Search - people

 
 
JAPAN
Sep 24, 1999

Dioxin study predictable but surprising

In the first national study of dioxin levels in multiple mediums, the Environment Agency found generally average contamination levels, but also a few surprises, the agency said Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 1999

Yugoslavian ambassador slams NATO

Yugoslav Ambassador Radoslav Bulajic said Friday that the 79-day NATO bombing campaign against his country was a serious crime against the civilian population, international law, peace and humanity.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 1999

Finance officials, entrepreneurs hit it off in rare meeting

It could have been an odd combination: Financial Ministry officials -- who are often criticized for mismanaged economic policy -- and the nation's leading entrepreneurs like Softbank Corp.'s Masayoshi Son -- who don't want government intervention.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Sep 23, 1999

Osaka still has reasons to be proud of its brewing culture

Osaka has long been a great center of commerce and activity, but likely doesn't stand out as a major brewing center in the minds of most people. True, it has never been nearly as significant as its Kansai cousins -- Kyoto, Hyogo and Nara -- but the sake brewing culture was, and still is, strong there....
COMMUNITY
Sep 23, 1999

A woman on the narrow road

One might not imagine that Lesley Downer -- author of books on Basho's travels, Japan's richest family and now geisha -- started out in the culinary arena.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1999

Alleged Aum driver faces life for role in subway gassing

Prosecutors demanded a life sentence Wednesday for former Aum Shinrikyo fugitive Kiyotaka Tonozaki, who is charged with driving a getaway car for one of the cultists accused of releasing sarin in the March 1995 Tokyo subway nerve gas attack.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1999

Court rejects Chinese war victims' damages case

The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday dismissed claims from 10 Chinese demanding a formal apology and 100 million yen from the state over suffering they endured due to Japan's wartime activities in China.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1999

Typhoon-triggered landslide kills two

A landslide triggered by heavy rain killed two people Wednesday morning in the city of Oita as a major typhoon headed north-northeast over the sea southwest of Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, hitting Okinawa's main island with wind up to 90 kph.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1999

The Asahara Trial: Guru speaks, blames cultists for attack

Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara on Wednesday blamed senior cultists for the deadly March 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system, saying he never discussed it with anyone.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Sep 22, 1999

Qualified clarification

Today's column attempts to clarify some common questions about Japanese health insurance. First it is necessary to understand the differences between the two types. Shakai Hoken (SH), or Employees Health Insurance, covers employees/dependents of companies that subscribe to some health insurance plan....
LIFE / Travel
Sep 22, 1999

Good things come in Iki packages

Iki Island, administratively part of Nagasaki Prefecture but located in the straits between Fukuoka and Korea, has some of the finest white sand beaches in Kyushu.
EDITORIALS
Sep 21, 1999

When the whole world is watching

What can we do when faced with atrocities being committed on a monstrous scale? It is an old question, but it has taken on a renewed urgency with the advent of new communications technologies and mass media eager to exploit them in the competition for viewers. Being blind to distant injustices is a luxury...
CULTURE / Books
Sep 21, 1999

Does the American Dream beat Hong Kong custard?

PAPER DAUGHTER: A Memoir, by M. Elaine Mar. HarperFlamingo, New York, 1999, 240 pp., $23. "From Hong Kong to Harvard" proclaims the publicity cover letter accompanying M. Elaine Mar's first book. As a memoir, it is but one drop in the growing flood of reminiscences engulfing publishing houses, and Mar's...
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 21, 1999

The sorrow and the pity: fateful meetings at Kabukiza

Through the month of September, the Kabukiza Theater in Ginza is offering an excellent selection of historical and realistic plays and a dance number for the afternoon and evening, starring Uzaemon Ichimura, Kichiemon Nakamura, Tomijuro Nakamura and Baigyoku Nakamura. Participating also in the current...
JAPAN
Sep 20, 1999

Obuchi certain to win re-election to LDP presidency

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi is almost certain to win re-election as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, easily defeating rivals Koichi Kato and Taku Yamasaki, in a vote by party members today.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 1999

Obuchi, Chretien strengthen bilateral ties

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and his visiting Canadian counterpart Jean Chretien reaffirmed Friday that Japan and Canada will further strengthen their partnership for the 21st century not only in bilateral areas but on the global stage as well.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 1999

Ministry grants couple refugee status

The Justice Ministry said Friday that it has granted refugee status to two people, bringing to 11 the total number of refugees recognized this year.
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Sep 17, 1999

Chari Chari's evergreen sound

The term legend is often used lightly in music journalism. Kaoru Inoue, known as Chari Chari, is one of the few Tokyo DJs who could reasonably be called legendary.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 1999

Stag beetle hunter casts doubt on reported 10 million yen deal

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 16, 1999

Protesters slam WTO trade as Keidanren sets council

Carrying placards and handing out leaflets, more than 20 protesters gathered Thursday outside the Foreign Ministry, demanding that the government oppose the next round of World Trade Organization negotiations slated to begin in November.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 1999

Execs' arrest to reveal Kofuku's idea of 'family business'

OSAKA -- The arrest of former top executives of the failed Kofuku Bank is expected to unveil the dubious nature of the bank's "family-run" business, which is believed common among many second-tier regional banks.
JAPAN
Sep 15, 1999

Office Depot tinkering to get it right

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 15, 1999

Runners hit by heatstroke in Tachikawa relay

Fifteen men and women fell victim to heatstroke Wednesday while running in an "ekiden" relay marathon in Showa Kinen Park in Tachikawa, western Tokyo, shortly after noon. Thirteen were taken to the hospital.
JAPAN
Sep 14, 1999

Residents sue nursing home over service quality

Two residents of nursing homes run by a financially troubled welfare business group are preparing to file a lawsuit against the group and the Health and Welfare Ministry, seeking compensation for inadequate services, it was learned Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 14, 1999

Airlines prove Y2K-compliance with test flights

Test flights conducted at midnight Monday proved Japan's major airlines and aviation control systems can cope with the Year 2000 computer problem, Transport Minister Jiro Kawasaki said Tuesday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 12, 1999

Three cheers for Respect for the Aged Day

There's a naked lady in my "genkan." I was upstairs in my office just now, when I heard someone calling my name. I went downstairs and there was 88-year-old Yamakawa-san, standing there naked.
EDITORIALS
Sep 9, 1999

An end run in Okinawa

The long-stalled government attempt to find a new home for the U.S. Marine Futenma Air Station in Okinawa is coming back to life. The Okinawa Prefectural Government has apparently narrowed down the candidate sites to a couple of locations on the eastern shores of the main island. The government of Prime...
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1999

Asahara's wife given shorter prison term

Overturning a lower court ruling, the Tokyo High Court on Thursday reduced the prison sentence of the wife of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara to six from seven years for her part in the lynching of a former cult member in January 1994.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1999

GDP grew 0.2% in April-June quarter

The economy grew 0.2 percent for the April-June quarter -- an annualized rate of 0.9 percent -- marking the second straight quarter of growth, according to gross domestic product figures released Thursday by the Economic Planning Agency.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 9, 1999

Taverna Rondino: Kamakura's most excellent cucina

Now that summer is finally past its punishing prime, it's time for the beach. September is the finest season down on the Shonan waterfront: The sun and water are still plenty warm enough; the teenybopper crowds have dissipated; and the rip-off beach houses have packed up and gone, taking their dubious...

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.