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EDITORIALS
May 26, 1999

The IMF is called to account

The International Monetary Fund has already received a lot of flak from private experts for giving the wrong advice to troubled Asian economies. Another analysis to that effect, therefore, is nothing new. What is new -- and significant -- is that the Japanese government, in an official report, has now...
JAPAN
May 26, 1999

DPJ group eyes new strategy to counter LDP

In an effort to come up with a new strategy to compete with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Party of Japan on Wednesday established a policy study group.
JAPAN
May 26, 1999

Foley defends Yokota base in meeting with Ishihara

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Foley stressed the importance of the U.S. Yokota Air Base in a meeting with Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara Wednesday, saying the base is "an essential part of U.S. forces' operations in Japan" and "a major hub of our transportation and supply services in East Asia."
JAPAN
May 26, 1999

Bill on official flag, anthem still on the way: Nonaka

The government still intends to submit a bill to make the Hinomaru the official flag and "Kimigayo" the national anthem during the current Diet session, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Wednesday, denying reports that the government had given up on the bill for this session.
JAPAN
May 26, 1999

NTT reports sales, profit fall in '98

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. on Wednesday reported a decline in sales and pretax profit on a non-consolidated basis for the business year that ended March 31 following a decrease in revenue from ordinary telephone use.
JAPAN
May 26, 1999

Home-based entrepreneurs network for respect

Staff writer
JAPAN
May 26, 1999

Election of LDP chief likely to be moved up to August

The Liberal Democratic Party is likely to hold its presidential election in mid-August, a little more than a month before Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's term as party president expires, sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 26, 1999

Cops start crime-victim support plan

A police station in Tokyo's Nakano Ward on Wednesday launched a support program for crime victims to provide psychological care in cooperation with the municipal government and local hospitals, sources said.
JAPAN
May 26, 1999

The 401(K) Approach: Skandia eyes pension plan gains

First in an occasional series
JAPAN
May 26, 1999

Police destined to abuse wiretaps: expert

A wiretapping consultant on Wednesday told a group of suprapartisan legislators opposing bills to allow wiretapping by law enforcement officers that police will abuse their authority if the bills are enacted.
JAPAN
May 26, 1999

Health minister endorses early election

Former Health and Welfare Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Wednesday endorsed the idea of pushing up the date of the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential race, originally scheduled for late September.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
May 26, 1999

Privacy? Get over it

In one of those snide comments that only people worth hundreds of millions of dollars are capable of making with any credibility, Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems, dismissed the whole privacy controversy with: "Get over it.
JAPAN
May 26, 1999

Komura hopes to strike oil during Mideast visit

Staff writer
EDITORIALS
May 25, 1999

Security not served by vagueness

The controversial bills for implementing the Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines finally cleared the Upper House Monday with some key issues remaining unresolved or vague: at least they seem so to ordinary people. One such issue is the emergency condition that requires Japan to mobilize the Self-Defense...
JAPAN
May 25, 1999

Lower House starts tackling administrative reform

The Lower House entered substantive debate Tuesday on two sets of bills designed to reorganize the central government and decentralize state powers, underlining the need to create a new government to meet the changing needs of society.
JAPAN
May 25, 1999

Tokyo Telemessage seeks protection from creditors

Plagued by a plummeting number of subscribers and intense competition with cellular phone operators, Tokyo Telemessage Inc., a leading pager service, sought court protection from creditors' claims on its assets Tuesday, company officials said.
JAPAN
May 25, 1999

DoCoMo profits rise 70% in '98

NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc. posted 3.1 trillion yen in consolidated sales in the business year that ended March 31, up 18.7 percent from the previous year, due to an increase in cellular phone subscribers.
JAPAN
May 25, 1999

Daiwa posts 250 billion yen pretax loss

Daiwa Bank suffered pretax losses of 250 billion yen in fiscal 1998, largely due to bad loan writeoffs of 368.7 billion yen, the bank announced Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 25, 1999

InterFM plans special Beatles broadcast

InterFM is inviting listeners to submit the name of their favorite Beatles tune for a special program airing May 30.
JAPAN
May 25, 1999

New Defense Role: Next step is to free up SDF

Staff writer
JAPAN
May 25, 1999

Major banks have done all they can: JBA head

Katsuyuki Sugita, the chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association, said Tuesday the nation's major banks have taken enough measures to dispose of their bad loans.
JAPAN
May 25, 1999

Sales tumble as consumers remain missing in action

Consumers continued to rein in their spending in April as the nation's total sales slipped 2.9 percent from a year before to 45.657 trillion yen, the 22nd month of consecutive decline, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 25, 1999

Railway improvement studies to begin next month

The Transport Ministry will start feasibility studies next month on the improvement of urban railway networks as well as the direct connection of bullet train lines to local lines, ministry officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 25, 1999

Chip makers Toshiba, Fujitsu post net losses for '98

Toshiba Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd., the country's major chip and computer manufacturers, on Tuesday reported net losses on an unconsolidated basis for the business year that ended March 31.
JAPAN
May 25, 1999

Some wary as pension plight casts 401(k) in rosy light

Staff writer
EDITORIALS
May 24, 1999

The world's second oldest profession

W ith a U.S. congressional committee poised to release a report on alleged Chinese spying at U.S. nuclear facilities, the political furor in Washington over the theft of U.S. military secrets is certain to escalate, and could cause serious political repercussions in the United States and in its foreign...
JAPAN
May 24, 1999

Top steelmakers report dire earnings

The nation's five major steelmakers Monday announced dire earnings reports for fiscal 1998, with three of them slipping into the red and the other two suffering huge plunges in profits.
JAPAN
May 24, 1999

Chronology of alliance, Japan buildup

May 1947: The Constitution, based on an Occupation- compiled draft, debuts with the war-renouncing Article 9.
JAPAN
May 24, 1999

Fuji Heavy sets record sales, profits

Helped by brisk sales of hits such as the Legacy wagon and Forester sports-utility vehicle, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. posted on Monday its highest-ever fiscal results on a nonconsolidated basis, company officials said.
JAPAN
May 24, 1999

Sixteen top banks report 20 trillion yen in bad loans

Sixteen of the nation's top 17 banks had a total of 20.03 trillion yen in bad loans at the end of fiscal 1998, according to earnings reports released by Monday.

Longform

Dul Saroth (left) and Soeum Samrach, deminers with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, practice using the Advanced Landmine Imaging System in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province in August.
The Japanese tech that could one day make Southeast Asia landmine-free