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JAPAN
Mar 9, 2001

Japan's history again haunts future relations

The ongoing controversy between Japan and South Korea over a new textbook for Japanese junior high schools has taken a toll on the bilateral diplomatic calendar.
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2001

MSDF lieutenant sentenced to 10-month term for spying

A former Maritime Self-Defense Force officer was sentenced Wednesday to 10 months in prison for passing two classified defense documents to a Russian Military attache in June.
BUSINESS
Mar 7, 2001

Deadline on breakup of NTT unlikely to be issued

A set of telecommunications-related bills the government aims to pass in the current Diet session is unlikely to include a proposed two-year deadline for the breaking up of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., the telecom minister said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2001

Controversial history text under revision

The authors and publisher of a controversial junior high school history textbook being screened by the government are ready to comply with all of the revision requests made by an education ministry panel, sources close to the group said Monday.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2001

Foes of Isahaya project get more good news

Yoshio Yatsu, head of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, on Friday expressed qualified readiness to open the lock gates of a huge reclamation dike that traverses Isahaya Bay in Nagasaki Prefecture.
EDITORIALS
Mar 1, 2001

Truth of scandal remains buried

There is always something very frustrating about Diet questioning of legislators involved in corruption scandals. So it was with Monday's inquiry of Mr. Fukushiro Nukaga, former economics minister, at a Lower House Council on Political Ethics. As expected, Mr. Nukaga, a Liberal Democrat, denied allegations...
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2001

Admiral gives apologies to families of missing

A special envoy dispatched by U.S. President George W. Bush apologized Wednesday in Tokyo to representatives of relatives of nine people still missing after the sinking of a high school fisheries training ship by a U.S. submarine.
COMMENTARY
Feb 28, 2001

Alleviating anxiety in Seoul

SEOUL -- On the surface, U.S.-South Korean relations have seldom seemed better. Last fall's contentious issues -- negotiations over revisions to the Status of Forces Agreement and over South Korean missile-development plans -- were settled amicably. The new U.S. administration has firmly endorsed the...
CULTURE / Books
Feb 27, 2001

The guide to the Chinese economy

CHINA'S NEW POLITICAL ECONOMY, by Susumu Yabuki and Stephen M. Harner. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1999, revised edition, 327 pp., $32. In this thoroughly revised edition of Susumu Yabuki's 1995 book, Stephen Harner (translator of the 1995 book) joins Yabuki to paint a broad picture of China's...
COMMUNITY
Feb 25, 2001

Top industrial designer to lecture on lunchboxes

The ninth-floor room in Tokyo's Mejiro where Kenji Ekuan receives guests is a perfect reflection of his personality. One wall is stacked with diplomas, photos and portraits, all neatly framed but in no particular order. Opposite, floor-to-ceiling glass shelving is crammed with memorabilia and knickknacks...
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2001

Trade chief hints at curbing China towel imports

Takeo Hiranuma, chief of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, hinted Tuesday that the government would support the imposition of an emergency curb on towel imports from China to help domestic towel makers.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2001

More and more patients turn to Net to consult with doctors

Five years ago, Tokyo Dr. Motofumi Takahashi opened a Web site to respond free of charge to inquiries from patients across the nation, but a surge in such online inquiries has forced him to limit his responses.
EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2001

The G7 prescription for Japan

With signs of a slowdown in the U.S. economy casting a shadow over the global economy, the Group of Seven finance ministers and central-bank governors who gathered in Palermo, Italy, last weekend emphasized the need for coordinated action to ensure sustainable growth worldwide. That appeal for cooperation,...
CULTURE / Books
Feb 12, 2001

Forget Big Brother -- it's little brothers that count

ORDER BY ACCIDENT: The origins and consequences of conformity in contemporary Japan, by Alan S. Miller and Satoshi Kanazawa. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 2000, 156 pp., $25/17.99 pounds(cloth). The title of this book is misleading, although it captures the main idea of the authors, two social...
COMMENTARY
Feb 9, 2001

Which 'global standard'?

At the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland last month, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara reportedly attracted more attention than Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.
BUSINESS
Feb 8, 2001

Government to rely on bonds for 41% of all revenue by 2004

Rising social security costs will force the government to issue bonds worth 41.1 percent of its total revenue in fiscal 2004, up from 38.5 percent in fiscal 2000, the Finance Ministry says in a simulation report released Wednesday.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2001

Mori apologizes again, denies LDP is corrupt

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori offered a fresh apology before the Diet on Monday for recent corruption scandals involving LDP members and a Foreign Ministry official.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2001

Mori apologizes again, denies LDP is corrupt

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori offered a fresh apology before the Diet on Monday for recent corruption scandals involving LDP members and a Foreign Ministry official.
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Feb 3, 2001

A shakuhachi innovator who continues to inspire

Shakuhachi master Hozan Yamamoto is one of the most respected and innovative shakuhachi masters of modern times. He has pioneered new music for the instrument and extended its repertory, while remaining grounded in traditional music.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 1, 2001

Making work a lifestyle choice instead of just making a living

In an effort to get some idea of why the suicide rate among college students is on the rise, the weekly magazine AERA recently sent a reporter to the Muroran Institute of Technology, where there have been seven student suicides in the last two years.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jan 29, 2001

Was Pearl Harbor really a surprise?

My young colleague at work, Donald Howard, comes to me and wryly asks: Why is this Japanese office having a Christmas party on Dec. 7? Impressed by his historical acuity, I only manage: Well, from the Japanese perspective, the Pearl Harbor assault didn't take place on Dec. 7, but on Dec. 8 in the predawn...
EDITORIALS
Jan 25, 2001

Scandal threatens the Mori Cabinet

An unfolding bribery scandal surrounding an insurance group for small business led to the resignation of Mr. Fukushiro Nukaga, state minister for economic and fiscal policy, on Tuesday. Just a week earlier, Mr. Takao Koyama, a Liberal Democratic member of the Upper House, was arrested on charges of receiving...

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