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COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2001

Has cycle of peace begun?

NEW DELHI -- Sri Lanka's 18-year-old bloody ethnic crisis between Tamils demanding an independent homeland and the government has always been marked by hope. Even during some of the darkest days of the strife a little over a decade ago, there was always a glimmer of light. Then, New Delhi interfered...
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2001

Mori advances date of LDP presidential election

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori officially announced Tuesday at the Liberal Democratic Party convention that he plans to move up the date of the LDP's presidential election -- a move widely taken to mean he is ready to step down soon.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 13, 2001

Our dreams are made of this

Film critics often have a not-so-secret desire to get behind the camera themselves. Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard and Peter Bogdanovich are among those who made the leap successfully, though Bogdanovich returned to writing after his directing career faltered in the mid-'70s. Even thumbs-up critic...
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Mar 13, 2001

Checkered history lives in a motley crew

Chindon-ya (brass, wind and percussion bands peddling goods or services on the streets) might not immediately spring to mind as a part of Japanese musical "tradition." Indeed, chindon has never been fully recognized as even a legitimate form of music.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 11, 2001

History will affirm Kim's heroism, vision

SEOUL -- A classical drama consists of five acts. Usually, the key part occurs in the third act. In this regard, the North Korea policy of South Korean President Kim Dae Jung may have something in common with classical theater.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 11, 2001

Bottling everyday beauty on film

With an oeuvre more than a quarter-century in the making, Mamoru Sugiyama is due for a retrospective exhibition. So that is exactly what Tokyo's respected Photo Gallery International has given the 49-year-old photographer, in a show featuring some 30 of Sugiyama's representative black-and-white still-life...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 9, 2001

Cultural 'cleansing' exposes outrageous methods of Taliban

NEW DELHI -- History is replete with cultural savagery.
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2001

Banker calls for writing off loans

Kiichiro Furusawa, chairman of the Trust Companies Association of Japan, on Thursday urged banks to promote writeoffs of problem loans even if it means falling into the red.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2001

Japan, U.S. to discuss handing over of suspects

Japan and the United States agreed Thursday to start discussions on revising the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement to facilitate the handover to Japanese law-enforcement authorities of U.S. service personnel suspected of committing crimes once arrest warrants are issued, officials close to the meeting...
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 9, 2001

A big year for the J. League

Japanese soccer made a significant step last year with victory in the Asian Cup. For me, it was like the halfway point to the World Cup and it really represented a victory for the J. League clubs and the work they have put in.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Mar 8, 2001

'Samurai' blazing a trail in XFL

Being a pioneer has its rewards, but as many a sports trailblazer has learned over the years, going where no one else has gone before is not all glory. In fact, it can be downright tough.
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2001

Foreign currency reserves decline

The nation's foreign currency reserves totaled $363.69 billion as of the end of February, down by $529 million from the previous month, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
JAPAN / STAGING A COMEBACK
Mar 8, 2001

Business law changes just scratch surface

Satoshi "Sonny" Koike believes Japan's commercial laws are rigid and inhibitive. Instead of accepting the status quo, however, the 41-year-old entrepreneur has used loopholes in vaguely worded legal terms to stake a claim in the fast-changing world of the Internet.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 8, 2001

Pizza, extra artistry, hold the delivery

Sometimes the craving strikes and second-best just won't do.
LIFE / Digital
Mar 7, 2001

Bluetooth hopes to deliver 'new dimension in wireless technology'

Can't get enough of the Internet at your home and office?
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2001

U.S. backs plan to build 2,000-meter runway at new site in Okinawa

The United States has agreed to a plan to build a 2,000-meter runway at a relocation site for the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa, the government said Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Mar 7, 2001

That strange creature is mammalian kin

Therians: They may sound as if they come from a far-off planet, but these are no alien creatures. Found in nearly every corner of the Earth, they count a surprising range of species among their ranks: the next-door neighbor's pet pooch, alpacas in the Andes, aardvarks in Africa, and even you and me....
COMMUNITY
Mar 7, 2001

It's a flounder to catch but a great fish to eat

The most popular of the many species of flatfish found in Japanese waters, the olive flounder, or hirame, is a challenge to catch and a gourmet treat.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Mar 5, 2001

Bush works on tax cuts while Clinton dodges more controversy

WASHINGTON -- "Beauty and the Beast" was on television Monday night -- the movie, not the continuing news saga of our current president and the most recent former one. That show seems to be a never-ending saga.
COMMENTARY
Mar 5, 2001

Are falling prices that bad?

LONDON -- Economists like limited inflation. They reckon it helps growth. Perhaps it may in some circumstances. It also benefits those who have borrowed against assets, which rise in value in an inflationary environment. But even limited inflation can be damaging, especially to those on fixed incomes,...
EDITORIALS
Mar 5, 2001

Mr. Bush focuses on the home front

The speech U.S. President George W. Bush delivered to a joint session of Congress last Tuesday was disappointing because it said little about the basic strategy the new U.S. administration intends to follow in the area of foreign policy and security. The speech focused on domestic and economic policies,...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 5, 2001

Meeting mutual expectations

The Bush administration attaches special importance to U.S. allies in its foreign policy. In a news conference held Dec. 16, immediately after he won the presidency, George W. Bush said his administration will work with its allies in Europe and the Far East.
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2001

Japan, South Korea firms see bigger benefits in forging more alliances

Kyodo News Relations between Japanese and South Korean business enterprises have deepened in the past two or three years with increases in business alliances and joint ventures as well as full-scale sales offensives in the Japanese market by firms such as Hyundai Motor Co.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2001

Murakami balks in Diet testimony

Masakuni Murakami, the former Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight at the center of a widening bribery scandal, testified under oath before the Diet on Wednesday but refused to reply to questions that he claimed could incriminate him before his possible indictment by prosecutors.
MULTIMEDIA / SPORTS SCOPE
Mar 1, 2001

IOC delegates: the questions they should be asking

The International Olympic Committee has come Japan to check out Osaka's facilities for staging the 2008 Olympics.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2001

Admiral gives apologies to families of missing

A special envoy dispatched by U.S. President George W. Bush apologized Wednesday in Tokyo to representatives of relatives of nine people still missing after the sinking of a high school fisheries training ship by a U.S. submarine.

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