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CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Mar 4, 1999

Zeni Geva's earthly angst gives way to cosmic vibes

Somewhere between the metal aggression of Black Sabbath and the guitar grind of the Swans, Zeni Geva was the rock equivalent of opera, a full-throttle exploration of the emotional spectrum's dark side. Long hair flying and vocals growling, guitarist and vocalist Kazuyuki Ishino, a k a K.K. Null, channeled...
COMMENTARY
Mar 3, 1999

Japan's other big Year 2000 problem

For over 40 years now, the ritual has been the same. Each new Japanese administration resolves firmly that it will solve Japan's festering territorial dispute with Moscow, once and for all. Delegations and prime ministers visit Moscow. And each time the results are zero.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 1999

Myanmar couple seeks new heart for baby

Staff writer
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ARCHIPELA-GO
Mar 3, 1999

Kyoto: The 'City of Flowers' defined by its waterways

Ever since Kyoto was founded by the Emperor Kanmu in 794, its temples, garden sanctuaries, artisan quarters, elegant back streets and superb inns and shops have lent credence to the city's nickname, "Hana no Miyako," the City of Flowers.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 1999

Colombian president to visit in May

Colombian President Andres Pastrana will from May 10 to 13 make his first visit to Japan since his swearing-in in August, the new Colombian ambassador said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Mar 2, 1999

State moves to validate Hinomaru, 'Kimigayo' after suicide

The government will start working to legally recognize "Kimigayo" as the national anthem and the Hinomaru as Japan's flag, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 2, 1999

Leaders of five parties call for Constitution review panel

The secretaries general of five political parties asked the Lower House on Tuesday to create a research panel to review the Constitution.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 2, 1999

Faith isn't enough for China's Catholics

CHINA'S CATHOLICS: Tragedy and Hope in an Emerging Civil Society, by Richard Madsen. Berkeley, CA.: University of California Press, 1998, 191 pp., $27.50 (cloth). The Catholic Church has had a long and powerful influence on China. Missionaries first traveled to the Middle Kingdom in the seventh century...
JAPAN
Mar 2, 1999

Bilateral deregulation talks called 'constructive'

Two-day vice-ministerial talks on deregulation between Japan and the United States closed Tuesday in Tokyo with each side demanding further deregulation by the other, a government official said.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 1999

High court rejects Kadokawa smuggling appeal

Haruki Kadokawa's four-year prison term for cocaine smuggling and embezzlement stands, the Tokyo High Court ruled Monday, rejecting an appeal from the 56-year-old former president of Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 1999

Parties to request Constitution review panel

The secretaries general of five political parties agreed Monday to request creation of a research panel to review the Constitution.
EDITORIALS
Feb 28, 1999

Shiny happy people

The elusive butterfly of happiness has been fluttering before humanity for a long time. America's Thomas Jefferson declared the pursuit of it an inalienable human right over 220 years ago. But a good 1,800 years or so before that, another great farmer-philosopher had seen the urge to chase happiness...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Feb 28, 1999

Their way

Recently I visited a friend who lives in an upscale apartment building, a part of one of Tokyo's massive redevelopment projects. When I saw there was a taxi parked in one of the spaces assigned to her floor, I asked if a neighbor were now commuting by taxi instead of company car. My assumption was incorrect....
JAPAN
Feb 26, 1999

Opertti to tackle UNSC reform with principles, not seats

Reform of the United Nations Security Council should be based on the principles of equitable regional representation and contribution to U.N. activities, a senior U.N. official visiting Japan argues.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 1999

Lawmakers play musical chairs

In a bizarre development, a Lower House member has decided to give up his seat and run for the same chamber again.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 1999

No changes to BOJ credit policy

The Bank of Japan Policy Board on Wednesday decided not to change its easy credit policy, the bank announced.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 1999

Pfizer posts 48% net profit gain

Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Inc. posted 149.3 billion yen in sales for the business year that ended November 30, 1998, up 15 percent from the previous year, Leslie Patterson, president of the firm, announced on Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 1999

Wildlife protection a governor's job

The Cabinet is expected to endorse revisions today to the Wildlife Protection and Hunting Law for submission to the current Diet session, officials at the Environment Agency said Thursday.
COMMUNITY / CROSSING CULTURES
Feb 25, 1999

Parents and kids reflect upon road somewhat less traveled

Now that our four children can no longer be counted among the very young, we have the time and energy for reflection.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 1999

Accept 'jusen' role, HLAC to tell banks

The government-backed firm tasked with collecting debts owed by borrowers of the failed "jusen" mortgage lenders will urge 10 banks to take legal responsibility for the jusen fiasco, Housing Loan Administration Corp. President Kohei Nakabo said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 1999

Pyongyang faces united U.S., Seoul policy: Roth

There is no policy difference between the United States and South Korea in dealing with North Korean underground activities, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Stanley Roth reiterated Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 1999

A new bridge over the Pacific revealed

Is friendship between nations possible? Can Japan and the United States be friends as the U.S. is with Canada and Britain, or are they forever destined to have a relationship that turns on a calculation of mutual advantage?
COMMENTARY
Feb 23, 1999

Small weapons, big problems

The major challenge for post-Cold War disarmament negotiations on conventional weapons is to devise ways of controlling machine guns, automatic rifles and other small arms. Those are main weapons used in civil wars in Asia, Africa and Central America. To tackle the challenge, the U.N. Group of Governmental...
COMMUNITY
Feb 21, 1999

Steady Yoyogi belies its myriad past

Aristocrats, farmers, soldiers, pilots, Olympians, crows and bums -- Yoyogi Park has seen them all. From posh feudal abode to farm field, runway to international welcome mat, this park has had a variety of visitors and inhabitants.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Feb 21, 1999

Sunday afternoon

A reader writes about the Saturday edition of The Japan Times and how much she appreciates the listing of what's going on in our city. She especially enjoyed Robert Yellin's Feb. 13 article about Nezu Museum and its current exhibition revealing the elegance of traditional sake drinking, the sake cups...
CULTURE / Art
Feb 20, 1999

Exposing the illusion of appearance

Photographer Duane Michals was born into an odd sort of duality in 1932. He was raised in McKeesport, Penn., by devoutly Catholic parents of Czech origin (much like Andy Warhol, whom he would later depict in a series of blurred portraits). Michals' mother, worked as a housekeeper for a rich family, and...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Feb 17, 1999

Designing for dollars

Say what you will about Jeff Bezos, president of Amazon.com, but he is a savvy guy. He and his company may not be worth the gazillions of dollars that the market is throwing at them, but he deserves credit for making the market believe in him.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1999

BOJ lowers overnight call rate to unprecedented 0.15%

Amid mounting calls to curtail the rise in long-term interest rates by expanding the money supply, the Bank of Japan on Friday instead decided to confront the problem by guiding down a key short-term interest rate to an astonishing historic low.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 1999

Tokai Bank plans to close over half of overseas units

Chubu area leader Tokai Bank intends to close down more than half of its overseas branches, offices and subsidiaries by March 2001 to focus on domestic operations, bank sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 1999

Akashi all but enters governor's race

Yasushi Akashi, a former U.N. undersecretary general, strongly indicated Thursday that he will run as the Liberal Democratic Party's candidate for the Tokyo gubernatorial election in April.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo