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EDITORIALS
Jan 23, 1999

The state of the union is good

U.S. President Bill Clinton has done it again. Last year, against the backdrop of revelations of his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, Mr. Clinton presented a State of the Union message that managed to transcend the scandal already swirling around the presidency. This year, the president...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / SPORTS SCOPE
Jan 22, 1999

Jordan wasn't NBA's 'greatest'

This column originally ran in the print edition of The Japan Times on Jan. 22, 1999, approximately nine months before Wilt Chamberlain died.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 1999

Obuchi vows to push merchandise coupons

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi pledged Friday that the government will do all it can to promote a merchandise coupon scheme and help revitalize local economies.
EDITORIALS
Jan 21, 1999

Another massacre in Kosovo

Yugoslavia's contempt for international opinion has been made perfectly clear over the last week. Last week, Serbian police, backed by the heavy weapons of the Yugoslav Army, allegedly massacred 45 civilians in the Kosovo village of Racak. When news of the attack leaked out, Yugoslav authorities were...
JAPAN
Jan 21, 1999

Osaka's Olympics bid outlays probed

As the bribery scandal smolders around the International Olympic Committee, the heat is increasing for Osaka Olympic officials over allocations of city funds to various Games-related functions, including meetings with IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch and payments to intermediaries for Osaka and various...
EDITORIALS
Jan 19, 1999

A regional test for Japan

If the International Monetary Fund today serves, in effect, as a tough lender of last resort globally, Japan last year gave itself the role of a friendly neighborhood bank in East Asia. That choice has proved timely, but it has become more challenging as the new year began. Unsettling news from two places...
EDITORIALS
Jan 16, 1999

Coalition's anticlimactic debut

The curtain rose Thursday on the new conservative coalition government to reveal just one more unimpressive performance of the same old political drama. Much had been said and written about the apparent significance of the realignment, but it seems to have ended up as essentially just another political...
JAPAN
Jan 15, 1999

Town mergers, decentralization go together: Noda

Mergers of cities and towns should be promoted along with decentralization to reduce administrative costs, said Takeshi Noda, the new home affairs minister.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 1999

SDF sex harassment affects 18% of its women

More than 18 percent of women working for the Self-Defense Forces or other Defense Agency organizations have been forced to engage in sexual relationships with male bosses or colleagues, according to a National Personnel Authority survey released Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 1999

Steel quotas out of the question: Yosano

Japan has no intention of setting a numerical target so its surging steel exports to the United States can be monitored, International Trade and Industry Minister Kaoru Yosano emphasized Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 1999

Japan, EU to halt WTO action on 'Burma Law'

Japan and the European Union will ask the World Trade Organization to indefinitely suspend procedures to settle their row with the United States over a sanctions law against Myanmar, government sources said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 1999

Marriage, divorce and the future

In the early days of a new year, when most of the public is on holiday and many people are traveling away from home, it is all too easy for important news to be overlooked or even dismissed as nothing new. That seems to have been the case with the scant attention paid to the announcement published on...
JAPAN
Jan 7, 1999

MITI minister foresees trade friction

Vice Trade Minister Osamu Watanabe expressed concern Thursday that trade friction may grow between Tokyo and Washington this year, with U.S. economic growth likely to slow after years of booming.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 1999

Imperial veteran recalls Nanjing mass executions

Last of two parts
JAPAN
Dec 31, 1998

Bomb meant for girlfriend blows up cab driver

A 29-year-old Tokyo taxi driver was seriously injured last weekend when he accidently set off an explosive he allegedly planned to send to his girlfriend, police said Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 1998

Ruling in Nanking Massacre libel suit upheld

The Tokyo High Court has upheld a lower court decision that ordered a writer and publisher to pay 500,000 yen in compensation to a former Imperial Japanese Army corporal who maintained he had been incorrectly mentioned in a book on the Nanking Massacre.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 1998

Obuchi backs missile strikes on Iraq

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi expressed support Thursday for U.S.-British missile strikes against Iraq, saying that Iraq violated agreements with the United Nations to cooperate with arms inspections by the world body.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 1998

Pyongyang suspected of missile activity, but not launch

Defense Agency chief Hosei Norota admitted to a Diet committee on Wednesday that the agency has obtained information suggesting that North Korea is constructing new missile facilities.
JAPAN
Dec 7, 1998

Norota apologizes for second batch of wandering documents

Defense Agency Director General Hosei Norota admitted Monday that some uniformed officers of the Self-Defense Forces moved procurement-related documents out of their offices prior to the September raid on the agency.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1998

Supreme Court rules speech restraint constitutional

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that it is constitutional to place restraints on court judges' freedom of expression.
JAPAN
Nov 27, 1998

Use of force possible over Taiwan: Jiang

Chinese President Jiang Zemin reiterated Friday that China cannot rule out the possibility of exercising military force to prevent Taiwan's independence.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 1998

State, LDP tax panels cool to consumption tax cut

The government's tax commission and the Liberal Democratic Party's tax panel both voiced strong words of caution Friday over the idea of cutting the consumption tax to boost spending and thus shore up the now-moribund economy.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1998

Obuchi-Yeltsin summit set; isles row to top agenda

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's visit to Russia to hold talks with President Boris Yeltsin will take place from Nov. 11 to 13, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 1998

Banks may waive claims on Haseko

Three major creditor banks to Haseko Corp. are putting the final touches on a plan to waive some 120 billion yen in claims on the troubled condominium developer, according to industry sources.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 1998

Tokyo pushes for ODA to combat global warming

Staff writerWith a key environmental conference slated to kick off in Buenos Aires on Monday, Tokyo has launched a behind-the-scenes diplomatic effort to rally support for official development assistance to play a role in implementing the "clean development mechanism" to combat global warming.The Japanese...
JAPAN
Oct 23, 1998

Death sentence 'a matter of course,' court says

Staff writerFriday's ruling that sentenced to death former Aum Shinrikyo senior figure Kazuaki Okazaki is widely viewed by legal experts as "a matter of course," considering the heinous nature of the crimes.Explaining the reasons for capital punishment, presiding Judge Megumi Yamamuro at the Tokyo District...
JAPAN
Oct 21, 1998

Saudi Arabia calls for more private-sector investment

Saudi Arabia wants Japan to increase its investment, which currently stands below expectations, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud told Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi."There is room for further improvement in relations between Saudi Arabia and Japan," Crown Prince Abdullah was quoted...
JAPAN
Oct 16, 1998

The Aum Trials: Niimi, Endo refuse to testify against guru

Two Aum Shinrikyo figures accused of being involved in the 1994 Matsumoto sarin gas attack took the witness stand for prosecutors at the trial of Aum founder Shoko Asahara Friday, but both refused to testify.Tomomitsu Niimi, 34, a key cult figure, said he cannot testify because he refused to comment...
JAPAN
Oct 16, 1998

U.S. raises concerns about new Bank law

The United States on Friday expressed concerns over whether Japan's bank recapitalization law will be effectively used to solve its banking trouble.U.S. Treasury officials raised the question at working-level talks with the Finance Ministry held in Tokyo, according to officials from both sides. The...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1998

Kidnapping in Japan not discussed

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and South Korean President Kim Dae Jung sidestepped Kim's 1973 Tokyo abduction during their two-hour summit Thursday, but Kim later called for an inquiry into the truth of the case."I have said I would not raise the issue in any form to the governments of both countries,"...

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