Search - people

 
 
JAPAN
May 30, 2000

Foot cult founder, seven senior members indicted

Prosecutors on Monday indicted Hogen Fukunaga, founder and former leader of the Honohana Sanpogyo cult, and seven of its senior members on charges of fraud.
CULTURE / Books
May 30, 2000

Ghost in the political machine

NATION AND RELIGION: Perspectives on Europe and Asia, edited by Peter van der Veer and Hartmut Lehmann. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1999, 231 pp., $17.95 (paper). The modern world is characterized by the differentiation and separation of social domains that in ancient and medieval...
COMMENTARY
May 30, 2000

A losing fight against smoking

Amid global moves to tighten controls on smoking, the Health and Welfare Ministry, nongovernnmental organizations and other groups will hold various events in Japan to mark World No Tobacco Day on May 31.
JAPAN
May 29, 2000

Opposition continues to dog Mori on remark

Opposition leaders expressed readiness Sunday to continue seeking a retraction of the "divine nation" remark made by Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and his explanations about the remark at the Diet.
MORE SPORTS
May 29, 2000

Agnes Flight triumphs in Japan Derby thriller

It was a dream race, the 67th Japan Derby, the kind of race you'll always remember.
BUSINESS
May 29, 2000

Farmers not the only ones allowed to live off the land

On May 23, the Diet approved a series of legal changes concerning securities investment trusts, securities investment corporations and SPCs (special-purpose corporations) that will further advance securitization of real estate in this country.
JAPAN
May 28, 2000

North Korea on agenda for Mori's talks in Seoul

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's scheduled meeting Monday in Seoul with South Korean President Kim Dae Jung comes at a crucial point in Japan's efforts to advance normalization negotiations with North Korea.
MORE SPORTS
May 28, 2000

Japanese soccer finished, or glory days still ahead?

This past week the lists of the top income taxpayers in Japan were announced and bantered about in all the media. And, as this country loves youth like just about no other, 17-year-old singing sensation Hikaru Utada and 19-year-old Seibu Lions pitching phenom Daisuke Matsuzaka garnered more attention...
JAPAN
May 28, 2000

177 illegal aliens caught in two raids

Immigration authorities are taking measures against 177 people who have either overstayed their visas or arrived in Japan illegally after a series of raids on premises in Tokyo's Kabukicho district this month, Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau authorities said Saturday.
COMMENTARY
May 28, 2000

U.S. bogged down in Kosovo quagmire

The Clinton administration has ensnared the United States in the irrelevant turmoil of the Balkans. After NATO's nearly yearlong occupation of Kosovo, the General Accounting Office in Washington warns that "many difficult political, social and other issues remain unresolved" in the "volatile" territory....
EDITORIALS
May 28, 2000

Say it with buses

Some Tokyo residents have been grumbling or sneering (or both) in the past few weeks about the latest head-turning novelty on the capital's streets: those giant moving billboards that used to be just plain old green-and-cream buses.
JAPAN
May 27, 2000

Visitors to Japan reach record 4.4 million

The number of visitors to Japan hit a record high of 4.44 million in 1999, up 8 percent from the pervious year, mainly due to the economic recovery in Asia following the 1997 financial crisis, according to a government tourism report released Friday.
JAPAN
May 27, 2000

Rigid schools failing kids in tough times

The rigidity of Japanese schools is suffocating children and is one of the causes behind the recent rise in youth crime, according to education experts.
JAPAN
May 27, 2000

Green energy nearing takeoff in Japan

Movements to promote so-called green energy, such as wind and solar power, are gaining momentum in Japan as opposition to the use of nuclear power increases following last year's fatal nuclear accident and rising pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
May 25, 2000

You say Fusaichi, I say Fusaichi

Whenever a Japanese name enters the sporting world's lexicon, all sorts of problems arise. Take the Nagano Olympics for example. Is it pronounced NA-ga-no or Na-GA-no? The foreign media wrestled with this question for two straight weeks during the winter of 1998. The confusion trickled down to the masses...
JAPAN
May 25, 2000

Children's diet suffers as more eat alone

More than half of Japan's schoolchildren have breakfast alone or without the presence of adults, and only about a third eat supper with their whole family.
JAPAN
May 25, 2000

NPA official held for allegedly buying drugs on Net

OSAKA -- Health and Welfare Ministry narcotics agents have arrested a technical official with the National Police Agency on suspicion of buying amphetamines via the Internet, an Osaka office of the ministry said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2000

Japan's national security policy ignores public sentiment

The impression that one gets when looking at the evolution of Japan's security policy in recent years is that the Japanese public has consented to steps taken by Tokyo. After all, that is the fundamental expectation that democracies nurture. Following this reasoning, Tokyo should be developing a security...
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
May 25, 2000

Strong traditions flow through Iwate sake

Talk about a late bloomer. From its location in the northeastern corner of Honshu, Iwate Prefecture exerts a tremendous influence on the sake world. Yet, sake was not even produced there on any real scale until well after 1678, long after Nada, Itami and Kyoto were well into their sake-brewing heyday....
EDITORIALS
May 24, 2000

Caught in a legal nightmare

The belief that the law should be applied fairly to all, regardless of nationality, received a setback last week from Japan's judiciary. That is the reaction of people of good will to the rejection by the Tokyo High Court of the appeal filed over its earlier decision to allow continued police detention...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
May 24, 2000

Shopping with the herd

We track the tickers of global auctions. We flock to comparative shopping sites seeking the deal of the century. We sign up for sweepstakes galore and even occasionally invite vendors into our in-boxes to inform us of their latest discounts.
CULTURE / Stage
May 24, 2000

Dervish dancing to oneness

The mystical tradition of Sufism is little known outside the Muslim faith, yet all people, regardless of religious background or inclination, can benefit from its methods for developing unity in one's body, mind and spirit.

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