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COMMENTARY / World
Nov 28, 2000

Back to square one in politics

Koichi Kato, a leading dissident in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, failed miserably in his latest attempt to unseat Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.
COMMENTARY
Nov 27, 2000

Japan reconsiders the free trade agreement

Next January, Japan and Singapore will kick off a round of government-to-government negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement. The plans in the works reportedly call for signing the pact by the end of 2001 so that it will take effect in 2002.
CULTURE / Art
Nov 26, 2000

The modernist innovations of Mackintosh

Tall, dark and handsome, the chairs of Charles Rennie Mackintosh are international objects of desire. Belying their age, they stand in design studios, hotel lobbies and private homes like stylish question marks.
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2000

Falsely accused seek system to make press clean up its act

After his nightmare summer of 1994, when the media branded him the prime suspect in the fatal sarin gas attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Yoshiyuki Kono embarked on a crusade to end press violations of citizens' rights.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2000

Ministry confirms StarLink finding

The Health and Welfare Ministry on Wednesday said tests have confirmed the presence of banned StarLink corn in food products sold at retailers in Japan.
LIFE / Food & Drink / WINE WAYS
Nov 23, 2000

End your festive feast with a liquid dessert

With yet another Thanksgiving, Hanuka, Christmas and so forth soon to come, the question is, should you gorge away at the big dinner or discreetly desist a bit to "make sure," as some say, "that there's still some room left for dessert"?
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 22, 2000

Japan needs to abandon the 'image game'

Domestic politics is not my specialty, but I am so disturbed by recent developments that I am prompted to write down some of my thoughts. First, newspaper comments and articles suggest that the opposition parties and the media have succeeded in establishing a public image of Yoshiro Mori as an incompetent...
EDITORIALS
Nov 21, 2000

An electoral tremor in Tochigi

Yet another basic change has jolted Japan's established regional power structure. This time around, it occurred in Sunday's gubernatorial election in Tochigi Prefecture, in which "floating voters" succeeded in demonstrating their political power. Riding on the strength of such unorganized voters, a 52-year-old...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2000

WTO falling victim to its own success

The World Trade Organization is headquartered, like its predecessor, the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trades, in the placid Swiss city of Geneva. These days, however, the WTO is more often associated with Seattle, Washington, and the images that come to mind when the organization is mentioned aren't...
EDITORIALS
Nov 20, 2000

Mr. Kato throws down the gauntlet

Infighting in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is intensifying. Former Secretary General Koichi Kato is demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, citing his low approval ratings. Tension is also building outside the LDP now that major opposition parties are set to present a no-confidence...
SUMO
Nov 20, 2000

Akebono king of Kyushu

Akebono, facing a potential playoff with No. 9 maegashira Kotomitsuki, overwhelmed fellow-yokozuna Musashimaru in the final bout of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday at Fukuoka International Center to take his 11th yusho with a 14-1 record.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2000

New laws to promote government budget efficiency

The Management and Coordination Agency has drafted legislation designed to measure the effectiveness of public works, various regulations and other policies devised by the government, agency sources said Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Nov 19, 2000

U.S. credibility put to test

NEW DELHI -- Political scientist Samuel Huntington has aptly described the United States as the "sole state with pre-eminence in every domain of power -- economic, military, diplomatic, ideological, technological and cultural -- with the reach capabilities to promote its interests in virtually every...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 19, 2000

Awards lift expectations of Kim Dae Jung

SEOUL -- South Korean President Kim Dae Jung is more popular abroad than he is within his own country. This is the impression I have gathered after discussing South Korean politics with many people both in South Korea and beyond the shores of the peninsula.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2000

1,900 recipients of unheated blood dead

Of an estimated 2,600 people -- apart from hemophiliacs -- who received treatment with unheated imported blood products in the 1980s, some 1,900 have died, although not all causes of death have not been confirmed, according to Diet testimony Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 18, 2000

A history lesson for the litigants in Florida

HONG KONG -- It was with a sense of sickening dread that one heard, not the result of the U.S. presidential election, but the news that at least 50 high-powered (and highly priced) lawyers were hastening to the state of Florida on behalf of the Democratic Party, quickly followed by a similar squad representing...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 17, 2000

A song that stirred the music of the heart

The season was far advanced when Etoile Nord came to Kyoto to study at a certain university.
COMMENTARY
Nov 17, 2000

Kato challenge divides LDP

A political drama is unfolding over the fate of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's administration, and it is anybody's guess how it will end.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2000

Panel discusses granting voting rights to minorities

A House of Representatives panel on Wednesday began discussing two bills that would give permanent foreign residents in Japan the right to vote in local elections.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 15, 2000

North Korea plans to participate

OSAKA -- North Korea will take part in next spring's East Asian Games in Osaka, an official of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryun) said Tuesday, even though the country has not formalized its plans.
CULTURE / Books
Nov 15, 2000

Textbooks in the service of the state

CENSORING HISTORY: Citizenship and Memory in Japan, Germany and the United States, edited by Laura Hein and Mark Selden. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2000, 301 pp., $24.95. History loomed over the recent visit of Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji like a threatening storm cloud. But other than some scattered...
LIFE / Digital / SURFERSPUD
Nov 15, 2000

A democratic farce

www.infoplease.com/spot/closerace1.html Infoplease goes all the way back to the 1876 election to explain what happened the last time the U.S. Constitution overruled U.S. voters. As in last week's presidential race, the voters elected the Democratic candidate only to see their government overturn their...
SOCCER / World cup / SPORTS SCOPE
Nov 15, 2000

Reasons to be fearful: Part 1

For Calvin in the cartoon Calvin and Hobbes there are always monsters under the bed. You can't see them, but you know they're there.
JAPAN / COP6 AGENDA
Nov 14, 2000

Negotiators face a tough time at climate talks

Beneath the blanket of obscure terms used to determine what countries will do to curb global warming lurk a few key concepts. How they are interpreted by negotiators at ongoing climate change talks in Holland will drastically alter climate change measures and the future world environment.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2000

Rightist held in alleged bid to blackmail Giants

Police on Monday arrested a member of a rightwing organization for allegedly attempting to blackmail Yomiuri Giants Corp. by threatening to disclose embarrassing information about third baseman Akira Eto.
EDITORIALS
Nov 12, 2000

Through a glass creatively

"Truly, though our element is time," said the English poet Philip Larkin, "we are not suited to the long perspectives/ Open at each instant of our lives./ They link us to our losses."
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 12, 2000

Japan's not-so-silent media conspiracy

Some months ago I went up to Tohoku to give a public lecture sponsored by a television station. After the talk there was a delightful, informal dinner, during which I chatted with an old friend, a producer at the station.
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 11, 2000

Art transcends time in 'Julius Caesar' production

A talented theater director can breathe new life into an old play, and David Lan, the new artistic director of the Young Vic Theater in southeast London, has done just that.

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