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JAPAN
May 18, 1999

Volunteers struck by refugees' fortitude

Staff writer
CULTURE / Books
May 18, 1999

Progress is fleeting in the fight for sexual equality

THE MOUNTAIN IS MOVING: Japanese Women's Lives, by Patricia Morley. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1999, 240 pp., $39.95 (cloth). The mountain is moving, according to Patricia Morley, but mountains are, by nature, difficult to budge, and this particular one is demonstrating a firm...
CULTURE / Art
May 13, 1999

Smithsonian celebrates culture, history of Ainu

WASHINGTON -- An unprecedented, in-depth look at the culture of the Ainu is being offered in the U.S. capital.
JAPAN
May 13, 1999

Trust main issue at Kyoto power talks

Staff writer
CULTURE / Books
May 11, 1999

Dazzling portrait of the Occupation

EMBRACING DEFEAT: Japan in the Wake of World War II, By John W. Dower. New York: WW Norton, 1999. 676 pp. $29.95 History does not get any better than this. The award-winning author of "War Without Mercy," (1986) an exploration of racism and the Pacific War, is in peak form in this sparkling evocation...
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 1999

Cultural understanding holds the key

In a recent article in The Japan Times, former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa dealt with a topic rather unusual for a politician: the importance of culture and the awareness of it in post-1970s Japan. I endorse his view wholeheartedly. A few years ago I wrote similar thoughts in one of the first articles...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
May 2, 1999

A remarkable lady

There should be trumpets. On May 8 at 10 a.m., Music for Youth will celebrate its 60th anniversary. The program with the New Japan Philharmonic will repeat MFY's first concert in 1939, which was designed to help young people enjoy and appreciate classical music. In this program, Schubert's "March Militaire"...
JAPAN
Apr 28, 1999

Obuchi sees chance to bolster ties with U.S.

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi on Wednesday called for reinforced security ties and an overall partnership with the United States, underlining Japan-U.S. relations as the main pillar of Japanese diplomatic policy.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 1999

Lower House panel OKs guidelines bills

A Lower House special committee approved three controversial bills Monday to implement the updated Japan-U.S. defense guidelines, which will enable Japan to provide more military support to U.S. forces.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 1999

Blue book notes '98 foreign policy 'unique'

In response to a variety of threats to international peace and security, Japan last year carried out foreign policies characterized by top-level initiatives, according to the Foreign Ministry's diplomatic blue book for 1999 released Friday.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 20, 1999

Learning from the real world, not the schoolroom

LEARNING IN LIKELY PLACES: Varieties of Apprenticeship in Japan, edited by John Singleton. Cambridge University Press, 376 pp. For many foreigners living here, the chance to study some Japanese art or craft, be it aikido, shakuhachi or tea ceremony, is very much a part of their "Japan experience."...
JAPAN
Apr 19, 1999

Hokuriku Special: Illegal immigrants find new gateway

Staff writer
COMMENTARY
Apr 16, 1999

Moving from words to action

Running as an independent, Shintaro Ishihara overwhelmingly won the Tokyo gubernatorial election, the most closely watched of local elections held nationwide April 11. Voter interest in the election was strong. Despite the inclement weather earlier that day, voter turnout was 58 percent, up 7 percentage...
JAPAN
Apr 15, 1999

Ready for 2000?: Gartner Group sees no big Y2K failures

This is the first in an occasional series on Japan's Y2K preparedness.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1999

Accelerate reform to avert depression: OECD

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Wednesday urged Japan to expedite regulatory reform efforts to avoid a depression and lay the groundwork for sustainable long-term growth.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1999

DPJ to ship biscuits to North Korea in bid for talks

Staff writer
EDITORIALS
Apr 10, 1999

Key defense questions need answers

The House of Representatives Special Committee on Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation is winding down its deliberations on the guidelines legislation. Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi is eager to secure passage of the bills in the Lower House before he leaves for the United States later this month...
COMMENTARY
Apr 9, 1999

National security put to test

Two suspected North Korean spy boats recently invaded Japanese territorial waters in the Sea of Japan. A national controversy still rages over the incident, which came at a time when the Diet was debating legislation covering the new Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines. The intrusion sparked a...
COMMUNITY
Apr 8, 1999

If it could happen to Superman . . .

Founded in 1995, the Japan Spinal Cord Foundation (provisional, since members are still raising the money necessary to legalize the foundation) has just achieved a major breakthrough. For months, members had been trying to make contact with an established similar organization, the American Paralysis...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 7, 1999

Foreign policy to the fore in Washington

WASHINGTON -- After a year that was unusual, peculiar and unbelievable enough to qualify as one long April Fool's Day, the U.S. government is finally back doing governmental work. It isn't boring, but it is less colorful than the year of Monica et al. We have lost some of our more entertaining characters...
JAPAN
Apr 2, 1999

Local Elections '99: Ishihara vows leadership, straight talk

Staff writer
JAPAN
Apr 1, 1999

Colombia urges more trade transparency

Colombia will join Japan in a comprehensive and collective approach to the coming round of global free-trade talks, but Tokyo must make efforts to abolish agricultural subsidies and improve the transparency of its farm trade rules, Colombian Foreign Trade Minister Martha Ramirez said Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 1999

Mystery ships spark debate on defense

The government is considering legislative amendments to cope with any future intruding vessels, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi told a Diet committee Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 1999

New war hall said to sidestep nation's guilt

An exhibition hall in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward dedicated to victims of the wars fought by Japan in the 1930s and 1940s will not challenge visitors to think too deeply about how Japan waged those wars and its responsibility for them.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 1999

Ex-Im economist sees dollar settling at 130 yen

Staff writer
COMMUNITY / CROSSING CULTURES
Mar 25, 1999

Glacial change hard for people more used to avalanche speed

Japan can't change. Change in Japan is glacial. Japanese are stuck in their ways. In Japan, disappointment is what you can expect if you expect change.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1999

MSDF quits chase after boats flee to international waters

Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers early Wednesday gave up chasing two mystery trawlerlike vessels that had intruded into the nation's territorial waters in the Sea of Japan before fleeing toward North Korea, Defense Agency officials said.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 1999

Doctors far from malpractice accountability

Staff writer
EDITORIALS
Mar 19, 1999

A welcome step forward

Once again, the United States has shown that engagement with North Korea works. After four rounds of talks in as many months, a deal has been struck in New York with the North Korean government on access to an underground site suspected of housing a secret nuclear-weapons project. Japan, South Korea...
COMMENTARY
Mar 19, 1999

A battle that earned a place in history

I listen to NHK radio every morning. In one program, titled "What happened on this date," the announcer introduces notable events that occurred on that day in Japanese history.

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