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EDITORIALS
Jul 20, 2000

Remembrance and responsibility

Germany is closing one of the last chapters of its Nazi past this week. The establishment of a 10 billion deutsche-mark fund (520 billion yen) to compensate those who were slave laborers during World War II will, in the words of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, set down "a durable marker of historic...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 20, 2000

Summit holds key to vision for Okinawa in the 21st century

Okinawa was placed under U.S. rule for 27 years after the end of World War II. During this time, the Japanese mainland succeeded in rebuilding its economy, in particular securing high economic growth through the development of heavy industries, and thus joined the ranks of industrialized countries.
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2000

G8 chiefs' script covers debt relief, 'digital divide'

Helping developing countries ride the global wave of the information technology revolution will top the economic agenda at the Friday-Sunday Group of Eight summit in Okinawa.
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2000

Emigrants to Caribbean sue government over deception

A lawsuit was filed Tuesday by 126 Japanese who emigrated to the Dominican Republic under a government program more than 40 years ago, demanding state compensation for the hardships they suffered in the Caribbean country caused by false information provided prior to their emigration.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jul 19, 2000

Big train a-comin'

Pick your measure. No matter what standard you choose, the information revolution is less than 3 percent complete. That's right: Whether you count users, devices, speed, content or number of applications, the revolution is just revving up. That has two implications: 1) virtual lifetime employment for...
BUSINESS
Jul 19, 2000

BOJ chief reiterates desire to abandon 'zero-rate' policy

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami on Tuesday reiterated his desire to abandon the current "zero-interest-rate" policy, describing it as "unnatural."
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 19, 2000

Really roughing it in the wilderness of Sakhalin

Few people would associate "tourist paradise" with "Sakhalin." The lobster claw-shaped island lying just 40 km from Hokkaido is best known for the rush to exploit resources on its northeastern shelf, a repository of crude oil and natural gas.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Jul 19, 2000

Nabatean nights of the living dead

"It was truly a strange spectacle -- a city filled with tombs. One would be inclined to think that the former population had no employment which was not connected with death, and that they had all been surprised by death during the performance of some funeral amenities."
LIFE / Travel
Jul 19, 2000

New Thai museum puts opium in perspective

BANGKOK -- How can drugs be explained in a way that informs but does not preach? Is it possible for educators to get beyond the knee-jerk response that stigmatizes drugs and drug consumers and presents the bare facts? What are the facts?
EDITORIALS
Jul 18, 2000

A call for real police reform

A government-appointed, private-sector panel of advisers has now issued its much anticipated recommendations for changes in the nation's scandal-tainted police forces. The Council on the Reform of Police Systems delivered its proposals one month later than first promised, and the original draft developed...
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2000

Some Miyake islanders allowed to return home

Miyake Island authorities lifted an evacuation order Monday for some residents of the northeastern part of the island now that volcanic activity on Mount Oyama has subsided.
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 18, 2000

Ennosuke lights up the stage with super summer program

July is the month for Ennosuke Ichikawa at the Kabukiza. For the champion of Super Kabuki, this year's event is particularly significant because it marks the 30th performance since the initial presentation of his summer program at the Kabukiza.
CULTURE / Books
Jul 18, 2000

The art and artistry of translation

WORDS, IDEAS, AND AMBIGUITIES: Four Perspectives on Translating from the Japanese, edited by Donald Richie. A Pacific Basin Institute Book, Imprint Publications, 2000, 88 pp., $19.95. This volume is a faithful account of an important and stimulating series of colloquia held at the International House...
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2000

Kirin still selling recalled beverage

Kirin Beverage Corp. is continuing to sell its Kirin Speed sport drink through some 40,000 vending machines nationwide despite a recall of the product announced Saturday, company officials said Monday.
COMMENTARY
Jul 18, 2000

A new era unfolds in Taiwan

I was part of a Japanese media group that visited Taiwan June 18-21, took part in joint interviews with President Chen Shui-bian and his predecessor Lee Teng-hui, and came away with strong impressions of their leadership skills.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2000

Romance is in the air: tour the city by helicopter

Tomoko Suzuki's boyfriend gave her a special birthday present this year -- a night view of the Tokyo metropolis from an altitude of 600 meters and at speeds up to 200 kph.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 16, 2000

Carp's Lopez back where he belongs

One of the happiest foreign players in Japan pro baseball these days is Hiroshima Carp first baseman Luis Lopez. The 1996 and 1997 Central League RBI leader is obviously back where he belongs; hitting .300 and driving in those runs like he did three-four years ago for the Red Helmets.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2000

Kobe welcomes giant panda pair

Staff writer
CULTURE / Music
Jul 16, 2000

A guide to the music festivals of summer

The recession has reportedly made concert promoters' lives miserable, and yet it doesn't seem to have affected the flood of foreign acts rushing to these shores.
COMMUNITY
Jul 16, 2000

Book on classic parenting hits half-million nerves

As the Japanese birthrate falls to a new record low, and the media focus on disruptive youngsters and classroom chaos (with 17-year-olds coming in for especially harsh criticism), it comes as no surprise that so many young adults are rejecting marriage and fearful of parenthood. How will they manage,...
CULTURE / Music
Jul 16, 2000

Berlin Phil brings greetings: from one capital to another

Political and economic capital of Germany and home of the famed Berlin Philharmonic, Berlin is high on the list of cities Tokyoites most wish to visit and explore, as I did recently. Berlin and Tokyo have much in common, certainly including the quantity and quality of the musical scene.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2000

Whalers come out on top in IWC meeting

SYDNEY -- Once again Japanese whale-meat eaters have outwitted the world's whale lovers. Though those diners need not raise too many self-congratulatory cups of sake. Within a year or two the Tokyo whale restaurant tables could be overturned.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 16, 2000

Ode to a gentleman and a scholar

When Robert Louis Stevenson wrote that when a death occurs "there is sore havoc made in other people's lives, a pin [is] knocked out by which many subsidiary friendships hung together," perhaps he was describing a particularly Western tragedy. In Buddhism, death is viewed differently. The relationship...
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2000

Hail a cab in Naha now and they'll all come quick

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- It is said there is a reliable litmus test to gauge the state of Okinawa's economy: Stick out your hand and see how long it takes to hail a taxi.
BUSINESS
Jul 15, 2000

Tax Commission report hints that tax hike is in the pipeline

The medium-term report released Friday by the government Tax Commission has sent one important message to the public, albeit between the lines: A tax hike is inevitable in the not-so-distant future.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes