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JAPAN
Jun 24, 1999

Recession not sole cause of suicide

All Daisuke Tajima could think about was ending it all. One day the 49-year-old salaried worker walked out of his office in a city in northern Japan, and for weeks his family had no clue as to his whereabouts.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 1999

Ministry wants flag, anthem promoted in textbooks

Social studies textbooks must help instill respect for the Hinomaru flag and the "Kimigayo" de facto national anthem among the nation's children, according to the results of last year's textbook screening released Thursday by the Education Ministry.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 1999

Emergency contraception is here, but where?

A day after spending the night with her steady boyfriend, Mika roamed the area around her office in Tokyo, desperately looking for an obstetrician or gynecologist who could prescribe the medication she sought — an emergency contraceptive pill.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 1999

Murayama's Pyongyang visit canceled

Former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama on Wednesday announced a suprapartisan Diet group he heads will shelve its planned trip to North Korea, saying now is not the best time to visit the Stalinist state.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 23, 1999

Vices and virtues of Pompeii exposed

Imagine if an entire town could disappear yet be preserved intact, sealed timeless in eternity. Then imagine that surprised excavators nearly 1,700 years later uncover this natural time capsule to reveal what life was really like in the ancient world.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Jun 23, 1999

Sapporo garden faces climatic challenge

Sapporo Municipal Botanic Garden, better known as Toyohira Garden, is well off the tourist trail, but highly recommended. The garden is situated in Toyohira-ku, approximately 3 km south of Sapporo Station, just across the wide Toyohira River.
EDITORIALS
Jun 22, 1999

No strong message from Cologne

The leaders of the world's eight major powers, in their annual three-day summit that ended Sunday in Cologne, Germany, pledged to strengthen and broaden their close partnership in settling the exigent issues that are unsettling the international community. Because it came in the wake of the Kosovo conflict...
JAPAN
Jun 22, 1999

Disabled train air crews to handle with care

To help handle the increasing number of physically disabled people flying overseas, two support groups for the handicapped held class Tuesday for airline crews at Narita Airport to show them how their flights can be made more comfortable.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 1999

Fall-prone builders get air bag option

The high number of fatal falls at construction sites has prompted a firm to produce a human version of the automobile air bag.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 1999

Stricter dioxin standard urged for biggest industrial emitter

The government should drop the maximum tolerable daily intake of dioxin to 4 picograms per kilogram of body weight, a government advisory panel said in a report released Monday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 20, 1999

A matter of principle at the WTO

Almost two months after Director General Renato Ruggiero's term expired, the World Trade Organization is still without a leader. Worse, divisions within the trade body have widened during the fight — there is no better word — to select a successor. The animosities are such that both candidates should...
EDITORIALS
Jun 20, 1999

Fast, faster and fastest

Last week, sprinter Koji Ito, Japan's fastest man, became the first Asian to run 100 meters in less than 10 seconds. Performing at a college meet in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Mr. Ito was timed with a stopwatch at 9.90 seconds; his achievement will only be unofficial, however, since the Japan Amateur...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 20, 1999

All it takes is a miracle to save the Earth

Last weekend I attended the 55th All Japan UNESCO conference in Okayama, where together we solved Japan's environmental problems. It's easy for everybody to do their part to help the environment. But it's surprising how many people don't do anything. So many people are environmentally unconscious --...
EDITORIALS
Jun 19, 1999

Scary home companion

Just a couple of weeks after R2D2 and C3PO clicked and whirred their way back into public consciousness with the release of the latest "Star Wars" movie, Sony Corp. unveiled a rich person's toy that may be the best preview humanity has yet had of real-life "droids" to come. It was an instant hit, too....
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 19, 1999

Exploring tropical forests of poetry

Stephen Forster has released a new volume of poetry titled "The Good Mouth." In this collection of poems, Forster takes the reader on an imaginative journey to distant lands where conquistadors in tropical forests meet their savage doom, or to places where the omniscient voice of a child uttering the...
CULTURE / Art
Jun 19, 1999

A little madness goes a long way

Madness sells.
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 17, 1999

Fukui OKs use of MOX fuel at Takahama plant

FUKUI — Fukui Prefecture gave the final go-ahead Thursday for Kansai Electric Power Co.'s plan to use mixed plutonium-uranium oxide fuel at its Takahama nuclear plant.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 1999

Health Ministry gives the pill official OK

The Health and Welfare Ministry officially approved the low-dosage oral contraceptive pill Wednesday, nine years after receiving the first applications.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 1999

Surprise GDP result arms Obuchi for Cologne

For Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, the coming summit in Cologne, Germany, of the industrialized world's leaders comes at an optimal time.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 1999

Stimulant seizures top 1-ton level; NPA alarmed

Police have confiscated 1,132.8 kg of stimulant drugs in the first six months of 1999, surpassing the 1-ton level for the first time in any year, the National Police Agency said Wednesday.
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

Prewar taste of 'awamori' springs anew

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. — It was almost a religious moment for "awamori" aficionados.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 12, 1999

Restrain Japan, contain India

The main objective of China's Asia policy has always been to prevent the rise of an Asian rival or peer competitor to challenge its status as the Asia-Pacific's sole "Middle Kingdom." As an old Chinese saying goes, "'One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers."
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Jun 12, 1999

Legacies live on in kingdom of Kato

In many ceramic centers around Japan a common thread in the community is not only a particular style but also a last name. For instance, if you walked into the middle of Tachikui, where Tanba is made, and shouted "Ichino-san!" almost all the houses would empty.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1999

Asahara said unaware of Kariya scheme

An Aum Shinrikyo member testifying as a witness for cult founder Shoko Asahara's defense said on Friday that the alleged drugging-killing of a Tokyo notary public in 1995 was not done on the orders of the guru, but on a suggestion made by late senior cultist Hideo Murai.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1999

Expanded SDF peacekeeping role urged

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Appliance recycling comes to fore

A throwaway society has produced mountains of waste, creating a nightmare that all dumps in this country may be filled in the next seven to eight years.
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.

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’