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JAPAN
Jun 23, 1999

Bank inspections weak, Miyazawa admits

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa on Wednesday admitted that the ministry's bank inspections were opaque and ineffective.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 1999

Dam plebiscite worries still run deep

TOKUSHIMA — The Tokushima Municipal Assembly's passage of an ordinance Monday to hold a plebiscite on the controversial Yoshino River dam project was realized after three groups in the assembly in favor of the vote reached a compromise with New Komeito.
EDITORIALS
Jun 21, 1999

Mr. Mandela's mixed legacy

With a wave of his hand and a few humble words, South African President Nelson Mandela bid farewell to his nation Wednesday but left behind a rich legacy of democracy and racial reconciliation. His successor, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, sworn into office immediately following Mr. Mandela's retirement, now faces...
JAPAN
Jun 21, 1999

U.S. NPO interns see future in collaboration

The key to prosperity for both U.S. and Japanese nonprofit organizations may be collaboration with appreciation for cultural differences, according to 12 American interns who have completed one-month internships at Japanese NPOs.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 1999

Empress' father passes away from old age at 95 in Tokyo

Hidesaburo Shoda, father of the Empress and honorary chairman and adviser of Nissin Flour Milling Co., died of old age at a Tokyo hospital Friday morning. He was 95.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 1999

FEMA urges awareness, cooperation to handle Y2K

Kay Goss, associate director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, on Friday called for cooperation between world emergency managers in preparation for what she termed the most "unnatural hazard" ever — the Year 2000 problem.
EDITORIALS
Jun 17, 1999

Symbols of unity or division?

As national symbols go, few can define the identity of a state as succinctly and evocatively as the national flag and anthem. Whether in time of war or peace, the national flag and the anthem unify the country and dignify national pursuits. These are icons that are fundamental to a nation's standing...
JAPAN
Jun 17, 1999

War currency need not be honored, court rules

The Tokyo District Court on Thursday rejected reimbursement and compensation demands by 17 Hong Kong residents who had been forced during World War II to exchange their money for Japanese military currency, which became worthless when the war ended.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 1999

Amnesty slams Japan for prison abuses

Amnesty International criticized Japan for mistreating prison inmates and suspects under police custody and in detention houses in its annual report on worldwide human rights concerns released Wednesday.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jun 16, 1999

Vocal as we wanna be

"The process of tying two items together is the important thing," wrote Vannevar Bush in a seminal essay titled "As We Think," published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1945. Bush described a hypothetical device that would allow the storage and retrieval of data, the memory of mankind. It would be constructed...
JAPAN
Jun 15, 1999

Ethnic Korean says alien card law should be replaced

A permanent resident of Tokyo who refused to be fingerprinted in 1980 and triggered an antifingerprinting movement on the basis of discrimination, called on the Justice Ministry Tuesday to create a new law for ethnic Koreans that supersedes the Alien Registration Law.
JAPAN
Jun 15, 1999

Constitution valid: Justice O'Connor

KYOTO — Despite calls in some quarters that the Constitution is foreign-imposed and not compatible with traditional Japanese customs, the past 50 years has shown that its provisions are desired by the majority of the people.
JAPAN
Jun 15, 1999

Shorter extension of Diet session likely

The proposed extension of the current Diet session will likely be limited to early August, as key government and Liberal Democratic Party leaders on Tuesday expressed their resolve to work quickly on urgent spending matters.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1999

Expanded SDF peacekeeping role urged

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1999

Citizen-numbering bill now set for Diet vote

A bill to revise the resident register law to create a citizen-numbering system was approved by a Lower House panel Friday with support from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its junior coalition partner, the Liberal Party, and New Komeito.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1999

Jobs, extra budget packages slated for current session

The current Diet session will be asked to approve a supplementary fiscal 1999 budget and other legislation that would finance a package of job-creating measures and implement steps aimed at reviving Japan's industrial competitiveness, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Analysis: Lofty administrative goals not attained by bills

It has been said that the two sets of administrative reform bills moving on to the Upper House will bring about Japan's most sweeping reforms in 100 years and end the bureaucracy's dominance over the administration.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

LDP OKs Hinomaru, 'Kimigayo' bill

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party approved a Cabinet plan Thursday to adopt a bill today to legally recognize the Hinomaru as the national flag and "Kimigayo" as the anthem.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Government outlines job-creation measures

The government on Thursday outlined its long-awaited emergency steps to bolster job security and revive industrial competitiveness, setting a target of 720,000 new jobs.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jun 9, 1999

The random walk

Hoping to tap into that Amazon.com magic right here in Japan, Softbank (a software and publishing company), Seven-Eleven, Yahoo! Japan and Tohan, a book publisher and distributor, last week announced a joint venture to sell books online. e-Shopping! Books (who thinks up these names?) plans to open for...
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1999

Hopes ride high on ibis chick's wings

After teetering on the edge of extinction domestically for several years, the Japanese crested ibis took a small step away from the brink when a chick cheeped its way into the world on May 21.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Jun 9, 1999

The hills are alive with alpine plants

I had been looking forward to visiting Hokkaido ever since I came to Japan in September 1990. People were always telling me how lovely Hokkaido is, especially during the summer: Its wide open spaces are reminiscent of the countryside in Ireland or England.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 1999

State may draft Aum-specific law

The government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party will consider creating a law to specifically curb Aum Shinrikyo's activities, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 1999

Uruguay ambassador lauds ties with Japan

Surveying her nearly six years in Japan, Zulma Guelman, Uruguay's ambassador to Japan, is most pleased to see the growing economic ties between the two countries.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 1999

UNEP kicks off third global photo contest

The head of the U.N. Environment Program announced Friday in Tokyo the launch of the world's largest photography contest in anticipation of World Environment Day.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 1999

Half of ESC reform proposals to be used, state says

About half of the 234 measures that the Economic Strategy Council, an advisory panel to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, has proposed are likely to be carried out, according to a report released by the government Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 1999

19-year-old 'bosozoku' found slain

A man believed to be a "bosozoku" hot-rodder gang leader died Friday of wounds inflicted in an apparent attack by rivals.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 1999

Citizen-numbering system clears last obstacle

Policy affairs chiefs from the ruling coalition and New Komeito agreed Friday to work on new legislation to protect individual information, clearing the way for passage of a citizen-numbering system, party officials said.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 4, 1999

Musician spreads jazz gospel

"Jazz is my religion," said Joe Lee Wilson in a ceremony last week at the Tokyo campus of the International School of the Sacred Heart, after completing a six-week music workshop with 600 students.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 1999

31 reprimands issued over hospital's patient mixup

YOKOHAMA — The city of Yokohama decided Thursday to reprimand 31 people involved in a patient mixup at Yokohama City University Hospital in January that resulted in a lung patient undergoing heart surgery and a heart patient lung surgery.

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