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LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Mar 31, 1999

It's a poor workman ...

Readers probably haven't noticed, but The Japan Times has a new computer system. It's a lot like our old one, although it is speedier and it integrates a whole host of functions in one terminal; no longer do we have to leave our desk to accomplish different tasks.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1999

Local Elections '99: Mikami would ax megaprojects, not staff

Staff writer
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1999

New equal opportunity law called a start

Staff writer
JAPAN
Mar 30, 1999

Local Elections '99: Masuzoe on mission for elderly care

Staff writer
JAPAN
Mar 30, 1999

Government approves 917-point deregulation plan

The government decided on Tuesday to adopt a three-year deregulation program that covers 917 points in 15 areas, including electrical appliances and vehicle inspections.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 1999

Panel seeks dioxin cut of 90% over four years

A panel of ministers tasked with tackling dioxin pollution formally adopted basic guidelines Tuesday for measures aimed at cutting such emissions by 90 percent within the next four years.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 1999

Kakizawa's goals hinge on unaffiliated voters

Staff writer
JAPAN
Mar 29, 1999

Allure, image of governor posts growing on Diet

Staff writers
EDITORIALS
Mar 26, 1999

High stakes in Kosovo

Wednesday evening, NATO attacked a sovereign nation for the first time in the alliance's 50-year history. The initial strikes against Yugoslavia, carried out by B-2 "stealth" bombers and cruise missiles, were designed to suppress air-defense systems and other military targets and are the first steps...
JAPAN
Mar 26, 1999

Local Elections '99: Hatoyama and 'symbiosis with nature'

Staff writer
JAPAN
Mar 26, 1999

Incinerator workers become first to file dioxin claims

OSAKA -- Two former workers at an incinerator in Nose, Osaka Prefecture, applied Friday for work-related damages, claiming their illnesses were caused by exposure to high levels of dioxin at the facility.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 1999

Nostalgia buffs pay homage to 1918 brothel-turned-restaurant

When Tadafumi Yoshizato was in junior high school, his friends hocked his watch so they could go to Osaka's Tobita Shinchi district to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh. Now, Yoshizato, a 61-year-old illustrator, goes to enjoy pleasures of a more nostalgic nature.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 1999

The Asahara Trial: Ex-Aum member mum on murder

Three former Aum Shinrikyo members were brought to the witness stand at Thursday's trial session of cult founder Shoko Asahara in connection with the 1995 kidnap and murder of a Tokyo notary worker, but one of them refused to testify.
COMMUNITY / CROSSING CULTURES
Mar 25, 1999

Glacial change hard for people more used to avalanche speed

Japan can't change. Change in Japan is glacial. Japanese are stuck in their ways. In Japan, disappointment is what you can expect if you expect change.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1999

Coalition agrees on deputy minister numbers

The Liberal Democratic Party and Liberal Party agreed Wednesday to introduce 26 deputy minister posts in January 2001, when the government must slim down the administration.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1999

Local Elections: Parties back off Osaka governor race

Staff writer
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 21, 1999

Reach out and touch your four-footed friends

Do you ever get the feeling that your cat isn't listening to you? Have you ever tried to find a gift for the dog who has everything? Don't despair. The latest in pet communication is here: greeting cards for cats and dogs.
COMMENTARY
Mar 21, 1999

Consensus or confrontation?

LONDON -- The popular image in Japan is that Britain is a society governed by confrontation and that this has been the source of British failures. Japan, on the other hand, is a society where consensus prevails, and this has led to harmony and to economic success. The popular image is at best a caricature...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Mar 21, 1999

Obligations

What a downer! A reader has just looked at his calendar and realized that March 15 has passed -- and he forgot to file his Japanese tax return. While he should do it as soon as possible, he does not need to worry. Japan's bureaucracy tends to be compassionate in such matters, especially when the wrongdoer...
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 20, 1999

Passing time and timeless passion

The Kabukiza this month features such outstanding actors as Danjuro Ichikawa, Koshiro Matsumoto, Kikugoro Onoe, Jakuemon Nakamura and Tamasaburo Bando.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 1999

U.S. apologists for China disregard reality

"China apologists," mainly representing newspapers and academic haunts in Los Angeles, New York and Boston, claim that the rest of us are beating up on China merely because Beijing is into heavy-duty spying on the United States, stealing high-tech secrets and deploying enough missiles opposite Taiwan...
JAPAN
Mar 19, 1999

Taiwan rep lauds Japanese news bureaus

The head of Taiwan's Government Information Office on Friday praised increases in the coverage of Taiwan by the Japanese media since last year, when seven news institutions opened bureaus in Taipei.
COMMENTARY
Mar 19, 1999

A battle that earned a place in history

I listen to NHK radio every morning. In one program, titled "What happened on this date," the announcer introduces notable events that occurred on that day in Japanese history.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 1999

Diet begins full debate on defense cooperation bills

Full debate kicked off Thursday on bills covering updated Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines with Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi stressing that the legislation will contribute to Japan's peace and security.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Mar 17, 1999

The hills are alive with wild fungal growths

The Field Studies Council (FSC) is a British not-for-profit organization that has as its slogan: "Environmental understanding for all!"
CULTURE / Books
Mar 17, 1999

Last glimpses of a vanishing people

THE VANISHING TRIBES OF BURMA, by Richard K. Diran. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 240 pp., $60. Coffee-table photo books are usually too expensive, space-consuming or indistinguishable in content from the art of the glossy postcard for most of us to consider buying. Every once in a while, however,...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Mar 17, 1999

When international relations get all steamed up

When asked what part of Japan they would most like to take back home, many foreigners respond by saying, "a Japanese bathtub."
EDITORIALS
Mar 13, 1999

Is shorter always sweeter?

The U.S. publisher Viking recently hit on a bright idea. Biographies, always reliable sellers, were nevertheless getting too long, they thought. Lives of even minor luminaries were routinely checking in at 800 or more pages, sometimes in multiple volumes; there was no such thing as an incident trivial...
JAPAN
Mar 12, 1999

Slovak ambassador praises yen loans

The new ambassador of the Slovak Republic hopes that Japan will help his country shift from a centrally planned socialist economy to a democratic, market-oriented industrial economy.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Mar 10, 1999

And the winners aren't ...

A stunned Webmaster rises from his seat, shaking his head in disbelief. As he makes his way to the aisle, fellow programmers and designers pat him heartily on the back and shake his hand. After accepting his trophy from a cybercelebrity, he stands there speechless, and finally says with a trembling voice,...

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