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COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2000

An unambiguous democrat

At the moment of his greatest personal triumph, South Korean President Kim Dae Jung once again demonstrated his magnanimity. "I return all my honor to the people and the citizens of the world, who love democracy and human rights," the president was quoted as saying after he was awarded the Nobel Peace...
CULTURE / Books
Oct 17, 2000

Japan's pop culture conquers the world

JAPAN POP Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture, edited by Timothy J. Craig. M. E. Sharpe, 235 pp., $58.95 (cloth). Japan is undergoing a quiet revolution. Long known for its talents in miniaturization and for the mass production of electronic consumer products, Japan is gaining a new image:...
COMMUNITY
Oct 16, 2000

Tasty seeds have hidden health benefits

Sprinkled on hamburger buns, bagels and cooked vegetables, sesame seeds add extra zest with their nutty flavor. Recent research has found, however, that there is much more to the humble sesame seed than just its good taste.
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2000

BOJ tour aims to educate the public

KOBE -- Some words of advice for those who dream of laying their hands on 100 million yen -- don't spend money on lottery tickets, just join a tour organized by the Bank of Japan's Kobe branch.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 15, 2000

India shooting itself in the foot

During a recent trip to India, the heretical thought took hold that ardent nationalists can be de facto anti-nationals.
COMMUNITY
Oct 15, 2000

Here she is . . . Miss Stereotype

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Miss America Pageant may aim to represent the ideal of U.S. womanhood, but it's got its problems; it's about as internally conflicted as Al Gore trying to act like respects George W. Bush's intelligence.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 14, 2000

Fostering creative collaboration

Australian Aborigines used the boomerang as an effective hunting tool. Flying in a huge sweeping arc, it would mercilessly kill or maim anything that crossed its path. The Boomerang Art Project, a collaborative effort between 24 young Kyoto and Bremen artists, seeks to emulate the power of that flight...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2000

Accounting practices blamed for slump in Japanese films

The chief executive of a Tokyo financial management company launched in late September hopes her new business saves Japanese films from a long slump.
COMMUNITY
Oct 12, 2000

Nagano microbrewer takes eco-friendly path

Remember that book, "100 Simple Things You Can Do To Save The Earth?" Here is the 101st: Head out to Kurohime in Nagano Prefecture. At the foot of Mount Kurohime you'll find Shinano Brewery. Walk into the woody Chestnuts Pub, order one of their English-style beers and you'll be partaking in a unique...
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2000

New law means marching orders for bad tenants

Motokazu Miyama's big fear is one probably shared by hundreds of thousands of other property-owners in Japan: What if unwelcome tenants refuse to leave after the apartment lease expires?
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2000

Nobel Prize surprises Tsukuba chemist

Hideki Shirakawa of Japan and Americans Alan Heeger and Alan MacDiarmid have been awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for their discovery that some plastics can conduct electricity. Shirakawa, 64, a professor emeritus at the University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, said the honor came as a total...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 12, 2000

In Labor's moment of crisis, Blair delivers

The recent Labor Party conference in Brighton saw Prime Minister Tony Blair in an unprecedented position. Set against a backdrop of enormous public discontent, evident in the response to the fuel strike by the major oil companies, the Labor Party staged its centenary conference. The phony peace that...
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2000

Divided Koreans in Japan try friendship

Koreans in Japan, long divided by their allegiance to the South or North, have been stepping up friendly exchanges since the historic summit in June between the Korean Peninsula's two leaders, according to a recent report by a pro-Seoul group.
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2000

Electronic dictionaries suit older eyes

Portable and handy electronic dictionaries have met with strong sales in recent years, particularly among those over 50.
EDITORIALS
Oct 11, 2000

Patient safety must come first

If the situation that is developing in many Japanese hospitals is not yet a national emergency, it soon will be. The frequency with which medication errors and other medical accidents are occurring has many people legitimately concerned about undergoing a hospital stay. Those fears can only be heightened...
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Oct 11, 2000

U.S. race is too close to call

The 2000 U.S. presidential election campaign closely resembles a roller-coaster ride. The candidates are gyrating up and down in the polls, both in momentum and in spirit.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 9, 2000

Taiwan's 'experiment in government' fails

TAIPEI -- The ground heaved and shook in Taiwan's turbulent political landscape last Tuesday, and by the time the dust had cleared after the sudden resignation of Prime Minister Tang Fei, President Chen Shui-bian's 5 month-old model for government -- in his words, "a government for all the people" --...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2000

Sugamo: not your hipster's Harajuku

If Harajuku is the mecca for the hip young, Sugamo is where it's at for the elderly.
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2000

Few Miyake evacuees have found jobs

Only 20 percent of Miyake Island evacuees have found jobs since the eruption of Mount Oyama last month forced them to leave their homes, according to a Tokyo Metropolitan Government survey released Saturday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Oct 8, 2000

Toru Hirota

For the cover of its catalog for this year's 45th annual print show, the College Women's Association of Japan chose a print with a musical theme. "Polonaise Fantasy" depicts miniature cyclists and runners racing over a fanciful keyboard against a back cloth of an even more fanciful musical score. "I...
CULTURE / Music
Oct 8, 2000

La Scala: Get what you pay for

One might well think that 58,000 yen is an excessive amount to ask for a single seat in Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, even for grand opera.
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2000

China's Zhu to talk with Japanese for the cameras

Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji will appear on a special program to be aired by Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. during his six-day visit to Japan that begins Thursday, TBS officials said Saturday.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2000

Panel eyes reform of state-conferred honors system

A government panel has proposed that the state-conferred decoration system be simplified and the government address the fact that more honors go to people in the public sector than in the private sector, government officials said.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2000

State files a new appeal to avoid pollution redress

OSAKA -- The government filed a request Friday with the Osaka High Court, in an effort to reopen an appeal which resulted in a lower court ruling that the state and a highway operator pay compensation to residents of Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, for air polluted by vehicle exhaust emissions.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2000

Emergency voice-mail set up

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corp. said Friday it has set up an emergency voice-mail service for people worried about friends and family in regions of western Japan affected by a powerful earthquake earlier in the day.
EDITORIALS
Oct 6, 2000

China's war on faith

Faith may be a private matter, but the Chinese government takes no chances. The Chinese Constitution guarantees every citizen the freedom to practice whatever religion he or she chooses. In practice, however, every religion has to subordinate itself to the Chinese Communist Party. The power holders in...
COMMUNITY
Oct 5, 2000

Vanity, thy name is . . . Vince?

SAN FRANCISCO -- Clairol, the staid manufacturer of women's hair dyes, tried something new this year: It went after kids.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2000

Cancer linked to cigarettes, drinks, inertia

Heavy smokers and heavy drinkers who do little exercise are five to six times more likely to develop cancer than healthy people who exercise every day, according to a recent study.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo