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JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

Festivities mark Emperor's 10th anniversary

Politicians, business leaders and musicians gathered with the public to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Emperor's reign in both civic- and government-sponsored festivities Friday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

'Sokaiya' linked to Kobe Steel has stock in 500 firms

OSAKA -- A "sokaiya" corporate racketeer arrested on suspicion of receiving illegal payoffs from Kobe Steel Ltd. was found to be holding stocks of about 500 companies worth about 400 million yen in market value, sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

Gas attack getaway driver gets life term

A former Aum Shinrikyo fugitive was sentenced to life in prison Friday for his involvement in the 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

Japan hits the road for weapons treaty

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

Report on Kyrgyz hostage crisis urges security steps

The Foreign Ministry on Friday released its study on the abduction of four Japanese in Kyrgyzstan, detailing various steps to ensure the security of Japanese engaged in development assistance work abroad.
EDITORIALS
Nov 11, 1999

Banishing the nuclear specter

The specter of a nuclear holocaust lingers as the world approaches the 21st century. True, the end of the Cold War halted the U.S.-Soviet nuclear-arms race and prompted efforts to reduce strategic nuclear weapons. But the theory of nuclear deterrence -- which created a "balance of terror" during the...
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Mazda first-half profits slide 69%

Mazda Motor Corp. posted 5.9 billion yen in unconsolidated pretax profits for the first half of fiscal 1999, down 68.8 percent from the same period last year, the country's fifth-largest automaker reported Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 11, 1999

Crown tops bush hat, for now

Two definitive historical events of the past quarter-century have determined the agenda for 21st-century Australia: the dismissal of the Whitlam government by Governor General John Kerr in November 1975; and the defeat of the republican cause in the referendum of November 1999.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Scholars petition state to give illegals amnesty

A group of scholars supporting the amnesty appeal of 21 foreigners who have overstayed their visas submitted a petition to the justice minister Thursday requesting that he grant special permission for the foreigners to live permanently in Japan.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Foley urges Osaka to use U.S. firms in public works

OSAKA -- Including American firms in the construction of Olympic facilities in Osaka and at the site of Kobe airport will help, not hurt, local economies, U.S. Ambassador Thomas Foley said here Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Government unveils 18 trillion yen stimulus

The government unveiled an 18 trillion yen economic stimulus package Thursday that it hopes will put the economy on a full recovery track in the second half of fiscal 2000.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 11, 1999

Japanese white lightning from a still in Tonga

I admit it. I had to travel all the way to the Kindom of Tonga to learn about shochu. In my six years in Japan, I had simply not heard of it. Sounds ridiculous, but it's true. No, the Tongans don't make it, never mind drink it. They hadn't heard of it till recently either. In fact, most of them still...
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 11, 1999

Will WTO waiting game pay off for Japan?

Staff writer
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Nov 11, 1999

A toast to you, the brewers, and all the hard work you do

There are at present about 1,700 sakagura, or sake breweries, in Japan. This number is dropping somewhat quickly, with several kura going under each year. But for those 1,700-odd kura brewing again this year, just about now is when the brewing season begins.
EDITORIALS
Nov 10, 1999

Cracking down on loan sharks

Japan's continuing credit squeeze is turning the spotlight onto small-business loans from commercial moneylenders -- so-called "shoko" (commerce and industry) loans that carry extremely high interest rates because they require no collateral, only a third-party guarantee. To collect loans, the lenders...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Nov 10, 1999

A trans-Pacific e-channel

The name, us-style.com, hints at the focus: e-commerce with an American twist. The use of "US" suggests that the target audience considers place of origin important.
JAPAN
Nov 10, 1999

Ban won't slow lawmaker cash flow

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 10, 1999

Court rules electoral voting system constitutional

The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the current electoral system used by the House of Representatives is constitutional, rejecting claims it violates the basic law for failing to provide equality due in part to disparities in the value of citizens' votes.
JAPAN
Nov 10, 1999

KDD, SingTel form strategic tieup

KDD Corp. and Singapore Telecom reached an agreement to form a strategic partnership that includes a joint venture for corporate data communications services and the cross-holding of shares, top officials of the two major telecom carriers in Asia announced on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 10, 1999

Air travel unruffled by Y2K: IATA chief

Staff writer
COMMUNITY
Nov 10, 1999

Walking the way of the gods

As long as there has been Japan there has been Shinto: the "way of the gods." Shintoism is not organized around any central religious text or authority. It is perhaps best described as an amalgam of thousands of local deities (kami) and beliefs observed within a base framework of rituals and customs....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 10, 1999

Homage to an image maker

HAYAO MIYAZAKI: Master of Japanese Animation, by Helen McCarthy. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press, 1999, 240 pp., 8 pages in color and 60 b/w images. $18.95. The biggest domestic movie hit of all in Japan was the 1997 "Princess Mononoke," an animated film created by Hayao Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli....
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Nov 10, 1999

Pre-holiday planning

It seems a bit early to be writing about Christmas, but there is a lot of planning to do if you must ship things home, or even pack them to take with you. That's why the Tokyo charity-oriented International Ladies Benevolent Society now schedules its ILBS Christmas Fair even before we have ordered the...
JAPAN
Nov 10, 1999

The Asahara Trial: Guru ordered cult to make guns

Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara on Wednesday told the Tokyo District Court that he ordered cult members to manufacture 1,000 automatic rifles.
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Nov 10, 1999

Soaring voice of modern Africa unifies the world music scene

Youssou N'Dour, one of Africa's (and the world's) greatest singers, makes a welcome return to Japan this month. The last time he was in Japan was for the 1994 WOMAD festival in Yokohama. World music was still on a roll back then, with some African artists such as Papa Wemba becoming genuinely "big in...
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Nov 10, 1999

Brighten up your balcony with spring bulbs

No garden, no matter how small, is complete unless it has some spring bulbs, and this is the time to buy and plant your garden or container with your favorites. Bulbs are inexpensive, especially considering the joy they give. In recent years more and more bulb varieties have become available in garden...
CULTURE / Books
Nov 10, 1999

Putting Japan on the psychologist's couch

POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY IN JAPAN: Behind the Nails That Sometimes Stick Out (and Get Hammered Down), edited by Ofer Feldman. Commack, N.Y.: Nova Science Publishers, 1999, 340 pp., (cloth). Political psychology is a tricky business. Plain old psychology is difficult enough, digging down as it does in the...
EDITORIALS
Nov 9, 1999

Rejoicing in uncertainty

Ten years ago today, the Cold War ended. On Nov. 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall, perhaps the ultimate symbol of the world's division into two blocs and the oppression on the communist side of the Iron Curtain, was breached. Thousands of people mounted the graffiti-scarred concrete to dance, drink or just peer...
JAPAN
Nov 9, 1999

Patients pushed to take control of their own health

Staff writer

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’