Search - people

 
 
BUSINESS
Sep 23, 2000

NTT East, West mull further workforce cuts

NTT East Corp. and NTT West Corp. are contemplating deeper workforce "cuts" because the popularity of mobile phones and a future obligation to reduce the fees it charges other carriers are eating into their profitability, officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2000

High level of carcinogen found at old Nissan plant

A concentration of trichloroethylene 1,600 times above the national environmental standard has been detected at the site of a former Nissan Motors Co. plant in Tokyo's Suginami Ward, company officials said Friday.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Sep 23, 2000

The tide turns and Gore seizes the moment

In political campaigns, when things go well, they really roll. When things sour, nothing seems to work.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2000

State admits CJD-tainted dura mater was imported

Contradicting its previous claims, the government has admitted that Japan probably imported German medical products that reportedly caused Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease even after the United States had warned of the danger in 1987.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2000

Mori targets damage control, economic stimulus in session

During the extra Diet session convening today, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori hopes to fix the damage done to his ruling bloc by recent money scandals and boost the fragile economic recovery with a stimulus package worth more than 10 trillion yen, including 4 trillion yen in new spending.
BUSINESS
Sep 21, 2000

Government plans to subsidize computer classes

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party will consider making budget appropriations in fiscal 2000 to subsidize school fees for people who wish to learn how to operate personal computers, the party's top policymaker said Wednesday.
COMMUNITY
Sep 21, 2000

Hanae Mori's gems shine brightly

Let's begin with the keywords: graceful, feminine, sharp, inspired.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2000

Kawada's mother to run for Lower House seat

Human rights activist Etsuko Kawada, the mother of an outspoken HIV-infected man who contracted the virus through tainted blood coagulants, announced Tuesday her decision to run for the House of Representatives seat of Joji Yamamoto in the Oct. 22 by-election in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2000

10 trillion yen urged for extra budget

Ruling coalition policymakers on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to draw up a supplementary budget totaling more than 10 trillion yen, including some 3.9 trillion yen to be taken from state coffers for direct fiscal spending.
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2000

Bill calls for advanced telecom network

A bill on information technology calls on Japan to build "the world's most sophisticated computerized telecommunications network" so that IT powers the nation's economic growth, government sources said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2000

Tokyo Motor Show set for Oct. 31

About 130 domestic and foreign automakers and auto parts manufacturers will exhibit over 260 buses, trucks and vans and the latest components at the 34th Tokyo Motor Show, which will focus on commercial vehicles, its organizing association said Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 20, 2000

Changes in crime -- and punishment

Profound changes in the way Japan dispenses criminal justice are either forthcoming or under consideration. Many people are ready to accept changes, even to welcome some of them, given the rising tide of serious crimes by minors and an apparent breakdown in police discipline. Calls to ensure the rights...
LIFE / Travel
Sep 20, 2000

The night train to Nha Trang

A few minutes before dawn on the night train to Nha Trang I awake to the sound of a nonstop diesel speeding past in the opposite direction. It hurtles past just inches away from the open windows of our own side-tracked train, sending us rocking nearly out of our bunks.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Sep 20, 2000

The flawed forests of Cuc Phuong

As many Americans have no doubt already forgotten, and as some will never forget, Vietnam was visited not just by their flag's red, white and blue but also by Agents Orange, White and Blue; toxic herbicides named after the color of their containers. A total of 72 million poisonous liters were dumped...
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2000

Sogo shuts 11-year-old Tama store

Failed department store chain Sogo Co.'s Tama store in western Tokyo closed its doors for the last time Sunday evening, ending its 11-year history.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2000

South Korea's Kim urges talks between North's Kim and Mori

SEOUL -- South Korean President Kim Dae Jung said Monday that direct talks between Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il are necessary to break the ice in normalization talks and that he is willing to support them, Japanese officials said.
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2000

Workers less optimistic on economy

The Economic Planning Agency said Monday that its index measuring workers' views on the current status of the economy showed they were more pessimistic in August than three months ago.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 19, 2000

A fascinating figure of 13th-century Japan

CHARISMA AND COMMUNITY FORMATION IN MEDIEVAL JAPAN, by S.A. Thornton. Ithaca: Cornell University East Asia Series, 1999, 290 pp., unpriced. The "charisma" of the title of this carefully researched and impressively thorough work of scholarship refers, in the first instance, to the medieval Buddhist...
EDITORIALS
Sep 18, 2000

Kinder, gentler animal farms

It's funny how McDonald's -- the much-reviled little hamburger stand that grew -- has become the world's handiest barometer of social change. It is the standard-bearer, or more often the whipping boy, for economic and cultural globalization, with progress or regress thereto measured in degrees of "McDonaldization."...
COMMENTARY
Sep 18, 2000

U.S. role in Korea nearly over

WASHINGTON -- The real presidential race has finally begun, as Vice President Al Gore and Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush battle over the state of the military. But their focus on questions of morale and readiness ignores the more fundamental issue of security commitments, which require...
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2000

Emergency workers desert Miyake

An approaching typhoon prompted all 260 village officials and repair workers to leave Miyake Island on Saturday, leaving the volcanic island completely deserted for the first time in recorded history.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2000

Ikuno pitches kimchi for World Cup

OSAKA -- While the nation is gripped by Olympic fever, Shigemitsu Nishihara in Ikuno Ward here is looking forward to the 2002 World Cup to be cohosted by Japan and South Korea as an event to boost bilateral relations and to promote his hometown.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2000

Prosecutors' involvement up as government targets youth

Prosecutor involvement in investigating serious youth crimes will increase from April in an effort to better serve victims and cope with tougher laws against offenders, government officials said Saturday.

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