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COMMENTARY
Jan 28, 2000

Debate kicks off on the Constitution

As the ordinary Diet session opened Jan. 20, the tripartite ruling bloc and the opposition forces squared off over a proposal to cut the number of Lower House seats. With a dissolution of the Lower House for a snap election looming, sharp rivalry is brewing between the coalition, made up of the Liberal...
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2000

Obuchi calls for creation of level, not vertical, society

In a speech before a Diet devoid of opposition members, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi called Friday for the creation of a nation in which individuals are not submerged in society but showcase their abilities and help invigorate the country. The opposition decided to boycott the session to protest the...
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2000

Opposition pledges to overthrow bloc

Leaders of the three major opposition parties pledged Friday after their boycott of the day's plenary sessions in both Diet houses to maintain a united front and overthrow the coalition government led by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. The Democratic Party of Japan, the Japanese Communist Party and the...
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2000

Residency awarded to lucky dozen

Twelve foreigners who have overstayed their visas will be allowed to stay in Japan after applying for residents' status in September, Justice Minister Hideo Usui said Friday. The 12 are part of a group of 21 who publicly approached immigration authorities in September. It is the first time the government...
EDITORIALS
Jan 27, 2000

Freedom Party gets its chance

Political deadlock has brought Austria's far-right Freedom Party to the brink of power. That has created unease among those who worry that joining the Cabinet will legitimize the party's extreme views -- and those of like-minded political groups elsewhere in Europe. Freedom's views are troublesome, but...
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2000

Government to set up antihacker task force

The government Wednesday decided to establish a task force of specialists to prevent computer vandalism by hackers and make a manual at an early date. The decision was made at a meeting of section chiefs from all ministries and government agencies in charge of computer-related issues. Earlier in the...
COMMENTARY
Jan 24, 2000

Homage to a mass murderer

I was shocked to see a photograph in The Japan Times last month of former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama and former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka laying a wreath at the statue of the late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang. They looked rather sheepish. They should, in fact, have looked...
EDITORIALS
Jan 22, 2000

A mother's place is in the Diet

Babies are always news, but an even more special baby than usual is expected in Japan in April. Its mother is a news-maker herself: Diet member and former Olympic speed skater and cyclist Ms. Seiko Hashimoto. Dubbed a "superwoman" of Japanese athletics, Ms. Hashimoto competed in seven consecutive Olympics...
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2000

Britain steps up scrutiny of BNFL-Kepco links

Staff writer OSAKA -- The British Parliament is stepping up calls for an investigation into the relationship between a British utilities company and Kansai Electric Power Co. following the company's admission that it falsified nuclear fuel data for Kepco's nuclear power plants in Fukui Prefecture. On...
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2000

90% in plebiscite say no, but dam project stands

The government will proceed with plans to build a dam across the Yoshino River in Shikoku even though a local plebiscite Sunday found over 90 percent of those who voted oppose the project, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said Monday. In Tokushima, Gov. Toshio Endo also said the prefecture will continue...
EDITORIALS
Jan 17, 2000

Begin the Constitutional debate

The postwar Constitution of Japan, which was put into effect in 1947, will come up for formal and continuous debate for the first time in the ordinary Diet session that opens on Friday. It is unclear, however, whether the Constitutional Review Council -- which was created last year in both houses --...
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2000

Five years after quake, Hanshin looks to future

Staff writers KOBE -- While reconstruction is largely complete, victims of the Great Hanshin Earthquake remain concerned about the future, officials announced Monday at a ceremony to mark the fifth anniversary of the disaster. The earthquake, which struck on January 17, 1995, killed more than 6,400...
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2000

'Uncensored information' blamed for rise in truancy

The number of elementary and junior high school children who were frequently truant during the 1998-99 school year jumped by more than 20 percent from the previous year, according to a government report on juvenile problems released Friday. The report by the Management and Coordination Agency says the...
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2000

'Unfair' decorations system under review

The government and the Liberal Democratic Party are promoting a review of the decoration system for the first time in 36 years. At the end of last year, Shizuka Kamei, chairman of the LDP's Policy Affairs Research Council, called for reforming the system for granting prestigious decorations to civil...
COMMENTARY
Jan 7, 2000

Eyeing Lower House elections

It looks like 2000 will be a year of politics in the world and in Japan as well. In the United States and Russia, there will be presidential elections; in Japan, the Lower House will be dissolved for a snap election before its sitting members complete their four-year terms in October.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2000

Rural regions accentuate their pluses to lure city dwellers

Staff writer AYA, Miyazaki Pref. -- A small window on the upper floor of a two-story log house offers a magnificent view of mountains covered in dense deciduous forests of various color gradations. This landscape, coupled with the area's policy of promoting organic agriculture, prompted Teruhiko and...
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2000

No major Y2K errors reported at companies

On the nation's first trading day after the turn of the year, Japan saw no major problems related to the millennium computer glitch, Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki announced on Tuesday. "We have received no report (of Y2K trouble) from companies, including financial institutions, which just reopened...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 1999

Japan's 'darkness at noon' Korean policy

U.S. diplomat William Perry has a policy of "cautious realism" regarding North Korea, and South Korean President Kim Dae Jung is identified with his positive "sunshine policy" vis-a-vis Pyongyang. It would be generous and accurate to characterize Japan's policy toward the North Korean regime of Kim Jong...
JAPAN
Dec 31, 1999

Japan celebrates new year free of major Y2K problems

Japan ushered in the new year with various celebratory events Friday night that included fireworks, all-night dancing and concerts while much of the public harbored concerns over possible Y2K-related problems. Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi addressed the nation from the Prime Minister's Official Residence...
CULTURE / Art
Dec 30, 1999

There's just no place like Chrome

Richard Stark is the antidesigner.
EDITORIALS
Dec 28, 1999

Confusion, as usual, in 1999

This has been a year of extremes. It began with the sad spectacle of the U.S. president's sexual escapades and verbal gymnastics exposed to international ridicule, and draws to a close under the shadow of millennial terrorism and computer-induced chaos. There were long-anticipated moments of peace, and...
JAPAN
Dec 28, 1999

Full-time jobs still on the decline

The nation's unemployment rate improved in November to 4.5 percent from 4.6 percent in October, though the number of people holding full-time jobs fell for the 23rd consecutive month. Data released Tuesday by the Management and Coordination Agency showed the full-time picture is being obscured by the...
JAPAN
Dec 28, 1999

Miyazawa hits state's dependency on debt

The government must begin fiscal reconstruction to tackle the debt-dependent situation once the economy begins to recover, Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said Tuesday. The reforms should include tax overhauls and local government reforms, Miyazawa said in his final news conference for the year. The...
JAPAN
Dec 24, 1999

Aid to Pyongyang still premature, Kono says

Japan is not ready to provide food aid to North Korea anytime soon because a proper environment for making such a move has yet to be created, Foreign Minister Yohei Kono said Friday. Kono's comment came in response to the result of two bilateral meetings this week in Beijing -- one between the two countries'...
JAPAN
Dec 24, 1999

Ramifications of the 2000 budget

Staff writer The 85 trillion yen fiscal 2000 state budget, approved by the Cabinet Friday, will put the nation deeper into debt. How serious is the debt and what can be done about it? Here are some questions and answers about the new budget and government debt: Why did the government prepare an aggressive...
JAPAN
Dec 23, 1999

Nago approves relocation of U.S. Marines' heliport

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. -- The Nago Municipal Assembly adopted a resolution Thursday that supports the relocation of a key U.S. Marine Corps heliport to the city, setting the stage for Mayor Tateo Kishimoto to officially accept the project as early as Monday. The resolution, submitted by members of the...
JAPAN
Dec 21, 1999

Chiba told to rethink tidal flats plan

The Environment Agency is not satisfied with the anticipated environmental impact Chiba Prefecture claims its development plan for part of the Sanbanze tidal flats would have on the area's wetland, the agency head said Tuesday. "I am not sure the prefecture has adequately reviewed the project from the...
EDITORIALS
Dec 20, 1999

Less-than-inspiring politics

The extraordinary Diet session that ended Thursday brought to the fore the simmering discord within the tripartite ruling coalition. The Liberal Party threatened to quit the coalition because a bill to slim down the Lower House, which was one of the conditions for the party's joining the coalition, was...
JAPAN
Dec 20, 1999

Tiger trade crackdown set for OK

The Cabinet is poised to approve today a revision of the Law for the Conservation of Endangered Species to ban trade in tiger parts. Under pressure from domestic and international nongovernmental organizations over the large amount of tiger- derived products in Japan, the government inked a revision...
JAPAN
Dec 20, 1999

'Zaito' funds slashed to 42.9 trillion yen

The Cabinet approved a draft Monday for a fiscal investment and loan program for fiscal 2000 worth 42.9 trillion yen, down 18.7 percent from the current year. The decrease in the scale of the so-called zaito program is the biggest ever. The drop is in preparation for the government's plan to overhaul...

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.