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JAPAN
Jun 24, 1999

Author says Nanjing death toll politically inflated

Akira Suzuki, prize-winning author of the controversial book "Nanjing: How the World Was Fed Facts and Fakes," reasserted at a press conference Thursday that the Nanjing Massacre death toll of 300,000 cited by the Chinese government lacks credibility from a historical standpoint.
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

Toy makers join hands on e-commerce venture

Heads of the nation's top four toy makers announced Thursday that they will launch a joint venture with Softbank Corp. to sell toys over the Internet beginning in November.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 1999

U.N. ambassador presses for UNSC role in future conflicts

Although Japan supported Western efforts to end the atrocities in Kosovo, the government wants the U.N. Security Council to authorize future actions, according to Yukio Satoh, Japan's ambassador to the United Nations.
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 24, 1999

LDP group demands revised SDF law, powers

A group of ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers asked the government Thursday to revise the Self-Defense Force Law to expand areas the SDF can guard to beyond airspace, and to draft bills for better handling of high-level contingencies within Japan.
EDITORIALS
Jun 23, 1999

The North Korean enigma

The two Koreas are talking again. Sort of. Fourteen months after talks between the two governments broke down, diplomats met in Beijing Tuesday to resume discussion about the fate of the 1 million families separated by partition after World War II and by the Korean War. The meeting was delayed one day...
EDITORIALS
Jun 23, 1999

A debt to the United Nations

The agreement that ended the military campaign against Yugoslavia highlights the critical role played by the United Nations in resolving international disputes. NATO made war against Belgrade; the U.N. made the peace. Hopefully, the U.S. Congress will recognize that simple truth this week, as the Senate...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jun 23, 1999

On the fringe of the fray

I had dinner with two friends last week and eventually the conversation came around to the Web (I generally try to avoid the topic in polite conversation but what can you do?). Anyone overhearing our conversation might have thought we were a trio of hopeless geeks, or digerati wannabes, but the truth...
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

Sightseeing for harried business travelers

Most tourists bypass Nagoya en route to Kyoto or the shrines of Ise, but if you're visiting on business and have some free time don't just snooze in your hotel room: Get out and explore.
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.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Jun 23, 1999

A great connection

Perhaps your readers will be interested, he wrote.
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

Mobster gets life for smuggling drugs

A former underworld leader was sentenced to life imprisonment Tuesday for smuggling about 50 kg of stimulant drugs into Japan from China.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 1999

The Japan Times to hold seminar

"The 1st Japan Times Special Seminar" will be held on July 8, featuring speeches exploring the enjoyment of reading English newspapers and introducing The Japan Times' operations.
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 22, 1999

Sanwa to sell off trust bank unit to ally Toyo

Sanwa Bank will sell its trust bank subsidiary to Toyo Trust & Banking Co. in mid-July, officials of the two banks announced Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 1999

Kanzaki slams bill to cut Diet seats

New Komeito chief Takenori Kanzaki on Tuesday opposed plans by the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Liberal Party, to submit to the Diet today a bill seeking to cut 50 Lower House seats.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 1999

U.S. NPO interns see future in collaboration

The key to prosperity for both U.S. and Japanese nonprofit organizations may be collaboration with appreciation for cultural differences, according to 12 American interns who have completed one-month internships at Japanese NPOs.
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...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 20, 1999

Y2K: The liability millennium

The coming new millennium means different things to different people. Some fatalists believe it presages the end of the world. Some religious people believe it portends the return of Christ. Some lawyers believe it promises yet another financial cornucopia.
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 / Music
Jun 19, 1999

Between rock and a warm place

Having never been pregnant myself, I'm not sure what it is obstetricians are recommending these days for expectant mothers. As little excitement as possible, or business as usual?
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...
COMMUNITY
Jun 19, 1999

Making the case for quality

They say, "The clothes make the man," but a briefcase is just as important for a salaryman. It is not only a symbol of his profession but also an indispensable part of his accouterments, something he can't leave home without.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 19, 1999

A little madness goes a long way

Madness sells.

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