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JAPAN
May 25, 2000

Just 29.6% back Mori's Cabinet

A mere 29.6 percent of voters support Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's Cabinet, according to a Kyodo News public opinion poll released Wednesday, the second worst initial support rate for a Cabinet since 1974.
JAPAN
May 24, 2000

Constitution divisive: survey

Politicians are split almost evenly on revising the Constitution, according to a survey on six controversial issues that was released Tuesday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 23, 2000

Basho, a man for all seasons

REDISCOVERING BASHO: A 300th Anniversary Celebration, edited by Stephen Henry Gill & C. Andrew Gerstle. Kent: Global Oriental/Global Books, 1999, 168 pp., 14.95 British pounds. During the 300 years since his death, Basho has turned into Japan's most famous poet, the personification of haiku culture...
COMMENTARY
May 21, 2000

Much ado about nothing?

Claims that Tokyo's governor, Shintaro Ishihara, is racist because he recently described Asians here as "sankoku-jin" (third-country nationals) -- a fairly neutral Occupation-era term used to distinguish resident Koreans and Taiwanese from Westerners -- were a bit far-fetched.
BUSINESS
May 20, 2000

End to deflation fears nearing, BOJ chief says

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami said Friday that an end to deflationary fears is nearing -- which may mean an end to the zero-interest rate policy -- amid a brightening picture for the Japanese economy.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
May 17, 2000

Multi-gap family falls into valley of stress

"Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air."
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
May 16, 2000

Blood and gore all over the floor

"Everyone thought I'd fallen on some broken glass by accident. But . . . I just couldn't stand myself anymore, so I went behind the amps with this piece of broken glass, having decided to cut my jugular vein. I just didn't have the guts, though . . . I was aiming for the vein, but I just couldn't make...
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
May 9, 2000

Dr. John carries the torch, while Lenine fans the flames

Dr. John has worn a lot of musical hats during his 45-year career. Born Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. in New Orleans in 1940, he was soon deep in the local music scene, playing guitar with many top R&B acts before switching to piano and forming his own group. Taking the music of the Crescent City as...
JAPAN
May 3, 2000

Look to past to build in tune with nature, landscaper says

Japan has a brilliant landscaping tradition and would do well to revive it in the pursuit of ecologically sound development, according to the man recognized as the founder of ecological planning.
COMMUNITY
Apr 29, 2000

Children's library renovated in Ueno

On May 5, Children's Day, part of the first national library of children's literature will open in Ueno Park.
SOCCER / World cup
Apr 23, 2000

FIFA 'insults' Japan over use of language

Staff writer
EDITORIALS
Apr 19, 2000

Japan's task after the G7 meeting

The G7 finance ministers and central bank governors were uncharacteristically silent on the stock-market crash in New York — the worst ever in terms of single-day point losses. Instead, their statement, issued last weekend, emphasized that the world economy is improving and that U.S. growth remains...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 19, 2000

Patient, clever Mori comes into his own

Yoshiro Mori, who replaced Keizo Obuchi as prime minister after Obuchi suffered a stroke and went into coma, is a very lucky man. As secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Mori was a loyal aide to Obuchi, who had recently suffered a sharp drop in popularity. Mori firmly believes in...
EDITORIALS
Apr 15, 2000

Mr. Ishihara's insensitivity

No informed Japanese would have been surprised to hear Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara using dead but racist language in his speech at a Ground Self-Defense Force anniversary last Sunday. He has been known for repeatedly indulging in a poor choice of words, for his complacent tendency to confuse arrogance...
ENVIRONMENT
Apr 12, 2000

Genkyu-en Garden and the House of Ii

The Tokugawa Period has long ended, but dotted around the country there are remains in the form of castles (originals or replicas), yashiki (the residences of the daimyo ruling class) and of course the magnificent gardens with which the yashiki were adorned. Indeed, in most cases only the garden remains;...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2000

Beijing resorts to rattling its saber again

In Washington, politicians and pundits alike are debating how to understand and react to the white paper released on Feb. 21 by Beijing. And even in China, there seems to be some discussion on how to interpret the verbal missile lobbed at the United States, Taiwan and Japan.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2000

Japan against outright ban on dioxin

Japan will oppose including a total ban on dioxins and dibenzofuran in a proposed international treaty aimed at minimizing the release of persistent organic pollutants into the global environment, Japanese government sources said Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2000

Taiwan goes to the polls at a critical time

Four years ago, Taiwanese cast votes in the island's first ever direct presidential election as China lobbed missiles into the Taiwan Strait. This time around, the fireworks are coming not from the Chinese mainland, but from a three-way, neck-and-neck race that has Taiwan's ruling Nationalist Party (KMT)...
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 6, 2000

Never mind lions, look at the birds

When thinking of traveling in South Africa, many people imagine safari-style ventures into the bush to spy elephant, rhino and cheetah.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Mar 1, 2000

Always more

In recent columns I explored purchasing English-friendly computers in Japan. Here is a little more information submitted by a reader who thinks it will be useful for those needing extended language capabilities for their computers, but first he has something to say about agreements, both local and international,...
EDITORIALS
Feb 27, 2000

The imitable Jeeves

Correct us if we are wrong, but we seem to have detected a certain half-veiled annoyance recently on the part of a British literary agency named A.P. Watt. The trouble is, these Watt chaps' duties include looking after the estate of the late, great comic novelist P.G. Wodehouse, creator of the supposedly...
CULTURE / Books
Feb 22, 2000

Some very serious pillow talk

CARTOGRAPHIES OF DESIRE: Male-Male Sexuality in Japanese Discourse, 1600-1950, by Gregory M. Pflugfelder. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999, 200 pp., unpriced. As the author of this detailed, closely reasoned and beautifully written study reminds us, "Rather than sexual practice, this book...
CULTURE / Music
Feb 22, 2000

Hearing the global groove

Just back from an exhilarating recording trip to Santa Cruz, Calif., for the second installment of the project by Okinawa's Takashi Hirayasu and American guitarist Bob Brozman. This time the duo was joined by other musicians on percussion, drums and bass, and also David Hidalgo from Los Lobos and the...
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2000

Japan keeps expo on track despite BIE's concerns

Despite environmental concerns about Japan's proposed 2005 world exposition, a top official on Monday said Aichi Prefecture is expected to register its plan at the general assembly of the Paris-based International Bureau of Expositions (BIE) in May. "The important thing is for us to continue efforts...
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2000

Kono, Ivanov signal further efforts toward a peace treaty

In the first foreign-ministerial meeting since former Russian President Boris Yeltsin resigned on New Year's Eve, Japan and Russia confirmed Friday that they will continue to cooperate on a foreign policy course to advance peace treaty negotiations, a Foreign Ministry official said.

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