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JAPAN
Jun 11, 1999

Asahara said unaware of Kariya scheme

An Aum Shinrikyo member testifying as a witness for cult founder Shoko Asahara's defense said on Friday that the alleged drugging-killing of a Tokyo notary public in 1995 was not done on the orders of the guru, but on a suggestion made by late senior cultist Hideo Murai.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1999

Sword-wielding bank robber apprehended

CHIBA — A man armed with a 50-cm Japanese sword was arrested Friday evening after holding nine people hostage for over 5 hours at a bank in Narashino, Chiba Prefecture, police said.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1999

Expanded SDF peacekeeping role urged

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1999

DKB tightens grip on securities units

Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank announced Friday it will strengthen its securities business unit by raising its stake in affiliate Kankaku Securities Co.
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 11, 1999

How to play Hamlet, that is the question

"There are few rules about playing Shakespeare, but many possibilities," said Shakespearean director, educator and theoretician John Barton, in his edifying book "Playing Shakespeare."
EDITORIALS
Jun 10, 1999

Peace and priorities in Kosovo

With peace tantalizingly close in Kosovo, it is important to remember why NATO has waged its air war against Yugoslavia: Over 1 million ethnic Albanian Kosovars have been murdered or driven from their homes in a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing. Yugoslav security forces were the instrument of oppression;...
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Analysis: Lofty administrative goals not attained by bills

It has been said that the two sets of administrative reform bills moving on to the Upper House will bring about Japan's most sweeping reforms in 100 years and end the bureaucracy's dominance over the administration.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Sri Lankans find way to share the scholarship

In the small southern Sri Lankan town of Kataragama, high school student Gamini Nawaratne eagerly awaits his monthly mail from Japan.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

GDP expanded 1.9% in January-March quarter

The nation's economy grew 1.9 percent in the January-March quarter — an annualized rate of 7.9 percent — breaking a string of five consecutive quarters of contraction, the Economic Planning Agency said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Edo freighter replica to be tested in Osaka Bay

OSAKA — A replica of an Edo Period cargo vessel is nearly complete and will be tested in Osaka Bay early next month, according to city officials.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Cultist says Inoue lied about guru

An Aum Shinrikyo senior cultist on Thursday accused another former follower of giving false evidence in the alleged drugging-killing of a Tokyo notary public in February 1995.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1999

Panel urges simplifying port service regulations

Regulations on port services should be gradually simplified, according to a recommendation made Thursday by an advisory panel to the transport minister.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1999

Ready for 2000?: Line-by-line repairs not enough, expert says

Last in an occasional series on Japan's Y2K preparedness
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jun 9, 1999

The random walk

Hoping to tap into that Amazon.com magic right here in Japan, Softbank (a software and publishing company), Seven-Eleven, Yahoo! Japan and Tohan, a book publisher and distributor, last week announced a joint venture to sell books online. e-Shopping! Books (who thinks up these names?) plans to open for...
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1999

Hopes ride high on ibis chick's wings

After teetering on the edge of extinction domestically for several years, the Japanese crested ibis took a small step away from the brink when a chick cheeped its way into the world on May 21.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1999

Publisher to pay for exposing accused man

OSAKA — The Osaka District Court ordered the Tokyo-based publisher Shinchosha to pay 2.5 million yen in damages Wednesday to a 20-year-old man indicted for a murder he allegedly committed as a minor, for carrying his name and photo in one of its publications.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1999

Maki, others awarded Praemium Imperiale

The Japan Art Association on Wednesday announced this year's winners of its Praemium Imperiale awards, including Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki, who is widely known for his innovative and modern style.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Jun 9, 1999

The hills are alive with alpine plants

I had been looking forward to visiting Hokkaido ever since I came to Japan in September 1990. People were always telling me how lovely Hokkaido is, especially during the summer: Its wide open spaces are reminiscent of the countryside in Ireland or England.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Jun 9, 1999

High praise

A woman writes that last year she saw several subway advertisements for Hunter-Douglas window blinds and asks if I can find the company's phone number. She complains that local services are extremely expensive and leave a lot to be desired. Recently, for example, she contracted for similar work but as...
LIFE / Travel
Jun 9, 1999

The business of international adoption

At home in rural Connecticut, with his 3-year-old son Vlad playing beside him, Jim Altman is checking to see how many hits he's gotten on his Web site. Two years after adopting Vlad from a Russian orphanage, Altman is using the Internet to wage a propaganda war against the agency he claims used his money...
LIFE / Travel
Jun 9, 1999

Adventurer forced to the last resort

I'm not into resorts Period.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1999

Reproductive technology yields 9,211 births

A record 9,211 babies were born in Japan through reproductive technology such as in vitro fertilization in 1997, officials at the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology said Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 8, 1999

Help for battered wives is overdue

With a series of shootings apparently related to an underworld gang battle taking place in various parts of the Kanto area and a constantly rising volume of illegal stimulant drugs to deal with, Japan's police forces would seem to have a busy enough summer ahead of them. That may be why some observers...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 8, 1999

The darkest shores of the soul

SHIPWRECKS, by Akira Yoshimura, translated by Mark Ealey. New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1996, 180 pp., $21. Though Akira Yoshimura, born in 1927, is the author of some 20 novels, this is the first to be translated into English. Perhaps the reason for the delay is that he is better known as a historian...
CULTURE / Books
Jun 8, 1999

The 'nobody' who changed Japan

RYOMA: Life of a Renaissance Samurai, by Romulus Hillsborough. Ridgeback Press, San Francisco, 1999, 614 pages, $40 (cloth). Every country needs its heroes. Unfortunately, the great Japanese hero seems to have been a casualty of World War II. To this day, Japan tends to look all the way back to the Edo...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 8, 1999

Recovery hinges on fast action

Following U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's comments suggesting a change in U.S. monetary policy, the surging U.S. stock market has apparently entered an adjustment phase. To prevent the booming U.S. economy from overheating, it is necessary to fine-tune monetary policy.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 1999

Enterprise Spirit: Internships turn jobless into entrepreneurs

28th in a series of occasional articles about venture businesses
JAPAN
Jun 7, 1999

Ozawa sees Liberal-LDP bloc ending society's 'fast decline'

The Liberal Party has to work harder to structurally reform society now that it is a governing partner of the Liberal Democratic Party, Ichiro Ozawa, head of the Liberal Party, said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 5, 1999

A wakeup call for us all

About a year ago, biologists woke up to a startling phenomenon: Amphibians -- frogs, toads, salamanders and newts -- were vanishing. No one knows why, but the results are pretty uniform across the world. Many people will not spare much anguish for the amphibians, but the fate of the frog is worth pondering...
CULTURE / Music
Jun 5, 1999

bis moves forward -- to the past?

Growing up is hard to do, especially if you're bis, a band that made its reputation promoting something called "Teen-C Power" and producing infectiously frisky pop songs with bitter lyrics about the inherent dishonesty of adults and the indignities of adolescence.

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