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JAPAN
Jan 31, 2000

Aum put under surveillance

The Public Security Examination Commission on Monday announced that it will allow authorities to put Aum Shinrikyo under surveillance for three years, the maximum period the Aum-directed law allows. The commission's decision will take effect today, and the Public Security Investigation Agency, with...
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Jan 30, 2000

Success story

While no one can possibly take in all the exhibitions in Tokyo, some of you may be interested in a showing of Yoshihiro Kubo's oil paintings today through Tuesday at Ginza Art Plaza, phone (03) 3289-2345 for directions. If you don't know, Dr. Kubo opened what was perhaps the first dental clinic in Japan...
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2000

Volatile Tokyo market reflects U.S. trends

Stock trading in Tokyo is expected to show a strong undertone for the time being, with the key Nikkei stock average testing 20,000.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 18, 2000

Book Bites

Japan 00: An International Comparison. Tokyo, Keizai Koho Center 2000, 120 pp., 900 yen. The cost of living in Japan weighs heavily on everyone, but those of us who have come from other countries feel it more acutely -- we remember apples so cheap you'd think they grew on trees.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jan 12, 2000

We have a future

Another megamerger, another Internet world-eating conglomerate emerges. Apart from its size, the AOL-Time/Warner deal is a big deal: The marriage of AOL and Time Warner matters (if it goes throtwo reasons. First, it combines one of the biggest Net presences with a broadband delivery systefinally makes...
CULTURE / Music
Jan 7, 2000

Japan's cultural underground exposed in edgy new guide

The slow days of winter are upon us, making an evening on the couch with a good book or tune more enticing than the sweaty confines of a live house or club. As folks slowly stream back into town from the New Year's holidays, there isn't a lot happening in the first few weeks of January anyway, so kick...
COMMENTARY
Jan 1, 2000

Japan looks for a purpose

The 1990s is said to have been a "lost decade" for Japan. That may be true. In May 1991, Japan's economy plunged into a slump that would be called the "Heisei Recession." In October 1993, the economy "bottomed out," but ever since then it has remained in the doldrums. The protracted slump has had extensive...
JAPAN
Dec 21, 1999

Police misconduct scandals fuel calls for public scrutiny

Staff writer "I knew that the same things would surely be repeated in the future," Kenji Chiyomaru said. "You cannot expect self-cleansing action by police." Since he launched "Human rights dial 110" in 1979, Chiyomaru, a civic activist who lives in Tokyo's Nerima Ward, has been helping people having...
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Dec 18, 1999

A banquet of deities and genres

In January 1993, a group of like-minded young and mid-career performers of traditional Japanese music and dance got together and created Tokiza. Their aim was to create new group venues and markets for their music and dance, while maintaining their individually high standards of excellence.
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...
COMMENTARY
Nov 24, 1999

New Luddites at the gates

LONDON -- Ned Ludd was the leader of a mob, circa 1815, who went around smashing up new textile machinery in factories. Ludd calculated, correctly, that traditional jobs would be lost and familiar ways of life destroyed for thousands, even millions of British workers if the machines prevailed.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 1999

Tips sought in search for Ise reporter

TSU, Mie Pref. -- Family and friends of a female reporter who has been missing for nearly a year called on citizens of Ise Tuesday to come forward with any information regarding her disappearance.
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Nov 20, 1999

Still hope for the musically challenged

Several years ago a number of high-level Japanese politicians and government leaders, including the prime minister, visited the United States for a series of discussions with their American counterparts. After the serious meetings concluded, the participants all joined an informal party with their hosts....
JAPAN
Nov 18, 1999

Debate grows on future of Japanese education

Education Minister Hirofumi Nakasone asked an advisory panel of experts Thursday to discuss specific steps on university reform in the next century, calling for advanced use of information technology, development of the continuing education system and more international exchanges.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Nov 11, 1999

A toast to you, the brewers, and all the hard work you do

There are at present about 1,700 sakagura, or sake breweries, in Japan. This number is dropping somewhat quickly, with several kura going under each year. But for those 1,700-odd kura brewing again this year, just about now is when the brewing season begins.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 1999

Data leak prompts NTT office search

OSAKA -- Police searched the Osaka branch office of NTT West on Wednesday for evidence against a former employee arrested the previous day for allegedly receiving bribes from so-called Dial Q2 service companies in exchange for information on NTT customers.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Oct 20, 1999

A bit perturbed

This morning I had a phone call. I'm busy, he said, I just have a few minutes between meetings but I desperately need your help. Well, I was busy too, but I listened. His wife taught at a university, he said. School officials had been wanting her to resign. She is 58 years old. She had, he said, been...
JAPAN
Oct 7, 1999

Don't dump that PC -- people need it

Staff writer
LIFE / Travel
Oct 6, 1999

Fall in Kyushu unique after all

AKIZUKI, Fukuoka Pref. -- "Japan," I am frequently informed, with looks of grave importance, "has four seasons." I always wonder if I should feign amazement at this fact, or be silly and ask whether this is because Japan is an island country and all foreigners hate natto. But I can never be told enough...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Sep 22, 1999

Qualified clarification

Today's column attempts to clarify some common questions about Japanese health insurance. First it is necessary to understand the differences between the two types. Shakai Hoken (SH), or Employees Health Insurance, covers employees/dependents of companies that subscribe to some health insurance plan....
EDITORIALS
Sep 10, 1999

Protect Japanese workers abroad

It has been two weeks since four Japanese mining engineers were abducted in the central Asian Republic of Kyrgyzstan. The four men are among the dozen hostages being held by Islamic guerrillas. As things stand, it is not clear when, or even whether, a reasonable solution will be found, although the Muslim...
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Sep 4, 1999

Bang a gong, sing a sacred Buddhist song

Sound is an integral part of traditional Buddhist ceremony in Japanese temples. Time in the temple is structured around a procession of ceremonies: rising, meditating, giving alms, eating, etc., and each ceremony is accompanied by the sonorities of men chanting sutras in unison, called shomyo.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 1999

Product-trashing consumer book enjoys sizzling sales

Staff writer
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Sep 1, 1999

Defying changes

Volunteer organizations come and go, often depending on who runs them. Many times a group will cease to exist when the person who held it together leaves Japan. Fortunately, there are still many people who give their time to volunteer organizations. Their number, however, has decreased as more professional...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Aug 9, 1999

A learning experience

It is interesting to follow the drinking culture of Japan. In times when "Japaneseness" is being emphasized, sales of "Nihon-shu" (sake) and "shochu" (an indigenous distilled beverage that uses a variety of things that will ferment but mainly sweet potatoes) tend to increase. Beer is seldom affected...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Jul 25, 1999

Lasting tastes

A friend has sent me a clipping from her home-town paper. It is about a new telephone service staffed exclusively by women, a point they wanted to emphasize in the name they selected. It is called Miss Information. That is not what you get from Tokyo's information service, which is also provided by women....
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jul 7, 1999

Technoborrrring

With rare exceptions, no one likes being called a Luddite. Steve Talbott, the thoughtful, somewhat skeptical philosopher who writes the Netfuture e-mail newsletter, for example, takes offense at being labeled "pessimistic." I thought it was a fair beef, but he devoted considerable space in his last missive...
EDITORIALS
Jul 3, 1999

NTT readies for the digital era

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. made a fresh start Thursday as a group of companies under the control of a holding company. As Japan's largest telecommunications company, NTT is expected to play an even larger role in a broad spectrum of activities. With competition heating up at home and abroad,...
JAPAN
Jul 2, 1999

DoCoMo launches English-language pager

NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc., commonly known as NTT DoCoMo, has launched an English pager service to directly deliver a variety of information to foreign residents in the Kanto region as well as in Yamanashi, Nagano and Niigata prefectures.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 29, 1999

'Kaempfer's Japan': Tokugawa Edo as never before

Engelbert Kaempfer, German physician and historian, first arrived in Japan in 1690 to take up the position of physician at the Dutch trading agency on the island of Deshima in Nagasaki Harbor. Although Japan had already secluded itself, the Dutch traders were allowed a certain amount of freedom. This...

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