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COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 1999

A diplomatic 'paper tiger'?

In recent years, we have seen active debate on Japan's sanctions-based diplomacy. Discussions focused on the justifications for and effects of sanctions, as well as changes in the balance of power resulting from the lifting of such measures. The lifting of sanctions against North Korea Dec. 14 renewed...
JAPAN
Dec 20, 1999

Asia archive with LDP spin in works

Japan will open an Asian history archive inside the National Archives in April 2001, as proposed in 1995 by the Cabinet of then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama. The archive will include documents on the war Japan fought from 1926 to 1945 and records of its colonial rule in Asia that are now scattered...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 1999

In the aftermath of the WTO debacle

WASHINGTON -- In the aftermath of the failed WTO meeting in Seattle last month, the big question is, "What now?"
JAPAN
Dec 14, 1999

Majority doesn't mean easy street for coalition

Staff writer The 48-day extraordinary Diet session, scheduled to end today, appears to have exposed the weaknesses rather than strengths of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's new tripartite coalition, which controls 70 percent of the seats in the Lower House. Obuchi had hoped the combined majority of 356...
JAPAN
Dec 13, 1999

Century of Change: Marriage sheds its traditional shackles

Staff writer When Kumiko Nishimura wed two years ago, she thought that registering her marriage with the city office was a natural course of things. But she postponed the registration because she felt it too burdensome to go though the process of changing names on everything -- from her driver's license,...
JAPAN
Dec 9, 1999

Nuclear energy firms form safety network

In an effort to regain public trust in the nuclear energy industry, 35 companies and research institutions formed an association Thursday that subjects members to safety inspections by competitors. September's criticality accident at JCO Co.'s uranium processing plant in Ibaraki Prefecture has jeopardized...
JAPAN
Dec 7, 1999

'Knock' to take suit ruling seriously

OSAKA -- Osaka Gov. "Knock" Yokoyama told a news conference Tuesday that he would "take seriously" Monday's anticipated ruling in the sexual harassment lawsuit against him, which he did not contest. He also told the day's regular news conference that he would pay compensation if the court orders him...
COMMENTARY
Dec 3, 1999

Bully politics back in vogue

Many important bills are pending in the current extraordinary Diet session that closes Dec. 15, and the government and the ruling tripartite coalition no doubt are considering an extension of the session. The three opposition parties, meanwhile, are gearing up to quash the bills and present a no-confidence...
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1999

DPJ giving up its 'well mannered' style

Staff writer In an effort to turn itself from a "well-mannered" party into an "aggressive" force, the Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition party, is beginning to square up to the ruling coalition. "We used to work hard to provide counterproposals (to the ruling alliance) because we thought...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 1, 1999

Kawabata and great truths

FIRST SNOW ON FUJI, by Yasunari Kawabata. Translated by Michael Emmerich. Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint, 227 pp., $24. This collection of stories, plus an essay and a dance-drama, was originally published in 1958 as "Fuji no Hatsuyuki." It is late Kawabata -- most of the major works had already appeared,...
EDITORIALS
Nov 26, 1999

The computer giant stumbles

In the era of globalization, the management mantra seems to be "bigger is better." From automakers to securities traders, every business aspires to the size and weight that would allow it to influence -- if not dictate -- developments in its particular industry. In the fast-moving world of high-technology,...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 1999

Australia's republic: If not now, when?

Australian Prime Minister John Howard recently had an "audience" -- as some Australian media described it -- with Queen Elizabeth II at the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting in Durban, South Africa. During the meeting, the prime minister of Australia personally informed the queen of the United...
JAPAN
Nov 18, 1999

Man faces life term for Sakai stabbings

OSAKA -- Prosecutors demanded life in prison Thursday for a 21-year-old man accused of fatally stabbing a girl and wounding two others on the street in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, in 1998.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 1999

Aceh referendum to come in seven months: Wahid

Visiting Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid said Tuesday that a referendum in the country's troubled Aceh Province may be held in seven months.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 1999

Photos urge students to study selves

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Government unveils 18 trillion yen stimulus

The government unveiled an 18 trillion yen economic stimulus package Thursday that it hopes will put the economy on a full recovery track in the second half of fiscal 2000.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Tokyo to host secret emissions talks

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 9, 1999

Patients pushed to take control of their own health

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 8, 1999

Coalition's nursing care rift on the mend

Staff writer
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 7, 1999

Prospects of a military coup in India

This is Part 2 of a two-part article. Part 1 appeared in yesterday's Opinion page.
EDITORIALS
Nov 5, 1999

Getting children out of the sex trade

Belatedly, but at long last, Japan has taken a tough stand against child prostitution and pornography. A new law banning the sexual abuse of minors came into effect on Monday. The "law for prohibition of child prostitution" makes it a criminal offense for anyone in Japan, and any Japanese traveling overseas,...
COMMENTARY
Nov 3, 1999

The CTBT is not dead yet

"All bets are off! You'll see a lot of testing . . . . You'll have Russia testing, you'll have China testing, you'll have India testing, you'll have Pakistan testing . . . and we will be in a much, much more dangerous world."
EDITORIALS
Nov 2, 1999

An unconvincing debut

The extraordinary Diet session that convened last Friday is the first parliamentary sitting since the tripartite coalition administration of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi was launched about a month ago. The public's main concern is with what Mr. Obuchi is trying to accomplish under the expanded coalition...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 2, 1999

And a drum shall lead them

THE ROUSING DRUM: Ritual Practice in a Japanese Community, by Scott Schnell. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, pp.364 with b/w photos xxvi and maps. $59.00 (cloth); $33.95 (paper). Interpretations of that folk festival, the "matsuri," vary. Kunio Yanagida, the founder of folklore studies in Japan,...
JAPAN
Nov 2, 1999

Hatoyama calls Obuchi government a 'moral hazard'

Calling the new coalition government of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi a "moral hazard" formed solely to reinforce political power, DPJ head Yukio Hatoyama on Tuesday demanded the early dissolution of the Lower House.
JAPAN
Oct 28, 1999

Extra Diet session to test new triumvirate

Staff writer
JAPAN
Oct 22, 1999

Tax Commission questions need for 401(k) breaks

The Tax Commission, an advisory panel to the prime minister, expressed caution on Friday about granting tax advantages under the planned new pension system.
JAPAN
Oct 20, 1999

Nishimura resigns over nuclear remarks

Shingo Nishimura resigned Wednesday as parliamentary vice minister of the Defense Agency amid an outcry over remarks calling on Japan to consider arming itself with nuclear weapons.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 19, 1999

Japan searches for status, finds only frustration

JAPAN'S QUEST FOR A PERMANENT SECURITY COUNCIL SEAT: A Matter of Pride or Justice?, by Reinhard Drifte. MacMillan Press, St. Antony's Series, 1999, 269 pp., 47.50 British pounds. From the day Japan surrendered to end World War II, its leaders have sought to rehabilitate the country and restore its prewar...
JAPAN
Oct 15, 1999

Aoki sees coalition gaining public support

Staff writer

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building