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EDITORIALS
Mar 17, 2000

Even recovery will be painful

The Japanese economy faces a bumpy road. Japan's gross domestic product in the last quarter of 1999, October through December, shrank 1.4 percent from the previous three-month period, posting negative growth for two straight quarters. In annual terms, that works out to minus 5.5 percent, according to...
COMMUNITY
Mar 1, 2000

In quest of Amelia Earhart

Ric Gillespie has been chasing the same lady for more than 12 years. Now he reckons he knows where she is. If he's right -- and the evidence his foundation has collected is pretty compelling -- then one of the longest-running mysteries in the history of aviation has been solved.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2000

Additional slots at Haneda sought for Skymark, Air Do

An advisory panel to the Transport Ministry compiled a report Monday recommending that additional slots for three daily flights each be allocated to Skymark Airlines and Hokkaido International Airlines (Air Do) at Haneda airport in July. The airport in Tokyo's Ota Ward will be able to handle 57 additional...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2000

Penny-wise, pound-foolish

The Japanese government is reportedly planning to negotiate a cut in so-called "omoiyari yosan" (sympathy budget), or special host-nation support, for the U.S. forces stationed in Japan. The word "omoiyari" is left out these days, however, on the ground that it can create misunderstandings. The budget...
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2000

Kono restates North Korea stance

Foreign Minister Yohei Kono reiterated Tuesday that the issue of alleged abductions of Japanese by North Korea must be resolved if Tokyo and Pyongyang aim to improve relations, a Foreign Ministry official said. Kono addressed Japan's long-standing concern over the abduction issue in his talks Tuesday...
JAPAN
Dec 13, 1999

New travel agency serves Tokyo's gays

Staff writer During his trip to the west coast of Australia in January, Shigenobu Umeki, a 40-year-old magazine editor, stayed at so-called gay accommodations, run by gay owners and staffed by gay workers. "I am always conscious of my sexual orientation when talking to people out of fear that they are...
JAPAN
Nov 16, 1999

Aceh referendum to come in seven months: Wahid

Visiting Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid said Tuesday that a referendum in the country's troubled Aceh Province may be held in seven months.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 1999

Retail sales fall to 10.5 trillion yen

Retail sales dropped 2.0 percent in September from the same month a year ago to 10.57 trillion yen, extending the streak of year-on-year declines to a record 30 months, according to a preliminary report issued Wednesday by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 1999

Agency reports Tokai damage but revelations continue

The Science and Technology Agency informed the International Atomic Energy Agency early Thursday that the exterior of the roof of the uranium-processing plant where Japan's worst nuclear accident occurred last week is not damaged, agency officials said.
JAPAN
Sep 27, 1999

August fuel oil sales post 4.8% rise

Domestic sales of fuel oil increased by 4.8 percent in August from a year before, reaching 19.79 million kiloliters for the first year-on-year increase in two months, according to a preliminary report issued Monday by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
LIFE / Travel
Sep 1, 1999

Eyes wide shut in North Korea

It's late afternoon in Beijing. Beside a gloomy, concrete platform an antiquated train lumbers into place. In the dim light, people scurry about looking for the right car. This is, in fact, important. The first four carriages are bound for Dandong, a small Chinese border town, but the last two will continue...
JAPAN
Aug 26, 1999

East Timor monitor urges a bigger global presence

A member of the U.N. volunteer team to monitor the referendum in East Timor next week called for a stronger international presence in the violence-ridden territory as the historic poll approaches.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 1999

Nuclear plant accident blamed on metal fatigue

Metal fatigue is the suspected culprit of last month's nuclear plant accident in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, where a massive amount of radioactive coolant water leaked from a cracked reactor pipe, the plant operator announced Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 1999

Industrial output rose 3% in June

Monthly industrial output grew 3 percent in June, marking the first month-on-month rise in three months, according to a preliminary report released Thursday by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 1999

Nonproliferation forum kicks off

An international forum on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament began Friday in Tokyo to discuss ways to step up measures to strengthen the global regime to prevent nuclear arms races.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 1999

NTT ordered to probe allegations of customer data leak

Executives of the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone group were asked Friday to investigate allegations that more than 10 of its employees released private data on NTT subscribers, officials of the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry said.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jun 30, 1999

Let's digital

Let's digital. That's the message in the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications 1999 White Paper on Communications in Japan. The annual survey, released earlier this month, reveals a nation poised for the millennium, its finger firmly on the mouse, clicking its way into the 21st century
JAPAN
Jun 29, 1999

Industrial output declined 0.7 percent in May

Japan's monthly industrial output dropped 0.7 percent in May from April, marking a decline of two straight months due to stagnant plant and equipment investment, according to a preliminary report issued Tuesday by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
COMMENTARY
Jun 29, 1999

Japan presses Asia's agenda

In a strong warning to North Korea, the Group of Eight leaders who met in Cologne, Germany, earlier this month said in a declaration that they "are deeply concerned about recent missile flight tests and developments in missile proliferation, such as actions by North Korea."
JAPAN
Jun 2, 1999

Price said not everything in IDC bidding war

Toyota Motor Corp. President Hiroshi Okuda reiterated Wednesday that his firm will take workers' job security and international relations into consideration along with bid prices in deciding what offer to accept for its shares in International Digital Communications Inc.
JAPAN
May 28, 1999

Industrial output drops after '98 book-closings

Japan's industrial production dropped a seasonally adjusted 2.7 percent in April from the previous month, marking the first decline in three months, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said in a preliminary report released Friday.
JAPAN
May 24, 1999

Diet enacts defense bills, but doubts on alliance linger

Staff writer
JAPAN
May 24, 1999

Obuchi, Perry go over Pyongyang policy

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi on Monday told William Perry, U.S. policy coordinator for North Korea, that Japan strongly supports the comprehensive approach to Pyongyang that Perry is putting together and expressed hope Perry's visit there this week will prove successful.
JAPAN
May 3, 1999

Ready for 2000?: Japan's efforts overlooked when not in English

Sixth in an occasional series on Japan's Y2K preparedness
EDITORIALS
Apr 24, 1999

Big hopes for small business

The latest government annual report on small enterprises bears out an important fact that is often overlooked amid news-breaking moves by big businesses: Small corporations continue to play a vital role in the Japanese economy. The report, submitted this week to the Cabinet by the Ministry of International...
JAPAN
Apr 23, 1999

Women in power still few in number: white paper

Japanese women's participation in the decision-making process is still far lower than that of women in other developed nations, according to a white paper released by the government Friday.
EDITORIALS
Apr 7, 1999

Message in a bombing

When he launched the military action against Yugoslavia, U.S. President Bill Clinton said he was sending a message to Serb President Slobodan Milosevic. "If President Milosevic will not make peace, we will limit his ability to make war," Mr. Clinton declared. But in addition to their specific aims --...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 1999

Rethinking joint strategy on North Korea

North Korea continues to confound the world. The country's economy is on the rocks; it is estimated to have shrunk by more than 50 percent between 1992 and 1996. The government is unable to feed its own people; hundreds of thousands are thought to have died as a result of malnutrition-related diseases...
COMMENTARY
Mar 20, 1999

A cloudy outlook for spring

The Dow-Jones industrial average on the New York Stock Exchange broke through the barrier of 10,000 March 16. Following the overnight rally, the benchmark Nikkei average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange regained the 16,000 level for the first time in seven and a half months. The advances appear to signal...

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’