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JAPAN
Feb 9, 1999

Professor links gassing death to sarin-like chemical

Tokyo University's forensic medicine professor said Tuesday at a hearing for Aum guru Shoko Asahara that the death of a Tokyo sarin attack victim is linked to a consciousness disturbance caused by an organic phosphorus substance.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 1999

Daihyaku, Manulife join forces on life insurance

Midsize life insurer Daihyaku Mutual Life Insurance Co. and Manulife Financial of Canada have signed a definitive agreement to form a joint life insurance company with a future merger in mind, company officials announced Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 1999

Hatoyama enters governor's race; LDP eyes Akashi

Kunio Hatoyama, deputy leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, ended days of speculation Tuesday by announcing his candidacy for April's Tokyo gubernatorial election.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 1999

BOJ governor opposes outright bond purchases

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami on Tuesday came out against a proposal that the central bank expand its buying of government bonds from the market, saying such a measure would be tantamount to underwriting newly issued bonds.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 1999

Bill to amend Constitution breaks taboo

In a move that could break a longtime political taboo, a suprapartisan group of lawmakers decided Tuesday to submit a bill to create a research panel in both chambers of the Diet to review the 51-year-old Constitution for possible amendments in the future.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 1999

Daiwa, Kinki, Osaka form strategic banking alliance

Daiwa Bank has joined midsize regionals Bank of Osaka and Bank of Kinki to form a broad alliance that may lead to a joint holding company in the future, officials from the banks said Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 1999

LTCB makes repayment to BOJ

The nationalized Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan decided Monday to repay 200 billion yen to the Bank of Japan, LTCB sources said.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 1999

Osaka forms bidding body for '08 Games

The Osaka Olympic Bidding Committee for the 2008 Summer Games was formally launched Monday amid an ongoing bribery scandal that has rocked the International Olympic Committee.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 1999

Aqualine losses spur repayment rethink

The Construction Ministry and Japan Highway Public Corp. will draft a set of measures by the end of March to reorganize the operations of the money-losing Tokyo Bay Aqualine, hopefully without raising or lowering tolls, government and JHPC sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 1999

LDP drops plan to back Hatoyama for governor

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Monday officially gave up its plan to join with other parties in supporting Kunio Hatoyama, vice president of the Democratic Party of Japan, even if he decides to run in the April 11 Tokyo gubernatorial election.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 1999

Cabby from China learning way around Japan

Ghost, half-human and spy — Shigeru Oyama has been called all these things growing up half-Japanese in postwar Beijing.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 1999

Jordanian Embassy accepts condolences for King Hussein

The Jordanian Embassy has begun accepting messages of condolence over the death of King Hussein, who succumbed to cancer Sunday in the Middle Eastern country, embassy officials said Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 1999

China's crested ibises find Sado life just fine

You You and Yang Yang, the pair of endangered crested ibises that arrived from China at the end of January, are feeding and adapting well to their new home, the Environment Agency announced Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 1999

BOJ urged to buy bonds

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka urged the central bank Monday to step up efforts within the week to stop the rise in interest rates through such means as buying government bonds from the market.
EDITORIALS
Feb 6, 1999

Ethical standards for bankers

In a landmark suit involving a bank's responsibility for bad loans, Sumitomo Bank earlier this week agreed to pay 3 billion yen to the Housing Loan Administration Corp., the public debt-clearing body for bankrupt home-loan companies. The HLAC had initially demanded 5 billion yen in damages, saying the...
EDITORIALS
Feb 5, 1999

Auto mergers in the fast lane

The wheeling and dealing in the auto industry has gone into high gear. Last year's megamerger of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler began the process of consolidation, but it was always just a matter of time. The world cannot support 40 automakers. Manufacturers already have the facilities to make 20 million...
JAPAN
Feb 5, 1999

Debate on defense bills nears Diet agenda

The Diet finally appears set to deliberate bills to cover the updated Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines, now that the Liberal Democratic Party has officially proposed setting up a special committee on the issue.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 1999

JR East share sale planned in '99

Transport Minister Jiro Kawasaki indicated Friday that the government plans to sell its remaining shares of East Japan Railway Co. by the end of the year, if circumstances allow such a move.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 1999

AmEx exec sees silver lining to recession

While the nation's economy is reeling from years of recession, eroding the confidence of many players in the financial industry, Ian Marsh, president of American Express International Inc., Japan, says now is the time to invest in the Japanese market.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 1999

Constitution-review group splits on proposal

A suprapartisan group of lawmakers trying to create a Diet committee to consider constitutional amendments is instead being torn in two by the issue.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 1999

Panel preps battle plans for WTO trade talks

A government panel endorsed two interim reports Friday calling for the government, businesses and academia to work together to prepare for a new round of global trade negotiations scheduled to begin in 2000.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 1999

Will government bonds help? It's a trick question

Debate on how Japan can pull itself out of its worst postwar economic slump has entered a new stage.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 1999

New 'Japanese way' needed, Kansai seminar says

KYOTO — A new "Japanese way" that places emphasis on greater flexibility in decision making and less bureaucratic control are necessary if Japan's corporations are to remain competitive in the next century.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 1999

Agency to re-examine 1979 Minamata claim

The Environment Agency will reopen the case of a now-deceased man whose family tried for more than 16 years to have him recognized as a victim of Minamata disease, the head of the agency told reporters Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 1999

Agency reveals in-house pension fraud cases

The Social Insurance Agency on Friday revealed the outlines of nine pension fraud cases for which agency employees were found responsible and that it had previously refused to disclose to the public.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 1999

Investors OK Daiwa as holding firm

Daiwa Securities Co. obtained shareholder approval Friday for its plan to convert itself into a holding company in April with more than 10 firms under its wing.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 1999

May deadline set to buy Narita airport land

Are three months enough time to persuade Narita landowners to sell after three decades in which they have steadfastly refused to make way for the New Tokyo International Airport?
JAPAN
Feb 4, 1999

Yaohan securities holders sue over cooked books

Shareholders and convertible bond holders of Yaohan Japan Corp. filed a 260 million yen damages suit Thursday against executives of the effectively bankrupt supermarket chain, arguing they suffered losses because the firm window-dressed its financial statements.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 1999

BOJ's bond underwriting unnecessary, Miyazawa says

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa reiterated Thursday that he thinks it's unnecessary for the Bank of Japan to underwrite newly issued government bonds to ensure the stability of long-term interest rates.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 1999

FTC alleges pipe industry collusion

The Fair Trade Commission filed a complaint with the prosecutor general Thursday against Kubota Corp. and two other water- and gas-pipe makers for allegedly arranging a cartel to fix their market shares, officials said.

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