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JAPAN
Jun 23, 2001

Judges may get say in fate of mentally ill

Health minister Chikara Sakaguchi said Friday he is considering legislation that would require judicial authorities to determine whether institutionalization is necessary for psychiatric patients who commit crimes.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2001

Cooperation critical to reform of legal system, Yasuoka says

The key to successfully overhauling the nation's legal system lies in the extent to which the nation's top judicial circles can work with each other toward that goal, according to former Justice Minister Okiharu Yasuoka.
BUSINESS
Jun 21, 2001

State tries to get nation online

In a desperate attempt to boost Japan's cyberspace population to numbers more closely resembling those of other industrialized nations, the government is struggling to draw attention to its online exposition, said Taichi Sakaiya, a special adviser to the prime minister and former chief of the Economic...
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2001

Diet enacts expanded diesel pollution law

The Diet enacted legislation Tuesday that expands the scope of an air pollution law to cover particulate matter from diesel-burning automobiles and increases the responsibility of vehicle owners.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2001

Sex change no cure for torment

In 1987, Masae Torai caught a flight to the United States with 4 million yen in savings to undergo a sex-reassignment operation and fulfill a long-held wish to become male.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 20, 2001

Face to face with individuality

"Are you Korean or Japanese?" goes the question.
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Jun 19, 2001

JAWOC needs to step up the pace

Japan did well on the field in the Confederations Cup, finishing as the runnerup of the eight-nation tournament, but how smoothly did things go off the field in the test-run for next year's World Cup?
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 18, 2001

China and ASEAN strive to improve ties

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- For geographic and historic reasons, China has been and will always be a factor in Southeast Asia. Of course, the reverse is also true. And as emphasis shifts from bilateral relations to multilateral ties, the ASEAN-China dimension assumes a special meaning, whether viewed alone...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 17, 2001

Take me out to the big league

As U.S. President George W. Bush makes the rounds in Europe, taking flak and talking trash, it seems like a good opportunity to address what his father would refer to as the "cultural hegemony thing." South Korea and France deal with it by subsidizing their movie industries. China screens everything...
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Jun 17, 2001

Visit new worlds on the wine list

A good wine list should not inspire anxiety. But unless you exist on an expense account, an encyclopedia-thick volume of precious trophy wines is daunting. It is also inadequate. A wine menu should invite exploration, with quality wines at a variety of price points.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2001

Refrigerant gases to be banned

The House of Councilors on Friday approved a bill mandating the retrieval and destruction of ozone-depleting and greenhouse gases used in automobile air conditioners, industrial refrigerators and cooling systems.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 15, 2001

Hummingbird hawkmoth

* Japanese name: Oosukashiba * Scientific name: Cephonodes hylas * Description: These moths are sometimes mistaken for hummingbirds, because they fly just like them. But they are in fact insects -- day-flying moths. The thorax and abdomen of this species are bright green, with red, black and yellow...
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2001

Cambodia to get $560 million

Donor nations concluded a two-day conference on aid to Cambodia in Tokyo on Wednesday with combined pledges of $560 million, conference officials said.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2001

Launch date for spy satellites delayed until July 2003

The government decided Wednesday to postpone the launch of two of four domestically developed reconnaissance satellites by five months until July 2003, due to delays in parts procurement.
BUSINESS
Jun 14, 2001

Problem loans rising at regional banks

Problem loans at the nation's 64 regional banks rose 17.7 percent to 9.8 trillion yen during fiscal 2000 as borrowers fell delinquent and banks made more stringent assessments of loans, the Association of Regional Banks said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2001

Bush not so dismissive of Kyoto pact: Kawaguchi

Environment Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Tuesday that she does not interpret U.S. President George W. Bush's recent comments on climate change as an outright rejection of the Kyoto Protocol, and again called on the United States to return to the negotiating table.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 13, 2001

Sculpture for speed freaks

A scant six months since it opened and Tokyo's Rice Gallery is looking less like a contemporary art space and more like a fantasy car showroom.
COMMENTARY
Jun 12, 2001

Cloudy outlook for Kim's Sunshine Policy

SEOUL -- One year after the historic Pyongyang summit, euphoria has disappeared on both sides of the 38th Parallel. Following the news of the past weeks, one gets the impression that with North-South relations having returned once more to a climate of confrontation and accusation, the two Koreas are...
LIFE / Travel
Jun 12, 2001

Fujiya Hotel: At ease in a Miyanoshita time capsule

Most visits to the Hakone area of Kanagawa Prefecture begin at the heavily touristed town itself, from where numerous well-trodden routes head off through the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park of which it is the official center.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Jun 12, 2001

Spirit travel on Myanmar's Mount Olympus

Mang Po To was eaten by a tiger, Mintha Maung Shin fell to his death from a swing, and instead of putting down a rebellion, She Sit Thin squandered his time cockfighting and was subsequently buried alive by his furious father. Even more peculiar was the passing of King Mingaun, who succumbed to a combination...
COMMUNITY
Jun 10, 2001

Home buyers seek new designs for living

Man people dream of buying a brand-new home. In Japan, realizing that dream usually means settling for a factory-made house that looks like hundreds of its neighbors or a condominium that must be paid for even before it is built.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jun 10, 2001

All problems, great and small

Up-to-the-minute trends and subjects are often incorporated into the story lines of television drama series. Unfortunately, topicality is usually given more consideration than relevance, and the dramas themselves rarely explore the reality of problems such as AIDS or teenage depression.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jun 10, 2001

Sake gold standards shifting

Last week, on May 30, the Zenkoku Shinshu Kanpyo Kai, or National New Sake Tasting Competition, was held in Hiroshima. This year 1,133 sake that made it through the nine regional competitions were tasted blindly by a panel of government-employed, highly trained judges. Out of these, 382 were given a...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Jun 9, 2001

Putin picks a new gas czar

Behold, Russia has got a new czar. No, the Romanovs did not rise from their graves. No, the Russian people did not invite a Romanov cousin, Prince Charles, to claim the throne of his Russian ancestors. No, the authoritarian Russian president, Vladimir Putin, did not crown himself Vladimir I. He just...
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2001

Takenaka proposes special IT zones

The government is considering a plan to designate some cities or areas as "model areas" where businesses promoting information technology would be given preferential tax and regulatory treatment, economic minister Heizo Takenaka said Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2001

Can democracy live in the Muslim Mideast?

LONDON -- "No stable system of government can be established unless it is popular." It would be an unremarkable statement in most parts of the world, but in Iran it is a subversive remark faxed by a man who has been under house arrest since 1997. The fact that he is Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri, one...
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jun 7, 2001

Whose theory was it, anyway?

In 1835, Charles Darwin became the first of a long line of scientists to make a study of the Galapagos Islands. Now, on entering the research station there that bears his name, visitors come face to face with a bronze of the Englishman as a very much older and far more famous man than he was when he...
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2001

Sri Lanka envoy woos smaller firms for investment

With the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between Japan and Sri Lanka approaching next year, the new ambassador to Japan hopes to further strengthen bilateral ties, particularly in business.

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