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JAPAN
Jan 16, 2000

Hub offers glimpse of the past

Eighty-six years after its construction, Tokyo Station has grown to contain the hustle and bustle of an estimated 386,500 people who part, meet or pass through every day.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Jan 9, 2000

Well done

Have you seen a mumsettia? They were apparently big sellers during the Christmas holidays this year in the United States. It is a poinsettia in a pot surrounded by white chrysanthemum plants. "It's lovely and very Christmasy," a friend writes. We will probably have them here next year.
CULTURE / Art
Jan 8, 2000

Ceramic greats spotlighted

New Year's Greetings to all Ceramic Scene readers! In Japan there are innumerable artistic groups that allow their members to exchange ideas or research, sponsor lectures or workshops and to acknowledge outstanding work in their respective fields. The Japan Ceramic Society (Nihon Toji Kyokai) is one...
LIFE
Jan 6, 2000

Lives spent in high and low places

Having recently returned from six months in a monastery in Tibet, Ruriko Hino is eager to talk about how she first became interested in devoting her life to the study of Tibetan Buddhism and eventually to becoming a Buddhist nun. "I was 19 years old, and working in a hostess bar," she says, making a...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Jan 5, 2000

Good deeds

I wrote this column before Y2K became a reality instead of a speculation. I had water, a charcoal stove, six cans of tuna, batteries, and the hope that since I was ready, nothing would happen. But I didn't know. Now I do: Being prepared pays off again. Perhaps there was a hint of disappointment. We were...
COMMENTARY
Jan 3, 2000

Building peace in a new era

As we greet the new millennium, we should ask ourselves what Japan should do to contribution to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, establish military and nonmilitary security, help solve global problems and prevent conflicts.
COMMUNITY
Dec 30, 1999

Cashing in on the new millennium fever

At the turn of the millennium, marketer Kenneth Walker will be seeing lots of zeros. Not only will he be seeing the numbers 01-01-00 everywhere, he'll be seeing lots of zeros coming behind dollar signs.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 30, 1999

Explore high-tech versions of Japanese classics

GENJI MONOGATARI (THE TALE OF GENJI). Nihon Koten Bungaku Series 1. Released by Fujitsu Social Science Laboratory Ltd. Windows/Macintosh Hybrid CD-ROMs. Kawasaki, Japan and San Jose, CA: Fujitsu Software Corp., 1996. Bilingual Japanese-English. Two disks boxed separately. 6,000 yen or $68 each. HEIKE...
JAPAN
Dec 24, 1999

Asylum said in short supply here

Staff writer The number of people granted asylum by Japan in 1999 edged into double digits for the second straight year, but lawyers say some seeking to stay are being deported in an inhumane manner. This year, 11 people have been granted refugee status, down from 16 last year. On Nov. 22, an Iranian...
JAPAN
Dec 22, 1999

Nishimura urges military upgrade, carrier fleet

Former Parliamentary Vice Minister of Defense Shingo Nishimura urged Japan on Wednesday to adopt a more positive role for the security of East Asia through such steps as forming its own legitimate military forces and introducing its own aircraft carriers. Nishimura, who resigned in October after suggesting...
JAPAN
Dec 9, 1999

DPJ panel wants labor law to force holiday leave

Article 38 of the Labor Standards Law should be revised to forcibly cure the nation's workaholism by obliging all businesses to make workers take paid holidays, a policy study group of the Democratic Party of Japan said Thursday. The average Japanese worker takes only about half of the paid holidays...
EDITORIALS
Dec 8, 1999

Seattle's silver lining

Size matters. That is the lesson to be drawn from last week's failed attempt to launch a new world trade round. Finger pointing has intensified in the wake of the breakdown in negotiations, with the United States proving the scapegoat of choice for most non-Americans (and even some Americans). That may...
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...
EDITORIALS
Dec 6, 1999

A Cabinet like no other

The people of Northern Ireland have made clear their longing for peace. They resolutely endorsed the Good Friday accords signed last year and have stood behind them. The embattled province's politicians have kept pace -- sometimes grudgingly. Last week, Northern Ireland took another historic step forward...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Dec 1, 1999

The top of the world

Tengboche Monastery is the oldest Buddhist monastery in Nepal. Founded in 1916 by Lama Gulu, the building itself has been destroyed and rebuilt twice. Today it is home to 50 monks and hosts about 22,000 visitors each year
COMMUNITY
Dec 1, 1999

Dreaming of a posh X-mas

How was your Christmas last year? Midnight Mass by candlelight in a 12th-century chapel? Convivial gatherings of friends and family around old oak tables laden with turkeys and rich, dark, steaming puddings? After-dinner strolls through frost-crisp fields and woodlands? Roaring fires?
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.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Nov 13, 1999

A cynic's guide to survival

For a writer, Russia is a treasure trove. It generates the most improbable story lines, the characters it harbors make Hollywood action heroes seem anemic, and its history is a thrilling mixture of triumph and tragedy. The country has seen the apostle Andrew and Adolf Hitler, Emperor Napoleon and Mongol...
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 11, 1999

Homebrewing for fun, taste and profit

"Hamm's" is the first spoken word recorded in Rob Nelson's baby book. His parents say he was influenced by the rhythmic beat of the Hamm's Beer television commercial. Now, when not consuming one of his own homebrew creations, Nelson, 47, is out searching for the perfect pint. His favorite beer to date,...
JAPAN
Nov 10, 1999

Ban won't slow lawmaker cash flow

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 8, 1999

LDP executives cave in to corporate donation ban

Reversing an earlier decision, top executives of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party agreed Monday that corporate donations should be banned beginning next year as stipulated in a 1995 law.
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.
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
Nov 1, 1999

Child pornographers vanish as law takes effect

Staff writer
EDITORIALS
Oct 22, 1999

Speaking without thinking

Barely two weeks after he was named parliamentary vice minister for defense, Mr. Shingo Nishimura of the Liberal Party was forced to resign Wednesday over outrageous views made public in a Japanese weekly magazine. In a two-hour interview, Mr. Nishimura suggested that the Diet consider discussing whether...
JAPAN
Oct 18, 1999

Global sports body promotes 'sacred unity'

Staff writer
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 9, 1999

Chongqing leads the next China boom

Japan is poised to lead foreign investment in the next important phase of China's development, centered on Chongqing, an inland city whose name most outsiders have never heard.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 1999

Back to the brink in Indonesia

"What we have now in Indonesia is the same old New Order without Suharto. Nothing is really changing."
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 1999

Taiwan quake shakes China's mandate

BEIJING -- Chinese news coverage of the killer earthquake in Taiwan has been both muted and sporadic, ranging from solicitous concern for the rogue province to no news at all. When the earthquake did get print or air time in the week following the temblor, coverage tended to focus on what mainland authorities,...
EDITORIALS
Sep 30, 1999

Russia's Chechen scapegoat

A wave of terrorist bombings in Moscow is pushing Russia once again toward war. No government can permit its citizens to be terrorized, and the scale of the recent attacks suggests that a formidable enemy is at work. Still, Moscow's response to the bombings seems ill-planned and desperate. Just as troubling...

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