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COMMENTARY / World
Oct 19, 1999

Aum fills a spiritual need

Special to The Japan Times It has been more than four years since key members of the Aum Shinrikyo religious sect carried out sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway system. With its principal facilities closed and its guru and his cohorts arrested, the cult has received a crushing blow. Reports say, however,...
JAPAN
Oct 18, 1999

Nissan Motor to cut five factories, 21,000 jobs

Nissan Motor Co. revealed Monday a drastic restructuring plan that includes closing five factories and slashing 21,000 jobs worldwide.
JAPAN
Oct 15, 1999

Negotiations stall over sale of Toho Mutual

The Life Insurance Association of Japan has given up on its plan to sell the failed Toho Mutual Life Insurance Co. by the end of this year, association chairman Tomijiro Morita said Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1999

Yasuda joins Direct Line on variable-risk auto insurance

Major life insurer Yasuda Mutual Life Insurance Co. and U.K.-based Direct Line Group announced Wednesday they will form a joint venture to sell automobile insurance through direct channels.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Oct 13, 1999

Not just for kids anymore

I was never much of a video-game player, although I did have a brief infatuation with Missile Command. (It ended when a pal proceeded to stomp me every time we went head to head.) I must be one of the few: Video games are reckoned to be a $20 billion-a-year industry and revenues now outpace movie-ticket...
JAPAN
Oct 7, 1999

Kofuku knowingly lent to ailing firm

OSAKA -- Documents from a Finance Ministry inspection of the defunct Kofuku Bank in 1995 showed a real estate firm with which the bank had ties was "saddled with a myriad of problems," it was learned Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 1999

Yamaha enters Vietnam motorcycle market

Yamaha Motor Co. has started commercial production of motorcycles designed for young people in Vietnam through a joint venture with the Vietnamese government, the company announced Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 1999

Cresvale offered huge rebate to Yakult exec

Senior officials at Cresvale International Ltd., which is at the center of a massive fraud investigation, offered rebates amounting to 500 million yen to a former vice president of drink maker Yakult Honsha Co. for the purchase of privately placed bonds it sold, it was learned Thursday.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 7, 1999

Punk of a nation in mosh pit of controversy and 'silliness'

In the middle of August, Polydor Records announced it would not release a recently finished album by veteran rock singer Kiyoshiro Imawano because it contained a punk version of "Kimigayo," Japan's newly certified national anthem. Imawano called the decision "silly," an opinion that took on extra layers...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Oct 6, 1999

The future is in the air

I have written and read e-mail during my commute, beamed my virtual meishi to new acquaintances, played cards in taxis, and once in a shameless display of computing on my feet I consulted a database of Tokyo restaurants, which I had downloaded from www.bento.com, and located a great Indonesian joint...
JAPAN
Sep 30, 1999

Chinese students embrace lessons of Japanese advertising

Staff writer
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 30, 1999

Iron stomachs and chefs give it their all

Japan has produced a fair number of marathon stars. It's an achievement that probably has less to do with genetically bound physical attributes than with culturally bound psychological ones. The "gambaru" mentality that governs so many endeavors in Japan, especially in the world of sports, is central...
JAPAN
Sep 30, 1999

Green Cross execs face bars over HIV scandal

OSAKA -- Prosecutors Thursday demanded prison terms of between 2 1/2 and three years for three former presidents of Green Cross Corp. for alleged professional negligence that resulted in the deaths of patients who were administered HIV-tainted blood products produced by the company.
JAPAN
Sep 29, 1999

Miyazawa defends use of public funds in LTCB sale

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa on Wednesday defended the planned use of additional public funds to sell Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan to a consortium led by Ripplewood Holdings L.L.C. of the United States, calling the burden nothing new.
JAPAN
Sep 28, 1999

FRC gives Ripplewood go-ahead to buy LTCB

The Financial Reconstruction Commission on Tuesday effectively named an investment consortium led by Ripplewood Holdings L.L.C. of the United States as the buyer of the nationalized Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan.
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Sep 28, 1999

Afrobeat lights up the dance floors

Strange how music trends seem to go around in circles. Since spearheading the world music boom at the end of the '80s, African music sales have been on a downward spiral for much of this decade. Now in the form of Afrobeat, the music is making a strong comeback and sweeping dance floors around the world....
JAPAN
Sep 24, 1999

Toyota unveils remodeled Crown series

In an attempt to stimulate the market for large passenger cars, Toyota Motor Corp. on Friday launched a fully remodeled lineup of its flagship luxury sedan, the Crown.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 1999

'Tako-yaki' tentacles grip Kanto region

OSAKA -- "Tako-yaki," the dumplings with octopus chunks that many people consider a traditional Kansai treat, are gaining popularity in other parts of the country, including the Kanto region, according to Osaka-based Zojirushi Corp.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 1999

Toyota launches the young person's Celica

Toyota Motor Corp. has launched the newly remodeled Celica sports sedan, targeting younger-generation customers in their mid-20s, the nation's top automaker announced Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 1999

Tear-stained faces are just another fad

RYAN NAKASHIMA Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 16, 1999

Kanazawa to get wired in experiment

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Matsushita Communication Industrial Co. will begin a one-year joint experiment on a community-based information network in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, from April 2000, the companies said Thursday.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 1999

Taiwanese youths becoming Japan fans

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 13, 1999

Japan Tobacco to send smokes to seniors on Aged Day

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1999

GDP grew 0.2% in April-June quarter

The economy grew 0.2 percent for the April-June quarter -- an annualized rate of 0.9 percent -- marking the second straight quarter of growth, according to gross domestic product figures released Thursday by the Economic Planning Agency.
EDITORIALS
Sep 7, 1999

Tokyo declares war on diesels

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara is proving to be a man of his word -- up to a point. It remains to be seen whether or not he can keep some of his promises. Not long after announcing plans to seriously tackle the capital region's notorious traffic congestion, Mr. Ishihara and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government...
JAPAN
Sep 2, 1999

Low-dose birth control pill makes debut

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 1, 1999

Product-trashing consumer book enjoys sizzling sales

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 1, 1999

Fujitsu, Orient plan credit venture

Fujitsu Ltd. and Orient Corp. will set up a joint venture later this month to develop a computer system for credit services, top officials of the two firms announced Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 1999

Post offices try hand at electronic sales

The nation's 100 major post offices launched a new automated shopping service Wednesday for products ranging from airline tickets to game software, entering yet another new business.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 1999

Asahi to close Tokyo brewery, trim workforce

Asahi Breweries, Ltd. will close its aging brewery in Tokyo's Ota Ward and transfer production to a new plant in Minami-Ashigara, Kanagawa Prefecture, President Shigeo Fukuchi told a Tokyo press conference Wednesday.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building