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BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2000

Why did the Asian miracle come to such a grinding halt?

It may be misleading to describe the economic crises that swept through East Asia from the summer of 1997 as merely turmoil in currency or financial markets since that could belie the fundamental weaknesses beneath those nations' rapid growth in the early 1990s.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2000

Allies urge Japan to be Asian leader

As a regional and global power, could Tokyo have halted '97 crisis? The meltdown that started in Thailand in 1997 nearly brought the economies of East Asia to their knees. Why did it happen and how might a similar crisis be averted in the future? These and other questions were the focus of the March...
COMMUNITY
Mar 24, 2000

On speaking to a tulip in the garden

Late in the autumn I dug up a spot of earth in my small garden and planted a tulip bulb. Several days later, frost fell and before long snow covered the garden. When spring arrived the next year and the snow had all but disappeared, the tulip broke through the earth, sending out its sturdy stem and green...
BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2000

Trade surplus surges 26.8%

The nation's trade surplus increased in February for the first time in 11 months, as exports -- especially to the rest of Asia -- expanded more than imports, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2000

Entry to be made easier for legal foreign workers

Japan will aim to promote smoother acceptance of legal foreign workers, while at the same time taking stronger measures to weed out illegal aliens, according to a revised edition of the Basic Plan for Immigration Control to be released today by the Justice Ministry.
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2000

Keidanren urges Asia to back yen

Japan must enlist the support of Asian governments and private sectors to promote the yen as an international currency, the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) said in a recommendation Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2000

No more Indian idealism

NEW DELHI -- U.S. President Bill Clinton's weeklong tour of South Asia has caused an outbreak of Clinton-mania in the region, generating bloated expectations. In the Indian cities on his itinerary, streets have been cleaned, signposts washed or repainted, and tree branches cut back. The Great White Messiah...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2000

Beijing all bark and no bite? Think again

Tensions over the Taiwan Strait are palpable after China did its best to intimidate Taiwanese voters in the runup to last weekend's election. First, the Cabinet released a white paper that drew an unmistakable line -- thickened with a new condition -- regarding the limits of acceptable Taiwanese behavior...
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2000

Department stores need after-sales service

Department stores have been facing intensifying harsh conditions caused by weak consumer spending, mounting bad debts stem- ming from the bubble economy, and marketing offensives by supermarkets and discount stores.
EDITORIALS
Mar 23, 2000

Scrutinize the 'sympathy budget'

Washington's request that Japan maintain its "sympathy budget," or special host-nation financial support for the U.S. forces stationed here, has drawn a cool reception from the Japanese government and the media. During his visit here last week, U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen repeated that request...
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2000

Pyongyang, Tokyo set date for talks

Japan and North Korea have agreed to hold the first round of negotiations in Pyongyang on establishing diplomatic ties on April 4-8, resuming the talks that collapsed in 1992, Foreign Minister Yohei Kono said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2000

Miyazawa tells IMF chief Asians need more votes

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa on Wednesday reminded the next head of the International Monetary Fund of the need to give Asian countries more voting power at the IMF.
SUMO
Mar 23, 2000

Takatoriki stays 2-up on pack

OSAKA -- Grizzled Futago-yama stable veteran Takatoriki steamrolled his way to an 11th straight win Wednesday, while Takanohana, Musashimaru and Musoyama all posted solid victories to boost their records to 9-2 at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2000

'Knock' admits in court he molested college coed

OSAKA -- Former Osaka Gov. "Knock" Yokoyama pleaded guilty Tuesday to molesting a 21-year-old woman inside a campaign van last April and admitted he had repeatedly lied in denying the charges.
BUSINESS
Mar 22, 2000

BOJ must convince market of commitment

The dollar fell below 105 yen at one time last week, prompting the Bank of Japan to step in again.
EDITORIALS
Mar 22, 2000

The CDU's new image

Reeling from financing scandals that threaten former Chancellor Helmut Kohl with criminal prosecution, Germany's Christian Democrats have turned to Ms. Angela Merkel to cleanse the party. It is a gamble, but it could pay off.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2000

LDP forces pension bills further

Ignoring protests from the opposition bloc and pensioners, the ruling triumvirate on Tuesday rammed through an Upper House committee a package of bills that is supposed to save the nation's nearly bankrupt pension system.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 22, 2000

Chinois chic in Tokyo's 'experimental' cyber cafe

Can't be bothered with waitresses? Not in the mood for a menu? Just want to grab a hot beverage and snack, plug in and kick back?
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Mar 22, 2000

NTT then and now

Last week's column dealt with NHK's fees and why we should pay them. Similarly, there are complaints from readers about paying the initial 72,000 yen plus 2,184 yen consumption tax and 800 yen contract charge to NTT for the standard telephone installation fee. None of this amount is refundable although...
SUMO
Mar 21, 2000

Taka rebounds to beat Musoyama; Takatoriki stays perfect in Osaka

OSAKA -- Yokozuna Takanohana returned to form Monday with an impressive victory over Musoyama, while rank-and-file grappler Takatoriki remained unbeaten on the ninth day of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2000

Staff office softened colonel's punishment

The Ground Self-Defense Force Ground Staff Office helped reduce the punishment for a colonel arrested last Monday for allowing his civilian friends to fire a gun during a 1994 drill, sources at the Defense Agency said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 20, 2000

Mr. Chen's historic victory

In a historic election Saturday, Taiwanese voters gave Mr. Chen Shui-bian of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party a convincing victory. In electing Mr. Chen, the Taiwanese people defied threats from Beijing and brought an end to 50 years of Nationalist rule in Taiwan. His win in Taiwan's second...
LIFE / Travel
Mar 20, 2000

Seated safaris let the wildlife come to you

Trekking through the bush on an African safari can make for a fair amount of physical rigor and a lot of excitement. You'll see plenty of wildlife -- mostly their tail ends, as they run away from you.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2000

A role for Japan in South Asian peace

South Asia has witnessed an upsurge of violence since the military takeover in Pakistan and the hijacking of an Indian airliner last year. There may or may not be any causal link between the two incidents, but the peace process in the region has been the biggest casualty of both.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2000

Aum apologizes for sarin on eve of 5th anniversary

The Aum Shinrikyo cult issued a statement Sunday apologizing for the 1995 Tokyo subway gassing and promising to continue compensation payments.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 20, 2000

Troubling truths about India's bomb

INDIA'S NUCLEAR BOMB: The Impact on Global Proliferation, by George Perkovich. University of California Press, 1999, 597 pp., $39.95 (cloth). In many ways, the remarkable thing about India's nuclear bomb test on May 11, 1998 is not that it occurred, but that it didn't happen sooner. Ever since India...
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2000

Telephone club firebombing sparks fear intergang warfare is flaring up

KOBE -- The fatal firebombing of one of Kobe's largest telephone dating clubs has led to fears of a renewed intergang war among rival affiliates of the Kobe-based Yamaguchi-gumi.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’