search

 
 
JAPAN
Jan 28, 1999

Domestic auto output dropped 8.4% in '98

Total domestic automobile production in 1998 dropped 8.4 percent to 10,049,792 units from the previous year, the first decline in three years, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 1999

Finance sees no need for insurance talks with U.S.

The Finance Ministry says there is no need to resume bilateral insurance talks with the U.S., Vice Finance Minister Koji Tanami said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 1999

Most nerve gas victims still in suffering

A majority of surviving victims of the March 1995 sarin gas attack, for which members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult stand accused, still suffer from physical problems as well as posttraumatic stress disorder, a police survey released Thursday shows.
EDITORIALS
Jan 27, 1999

Making real peace with Russia

Russia's political stability under the active leadership of President Boris Yeltsin is the most crucial factor in the success of the ongoing talks for a long-pending peace treaty with Japan. The track record of the bilateral negotiations is clear evidence of this. When Mr. Yeltsin was healthy and confident,...
JAPAN
Jan 27, 1999

Asahi Chemical to sell food operations to JT

Asahi Chemical Industry Co. and Japan Tobacco Inc. have reached an agreement to transfer Asahi's food business operations to the tobacco giant, including Asahi Foods Corp. and seven other subsidiaries, on July 1, the two firms announced Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 1999

December oil sales rose 0.5%

Domestic fuel oil sales increased by 0.5 percent in December from a year before to reach 24.16 million kiloliters, marking the first year-on-year increase in 15 months, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jan 27, 1999

Links you can trust

In the past few months, this column has addressed the trend of "portals," those jump-station sites where you're supposed to begin your journey onto the Web. Although Wired.com hasn't officially become a portal, it is where I often begin my Web sessions. I go to read Wired's superior tech features, but...
JAPAN
Jan 27, 1999

Nissan to sell part of Kinugawa Rubber stake

Nissan Motor Co. said Wednesday that it will sell 4 million shares of Kinugawa Rubber Industrial Co., a Nissan affiliate, to Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. to advance joint projects between the two rubber firms.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 1999

Obuchi miffed over 'Super 301' move

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said Wednesday he is "seriously concerned" over the U.S. reinstating its retaliatory "Super 301" trade provision and a revised "Buy American" law.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 1999

Aoshima now called friend of bureaucrats, status quo

Mavericks Yukio Aoshima and "Knock" Yokoyama rode a tidal wave of voter discontent with the status quo four years ago and won gubernatorial races in Tokyo and Osaka, pleasing the public and shocking lawmakers and assembly members of the Liberal Democratic Party and other non-Communist forces.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 1999

Poll Preview: Celebrity governors in need of new shtick

Four years ago, comedian and Upper House member "Knock" Yokoyama entered the Osaka gubernatorial race three days before the official campaign started, saying he was angry about the collusion in the non-Communist ruling coalition in the prefectural assembly.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 1999

Flu outbreak said cause of 24 deaths

At least 24 people nationwide have died of influenza-related diseases this month, according to a survey conducted by Kyodo News.
EDITORIALS
Jan 26, 1999

Europe's democracy deficit

The "European project" -- the continent's gradual evolution toward greater integration -- took a giant step forward this month with the launch of the euro. The single currency is a bold initiative, but it is merely the latest manifestation of a time-tested European strategy: Economic integration has...
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1999

Asian telecom firms want Net connectivity costs shared

Eight Asian telecommunications carriers are calling on their U.S. counterparts to share costs for Internet circuits between the United States and the Asia-Pacific region, KDD Corp. President Tadashi Nishimoto said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1999

Guidelines amendment aims for greater Diet say in SDF

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi indicated Tuesday his government may amend bills to approve updated guidelines for Japan-U.S. defense cooperation so that related operations by the Self-Defense Forces would require Diet approval.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1999

Japan, Iran agree to debt-refinancing plan

Japan and Iran have agreed in principle to refinance $500 million of $2.6 billion in debts owed by the Persian Gulf country to private Japanese companies, to help strengthen bilateral economic relations, government and industry sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1999

Tokyo seeks foreigners for advisory council

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is looking for candidates to sit on its new Foreign Advisory Council.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1999

Sony, Toyota enter data service venture with IIJ

A joint data communications venture established by Toyota Motor Corp., Sony Corp. and Internet Initiative Japan Inc. announced Tuesday that it will begin high-speed data services of up to 600 megabits per second in April for corporate users.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1999

Japan Energy to halve workforce by 2003

In a desperate restructuring move, major oil refiner and distributor Japan Energy Corp. said Tuesday it will nearly halve its workforce by 2003 to survive ever-intensifying competition.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1999

Iranian envoy urges deeper relations

Iranian Ambassador Manouchehr Mottaki, in Tokyo since 1995, wants to see Japan further deepen its relations with Iran and other Persian Gulf countries by promoting relations in various fields, not only trade.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1999

Aichi officially gives up Fujimae dumping plan

Aichi Prefecture officially told the central government Tuesday that local authorities will drop their plan to turn Nagoya's Fujimae tidal flats, the nation's most popular stopover for migratory birds, into a garbage landfill.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1999

State OKs administrative streamlining outline

The government adopted an administrative reform outline Tuesday that aims to create a slimmer and more efficient government in January 2001.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1999

Justice Ministry revises guardian plan

In an effort to cope with Japan's rapidly aging society, the Justice Ministry's Legislative Council has mapped out a new legal framework to protect the assets of legally incompetent adults, the council announced Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1999

Major banks plan unprecedented fundraising hike

Japan's 17 major banks decided as of Tuesday to raise a total of 8 trillion yen to 9 trillion yen, including several trillion yen in public funds, to shore up their capital bases, industry sources said.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1999

Kobe asks ministry to OK airport plan

KOBE — The Kobe Municipal Government applied Tuesday to the Transport Ministry for approval of its plan to reclaim land off the port of Kobe to build a new airport.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 1999

Softbank, Broadcast.com plan Web venture

Softbank Corp. and Broadcast.com Inc., both leading U.S.-based video and audio Internet broadcasting companies, will set up a joint venture to provide a Japanese-language Web broadcasting service, the firms announced Monday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 1999

Free short-term parking aims to appease violators

In a bid to help solve Osaka's notorious parking woes, city authorities said they will offer 30 minutes of free parking at public lots near JR Osaka Station on weekdays.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 1999

Thai canal envisioned to promote trade

To boost regional investment and cross-border trade in Southeast Asia, Gen. Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, a former Thai prime minister, is advocating a bold plan to cut a canal across the narrow part of southern Thailand between the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 1999

Daiwa, Sumitomo set venture with T. Rowe, R. Fleming

Daiwa Securities Co. and Sumitomo Bank announced Monday that they will form a joint venture with T. Rowe Price Associates, a major U.S. asset management firm, to offer mutual funds tailored to Japanese customers.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 1999

Fujimae dump plan to be scrapped

NAGOYA — The city of Nagoya and Aichi Prefecture have jointly decided to scrap their plan to convert the environmentally sensitive Fujimae tidelands into a landfill, informed sources said 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