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COMMUNITY
Mar 19, 2000

Cat's out of the bag?

For the last six months the media has been buzzing over the rumored publication of an unauthorized biography of Hello Kitty by Kitty Kelly. The rumors were confirmed yesterday when Simon & Schuster announced it would release "Cute at Any Cost: The Hello Kitty Story" in early July to take advantage of...
COMMUNITY
Mar 19, 2000

Well Hello, Kitty! You look swell, Kitty!

Occupation: internationally known idol Age: 25 Born: Nov. 1, 1974, in the suburbs of London Family: Anthony and Margaret (grandparents); George and Mary White (parents); Mimmy (twin sister) Hobbies: Collects teddy bears. Love life: Has been going out with her childhood friend Daniel Star since last...
COMMENTARY
Mar 19, 2000

Traveling for business or for pleasure?

MYANMAR -- As the nurse expounded on the risks of dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis and malaria, I realized it was going to be an unusual trip. No five-star hotel this time.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Mar 19, 2000

Getting away

A gentleman asks about shipping a four-wheel-drive car to Namibia on the southwest coast of Africa. The most appealing way would be to ship it first to Cape Town and then drive it to Namibia. I remember a visit to Cape Town a number of years ago, where a former Tokyo resident told me of the elephants...
CULTURE / Art
Mar 19, 2000

Feeling the past through your skin

How can we be intimate with the past? Human beings have always yearned to know the ways and feelings of those who came before. History books, old folk music, paintings and petroglyphs: All of these tell us about how our ancestors thought and felt. For textile craftswoman Eiko Noda, the way to feel what...
CULTURE / Music
Mar 19, 2000

Royal Concertgebouw does its own thing, which is anything

The orchestras of America are headed by the "Big Five," after which come all the others. They are so well known that just the names of the cities get a nod of affirmation: Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York and Philadelphia.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2000

Thousands turn out for Flora 2000

AWAJI ISLAND, Hyogo Pref. -- Under a bright sunny sky and with a cool breeze blowing off the bay, the Japan Flora 2000 international flower, gardening and landscape exhibition opened Saturday morning on Awaji Island.
EDITORIALS
Mar 18, 2000

Out of step on executions

Japanese judges appear ready to remain out of step with much of the rest of the civilized world by continuing to impose the death penalty. Some officials responsible for the administration of justice in this country compound the issue by the apparent avidity with which they defend and support capital...
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2000

85 trillion yen debt-laden budget ties record for swift approval

The Diet approved an 84.99 trillion yen state budget for fiscal 2000 in record-equaling time Friday evening.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2000

Cohen dismisses 15-year limitation on U.S. military use of new heliport

U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen on Friday rejected the 15-year time limit proposed by the mayor of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, for a new heliport to relocate the helicopter operations at Futenma Air Station.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2000

Japan, human rights and the WTO

The 135-member World Trade Organization has announced that it will start global negotiations on trade in agriculture beginning March 20. There is yet to be agreement on the negotiating format, scope of discussions and time frame. But we do know the talks will take years -- and that they will be very...
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2000

Aichi 'to be flexible' on expo

Aichi Prefecture will be flexible in revising its proposal for razing a forest in Seto for the World Expo 2005, although it has not yet committed to shelving the controversial housing plan, Gov. Masaaki Kanda said during a meeting with environmental group heads in Tokyo on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2000

Taiwan goes to the polls at a critical time

Four years ago, Taiwanese cast votes in the island's first ever direct presidential election as China lobbed missiles into the Taiwan Strait. This time around, the fireworks are coming not from the Chinese mainland, but from a three-way, neck-and-neck race that has Taiwan's ruling Nationalist Party (KMT)...
CULTURE / Music
Mar 18, 2000

Shakuhachi tips and tunes to welcome in the spring season

If you want to learn more about the shakuhachi and various performance techniques, observe a variety of instruments for sale and hear a selection of original pieces played by young performers, then I recommend the Senshu Kobo Sunday Clinic and Open Lesson.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 18, 2000

Rules said key to easing modified-food fear

MAKUHARI, Chiba Pref. -- As the trade in biotechnology-derived foods increases, consumer concerns over the safety of such foods are growing.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 18, 2000

Japanese legend's sweetest hero

Kintaro was the childhood name of Heian Period samurai Sakata no Kintoki, who was said to have defeated a bear in sumo wrestling as a child. Toy representations of Kintaro riding a bear have come to symbolize strong and healthy boys, and are often displayed on Children's Day, May 5 (formerly Boys' Day)....
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2000

Lawyers for top Aum lieutenant ask for clemency

Defense lawyers for senior Aum Shinrikyo figure Kiyohide Hayakawa asked the Tokyo District Court on Friday not to issue a death sentence for their client, citing what they called Hayakawa's sincere attitude in telling the truth.
EDITORIALS
Mar 17, 2000

Even recovery will be painful

The Japanese economy faces a bumpy road. Japan's gross domestic product in the last quarter of 1999, October through December, shrank 1.4 percent from the previous three-month period, posting negative growth for two straight quarters. In annual terms, that works out to minus 5.5 percent, according to...
COMMUNITY
Mar 17, 2000

Lighting life's gloom with the gem of joy

While sitting in the shadow of death, which one does daily amid the troubles and tribulations of this world, I mused anew upon some phases of human life. In my ponderings, I seemed to hear a voice within declare, "Life is simply a mauvais quart d'heure (wretched quarter of an hour) made up of exquisite...
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2000

Aoki urged to start reform of police

Representatives of the three ruling parties on Thursday requested that Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki begin efforts in the Cabinet to reform the nation's police system.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2000

ADB sharpens focus on the poor

MANILA -- Economic growth is a must but not the end-all in eliminating poverty and the Asian Development Bank is now determined to get to the very heart of the problem, ADB President Tadao Chino says.
SUMO
Mar 17, 2000

Yokozuna Wakanohana announces retirement

OSAKA -- Injury-prone yokozuna Wakanohana announced his retirement from sumo Thursday night after staying at the summit of the traditional Japanese sport for nearly two years along with younger brother Takanohana.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2000

Ghosn to take over as Nissan Motor president

The reins of Nissan Motor Co. will be handed over to Carlos Ghosn, known as "the cost-cutter" and presently the chief operating officer of the struggling automaker, it was announced Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2000

Former minister gets prison term

The Tokyo District Court sentenced former Labor Minister Toshio Yamaguchi to four years in prison Thursday in connection with illicit loans involving two failed Tokyo credit unions.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2000

Train firms must erect safety barriers: panel

A special investigative committee on the deadly Hibiya Line subway train collision in Tokyo said Thursday that all railway companies should erect more railings and other safeguards along curves with a radius of 200 meters or less.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2000

Reformer calls for overhaul of scandal-hit police system

The scandal-tainted police system must be overhauled, believes Kohei Nakabo, a lawyer who has just been appointed to a new government panel established to advise on police reform.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 17, 2000

Catching up with pop auteur Shuntaro Okino

Pastoral retreats generally do not seem conducive to the production of great pop music. Even the Band's extended stays in Woodstock were more about bacchanalian revelry than quiet contemplation. Sensuous hooks and driving beats seem to relate more to the rough and tumble urban world than to any serene...
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2000

U.S. to give back Kadena base radar

Visiting U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen and Japanese leaders agreed Thursday on the return of control of the radar system at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture to Japan and to resolve an air pollution problem at a U.S. military base in Kanagawa Prefecture, according to Japanese officials.
SUMO
Mar 16, 2000

Musoyama topples Akebono

OSAKA -- Sekiwake Musoyama looked every inch ozeki material Wednesday as he demolished grand champion Akebono in a clash of unbeaten wrestlers on Day 4 of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji