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COMMENTARY
Aug 11, 2000

Mori reign remains shaky

It has been four months since Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori launched his coalition government. Mori's first Cabinet, inaugurated April 5, remained in office for less than three months before the general election was held June 25. He established his second Cabinet July 3.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2000

Foreign students in Japan to receive ODA-based loans

Taking a new direction in its official development assistance policy, Japan will introduce a multibillion-yen program using low-interest yen loans to provide financial assistance to foreign students here, government sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2000

Japan aims to rely on 'sinks' to cut CO2 emissions

The government unveiled a proposal Tuesday that would allow the country to meet more than half of its greenhouse gas emission reductions simply by maintaining and managing its forests.
BUSINESS
Aug 10, 2000

LDP panel proposes tax to cut CO2 emissions

A Liberal Democratic Party panel in charge of energy policy recommended in a report released Wednesday the introduction of an environmental tax on gasoline and other fossil fuels to cut carbon dioxide emissions.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Aug 10, 2000

When you least expect distinction in Shimbashi . . .

It's always refreshing to come across a new sake pub, in particular one that breaks the mold of tradition and convention. It's even more refreshing to come upon one that defies all efforts at categorization, yet still satisfies in every way.
EDITORIALS
Aug 9, 2000

Gore's surprising choice

Vice President Al Gore has made his first bold move in the race for the U.S. presidency. The selection of Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut as his running mate has won applause from both sides of the aisle. The senator is a thoughtful and serious politician, who is guided by a strong moral code. He...
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2000

TSE, Australian bourse sign collaboration pact

The Tokyo Stock Exchange on Tuesday signed a comprehensive collaboration agreement with the Australian Stock Exchange, exchange officials said.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2000

Eight ministers plan to visit Yasukuni Shrine

Eight members of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's Cabinet said Tuesday they will visit Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine to mourn Japan's war dead on the 55th anniversary of the country's surrender in World War II next Tuesday.
LIFE / Digital / SURFERSPUD
Aug 9, 2000

Fried potatoes

world.std.com/~fwhite/spud/ Yes, there is actually a server out there powered by potatoes that really does work. Kind of. This address only takes you to a link to that server, which doesn't accept a whole lot of hits, and to an article explaining why the contraption was built.
EDITORIALS
Aug 8, 2000

A lesson from the police

Japan's reputation as the most crime-free of the major industrialized nations is crumbling. It has always been a relative matter and if any proof of the change were needed beyond the daily headlines, the National Police Agency has just provided it. In a regular semiannual report, the NPA announced that...
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Aug 8, 2000

Keepers of the flame take Gypsy sounds to the world

Under Soviet communism, the ethnic and folk music of Eastern Europe was often hijacked as a form of propaganda. Words were changed to express patriotic sentiments and slogans of peace. In Romania, Nicolae Ceausescu, the country's dictator for 25 years, would bus out thousands of peasants to sing such...
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Aug 8, 2000

The Bush machine rolls along

WASHINGTON -- There are three defining events for a candidate in the U.S. presidential campaign, events that reveal the candidate in a unique and important way. They are the selection of the vice-presidential candidate, the candidate's appearance at the convention, and the debates.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 8, 2000

Japan's media watchdog is a lap dog

CLOSING THE SHOP: Information Cartels and Japan's Mass Media, by Laurie Anne Freeman. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000, 256 pp. $39.50 (cloth). This excellent book lays bare the mechanisms of the information cartels in Japan that prop up the state, insulate the elite from sustained critical...
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2000

If Europe can unify currency, why can't Southeast Asia?

The Southeast Asian economy has reportedly found the path to recovery after being crippled by the regional financial crisis of 1997.
COMMENTARY
Aug 7, 2000

Laissez faire destroys itself

The market economy is akin to nature. Government intervention in the market is comparable to the destruction of the natural environment and should be avoided. Nature untouched by the human hand is great. The fury of the elements dwarfs human power. Essentially, that is the opinion of free-market advocates,...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 7, 2000

Muslims under fire in Russian Far East

PETROPAVLOSK-KAMCHATSKY, Russia -- When Usman Usmanov laid the cornerstone of the first mosque in the Russian Far East last summer, he was thrilled to see the start of a spiritual center for 30,000 Muslims in the Kamchatka region.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2000

Marist headmaster inspired by nation's morals, quake ordeal

KOBE -- What is behind Japanese people's moral behavior remains a mystery to Brother George Fontana, although he has spent 11 years here as headmaster of Marist Brothers International School in Suma Ward.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2000

British ex-POW takes redress crusade to Net

A former British prisoner of war campaigning for Japanese compensation is designing a Web site to document the torture and suffering British POWs endured at the hands of their captors during World War II.
COMMUNITY
Aug 6, 2000

Founder of ballooning in Japan plans pioneering flight

A licensed hot air balloon pilot herself, Ichiyoshi Sabu's wife knows about fear. After her husband came close to losing his life trying to fly over Mount Everest, she put her foot down. No more daredevil stunts, she declared; you've a family to think of. This explains why he will be ground master of...
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2000

A-bomb survivor tells of torments, appeals for peace

A survivor of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima this week told of the torments she suffered as a result of the bomb and issued an appeal for peace ahead of the 55th anniversary of the attack Sunday.
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Aug 5, 2000

New works win for old instruments

The yearly National Theater's Hogaku Composers' Competition, entering its fourth year, has firmly established itself as an important institution for the hogaku world. The original aim of this contest was to generate interest in and foster new works of hogaku, and in this it seems to be succeeding quite...
CULTURE / Art
Aug 5, 2000

Photos capture nuclear tests' toll

The single eye of a cyclops baby preserved in a jar of formalin gazes out, unblinking. Beside it, the eyeless face of a severely disfigured boy seems to melt from his head, the swollen eyebrows and cheeks blinding him permanently.
EDITORIALS
Aug 4, 2000

Kashmir's best chance

After 11 years of escalating violence, there is reason for hope in Kashmir. The largest Muslim separatist group declared a unilateral ceasefire late last month. The move was promptly reciprocated by the Indian Army, which announced the suspension of operations against that group. But prospects for talks...

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