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JAPAN
Mar 10, 1999

Investment drops to 37-year low

Combined capital investments by Japanese firms in the October-December period fell 18.7 percent from a year earlier, the worst drop seen since the same quarter of 1962, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 1999

Kobe urged to woo foreign investment

Staff writer
CULTURE / Books
Mar 8, 1999

The view from the 20th floor

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS IN JAPAN, edited by Charles Pomeroy, Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1998, 367 pp., 3,700 yen (cloth). The image Japan projects abroad comes not only from the government or big business; it also arises from a certain private club occupying the 20th floor of a building overlooking the...
JAPAN
Mar 8, 1999

Vietnamese prime minister to visit Tokyo soon

Staff writer
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Mar 7, 1999

Is patience a Russian virtue?

Amid the apocalyptic news about Russian pensioners being unable to afford any medicines beyond traditional folk remedies, Russian workers not paid salaries for months and Russian children in the on the verge of starvation, one piece of news is conspicuously missing: reports of mass protests. It is true...
JAPAN
Mar 5, 1999

Domestic PC shipments stayed steady in '98

The total shipment of personal computers on the domestic market in 1998 remained at the same level as the previous year, as the home computer market grew 28.4 percent but the corporate market shrank 10 percent, a private high-tech research firm said Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 1999

Airport, deficit likely top issues for Kobe voters

Staff writer
JAPAN
Mar 5, 1999

New Komeito backs calls for Justice chief to leave

New Komeito on Friday joined other opposition parties in calling for the resignation of Justice Minister Shozaburo Nakamura, who after coming under fire for allegedly abusing his authority has more recently committed a series of gaffes.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 1999

Shevardnadze asks for infrastructure help

Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze asked trade chief Kaoru Yosano on Friday to help the former Soviet Union state develop a port and other infrastructure by utilizing trade insurance and yen loans, an official of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said.
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Mar 4, 1999

Zeni Geva's earthly angst gives way to cosmic vibes

Somewhere between the metal aggression of Black Sabbath and the guitar grind of the Swans, Zeni Geva was the rock equivalent of opera, a full-throttle exploration of the emotional spectrum's dark side. Long hair flying and vocals growling, guitarist and vocalist Kazuyuki Ishino, a k a K.K. Null, channeled...
EDITORIALS
Mar 3, 1999

Pick priorities, Mr. Clinton

Last week, U.S. President Bill Clinton set out his foreign-policy framework and goals for the last two years of his term. In a speech to California business and political leaders, he urged Americans to "embrace the inexorable logic of globalization." For Mr. Clinton, that translates into a policy of...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Mar 3, 1999

Wareware cyberjin

One of the great mysteries of Internet life is Japan. This country should be Net-crazy. It produces some of the world's best hardware, is quick to exploit new technologies in most walks of life and has an unquenchable passion for gadgets and trends. That should add up to a country that makes cyborgs...
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Mar 3, 1999

The lion kings of the northern seas

Though in Japan's southernmost islands temperatures are already reaching into the 20s C, which many would call summer weather, in the north the temperatures have been fluttering and dipping, generally remaining well on the frigid side and with the definite feel of winter. In fact, some of the major lakes...
JAPAN
Mar 3, 1999

Contraceptive pill slated for approval in June

The government is expected to approve the contraceptive pill for women in June, government officials said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 1999

Forum to explore Mekong development

Staff writer
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ARCHIPELA-GO
Mar 3, 1999

Kyoto: The 'City of Flowers' defined by its waterways

Ever since Kyoto was founded by the Emperor Kanmu in 794, its temples, garden sanctuaries, artisan quarters, elegant back streets and superb inns and shops have lent credence to the city's nickname, "Hana no Miyako," the City of Flowers.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Mar 3, 1999

Belize offers cay to a good vacation

Belize City (population 60,000) sucks. Crack addicts, muggers, deranged loafers, unprovoked verbal abuse of the anti-whitey variety. A spoonful of water from its rancid canals, if strategically distributed, would wipe out the People's Republic of China. Belize City's got the lot.
JAPAN
Mar 2, 1999

BOJ board voted for credibility rather than bonds

The Bank of Japan Policy Board in its Jan. 19 meeting rejected the idea of underwriting government bonds on grounds that it would undermine the credibility of the central bank, according to minutes of the meeting released Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Feb 28, 1999

Shiny happy people

The elusive butterfly of happiness has been fluttering before humanity for a long time. America's Thomas Jefferson declared the pursuit of it an inalienable human right over 220 years ago. But a good 1,800 years or so before that, another great farmer-philosopher had seen the urge to chase happiness...
JAPAN
Feb 25, 1999

Ministry targets U.S. elderly to fix tourism slump

The Transport Ministry will launch a campaign next week to encourage U.S. senior citizens to visit Japan in a bid to stimulate the slumping tourism industry, ministry officials said on Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 1999

HP, Hitachi, Marubeni form Internet venture

Hewlett-Packard Co., Marubeni Corp. and Hitachi Software Engineering Co. will establish a joint venture in March to offer electronic business and commerce solutions centering on Internet technologies, the three firms announced Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 1999

Sakura bad-loan writeoffs to reach 990 billion yen

Sakura Bank on Thursday said it will write off about 990 billion yen in bad loans during the business year ending March 31, some 80 billion yen more than it originally expected.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 1999

Pfizer posts 48% net profit gain

Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Inc. posted 149.3 billion yen in sales for the business year that ended November 30, 1998, up 15 percent from the previous year, Leslie Patterson, president of the firm, announced on Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Feb 22, 1999

The Tokyo race is on

After weeks of scheming and squabbling, the cast now appears all set. If the Tokyo gubernatorial election were a soap opera, few people would worry too much about the script, as long as the lineup of stars passed muster. But the choice of a governor for a metropolis with a population of 11 million is...
EDITORIALS
Feb 17, 1999

The true meaning of the dioxin scare

Nose, a small town on the northern outskirts of Osaka, first put the fear of dioxin into nation's consciousness last year. Now, just 10 months later, another dioxin scare has hit the headlines. This time, the site is Tokorozawa, the Saitama bedroom community on the northwestern outskirts of Tokyo. The...
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1999

Aum regrouping for Armageddon in September: PSIA

Aum Shinrikyo followers are striving to hold together to reconstruct their cult, believing Armageddon will come this year in accordance with founder Shoko Asahara's prediction, according to a report released Friday by the Public Security Investigation Agency.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 1999

Tokai Bank plans to close over half of overseas units

Chubu area leader Tokai Bank intends to close down more than half of its overseas branches, offices and subsidiaries by March 2001 to focus on domestic operations, bank sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 1999

Telecom firms form strategic alliance

Ten telecommunications carriers affiliated with power companies have formed an alliance on business strategies and infrastructure, top executives of the carriers announced Wednesday.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 1999

Raids continue over suspected pipe-making cartel

Prosecutors continued nationwide raids on offices of three leading water pipe manufacturers Tuesday, following the arrests of 10 officials of the firms Monday in connection with a probe of an illegal market-share cartel.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 1999

BOJ governor opposes outright bond purchases

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami on Tuesday came out against a proposal that the central bank expand its buying of government bonds from the market, saying such a measure would be tantamount to underwriting newly issued bonds.

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