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CULTURE / Art
Jan 8, 2000

Top of the line in toys

HIMEJI, Hyogo Pref. -- For a long time, koma (tops) were commonly given to children during the New Year's season. These days, however, the traditional toy is wobbling on the edge of extinction.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2000

Police unit offers victim counseling

YOKOHAMA -- Kanagawa Prefectural Police inaugurated a special headquarters Friday to provide counseling for victims of domestic violence, child abuse and stalking and to fight such crimes.
BUSINESS
Jan 7, 2000

Japan, EU to call for new WTO talks ASAP

Japan and the European Union will issue a special joint statement next week calling for a new round of global trade liberalization negotiations to be launched as soon as possible, government sources said.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2000

Japan and EU unite in calls for WTO talks

Staff writer Japan and the European Union will issue a special joint statement next week calling for a new round of global trade liberalization negotiations to be launched as soon as possible, government sources said Wednesday. The sources said that the joint statement, exclusively focusing on a new...
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2000

Privatization premature, JR Tokai says

Suffering from an increasing debt burden, Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) voiced opposition Wednesday to the government's plan to fully privatize six JR group firms at the earliest possible date. During a meeting with Transport Minister Toshihiro Nikai, JR Tokai President Yoshiyuki Kasai said that...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2000

Take politics out of economic decisions

It is amazing how quickly conventional wisdom can shift. Just a few years ago, most people would have considered as heretical a proposal that central banks should make decisions independent of the influence of the executive and legislative branches of government. Today, central bank independence is universally...
BUSINESS
Jan 4, 2000

NTT may halve monthly ISDN fee

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. is considering halving its fixed monthly charge designed for heavy Internet users -- now in a trial phase -- from the current 8,000 yen to around 4,000 yen as early as April, NTT officials said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 4, 2000

Childish reading for kids and adults

TALE OF THE BAMBOO CUTTER, by Kawabata Yasunari, translated by Donald Keene, illustrations by Miyata Masayuki. Kodansha Intl., 1998, 177 pp., 2,300 yen. SOMETHING NICE: Songs for Children, by Kaneko Misuzu, translated by D.P. Dutcher, Japan University Library Association, 1999, 146 pp., 2,500 yen. These...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2000

Korean Peninsula's political awakening

Special to The Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2000

Opposition parties headed for breakthrough

Staff writer Cashing in on the unpopularity of the "gigantic" ruling coalition, opposition parties are optimistic of making a big leap forward in the next general election -- and forecasts by political analysts suggest they have a favorable wind behind them. But it is not clear if the opposition forces,...
COMMENTARY
Jan 3, 2000

Building peace in a new era

As we greet the new millennium, we should ask ourselves what Japan should do to contribution to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, establish military and nonmilitary security, help solve global problems and prevent conflicts.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 3, 2000

It's not an easy trick to pick one out of 108 for best of year

It is time once again to look back over some of the most significant events of the previous year, 1999.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2000

Fighting the idea that justice is for sale

Special to The Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 1, 2000

Leaving an impression for time to come

Children can't wait for that moment on New Year's Day when they can snatch at the small, colorful envelope appearing from the purse or pocket of the gift-giver. Some sit upright before their parents and swear to behave well or study more during the year, while others happily speculate about how much...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2000

Japan cannot escape nuclear weapons

Special to The Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 31, 1999

Japan celebrates new year free of major Y2K problems

Japan ushered in the new year with various celebratory events Friday night that included fireworks, all-night dancing and concerts while much of the public harbored concerns over possible Y2K-related problems. Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi addressed the nation from the Prime Minister's Official Residence...
JAPAN
Dec 31, 1999

Obuchi rings in the new year with old pledge for recovery

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi greeted the New Year with a pledge to keep striving for full-scale economic recovery and to create a society in which all generations can live in harmony. "In 2000, I want to push ahead with the 'economic renaissance' policy for real economic recovery," Obuchi said during...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 1999

Seafood contamination scare overblown

Special to The Japan Times Recently, concern has been expressed in Japan about the contaminants found in whales and other marine mammals. It has been reported that contaminant levels are dangerously high and the government should take steps to reduce the risk to consumers' health. It may be helpful to...
CULTURE / Art
Dec 30, 1999

There's just no place like Chrome

Richard Stark is the antidesigner.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 1999

Illegal Iranians ask for permission to stay

Five Iranian families who have overstayed their visas visited the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau in Tokyo's Kita Ward on Monday to ask the justice minister for special permission to live in Japan. The 17 people, including seven minors, said they made the request either because they have children...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 1999

Causes of Tokai disaster not so simple

In November, I visited JCO Co.'s nuclear fuel-processing plant -- a subsidiary of Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. -- where Sept. 30 a level-5 nuclear incident took place. The plant is located 110 km from Tokyo in the small town of Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture. The plant is in an area that is a blend of residences...
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Dec 23, 1999

Sake tools you can trust

Happy Holidays to all Japan Times readers.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 1999

JCO worker succumbs after 83 days

One of three JCO Co. workers exposed to massive radiation in September in the nation's worst nuclear accident died of organ failure at a Tokyo hospital late Tuesday night, becoming the first fatality of his kind in Japan. Hisashi Ouchi, 35, was critically injured during an accident Sept. 30 at the JCO...
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Dec 22, 1999

Getting away from it all on Izu's Big Island

Ura-Izu-Oshima Part 1
JAPAN
Dec 21, 1999

Protect business accounts: panel

There should be an exemption to the planned end of the government's full protection of bank deposits, an advisory panel to the finance minister said Tuesday. Bank accounts for business settlements should be fully protected for a "limited time" even after the current scheme expires, the Financial System...
JAPAN
Dec 21, 1999

Police misconduct scandals fuel calls for public scrutiny

Staff writer "I knew that the same things would surely be repeated in the future," Kenji Chiyomaru said. "You cannot expect self-cleansing action by police." Since he launched "Human rights dial 110" in 1979, Chiyomaru, a civic activist who lives in Tokyo's Nerima Ward, has been helping people having...
JAPAN
Dec 21, 1999

Gov. Yokoyama resigns before indictment

OSAKA -- Osaka Gov. "Knock" Yokoyama was indicted Tuesday on charges of molesting a female campaign aide. The indictment followed a letter of resignation that he had submitted from his hospital bed to the prefectural assembly earlier in the day. The Osaka District Public Prosecutor's Office indicted...
EDITORIALS
Dec 20, 1999

Less-than-inspiring politics

The extraordinary Diet session that ended Thursday brought to the fore the simmering discord within the tripartite ruling coalition. The Liberal Party threatened to quit the coalition because a bill to slim down the Lower House, which was one of the conditions for the party's joining the coalition, was...
JAPAN
Dec 20, 1999

Site for new capital cut to three

After three years of deliberations, a government panel on Monday handed Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi a list of three areas for further consideration as sites for the relocation of the Diet and government offices from Tokyo. The Council for Relocation of the Diet and Other Organizations identified an...
JAPAN
Dec 20, 1999

Miyazawa unveils 85 trillion yen budget

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa on Monday proposed a draft general-account budget for fiscal 2000 worth 84.99 trillion yen intended as the "final push" for economic recovery. The budget, featuring massive public works spending and expanded funds to handle bank failures, is the largest-ever and 3.8...

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