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JAPAN
Oct 28, 2000

New Sanyo head promises 'customers first'

OSAKA -- Sanyo Electric Co.'s newly appointed president said Friday that he will do his utmost to recover public confidence in the company.
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 28, 2000

'International' festival is dominated by national talent as budgets pared

Tokyo International Festival of Performing Arts 2000 kicked off Oct. 13 with the production "Melancholy Baby" at Aoyama Enkei Gekijo, one of the main venues hosting the festival. In truth, though, there is little "international" about this year's festival, through mid-December.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 28, 2000

Identity found among shifting personas

A tour-group traveler posing in front of the Empire State Building; a junkie punk jonesing on a dirty park bench; a mail-order bride photographed standing beside her snaggletoothed, shotgun-toting redneck husband -- Nikki S. Lee is all of these people, and then some.
EDITORIALS
Oct 27, 2000

Car-safety promises unfulfilled

Japan's crowded highways, limited parking spaces and high gasoline prices would seem likely to discourage all but the most determined drivers. Yet a glance at any busy urban road makes it clear that Japan is still a nation that considers endurance, if not patience, a leading virtue. It is good to know...
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2000

Paper bottle invention could be rival to plastic

Kao Corp., a major manufacturer of soap and cleansing products, has developed what it claims is the world's first technology to make recyclable paper bottles that are as strong and versatile as plastic.
LIFE / Food & Drink / WINE WAYS
Oct 27, 2000

How to find the very best goat eggs

"Any goat eggs today?" I asked with mock anxiety, and a face to match.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2000

Nagano governor tells staff their job is to serve

New Nagano Gov. Yasuo Tanaka, making his debut Thursday at the prefectural office, said he will pursue a new administration that can "flexibly and quickly" absorb the opinions of the people.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 26, 2000

Everyman Redgrave anything but in boat

LONDON -- From across a crowded room, Steve Redgrave hardly looks like a legendary athlete. He's lanky, excessively polite and his hair is thinning at an alarmingly quick rate. He walks around wearing a sheepish grin and his laugh is loud and long. If you didn't know any better, you'd swear he's the...
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2000

Alien species erasing indigenous animals

Exotic fish and mammals from abroad, some imported as pets and later abandoned, are threatening the lives of animals that have existed in Japan for centuries.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2000

State may scrap bar exam

A government panel on judicial reform plans to urge the government to abolish national bar examinations and introduce new tests for graduates of law schools modeled on those in the U.S. and scheduled to be established in Japan, according to panel members.
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2000

Why do some doctors anesthetize brain-dead patients?

Tetsuo Furukawa, professor emeritus of neurology at Tokyo Medical and Dental School, is a rarity in Japan: a neurologist who has been crusading against the practice of transplanting organs from brain-dead donors. Furukawa worries that patients in a supposedly brain-dead state may nevertheless feel pain,...
EDITORIALS
Oct 25, 2000

Entangled by the truth

Central bankers are Delphic figures. They are supposed to be all-knowing, serious and solid, exuding confidence and authority. At the same time, however, they must maintain an air of unpredictability to keep markets from anticipating their moves. That is why last week's comments by Mr. Wim Duisenberg,...
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Oct 25, 2000

Chrysanthemum by any other name

The chrysanthemum (kiku) is the seal of the Imperial family, and along with the cherry blossom (sakura) is symbolically used as the national flower by the Japanese people. Chrysanthemums have been cultivated in Japan since the Heian Period (794-1185). In the olden days autumn used to be called the "chrysanthemum...
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2000

It's a matter of life and death

Staff writer Brain death: It's a phrase we hear every day. In Japan, the public has been exposed to it to the point of numbness through nationwide campaigns for more organ donors. "Brain death is human death, and organ donation saves lives," we are exhorted. In the United States, the world's leading...
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Oct 25, 2000

A Thrush perches between two worlds

One foot in the past, one foot in the present.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2000

Japan, Russia agree to seek new avenue

Japan and Russia on Monday agreed to seek new ways to resolve territorial disputes by the end of this year, now that it appears unlikely the row over a group of islands off Hokkaido will be resolved in time to conclude a bilateral peace treaty this year as planned.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 24, 2000

Portrait of Laos, Asia's 'forgotten country'

LAOS: Culture and Society, edited by Grant Evans. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Silkworm Books, 2000, 313 pp., $24.95 The colorful volumes of anthropology produced in the past by gifted amateurs, lady travelers of independent means, colonial officers and the like, have been replaced by the works of highly trained...
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Oct 24, 2000

Okinawan sounds old and new resonate through the mainland

For a reason that has so far confounded me, October and November usually herald a spate of Okinawan concerts and releases on the mainland, leading to unfortunate clashes of dates. This year is no exception: The Ryukyu Festival in Tokyo (previewed in this column) in early October unfortunately fell on...
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2000

Free trade agreement a strategic move, says Goh

Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong on Sunday underscored the strategic importance of a free-trade agreement to be negotiated between his nation and Japan at a time when both Europe and the United States are looking to expand their own regional FTAs.
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 23, 2000

Consadole earns promotion to J1

HIRATSUKA, Kanagawa Pref. -- Consadole Sapporo will be back in the J. League's top flight next season after securing a top-two finish in the Second Division with a 3-0 win over Shonan Bellmare on Saturday night.
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2000

Free trade agreement with Singapore targeted for 2001

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and visiting Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong agreed Sunday to formally launch negotiations on a bilateral free-trade agreement in January and conclude the negotiations by the end of 2001.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2000

Letters shed new light on Nosaka's espionage acts

New facts have emerged regarding the clandestine activities of Sanzo Nosaka, a controversial Japanese Communist Party leader who was expelled by his party in 1992 and died seven years ago aged 101.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2000

European, Asian leaders end summit with vow of solidarity

SEOUL -- European and Asian leaders wrapped up a summit here Saturday with a pledge to launch a new round of world trade talks as soon as possible and a promise to work together more closely on political issues and fighting crime.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2000

Mori criticized over kidnap-resolution plan blunder

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's remarks Friday that a secret proposal was made to North Korea in 1997 over the alleged kidnapping of Japanese nationals by Pyongyang have baffled the Foreign Ministry and drawn criticism both from the opposition camp and leading members of the ruling coalition.
EDITORIALS
Oct 21, 2000

Reform starts with big business

Two of Japan's four largest business organizations, Keidanren (Federation of Economic Organizations) and Nikkeiren (Federation of Employers Associations), have decided to merge by May 2002. A task force will be working out details by the end of the year, including the proposed name and articles of association...

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