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BUSINESS
Apr 20, 2001

Necktie makers prepare import curb plan

Necktie producers on Thursday approved a proposal to begin investigating necktie imports as the first step in asking for an emergency curb on imports of Chinese-made products.
COMMUNITY / THE PARENT TRIP
Apr 20, 2001

Thievery and redemption: a normal Sunday

I am seduced by a late-flowering sprig of cherry blossom in the morning. Number Two Son -- all of 6 years old -- thoughtfully snags my nose with it as he lays it on my pillow. Feelings of undying gratitude are quickly spiked by concern about provenance. Not our garden, not the neighbors', not the nearby...
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2001

Upper House resolves to pursue Kyoto pact

The House of Councilors unanimously resolved in a plenary session Wednesday to strive for international agreement on ratifying the 1997 Kyoto Protocol aimed at curbing global warming.
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2001

Dollar will not test 130 yen while economy OK

The dollar has taken a breather, slipping slightly against the yen. I predicted in this column a month ago that the dollar would hit 130 yen in a month or two. My prediction has turned out to be wide of the mark. Having hit 126 yen early this month, the dollar is now hovering around 123 yen.
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2001

Chemical giants set merger target for 2004

Sumitomo Chemical Co. and Mitsui Chemicals Inc., which last year announced plans to merge under a joint holding company in October 2003, have agreed to let the holding firm absorb all entities in their groups by April 2004 to become a single company, company officials said Wednesday. The merger will...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 19, 2001

Mideast raids fuel fear of regional conflict

BEIRUT -- It has long been feared that the Palestinian intifada would widen into a regional confrontation, and that South Lebanon would be the flash point from which it does so. With Israel's first deliberate attack on a Syrian military target in Lebanon since its 1982 invasion of the country, that confrontation...
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2001

Singapore and Japan to hold new trade talks

Japan and Singapore will hold a second round of negotiations on a bilateral free-trade agreement for four days starting Tuesday in Tokyo, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
LIFE / Digital
Apr 19, 2001

Has the Japanese market for video games peaked?

Sega closed several Japanese arcades last year, including a few of its flagship Joypolis entertainment centers. And according to Sega Enterprises President Hideki Sato, Sega's two biggest competitors in the arcade market, Taito and Namco, are about to close many of their arcades as well.
JAPAN / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Apr 19, 2001

Top foreign fashion brands take direct approach

As consumer spending woes continue to weigh on Japan's sluggish economy, foreign apparel makers have expanded their business by taking a more direct approach.
EDITORIALS
Apr 18, 2001

Mr. Mori's year in review

A new prime minister of Japan will take office later this month, following the election of a new Liberal Democratic Party president next Tuesday. It does not matter that Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori has not yet publicly announced his resignation. His exit has been a foregone conclusion for some time....
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2001

Japan to lobby U.S. at green talks

Members of Japan's delegation heading to New York on Thursday for closed-door climate change talks said Tuesday that they will continue to urge the United States back to the Kyoto Protocol negotiating table.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2001

Cabinet imposes emergency curbs, tariffs on Chinese farm imports

The Cabinet decided on Tuesday to impose emergency import curbs on three agricultural products, starting Monday.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Apr 18, 2001

Natalie Choquette

Believe it or not, opera can be fun and you don't need to deplete your bank account to pay for tickets. On June 24, Natalie Choquette is coming to Tokyo to prove it.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2001

Zeus' foot dug up in Afghanistan on show

A Greek stone figure unearthed in Afghanistan some 40 years ago but taken out of the country amid armed strife will be on display in a museum in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district in the near future, according to museum officials. The marble foot of Zeus, dating back to the third century B.C., will be exhibited...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 2001

Hopes for peace are fading

WASHINGTON -- Last year, U.S. President Bill Clinton spent his final months in office trying to cobble together a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Today, the Middle East teeters on the edge of the largest-scale violence since the Persian Gulf War and the greatest involving...
Events
Apr 17, 2001

Makers won't throw in towel amid cheap import threat

KUMATORI, Osaka Pref. -- In a bid to survive fierce competition from foreign makers, some towel manufacturers and related firms here have joined forces to launch eco-friendly towels next month.
Events
Apr 17, 2001

Primary school venue for multicultural festival

Tobiuo International, a Kyoto-based network supporting foreign residents and promoting multicultural exchanges, is hosting an international festival next Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Seibo Primary School in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2001

Shigenobu declares end of Japanese Red Army

The founder of the Japanese Red Army has declared that she is disbanding the extremist group responsible for several acts of international terrorism since the 1970s.
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

The worst is yet to come in Macedonia

WASHINGTON -- While the world's eyes were fixed on Hainan Island off the coast of China, Macedonia's ethnic Albanian rebels were completing a tactical retreat after an offensive by government forces. Some hope that Macedonia's government will now, as expected, offer greater political rights to its ethnic...
EDITORIALS
Apr 15, 2001

Prepare now for demographic changes

The rapid aging of Japan's population, combined with a steady decline in the birthrate, makes it certain that the productive-age population will begin to fall sharply in the not-so-distant future. As a result, the entire population will also start shrinking, making it necessary to redesign the economic...
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Apr 15, 2001

Let's raise a glass to the final batch

The sake brewing season is drawing to a close. Except for the handful of large breweries that brew year-round in climate-controlled factories, most sakagura (breweries) will be finishing up their brewing sometime this month. Naturally, there will be ceremonies connected with significant activities within...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 15, 2001

At long last, Tokuda Shusei

ROUGH LIVING, by Tokuda Shusei, translated by Richard Torrance. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, April 2001, 184 pp., $45 (hardcover), $21.95 (paper). This is, I think, the first translation into English of a novel by a writer that Japanese think is one of their finest. Tokuda Shusei (1871-1943)...

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