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COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Sep 5, 1999

Late returns

A reader remembers a column about Gen. Douglas MacArthur's office in the Dai-Ichi Insurance building. It was ideally situated for the role he was to play -- it overlooked the Imperial Palace. He established his own imperial pre-eminence when the Chinese carpet he always used in his office was delivered:...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 1999

The politics of love and hate

LONDON -- Here we are on the second anniversary of the death of Princess Diana, and neither her life nor her death seems as momentous as it did this time last year. Does this mean she really was just a media phenomenon, ephemeral, superficial, appearing and disappearing in our lives without consequence?...
EDITORIALS
Sep 4, 1999

Business embraces the bit

The business of doing business underwent a radical transformation this week. First, Sun Microsystems announced that it would offer some of its critical business software free over the Internet. Responding to the challenge, Microsoft Corp. two days later revealed that it would offer its own top-selling...
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Sep 4, 1999

Bang a gong, sing a sacred Buddhist song

Sound is an integral part of traditional Buddhist ceremony in Japanese temples. Time in the temple is structured around a procession of ceremonies: rising, meditating, giving alms, eating, etc., and each ceremony is accompanied by the sonorities of men chanting sutras in unison, called shomyo.
COMMUNITY
Sep 4, 1999

In pursuit of glittering perfection

Mikimoto pearls have always ranked high among Japanese girls. They're the top choice for a first jewelry present from parents, for Coming-of-Age Day, or for weddings.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 1999

Japan urged to see Taiwan as own entity

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 3, 1999

Lawyer challenges Japan to reveal WWII labor details

A California-based lawyer on Friday urged the Japanese government and Japanese companies to disclose wartime documents that would expose facts about the forced labor of American prisoners of war in Japan during World War II.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 1999

Cultist says he could not defy 'poa' order

A former key member of Aum Shinrikyo said Friday he had doubts about killing a fellow cultist in 1989 but acted upon the order from Shoko Asahara because he was not in a position to defy the guru.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 1999

Japan can intervene at any time: Miyazawa

Japan can step into the currency market on its own to sell yen for dollars without consulting the United States, Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 1999

LDP, New Komeito reach accord on five policies

The Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito reached policy agreements in five key areas Friday, bringing the second-largest opposition party a step closer to the coalition government, officials of the two parties said.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 1999

Tokyo government proposes 4% pay cut for all staff

Trying desperately to pull itself back from the brink of bankruptcy, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government proposed Friday that salaries for all 180,000 city employees be cut 4 percent for three years starting in fiscal 2000.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 1999

Narita airport submits runway plan to state

The New Tokyo International Airport Authority applied Friday for government approval of its plan to build a shorter-than-planned second runway at the airport in Narita, Chiba Prefecture.
EDITORIALS
Sep 2, 1999

Another stab at peace in Congo

One month after six of the seven parties fighting in the Congo signed a peace agreement, the remaining holdout has joined the ceasefire. Peace is desperately needed in the long-suffering nation, impoverished by decades of looting by former strongman Mobutu Sese Seko and then wracked by civil war after...
JAPAN
Sep 2, 1999

DKB loans to 'sokaiya' result in suspended terms

Three former Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank executives were given suspended eight-month sentences Thursday for extending illegal loans to a "sokaiya" corporate racketeer.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 1999

Abduction probe focusing on autos

Several hundred vehicles that traveled from Tokyo to Nagoya on expressways Aug. 24 are being looked at as part of investigations into the abduction of a 19-year-old woman, informed sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 1999

Disabled ask Tokyo to reconsider cuts to aid program

A group of disabled people and members of citizens' groups supporting them petitioned the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Thursday to withdraw its plan to cut financial assistance to people with heavy disabilities.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 1999

MITI spells out strategy for 1 million new jobs

The government will implement measures to increase business startups to generate 1.32 million jobs over the next five years, officials at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said Thursday.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 1999

Low-dose birth control pill makes debut

Staff writer
EDITORIALS
Sep 1, 1999

A peace process without peace

There are very good reasons to be deeply concerned about the Northern Ireland peace process. The first reason is that it looks to be breaking down. Disputes over the decommissioning of weapons by the Irish Republican Army and the seating of Sinn Fein representatives on the executive council established...
JAPAN
Sep 1, 1999

Product-trashing consumer book enjoys sizzling sales

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 1, 1999

Six years sought for deeds of ex-labor minister

Prosecutors demanded a six-year prison term Wednesday for former Labor Minister Toshio Yamaguchi, who is accused of breach of trust and other charges in connection with illicit lending by two failed Tokyo-based credit unions.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 1999

Maizuru in Pyongyang's sights?

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 1, 1999

Japan may host U.N. environment summit in 2002

Staff writer
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Sep 1, 1999

Walking into the millennial sunrise

If you still haven't made up your mind about where you're going to be come sunrise of the year 2000, here's one to contemplate. How about Barrow, Alaska followed by a leisurely stroll 14 km to Point Barrow at the utmost north of the Americas?
LIFE / Travel
Sep 1, 1999

Eyes wide shut in North Korea

It's late afternoon in Beijing. Beside a gloomy, concrete platform an antiquated train lumbers into place. In the dim light, people scurry about looking for the right car. This is, in fact, important. The first four carriages are bound for Dandong, a small Chinese border town, but the last two will continue...
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ARCHIPELA-GO
Sep 1, 1999

Soul searching with yamabushi of Dewa Sanzan

MOUNT HAGURO, Yamagata Pref. -- Three days trekking deep into the mountains with no money, makeup, jewelry, bath, toothbrush or razor is definitely not your average walk in the hills. Add on agreeing to endure a grueling series of self-suffering ancient rituals and sacred rites, and obey every utter...
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Sep 1, 1999

The water is wide, I cannot get o'er

The mammals of the Nansei Shoto may be inconspicuous and difficult to observe, but their distribution, and the relationships between the different species and populations in these islands, provides insight into the past history of the archipelago. This interesting mixture of animals has links in the...
JAPAN
Sep 1, 1999

Asahi to close Tokyo brewery, trim workforce

Asahi Breweries, Ltd. will close its aging brewery in Tokyo's Ota Ward and transfer production to a new plant in Minami-Ashigara, Kanagawa Prefecture, President Shigeo Fukuchi told a Tokyo press conference Wednesday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Sep 1, 1999

The 'S' word makes a happy marriage

The time has come in this column to finally discuss that passionate act that lies at the core of many an international romance. Yes, it's time for the "S" word.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Sep 1, 1999

You are here?

The future is now. Or at least it was, two Sundays ago, in Japan. That was when computers in 24 satellites reached their built-in time limit and reset their internal clocks to zero.

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