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COMMENTARY
Apr 21, 2001

U.S. must seek three-way balance in Asia

LOS ANGELES -- China is about to get a new U.S. ambassador. But will it get a new U.S. China policy?
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Apr 19, 2001

Here's why MJ will stay away

Michael Jordan is "99.9 percent sure" he won't return to the NBA. I can do one-tenth better: I'm 100 percent.
COMMENTARY
Apr 18, 2001

The crew's home; now what?

HONOLULU -- The release of the crew of the American EP-3E reconnaissance plane from Chinese "protective custody" may have defused the crisis but hardly represents the end of this affair. Meetings are now under way between U.S. and Chinese officials to deal with the aftereffects. While both sides agree...
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2001

Japan stays glued to fence on GMO 'traceability' issue

Kyodo News Japan is the focus of mounting attention over its stance on the issue of establishing standards for foods made from genetically modified organisms, a subject taken up by a U.N. task force during a meeting in Japan in March.
MORE SPORTS / THE DUKE OF HAZARDS
Apr 17, 2001

The revolution is coming: Get ready for cheap golf in Japan

I probably play golf more than 80 times a year around the world. It's a tough life, but someone has to do it. And besides, it's my job.
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2001

Supachai set to champion globalization at WTO

In spite of the battle in Seattle and the subsequent inertia that has gripped the World Trade Organization, Supachai Panitchpakdi is looking forward to the challenge of taking over from Mike Moore as head of the trade body next year. He promises that he will be an active leader who will try to revive...
EDITORIALS
Apr 16, 2001

Sanctioning death in the Netherlands

Once again, the Netherlands has braved the storm. Last week, the country's Senate, the upper house of Parliament, passed a bill legalizing euthanasia. When Queen Beatrix signs the law, which was passed by the lower house last November, the Netherlands will be the first country to permit mercy killing....
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2001

Understanding the message in the madness

Human history is rife with examples of natural phenomenon radically changing his existence — the ice ages and smallpox, to name two. The AIDS virus has had a profound effect on the sexual behavior of many people the world over. Now, a mysterious protein, the prion, is about to change the eating habits...
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2001

Japan may help fund effort to save Afghan artifacts

The Japanese government is considering contributing funds to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's plan to preserve remaining valuable cultural assets in Afghanistan.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2001

Steel giants NKK, Kawasaki to join

NKK Corp., Japan's second-largest steelmaker, and Kawasaki Steel Corp., No. 3 in the field, announced Friday that they have agreed to integrate their operations in October 2002 under a joint holding company.
EDITORIALS
Apr 13, 2001

Diplomacy does the trick

The United States and China have resolved their crisis. Diplomats crafted a statement that allowed both sides to save face and permitted the 24 members of the U.S. spy plane to go home. The peaceful resolution of the standoff is a victory for diplomacy. Just as important, however, both governments now...
LIFE / Travel
Apr 8, 2001

A white river runs through it

White-water rafting is more than an aquatic roller-coaster ride. Surging torrents and treacherous whirlpools threaten, while riverbed rocks bump violently against the small rubber boat. And there is always the chance that you could be thrown overboard and into the merciless current.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2001

Space agencies agree to unite rocket efforts

Three government-affiliated space agencies signed an agreement Friday to cooperate in technological development following mishaps with the government's launch of rockets in 1999 and 2000, officials said.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 7, 2001

A bibliophile's whodunit: Who is killing the book?

Who is killing the book in Japan? That is the provocative question posed by veteran nonfiction writer Shin'ichi Sano in his recent book of the same title ("Dare ga 'hon' o korosu no ka," President Sha, 1,800 yen).
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2001

Mori, Koga agree to hold poll before Golden Week starts

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and the No. 2 man of his Liberal Democratic Party agreed Wednesday to hold the party's long-awaited presidential election before Golden Week, which begins at the end of the month.
COMMENTARY
Apr 5, 2001

Collision tests U.S.-China ties

The collision between a Chinese Air Force fighter and a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft in international airspace over the South China Sea represents an unfortunate, unplanned, but nonetheless important test of the maturity of the Sino-U.S. relationship and of the Chinese leadership. Thus far, Beijing appears...
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2001

State, ruling parties at odds over timing of emergency plan

The government and the ruling coalition failed to settle the details of an emergency economic package Wednesday, remaining divided over how soon to set up a controversial share-purchasing body.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2001

Temp staff rise said worrisome

Workers dispatched from temporary employment agencies make up one of the fastest-growing sectors of Japan's workforce.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2001

Alternatives discussed as LDP fumbles over leader

As Liberal Democratic Party heavyweights continue to search unsuccessfully for a consensus choice to succeed Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, some relatively younger Cabinet ministers from minor factions have been mentioned as possible candidates.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2001

Stay with climate protocol, Mori warns U.S. in letter

Joining a barrage of criticism from around the world, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori sent a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday warning against Washington's decision to pull out of the 1997 Kyoto climate change treaty, designed to stave off global warming.
COMMENTARY
Mar 30, 2001

Jockeying to replace Mori

Executives of the governing Liberal Democratic Party have reportedly decided to hold the party's presidential election around April 20, although Prime Minister and LDP President Yoshiro Mori claims he has never expressed his intention to resign. Mori and the LDP are totally irresponsible.
COMMENTARY
Mar 27, 2001

The limits of public opinion

LONDON -- Speaking to the House of Commons on Nov. 11, 1947, Winston Churchill said, "No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."
CULTURE / Books
Mar 27, 2001

Poetry for every mood and season

RYOKAN: Selected Tanka, Haiku, translated by Sanford Goldstein, Shigeo Mizuguchi & Fujisato Kitajima. Kokodo, 2000, pp. 218, 2 ,000 yen. LOVE HAIKU: Masajo Suzuki's Lifetime of Love: Translations by Lee Gurga & Emiko Miyashita. Brooks Books, 2000, pp. 112, 1,600 yen. UTSUMUKU SEINEN /LOOKING DOWN:...
BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2001

Yatsu urges temporary curb on China's vegetable imports

The government should temporarily curb soaring farm product imports from China before it concludes a survey of their impact on the domestic market, Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshio Yatsu said Friday.
COMMENTARY
Mar 24, 2001

The long view on the Kurils

Can Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori stage a political comeback via his March 25 talks in Irkutsk with Russian President Vladimir Putin? Aides have hinted that he favors the "two-island" compromise solution to Japan's long-festering dispute with Russia over ownership of the so-called Northern Territories....
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2001

Appliance unions to seek 500 yen raise

Labor unions at Japan's top electrical appliance makers are expected to settle for a 500 yen hike in the average basic monthly wage for fiscal 2001, union sources said Monday.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan