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JAPAN
Apr 25, 2001

Caribbean, Latin American envoys meet local media

Diplomats from Latin American and Caribbean countries met with a group of Japanese journalists on Tuesday to discuss perceptions of the Japanese media toward countries in the region.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 25, 2001

Seoul through the eyes of Araki

Untitled photographs from "Shosetsu Seoul" by Nobuyoshi Araki Attracted by its people and landscapes, photographer Nobuyoshi Araki has visited South Korea several times since 1983. An exhibition of his photographs of the country will be on from April 28 to May 9 at the Spiral Hall in Minami-Aoyama,...
BUSINESS
Apr 24, 2001

Appliance output to be cut in wake of law

Major consumer electronics makers plan to cut production of four kinds of electric appliances in the April-June period to counter an expected fall in sales following the April 1 introduction of a new recycling law that temporarily pushed up demand.
LIFE / Travel
Apr 24, 2001

Conserving world heritage in Dunhuang

DUNHUANG, China -- Approaching China across the Eurasian continent, one crosses the Tianshan mountains only to be confronted by the mighty Taklamakan Desert, with its sinister epigraph: "If you go in, you won't come out." At Kashgar, the Silk Road divides into two branches, skirting the northern and...
LIFE / Travel
Apr 24, 2001

A tale of two Thai tribes

BAHN BOON YEUN, Phrae Province, Thailand -- Small, wild-haired figures in ragged clothes move barefoot through the moonlit mango grove. Some carry archaic muskets as long as spears, others squat beside soot-stained shacks murmuring to each other in the darkness. Inside a big wooden house at the heart...
MORE SPORTS / THE DUKE OF HAZARDS
Apr 24, 2001

Baker-Finch happy talking golf -- for now

Ten years ago, Ian Baker-Finch won the British Open. It seems like a long time ago. He no longer plays professional golf.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2001

Mexico keen to boost ties with Japan

The new democratic government of Mexico is eager to strengthen ties with Japan and promote cultural exchanges between the two countries, the Central American country's new ambassador to Japan said Monday.
COMMENTARY
Apr 24, 2001

Economy keeps Blair on top

LONDON -- All being well, there will be a general election in Britain on June 7. It is not yet official but it seems almost certain.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2001

Food delivery firms beset by slump, glut

Consumer cooperatives and companies delivering food door-to-door face rough going amid prolonged lackluster consumption and fierce distribution competition.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 22, 2001

The enigma of power in medieval Japan

THE GATES OF POWER: Monks, Courtiers, and Warriors in Premodern Japan, by Mikael S. Adolphson. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2000, 456 pp., $29.95 (paper), $60.00 (cloth). Who rules Japan? This question has a modern ring to it and has been belabored by many a student of political science....
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2001

TTNet plans high-speed Internet access service

Tokyo Telecommunications Network Co. plans to commence a high-speed fiber-optic Internet access service, perhaps within the current fiscal year, company sources said Saturday.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 22, 2001

Musicians take it back to the bridge

It's Saturday night, and the basement rock 'n' roll club Penguin House in Koenji is packed to bursting. As late-coming guests crowd down the stairs, the performer, Dai Yamamoto, takes the stage and tunes up his instrument.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2001

Tokyo-Beijing relations expected to decline despite visa conditions

Although the government cited "humanitarian reasons" in deciding to issue an entry visa to former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui, the Foreign Ministry recognizes the decision will have political implications and will certainly serve Tokyo-Beijing ties yet another blow.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2001

Contorted system spells short-term leaders

Unless one is a political analyst or blessed with an excellent memory, it is close to impossible to correctly rattle off the names of Japan's prime ministers since the late 1980s. There have simply been too many in that time.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2001

Polyester fiber imports face antidumping probe

The government will launch an investigation Monday to decide whether antidumping duties should be imposed on polyester staple fiber imported from South Korea and Taiwan, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2001

Koreans weigh merits of gaining Japan citizenship

Staff writer One Hokkaido resident is too proud to give up his South Korean nationality despite the disadvantages it brings while living in Japan.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2001

'Metal fatigue' threatens LDP's power: Nakasone

The decline in the power of the Liberal Democratic Party is a key reason behind the string of short-lived administrations over the past decade, according to former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2001

Judge avoids trial for giving wife investigative info

A Diet committee considering the impeachment of judges said Friday that it will not take action against a senior Fukuoka judge who received information on a police investigation into death threats allegedly made by his wife.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 20, 2001

Shame on the government

The Mori administration and the Foreign Ministry in particular have been taking an ambiguous attitude toward a request for a Japanese visa from former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui. I must criticize this attitude categorically.
EDITORIALS
Apr 19, 2001

Beyond the textbook controversy

A junior high-school history textbook edited by a nationalist group continues to stir controversy and provoke anger, especially in South Korea. The textbook in question, written by the Japanese Society for Textbook Reform, which calls existing history textbooks "masochistic," recently cleared censorship...
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2001

Hatoyama taking DPJ delegation to Seoul to meet Kim

Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, will lead a delegation to South Korea from May 1 to 4 for talks with South Korean President Kim Dae Jung.
CULTURE / Film
Apr 18, 2001

That's, like, what living is like, in'it?

Ratcatcher Purely Belter Rating: * * * * 1/2 Japanese title: Boku to Sora to Mugibatake Director: Lynne Ramsay Running time: 93 min. Language: English Now showing Rating: * * * * Director: Mark Herman Running time: 99 min. Language: English Opens April 28 So often, children in British cinema are...
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2001

Whales consuming five times global fisheries yield: Japan

The Fisheries Ministry defended its "research" whaling in an annual report released Tuesday, countering criticism from the United States and other antiwhaling countries.
COMMENTARY
Apr 18, 2001

Mistaken cures for the Japanese economy

The debate over economic reform in Japan, especially the alleged need to force banks to dispose of bad loans, resembles the story about the hospital patient on life support because of a serious blood-circulation problem. One result of that problem is badly swollen feet. But the doctors can only focus...
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2001

Japan faces dilemma over Kyoto Protocol

Japan should start focusing more diplomatic attention on Russia if it wants to put the Kyoto Protocol climate change agreement into force -- with or without the United States.
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2001

Ministry to nudge NTT to cut stake in DoCoMo

Telecommunications Minister Toranosuke Katayama said Tuesday he will urge Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. to voluntarily craft and submit a business plan to increase competition among its group firms.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 18, 2001

Sensual curves and serendipitous color

KOBE -- What do the ancient ceramics center of Shigaraki and suburban New Jersey have in common?
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Apr 18, 2001

Mogwai

I've made my ex-girlfriend cry a few times, but this is the first time I've been proud of it.
MORE SPORTS / THE DUKE OF HAZARDS
Apr 17, 2001

The revolution is coming: Get ready for cheap golf in Japan

I probably play golf more than 80 times a year around the world. It's a tough life, but someone has to do it. And besides, it's my job.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji