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JAPAN
Sep 13, 1999

Work starts on contentious Kobe airport

KOBE -- Nearly 30 years after it was first proposed, construction of the controversial Kobe airport officially began Monday morning off Port Island amid protests and doubts about its economic feasibility.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 1999

Hayami warns firms to prepare for forex fluctuations

Corporations should take measures to become less vulnerable to fluctuations in the yen-dollar exchange rate, Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami reiterated Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 1999

Taiwanese youths becoming Japan fans

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 13, 1999

BOJ senses revival in exports, output

The economy is showing some improvements in exports and production, but clear signs of a self-sustained recovery have yet to be observed, the Bank of Japan said in its monthly report released Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 1999

Japan welcomes Pyongyang proposal, offers talks

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka expressed willingness Monday to resume talks with Pyongyang toward normalizing relations between Japan and North Korea.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 1999

Man arrested over bogus bank accounts

OSAKA -- Osaka police have arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion he used forged health insurance certificates to open bank accounts under false names, officials said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 12, 1999

Fashion and its victims

How does one get inside a girl's head? This rueful question must have occurred to many people recently on hearing reports of the death of a 25-year-old woman in Kanagawa Prefecture after she tripped and fell while wearing sandals with 10-cm-high cork soles. To observers of the elevated-shoe fad over...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 12, 1999

Permanent bureaucracy in Washington

WASHINGTON -- There is nothing as permanent in Washington as a federal agency. Once created, government bureaucracies are almost impossible to kill, no matter how outdated. Consider the desperate attempt of the Selective Service System and its allies to reverse the House Appropriation Committee's decision...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Sep 12, 1999

Praiseworthy

My earliest memories of Honolulu include my introduction to Japanese food; it had not yet become a cuisine. It was at a tiny Waikiki restaurant where each day a cook created four or five special lunches on two gas burners. One was for sauteing and frying, the other for simmering, steaming and warming....
JAPAN
Sep 10, 1999

Analysis: Kan's fading star may reflect DPJ's fate

Staff writers
JAPAN
Sep 10, 1999

Kan secures required nominations

Naoto Kan, incumbent leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, secured endorsements from more than 20 DPJ lawmakers Friday and met supporters to prepare for the party's presidential race.
EDITORIALS
Sep 9, 1999

An end run in Okinawa

The long-stalled government attempt to find a new home for the U.S. Marine Futenma Air Station in Okinawa is coming back to life. The Okinawa Prefectural Government has apparently narrowed down the candidate sites to a couple of locations on the eastern shores of the main island. The government of Prime...
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1999

Experts differ over forces behind positive GDP data

Staff writers
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1999

Man arrested over bodies found in Arakawa

A homeless man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering three men whose bodies were found Thursday in the Arakawa River in Tokyo's Edogawa River, police said.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1999

Cloned beef goes on sale with labels

Experimental sales of beef clearly marked as coming from a cloned cow began Thursday at five selected retailers in Tokyo and the cities of Niigata and Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1999

GDP grew 0.2% in April-June quarter

The economy grew 0.2 percent for the April-June quarter -- an annualized rate of 0.9 percent -- marking the second straight quarter of growth, according to gross domestic product figures released Thursday by the Economic Planning Agency.
LIFE / Food & Drink / WINE WAYS
Sep 9, 1999

The healing power of the grape

What's your pleasure? Wine? Or Pepto-Bismol? Since returning two weeks ago from some fascinating times in sundry climes -- 60 days worth -- I've been particularly mindful of human health, not least my own. Travel can be tiring, and lower physical resistance. This airport, that airport. This station,...
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Sep 9, 1999

Sipping sake's diversity, one cup at a time

Accessibility is key when it comes to learning about sake. You can read about it until you're blue in the face, but if you can't access it and sample various types, there's not much point.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1999

Exhibition displays horrors of Minamata disaster

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1999

Obuchi, Kato and Yamasaki kick off LDP campaigns

The presidential race for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party officially began Thursday as Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, former LDP Secretary General Koichi Kato and former LDP policy affairs chief Taku Yamasaki filed their candidacies with the party's election management commission.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 9, 1999

Taverna Rondino: Kamakura's most excellent cucina

Now that summer is finally past its punishing prime, it's time for the beach. September is the finest season down on the Shonan waterfront: The sun and water are still plenty warm enough; the teenybopper crowds have dissipated; and the rip-off beach houses have packed up and gone, taking their dubious...
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1999

Ishihara holds shindig to tackle school lunches

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara met with a group of celebrities and private-sector executives on Wednesday in an unstructured get-together where a new idea to help pare the budget came up -- doing away with school lunches.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 1999

Beleaguered Pakistan faces tough choices

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is trying hard to put on a brave face, even as his nuclearized country's opposition politicians agitate increasingly loudly for his resignation.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1999

Japanese, Korean activists picket Kepco over MOX

OSAKA -- South Korean and Japanese antinuclear activists demonstrated in front of Kansai Electric Power Co. in central Osaka late Wednesday afternoon to protest the company's involvement in shipping mixed plutonium-uranium fuel (MOX).
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1999

U.S. firm eases decision-making on pension options

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1999

12-year-old illegal immigrant sent back to U.S.

OSAKA -- A 12-year-old runaway from Colorado who illegally entered Japan by pretending to have been separated from his mother has been returned to the United States, it was learned Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 7, 1999

Tokyo declares war on diesels

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara is proving to be a man of his word -- up to a point. It remains to be seen whether or not he can keep some of his promises. Not long after announcing plans to seriously tackle the capital region's notorious traffic congestion, Mr. Ishihara and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government...
EDITORIALS
Sep 5, 1999

Independence for East Timor

The East Timorese have voted for independence. Twenty-four years after the Indonesian military invaded the former Portuguese territory and forcibly annexed it to their state, the people of the province have been given the opportunity to choose their own destiny. Despite intimidation and what appears...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 1999

California squares off on apology issue

SAN FRANCISCO -- "Apology diplomacy," a staple of politics in Asia, has made its way to the California State Assembly. Taking action on an issue that has divided Japanese Americans, the state assembly in the capital at Sacramento recently passed a resolution asking Japan to apologize for World War II...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 5, 1999

Ultranationalist groups: aliens with sunglasses

It's another Sunday in Japan as rightwing organizations in black buses the size of semi-trailer trucks roll through the city streets spewing nationalist slogans. These military-style buses are driven by men who are usually described by others as "wearing sunglasses." Japanese people hardly notice when...

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