Goliath

Second in a five-part series on reorganizing the domestic telecommunications industry

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