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EDITORIALS
May 4, 1999

A shrinking pool of jobs

The latest employment figures confirm that Japan's job market is continuing to contract. The number of unemployed hit a record 3.39 million in March, as the jobless rate rose 0.2 points to 4.8 percent. Both figures mark the worst-ever downturn since the government began keeping such records in 1953....
EDITORIALS
May 3, 1999

Hope in East Timor

The people of East Timor have been given the chance to choose their own destiny. Indonesian President Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie decided last week to hold a referendum on independence in the province. On Aug. 8, East Timorese will vote for independence or autonomy within the Indonesian state under an...
JAPAN
May 3, 1999

Constitution's anniversary sparks debate on revision

With last month's Lower House passage of bills covering the updated Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines as a backdrop, the nation on Monday celebrated the 52nd anniversary of the postwar Constitution with heated debate over the document itself.
COMMUNITY
May 2, 1999

Seed money no problem at Flower Bank

MIYASHIRO, Saitama Pref. -- While many Japanese banks are struggling to overcome their tainted image, at least one is enjoying an increasingly favorable reputation.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 1999

Fourteen planes, six boats and a chopper

SYDNEY -- The boat people are landing. Although still just a trickle, the mostly Chinese illegal immigrants look set to flood through the open door named Australia. Nor is it just human cargo being offloaded on these unprotected shores. Heroin from the Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia is also being...
LIFE / Travel
Apr 14, 1999

Where the roof of Europe scrapes the sky

The pictures in the tourist pamphlet showed an ideal mountain scene in the French Alps, almost too good to be true: a lake of purest blue in the foreground surrounded by bright green hills leading up to spectacular snow-capped mountains under cloudless skies. If this were real, I doubted I could afford...
COMMUNITY
Apr 13, 1999

Dancing to make the world keep turning

Excuse me, has anyone seen Steven A. Haynes today? No? That's funny, he seems to be everywhere: on TV, on posters, in the papers, and in plays, movies and discos -- even on cruise ships. He acts, sings and dances his way around Japan, as if he's afraid the world might suddenly stop turning.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CROSSING CULTURES
Apr 8, 1999

But I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now

In my last column I wrote about change, and staying with that theme, I will here answer a question I am asked often:
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Apr 7, 1999

Turnabout

Life is full of surprises. Did you know that anyone can open an English language school in Japan? While most are started by people with some experience in teaching, there are no such requirements. No one will come to inspect your school to see how and what you are teaching. This will be bad news for...
LIFE / Travel
Apr 7, 1999

Preserving a pocket of Fiji

LEVUKA, Fiji -- Thirteen-year-old Una Turaganicolo's strong, clear voice filled her family's timber-frame home, rising to the corrugated roof visible through the rafters. Her sister, Rose, hummed along as she battled with her math homework by the light of a flickering candle.
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Apr 6, 1999

Dub hemperors go bongkers

Masa, the head honcho of Japanese dub emperors Audio Active, doesn't beat about the bush. In fact, he's probably smoked the damn thing.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Mar 31, 1999

It's a poor workman ...

Readers probably haven't noticed, but The Japan Times has a new computer system. It's a lot like our old one, although it is speedier and it integrates a whole host of functions in one terminal; no longer do we have to leave our desk to accomplish different tasks.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 1999

Local Elections '99: Masuzoe on mission for elderly care

Staff writer
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 24, 1999

Chinese cronyism hinders reform efforts

The People's Republic of China will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its founding Oct. 1, and major national events are scheduled to take place at that time. President Jiang Zemin has been promoting the slogan of "stability first" -- a reflection of his desire to complete the ceremonies successfully...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Mar 21, 1999

Obligations

What a downer! A reader has just looked at his calendar and realized that March 15 has passed -- and he forgot to file his Japanese tax return. While he should do it as soon as possible, he does not need to worry. Japan's bureaucracy tends to be compassionate in such matters, especially when the wrongdoer...
CULTURE / Art
Mar 20, 1999

Japanese custodians of French 'Liberty'

On the occasion of French President Jacques Chirac's visit to Japan in 1996, an exchange of national treasures was agreed upon for the 1998-1999 "Year of France in Japan." Following this agreement, Kudara Kannon, a 7th-century 2-meter wooden bodhisattva from Nara's Horyuji Temple, was sent to France...
EDITORIALS
Mar 14, 1999

Safety regulations must be enforced

Pedestrians on Tokyo's sidewalks could only welcome the report last week that the Metropolitan Police Department intends to crack down on bicycle riders who violate traffic regulations. Thirteen accidents in which cyclists were killed were registered in the capital as of the end of February, an increase...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Mar 10, 1999

And the winners aren't ...

A stunned Webmaster rises from his seat, shaking his head in disbelief. As he makes his way to the aisle, fellow programmers and designers pat him heartily on the back and shake his hand. After accepting his trophy from a cybercelebrity, he stands there speechless, and finally says with a trembling voice,...
JAPAN
Mar 8, 1999

Groups seek to help victims of violence

Staff writer
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 7, 1999

Violence: The Americas' new pandemic

NEW YORK -- From Argentina in the south to Canada in the north, violence is becoming an increasingly serious problem in the Americas, affecting all nations in the hemisphere. What makes this phenomenon especially worrisome is that children and adolescents are among its main actors, and victims. Violence...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 2, 1999

Alexei Sultanov

Not long ago a famous American classical pianist gave an interview to a Japanese newspaper in which he complained, "I can't tell if a Japanese audience is enjoying the performance or if they're bored."
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Feb 21, 1999

Sunday afternoon

A reader writes about the Saturday edition of The Japan Times and how much she appreciates the listing of what's going on in our city. She especially enjoyed Robert Yellin's Feb. 13 article about Nezu Museum and its current exhibition revealing the elegance of traditional sake drinking, the sake cups...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Feb 17, 1999

Designing for dollars

Say what you will about Jeff Bezos, president of Amazon.com, but he is a savvy guy. He and his company may not be worth the gazillions of dollars that the market is throwing at them, but he deserves credit for making the market believe in him.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 1999

Flu outbreak said cause of 24 deaths

At least 24 people nationwide have died of influenza-related diseases this month, according to a survey conducted by Kyodo News.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 1999

Pension contributors drop below 80% line

The percentage of the population paying premiums into the national pension system came to 79.6 percent in fiscal 1997, the first drop below 80 percent in 36 years, the Social Insurance Agency said in a report issued Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 1999

Century of Change: Job security feels tug of evolution

More than two decades ago — just as Japan was impressing the world by emerging from the first oil crisis with a leaner economy — Taichi Sakaiya, now head of the Economic Planning Agency, warned in a novel that the nation would face a midlife crisis before the turn of the century.
JAPAN
Dec 31, 1998

Century of Change: Plebiscites reshape political process

Staff writer
JAPAN
Dec 29, 1998

Yearend travel nears peak

Vacationers started to crowd JR Tokyo Station and Haneda airport Tuesday bound for their hometowns for the New Year's holiday, and the yearend outbound rush will peak today, officials said.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 1998

North Korea video shows black markets, starving kids

Adults can be seen selling noodles, potatoes and kimchi on the streets, seemingly oblivious to the starving children wandering around them, combing the ground for anything edible.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 1998

Frozen pizza entrepreneur opens doors for female execs

22nd in a series of occasional articles about venture businesses

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past