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JAPAN
Mar 26, 1999

Nostalgia buffs pay homage to 1918 brothel-turned-restaurant

When Tadafumi Yoshizato was in junior high school, his friends hocked his watch so they could go to Osaka's Tobita Shinchi district to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh. Now, Yoshizato, a 61-year-old illustrator, goes to enjoy pleasures of a more nostalgic nature.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 1999

Tokorozawa produce not a health threat: ministries

The level of dioxin in produce grown in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, is not substantially above the national average and does not pose any threat to human health, according to a set of emergency government studies released Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 24, 1999

Fingerprints on cyberspace

Now, more than ever before, knowledge is power. The information society puts such a premium on sorting the wheat from the chaff, that relevant facts -- real knowledge -- are invaluable. There is a less recognized corollary of that truism: Data represent profit. Virtual mountains of data are accumulating...
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1999

Local Elections: Megaprojects now nightmare to explain

Staff writer
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1999

Philippines to get $500 million in new aid

Japan announced an additional $500 million in aid to the Philippines at the beginning of a two-day international meeting Wednesday in Tokyo to draw up measures to help the country cope with its economic difficulties.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Mar 24, 1999

Weaving a fall brocade of spindle trees

The spindle tree family (nishikigi-ka, Celastraceae) contains some very ornamental trees, shrubs and climbers, among which nishikigi, the genus Euonymus, is a large group encompassing some 176 species. They grow wild in the temperate to warm regions of the world and can be found in Australia, Europe...
CULTURE / Books
Mar 24, 1999

Frustration and anger produce great Korean fiction

A READY-MADE LIFE: Early Masters of Modern Korean Fiction, selected and translated by Kim Chong-un and Bruce Fulton. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1998, 191 pp., $38 (cloth), $15.95 (paper). "What's driving me to drink isn't anger and isn't the dandies. It's this society -- our Korean society...
LIFE / Travel
Mar 24, 1999

Adventures in suspended reality

Porto Europa, just outside of Wakayama City, is without doubt a playful place to visit and offers a wide range of entertainment, action rides, cuisines and new technology games, but don't expect it to duplicate your last sojourn overseas.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 1999

Italian theme, cheaper goods key to joint outlet mall

Staff writer
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 21, 1999

Reach out and touch your four-footed friends

Do you ever get the feeling that your cat isn't listening to you? Have you ever tried to find a gift for the dog who has everything? Don't despair. The latest in pet communication is here: greeting cards for cats and dogs.
EDITORIALS
Mar 20, 1999

Much ado about doing nothing

In tiny news items inspiring ideas may lurk. Last week, for example, it was reported in the U.S. state of Minnesota that the wife of Gov. Jesse ("The Body") Ventura was ill and had been told by her doctor "to do nothing for a month." The nature of Ms. Ventura's illness was not disclosed, although the...
COMMENTARY
Mar 20, 1999

A cloudy outlook for spring

The Dow-Jones industrial average on the New York Stock Exchange broke through the barrier of 10,000 March 16. Following the overnight rally, the benchmark Nikkei average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange regained the 16,000 level for the first time in seven and a half months. The advances appear to signal...
CULTURE / Art
Mar 20, 1999

Japanese custodians of French 'Liberty'

On the occasion of French President Jacques Chirac's visit to Japan in 1996, an exchange of national treasures was agreed upon for the 1998-1999 "Year of France in Japan." Following this agreement, Kudara Kannon, a 7th-century 2-meter wooden bodhisattva from Nara's Horyuji Temple, was sent to France...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 1999

Learning on the job can be a good idea

The value of education has become a cliche. But few people seem to realize that school-based education can often prove a liability. Consider the views of Ram Mohan, a young farmer from the Indian state of Rajasthan, who refused to go to school. "My father wanted me to go," he said, "but I didn't. My...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 1999

U.S. apologists for China disregard reality

"China apologists," mainly representing newspapers and academic haunts in Los Angeles, New York and Boston, claim that the rest of us are beating up on China merely because Beijing is into heavy-duty spying on the United States, stealing high-tech secrets and deploying enough missiles opposite Taiwan...
EDITORIALS
Mar 19, 1999

A welcome step forward

Once again, the United States has shown that engagement with North Korea works. After four rounds of talks in as many months, a deal has been struck in New York with the North Korean government on access to an underground site suspected of housing a secret nuclear-weapons project. Japan, South Korea...
JAPAN
Mar 19, 1999

Tokyo steps up wartime weapon disposal plan

The Cabinet adopted a plan Friday to reorganize the government office tasked with expediting the disposal of chemical weapons left behind in China by the Japanese military at the end of the war.
EDITORIALS
Mar 18, 1999

More melodrama in Moscow

Russian President Boris Yeltsin has roused himself from his sickbed, where he is being treated for a bleeding ulcer, to launch what could be the next round of a political shakeup in the Kremlin. There are good reasons to change key personnel in Moscow -- the economy continues to totter and the government...
JAPAN
Mar 18, 1999

Palette Town opens to public today

Organizers of a new theme park opening today in Tokyo Bay's waterfront development project expressed hope Thursday that the park will spark life in the Japanese economy.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Mar 17, 1999

The hills are alive with wild fungal growths

The Field Studies Council (FSC) is a British not-for-profit organization that has as its slogan: "Environmental understanding for all!"
JAPAN
Mar 17, 1999

Nissan OKs 35% equity stake for Renault

Nissan Motor Co. on Wednesday appeared willing to have Renault SA of France buy an equity stake in the struggling automaker, saying specific conditions for the deal would hinge on further talks.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 17, 1999

Become a friend of the Kurilsky Reserve

"It isn't in Japan, so why should I care?" is the reaction of some Japanese to the issue of conservation in the Northern Territories. Yet there are plenty of good reasons why it is in Japan's interest to take a leadership role in protecting wildlife on the islands:
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Mar 16, 1999

Sounds to soothe the savaged beast

Never drink a bottle of tequila with champagne chasers and then try to demonstrate your gymnastic prowess, I advise, lying here in my hospital bed.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 1999

MITI readies pollutant tracking bill

Staff writer
EDITORIALS
Mar 13, 1999

Is shorter always sweeter?

The U.S. publisher Viking recently hit on a bright idea. Biographies, always reliable sellers, were nevertheless getting too long, they thought. Lives of even minor luminaries were routinely checking in at 800 or more pages, sometimes in multiple volumes; there was no such thing as an incident trivial...
COMMENTARY
Mar 13, 1999

LDP strategy hits and misses

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka, the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are pursuing a political strategy for 1999 with these objectives:
EDITORIALS
Mar 12, 1999

Defensive about missile defense

China's relations with the United States are at their lowest point since the Taiwan Strait crisis of 1996. Beijing has a lengthening list of grievances against Washington: harsh criticism in the State Department's annual human-rights report and the prospect of a resolution censoring Chinese behavior...
JAPAN
Mar 10, 1999

Flag, anthem bill eyed for this Diet session

The government hopes to submit a bill during the current Diet session to officially recognize the Hinomaru as the national flag and "Kimigayo" as Japan's anthem, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 1999

Japan, U.S. to consult on antidumping law

Staff writer
LIFE / Travel
Mar 10, 1999

Idyllic island makes blissful escape

Azure fish, blue-tailed lizards, turquoise waves -- Rota is full of the refreshing colors of life.

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