Search - 2000

 
 
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2000

DPJ chief ready to testify over donations

The president of the Democratic Party of Japan said he is willing to give testimony if he is summoned over allegations in a magazine that he accepted illegal donations of 50 million yen. Yukio Hatoyama, president of the largest opposition party, made his announcement in response to a question during...
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2000

Ishihara's bank tax plan leads charge for local autonomy

Labeling a controversial tax proposal submitted Wednesday to the metropolitan assembly "a challenge from Tokyo," Gov. Shintaro Ishihara opened the legislature's regular session with a call for local autonomy. He also blamed the nation's top-down political and administrative systems for what he called...
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2000

Development of human resources vital to ending Asian economic crisis

The last two or three years of the 1990s will probably be long remembered in the minds of those in East Asia and around the globe as the Asian Economic and Currency Crisis. Has this crisis actually ended?
CULTURE / Music
Feb 19, 2000

Retracing Takemitsu's 'Steps'

In 1967 a performance occurred in New York City which changed hogaku forever. Under the direction of Seiji Ozawa, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra commemorated its 125th anniversary by commissioning pieces from composers around the world.
COMMUNITY
Feb 17, 2000

Helping kids follow their noses

If you ask children what they want to be when they grow up, they will typically answer with a profession they have seen, either in daily life or on television: veterinarian, pilot, ice skater, or actress. How many times, however, have you heard a child say, "I want to be a perfumer"?
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2000

Saudis asked to 'consider' Arabian Oil's railway offer

Trade Minister Takashi Fukaya, in an informal meeting Wednesday, asked Ali Ibrahim al-Nuaimi, the Saudi Arabian petroleum minister, to consider the latest proposal put forward by Tokyo-based Arabian Oil Co. in an effort to have its oil drilling rights renewed. Describing his Tokyo lunch meeting with...
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2000

Jobs shows importance of Japan at Apple expo

MAKUHARI, Chiba Pref. -- In all the hype of Apple's new product announcements Wednesday at MacWorld Expo Tokyo 2000, one thing went unnoticed: It was the first time Apple has introduced a new computer outside its home market. That the first occurred here underscores the increasing importance of the...
CULTURE / Books
Feb 16, 2000

The essence of Japanese film

FROM BOOK TO SCREEN: Modern Japanese Literature in Film. By Keiko I. McDonald. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2000, 326 pp., with b/w photos. $62.95 (cloth); $25.95 (paper) Keiko McDonald's 1994 "Japanese Classical Theater in Films" (Associated University Presses) has become an indispensable text. Anyone...
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Feb 16, 2000

Computers, continued

Continuing with computer questions, a gentleman asks where he can find an iMac with an English language operating system (OS). The manufacturer explains that English OS Macs are not sold here because of various U.S. and Japanese regulations. Still, they want to help their hopeful customers so there is...
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2000

Bank-tax bill handed to metropolitan assembly

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara on Wednesday formally presented the metropolitan assembly's steering committee with a bill that would impose a temporary tax on all funds held by banks operating in the metropolis. Despite warnings by central government ministers that the tax could have a negative impact...
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2000

Nissan Motor to sell aerospace unit to IHI

Nissan Motor Co. confirmed Monday that it has agreed to sell its aerospace and defense division to Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. as part of its streamlining efforts. The two firms will decide on the cost of the deal, the number of employees involved and other details by the end of July, a...
EDITORIALS
Feb 11, 2000

NTT shirks its responsibilities

The Japanese and U.S. governments are at odds over access charges for NTT networks. The Japanese side is balking at a U.S. demand for a deep and prompt price cut, on the grounds that it will have a crippling effect on NTT operations. As things stand, it is unclear whether an agreement can be reached...
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2000

Ivanov reaffirms direction on Japan-Russia peace quest

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and visiting Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, reaffirmed Thursday that Japan and Russia will enhance ties to advance their peace treaty negotiations.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2000

Ishihara continues to push for bank tax

Despite criticism from the central government, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara took another step Thursday toward levying a 3 percent tax on banks by briefing party representatives of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. To go into effect, the proposal must be approved by the assembly during its regular session,...
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2000

Bill would allow academics to hold business posts

The government will submit to the Diet a bill today to allow national and public university professors and researchers to concurrently serve as corporate board members to facilitate technology transfer from the academic to industrial sectors, government officials said. The move is part of efforts to...
EDITORIALS
Feb 4, 2000

Time to stop playing games

The Diet is stuck in turmoil, with all opposition parties boycotting both plenary and committee sessions. In both Houses, all legislative procedures -- the delivery of key policy speeches, questions and answers, and even a vote -- have been conducted by and for the benefit of only the ruling-party members....
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2000

Koreans want governor to push for their rights

Staff writer OSAKA -- A new Osaka governor will be elected today by some 7 million eligible voters in the prefecture, which has a population of 8.83 million. While voter turnout figures show nearly half did not cast ballots in the last three gubernatorial elections, some are unable to vote in local...
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2000

Diet boycott shows no sign of letting up

The opposition camp's boycott of all Diet sessions went into its ninth day Friday and shows no sign of letting up. The Lower House Budget Committee, which started deliberation on the fiscal 2000 national budget Thursday, adjourned Friday morning immediately after opening because all the opposition interpellators...
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 4, 2000

Dance fests spotlight solo performances

Tokyo is awash with festivals of dance this month, mostly by solo dancers, which is not surprising since the majority of performers here prefer the controlled environment of one-man shows. But what is surprising is that even with all the organization involved in planning these events, the sudden accumulation...
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2000

Greenback looks ready to test 110 yen level

The dollar has broken out of a narrow range, recouping much of its recent losses against the yen.
LIFE / Travel
Feb 2, 2000

New winter travel bargains opening domestic flight doors

Winter brings Japan's best travel bargains, and this millennium year the bargains are better than ever.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2000

Seat bill passes Diet on ruling bloc's vote

The contentious seat-reduction bill that has rocked the government for months was passed in an Upper House plenary session Wednesday amid an opposition boycott of all Diet proceedings. The ruling coalition -- the Liberal Democratic Party, Liberal Party and New Komeito -- skipped committee sessions in...
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2000

KEDO ready to begin construction on nuclear reactors

Staff writer Full-scale construction of two light-water reactors in North Korea is set to begin by mid-February, Desaix Anderson, executive director of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization, said in an interview. On Monday in Tokyo, Japan signed a loan agreement with KEDO to provide up...
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2000

Opposition parties continue Diet boycott

The Lower House on Monday entered a two-day, question-and-answer session on policy speeches delivered Friday as the opposition camp continued its boycott in the face of last week's turmoil over a seat-reduction bill. It marked the first time in the past 33 years that a question-and-answer session on...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 30, 2000

More Japanese baseball games on the horizon?

Japanese sports papers are saying the Central and Pacific Leagues are thinking of expanding their season schedules to 140 games in 2001, and the PL is considering re-adopting its split-season format used between 1975 and 1982. If they follow through, it will be the most games played by the teams here...
CULTURE / Art
Jan 30, 2000

Vesting the third millennium in peace

KYOTO -- Llamas grazed contentedly on the slopes surrounding Machu Picchu as John Kurtenbach spread out the kesa on the South American peak. Later it became part of a meditation held there.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 30, 2000

Rihito Kimura

To answer the question what is bioethics, professor Rihito Kimura wrote a book and more than a hundred articles. "It is a huge subject," he said. "Many people think its focus is on medical issues, but it is much wider than that. It has ethical, legal and social implications too, in an environmental context....
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2000

Finance meeting ends rates speculation

Last week's Group of Seven meeting of financial leaders in Tokyo provided Japan with an opportunity to clear up doubts about its monetary policy options.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2000

State considers move to inflation targeting

Staff writer With little room left for government spending to stimulate the fragile economy, political pressure on the Bank of Japan is rising. The Liberal Democratic Party's panel on financial affairs decided Thursday to launch a working team next week to study whether the BOJ should adopt inflation...
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2000

Seat-cut bill rammed through Lower House

The ruling parties on Thursday night ignored an opposition boycott of a Lower House plenary session and passed a controversial bill that would cut 20 seats from the chamber. Passage came around 8:30 -- 7 1/2 hours after the session was to open. It was the second time in as many nights that the ruling...

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan