Search - world

 
 
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2000

Currency scam puts police on alert

Police said they are on the lookout for criminals swindling cash from people with a scam involving old German currency notes and bonds that are now worthless.
COMMENTARY
Dec 31, 2000

Flaws are part and parcel of democracy

LONDON -- How democratic are the world's so-called democratic countries? Can there be totally fair elections?
CULTURE / Art
Dec 31, 2000

The art of being a farm village

"Grez was an idyllic little place," wrote a Swedish artist in 1884, "offering subjects wherever you looked . . . the river with its watermills and little waterfalls, the sun on white walls, old men in clogs, old women in coifs, girls in the sunshine, hens and ducks, grazing cattle, groves, fields and...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 31, 2000

Minoru Akimoto

"For a college kid in a provincial town in the early 50s, there were not many options for learning English. My teachers were Hollywood movies. I memorized a script and then sat in a movie theater all day, watching and listening to the same movie time and again."
EDITORIALS
Dec 30, 2000

Economy still stuck in a rut

Looking back to 2000, the critical question hanging over the Japanese economy is: Has there been movement, or at least the preparations for a move, toward a new system befitting the start of a new century? The answer, unfortunately, is no.
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2000

Aum ranks' rights compromised by fear

NAGAREYAMA, Chiba Pref. -- As night falls, all the houses in this quiet bedroom community melt into darkness.
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2000

Osaka homeless shelter opens

OSAKA -- The Osaka Municipal Government opened a controversial new homeless center Friday morning in Nagai Park.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 30, 2000

Mukai named new Japan rugby coach

Former Toshiba Fuchu manager Shogo Mukai has been named coach of the Japanese national rugby team, taking over from Seiji Hirao who resigned late last month, officials of the Japan Rugby Football Union said Friday.
CULTURE / Art
Dec 30, 2000

Shadow between abstract and concrete

The geometrical dreams of Omar Rayo are awaking at Shinjuku Park Tower.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2000

The right man for the Korean problem

SEOUL -- Now that U.S. President Bill Clinton has decided not to go to Pyongyang before his term expires, Colin Powell, U.S. secretary of state-designate in the new Bush administration, inherits the Korean problem. With it comes a golden opportunity to do something that has eluded statesmen for 50 years:...
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2000

Spring recovery may see the yen rebound

The dollar has climbed past the 114 yen level for the first time in a year and four months amid growing skepticism about Japan's economic recovery.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2000

Mori eyes February trip to Russia

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is aiming to visit Russia in early February for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on a peace treaty, Liberal Democratic Party member Muneo Suzuki said Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2000

Rare rumblings of dissent ruffle Dalai Lama's agenda

NEW DELHI -- Even as the Dalai Lama has softened his attitude toward China -- which annexed Tibet in 1950 and drove him to an Indian exile nine years later -- the spiritual leader of his people, who was honored with a Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, now finds himself facing dissent within his own community....
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2000

Full-scale Vietnam talks near

After nearly two years of preparatory talks, Japan and Vietnam are expected to launch full-scale negotiations early next year on an investment protection pact to encourage Japanese companies to invest in the potentially lucrative, communist-ruled Southeast Asian market.
COMMUNITY
Dec 28, 2000

Down's diagnoses defied

Hope was not in the prognosis that doctors gave to Chie Myo, after examining her first son, Shunsuke, at the age of 3 months. They diagnosed the baby as having been born with Mongolism, a derogatory term previously used for Down syndrome, and predicted that he would not live long, saying a mere cold...
EDITORIALS
Dec 27, 2000

Learning the wrong lessons

Japan's basic law on education, enacted after the end of World War II to replace the Imperial Rescript, should be reviewed -- that is a key recommendation from Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's advisory panel. The final report, released last week, calls for a set of reforms. The report is in marked contrast...
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2000

Education panel hits individuality, stresses Japanese-language focus

An Education Ministry advisory panel is calling for increased Japanese-language study and reading opportunities for children, saying a good command of the language provides a solid platform for education and cultural literacy.
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2000

Japan falling; U.S. slipping; euro on a roll

Worries linger over slowing U.S. economic growth.
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2000

New framework for economic ties with U.S. eyed

With the launch of the new U.S. administration coming next month, Japan is considering introducing a new framework for bilateral economic talks, which would include the participation of experts from the private sector.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Dec 27, 2000

The many moods of Koko-en

Any time of the year is ideal to visit Koko-en, next door to Himeji Castle, a World Heritage Site.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 27, 2000

Hot springs by the Vienna Woods

BADEN, Austria -- More than most European capitals, Vienna, which bears a rich legacy as the one-time heart of the old Austro-Hungarian empire, has enough monuments and museums (not to mention restaurants and coffee houses) to keep you hopping from morning until night.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 26, 2000

Music for the eyes and ears

TRADITIONAL JAPANESE MUSIC AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, by William P. Malm. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2000, 354 pp., with 89 b/w photos and CD of musical examples, 5,000 yen. This is the new, revised and updated edition of the book that has been the standard text on traditional Japanese music and...
MORE SPORTS
Dec 26, 2000

Minori GC takes some of the frustration out of golf

Looking forward to a round of golf over the holidays? Or are you dreading another six-hour slog around the links?
CULTURE / Books
Dec 26, 2000

A moral beacon in Japan's darkest days

YANAIHARA TADAO AND JAPANESE COLONIAL EMPIRE: Redeeming Empire, by Susan C. Townsend. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon, 2000, 296 pp., 50 British pounds (cloth). Scholarship can be a dangerous vocation. The ideological witch-hunt against Tadao Yanaihara, holder of the prewar chair of colonial policy at Tokyo...
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2000

Budget does Japan a disservice

The Finance Ministry's budget for fiscal 2001, which was announced last week, falls far short of expectations, particularly because it does not lay out a road map for fiscal reform. It seems as if the ministry is marking time along with the stagnant economy. Critical issues, such as spending cuts, deficit...
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2000

Defense buildup to include F-2s, tanks, anti-sub planes

The government on Sunday approved a defense buildup program for fiscal 2001 that includes the development of several tanks, jet fighters, and advanced antisubmarine patrol planes, Defense Agency chief Toshitsugu Saito said.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2000

Mild Tokyo winters reflect global warming

In Tokyo the average number of days with sub-freezing temperatures decreased by 95 percent over the course of the 20th century, reflecting the advance of global warming, according to the Meteorological Agency.
BUSINESS
Dec 25, 2000

Demise of IT bubble compares with '80s Japan

Signs of a slowdown in the U.S. economy are growing, and the most symbolic of them is the decline of the technology-laden Nasdaq index. The Nasdaq composite index, which stood at 3,700 points at the end of last year, shot up into the 5,000 range in May. But its plunge has also been quick, and it recently...

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