Search - u_times

 
 
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2000

Disaster drill brings troops into Tokyo

A massive disaster drill was held Sunday in 10 locations throughout Tokyo, with the nation's Self-Defense Forces participating on an unprecedented scale.
EDITORIALS
Sep 4, 2000

Budget reform, not budget tricks

The government budget for fiscal 2001 is shaping up now that the Finance Ministry has received requests from all ministries and agencies. Their estimates, which include debt payments and revenue transfers to local governments, total about 84.8 trillion yen, down 0.2 percent from the initial budget for...
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2000

Miyake islanders evacuated to Tokyo

Some 280 of the remaining residents of Miyake left the island aboard a ferry Saturday afternoon, in accordance with an evacuation order issued by local officials the previous day as fears rose that islanders could be injured by falling rocks superheated by volcanic activity and ash thrown out from Mount...
SUMO
Sep 2, 2000

Yokozuna favored in autumn tournament

Special to The Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2000

Elevated dioxin, PCB found in fish

Elevated levels of dioxin and polychlorinated biphenyls were found in the livers of squid, cod and bottom-dwelling sharks off the coast of Japan, according to interim results from an Environment Agency survey released Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2000

Reward up in search for U.K. woman

A mystery British benefactor has added 100,000 British pounds (16.5 million yen) to the reward money put forward for information leading to the return of missing hostess Lucie Blackman.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2000

Tokyo disaster drill features SDF in big way

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's annual major disaster-relief drill Sunday will feature the participation of Self-Defense Forces troops on an unprecedented scale -- 7,100 service members, 1,090 vehicles, 80 aircraft and five ships -- at 10 venues throughout the capital.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2000

Prospects bleak for Sharif, but may be bleaker still for Musharraf

NEW DELHI -- Pakistan's two most important political figures are facing bleak times.
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Sep 1, 2000

Play that funky Okinawan music

Asian folk music has become a rich source for progressive club music. Hang out in one of Tokyo's happening nightspots and one is apt to hear break beats ping-ponging past Indian sitars or fluttering around Balinese gamelan. But when it comes to Okinawan min'yo or traditional music, there hasn't been...
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2000

Lake reclamation scheme canceled

MATSUE, Shimane Pref. -- Following the ruling coalition's termination of a 37-year-old controversial project to reclaim part of Lake Nakaumi and create 1,470 hectares of farmland, local municipalities are scrambling for new central government spending to make up for the aborted project.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Aug 31, 2000

Kudos to the Kinki kids

Since Hideo Nomo's spectacular rookie season in 1995, a number of Japanese pitchers have proven capable of competing at the major league level. Lately, it's the lesser lights from the Land of the Rising Sun who have been shining bright.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 31, 2000

Covering the fine arts: Frank Stella speaks

Frank Stella As part of the celebration of the art collection at the U.S. ambassador's residence, Ambassador Foley invited celebrated artist Frank Stella to take part in the reception and media tour. The day after the media tour, The Japan Times interviewed Stella at the residence. Following are excerpts...
CULTURE / Art
Aug 31, 2000

Art and history intersect in U.S. ambassador's residence

Most of us only dream of being able to pick out our favorite pieces of art from museums to display in our homes.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 31, 2000

Frugality boom highlights fun and fulfillment of the simple life

As explained in this column several months ago, Japanese TV often adapts successful programming ideas from abroad. Still, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a local version of "Survivor." Reality-based programming is already available in Japan. Years ago, "Denpa Shonen" moved beyond such simplistic...
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2000

Jumbo vessel unveiled to clean ocean oil spills

The government on Tuesday unveiled Japan's largest oil-recovery vessel, ordered by the Transport Ministry in the wake of a huge oil spill on the Sea of Japan coast three years ago.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2000

Children lead exodus of volcanic Miyake Island

Miyake Island's Mount Oyama erupted again early Tuesday morning -- its second major blast this summer -- hastening the evacuation of 136 children later in the day.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2000

Talks to hold up Kitakyushu as environmental success story

Asia, with more than half the world's population and economies that continue to grow, poses one of the biggest environmental challenges of the coming century. The United Nations predicts that by 2025 more than half the region's population will have moved to the already packed metropolises.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2000

Little reason to celebrate in East Timor

Just over a year ago, in August 1999, I was in the Baucau district of East Timor, helping to monitor the leadup to the referendum on independence as a U.N.-accredited observer with the independent International Federation for East Timor Observer Project.
LIFE / Travel
Aug 30, 2000

Travel in the company of women

"The challenge is to myself and not to the mountain." -- "Clouds from Both Sides," by Julie Tullis
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Aug 30, 2000

Feeling the pulse of the seasons

Recently, and for the first time, I flew right across Australia. Heading northwest from New Zealand, I crossed Australia's southeast coast somewhere south of Sydney and traversed the country northwest to the coast near Broome.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2000

IT revolution must benefit all: NGO

Will information technology be utilized for the benefit of all or merely as a business tool? This is a major challenge Japan faces in implementing an IT society, according to Nami Takenaka, president of Prop Station, who spoke Monday.
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2000

Japan called on to help redevelop Panama Canal

Nearly a century after Japanese engineer Akira Aoyama contributed to the construction of the Panama Canal, Panama is now seeking fresh investment and expert advice from Japan to redevelop the world's crucial waterway to serve 21st-century needs.
COMMENTARY
Aug 28, 2000

U.N. central to future peace

Hisashi Owada, former ambassador to the United Nations and now president of the Japan Institute of International Affairs, emphasized in a recent interview with this writer that Japan should play a larger role in the 188-member world body, saying: "Japan should contribute to the resolution of global issues,...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Aug 27, 2000

Yoko Ishii

LONDON -- "I am very proud that I really did find a wonderful job. I can travel the world with my scissors and comb, and wherever I go not only can I find work, but by making people beautiful I can also give them hopes and dreams," said Yoko Ishii.
BUSINESS
Aug 26, 2000

New combined ministry seeks 20 trillion yen budget

The General Affairs Ministry, to be created in January, will seek a budget for fiscal 2001 that is 18.3 percent larger than the combined initial budget of its three predecessor organizations for fiscal 2000, government officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2000

Tokyo Internet costs almost double N.Y. charges

The cost of continuously using the Internet in Tokyo for 24 hours is nearly twice as high as that in New York, according to a survey released Friday by the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2000

LDP sidelines 17.2 billion yen loan to China

The Liberal Democratic Party said Thursday that it will postpone approval of a plan to loan 17.2 billion yen to China to protest recent Chinese naval activity in and around Japanese territorial waters, LDP officials said.
COMMENTARY
Aug 25, 2000

Turbulent times await Mori

Japan's new political season will open in late September, when an extraordinary Diet session starts after the summer recess. Politics in the upcoming year will be marked by three potential turning points.
EDITORIALS
Aug 24, 2000

The children must be protected

Increasing media coverage of horrendous cases of child abuse, complete with gruesome details of serious injury or death, seems to indicate that the problem is getting out of control in this country. Until not so long ago, an issue that was widely believed to be a private family matter received scant...
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2000

Toxic powdered milk sees Snow plant closure

SAPPORO -- The Hokkaido Prefectural Government on Wednesday ordered Snow Brand Milk Products Co. to suspend operations for an unspecified period at its plant in Taiki, Hokkaido, after discovering a bacterial toxin in samples of powdered skim milk produced there, officials said.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes