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JAPAN
Nov 23, 1998

Death row executions spark renewed protest

NAGOYA -- A citizens' group against capital punishment held a protest Sunday night at the Nagoya Detention House -- the place where two death row inmates were hanged Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 1998

Sanyo Securities decides to throw in the towel

The collapsed Sanyo Securities Co. has decided to formally file for bankruptcy, after a year of failed attempts to revive itself under a court-mediated rehabilitation procedure, industry sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 1998

Frozen pizza entrepreneur opens doors for female execs

22nd in a series of occasional articles about venture businesses
JAPAN
Nov 23, 1998

Dark cloud remains over Kabutocho

The bright, eight-story building was supposed to be something to savor for people working in Tokyo's Kabutocho securities center. But it has ended up symbolizing the continuing plight of the brokerage industry.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 1998

Kawasaki foreigners' panel to hold forum

KAWASAKI -- The foreign residents panel of Kawasaki will hold an open forum Sunday for foreign and Japanese residents.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 1998

Mita Industrial chief to be served bribery warrant

OSAKA -- The former president of failed photocopier maker Mita Industrial Co. will soon be served an arrest warrant on suspicion of bribing a certified public accountant and asking him to look over the firm's suspected falsification of accounts, investigative sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1998

Reasonably priced homes move in on capital

A reasonably priced 100 sq. meter home is now within closer proximity to the capital, according to a metropolitan government white paper on housing released Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1998

Miyazawa rules out consumption tax cut

The 5 percent consumption tax will not be lowered at least for the time being, Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa reiterated Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1998

Norota takes command of Defense Agency

Lower House member Hosei Norota, 69, was appointed as the Defense Agency's new director general by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi on Friday as a mass personnel reshuffle continued in the wake of scandals involving procurement overcharging and subsequent coverups.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1998

ANA taken to task for maintenance violations

The Transport Ministry took the rare move of imposing administrative measures against All Nippon Airways Co. over the carrier's violation of its own maintenance regulations, ministry officials announced Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1998

Nakajima denies 20 million yen related to vote-buying

Lower House lawmaker Yojiro Nakajima, served a fresh arrest warrant Thursday for alleged vote-buying, has admitted providing about 20 million yen to his supporters during the 1996 election campaign but denies he meant to ask them to buy votes for him, investigation sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1998

The Asahara Trial: Defense grills coroner at sarin attack

The defense counsel of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara on Friday cross-examined a doctor who led the team that determined the cause of death of four of the 12 victims of the 1995 Tokyo subway nerve gas attack.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1998

Eight city banks apply for public funds

One by one, all of the nation's city banks except for the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi announced by Friday that they will ask for public money under the provisions of the newly adopted bank recapitalization law.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1998

Obuchi-Ozawa pact gets lukewarm reception

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and Liberal Party leader Ichiro Ozawa's agreement Thursday to form a coalition government by January drew mixed responses Friday from members of Obuchi's Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1998

President urges further opening of markets

U.S. President Bill Clinton urged Japan on Friday to stimulate its economy by further opening its markets, pushing deregulation and foreign investment so the nation can share leadership with the U.S. in ensuring regional prosperity and security.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1998

Mitsui O.S.K., Navix Line announce maritime megamerger

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. and Navix Line, Ltd., the country's second- and fourth-largest maritime transport companies, will merge as of April 1, becoming one of the biggest maritime carriers in the world, top executives of the two companies announced on Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1998

Clinton endorses stimulus plan

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi met with U.S. President Bill Clinton on Friday and pledged to bring about positive economic growth in fiscal 1999, stabilize the nation's fragile financial system and quickly implement 24 trillion yen in stimulus measures.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1998

Honda, Mazda outshine competition at midterm

Honda has come out a winner and Mazda has made a dramatic comeback, while all other major automakers suffered shrinking sales in the domestic market.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 1998

Pakistan denies arms cooperation allegation

Pakistani Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz flatly denied on Thursday an allegation that Pakistan developed its nuclear and missile technologies in cooperation with North Korea and China.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 1998

Sega posts sharp fall in midterm profits

A week before it launches a new console in the heated game-machine war, Sega Enterprises Ltd. on Thursday reported sharp drops in sales and profits for the April-September period.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 1998

Justsystem posts losses in battle with Microsoft

Justsystem Corp. on Thursday reported midterm losses for the April-September period after being battered in fierce competition with computer software giant Microsoft Corp.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 1998

Defense chief resigns, offers reform plan

On announcing his resignation Thursday, Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga mapped out basic plans for reforming the scandal-tainted agency, including a call to dissolve the agency's Central Procurement Office.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 1998

U.S. commerce chief warns of protectionist backlash

U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley indirectly indicated to Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura on Thursday that Japan should further open its markets and stimulate domestic demand to avoid trade frictions.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 1998

Daiwa, Sanwa to seek 900 billion yen in public funds

Daiwa Bank and Sanwa Bank, two of the nation's city banks, will ask for 300 billion yen and 600 billion yen each in public funds under the provisions of the newly adopted bank recapitalization law, officials of the two banks said Thursday as they released their midterm earnings reports.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 1998

NEC to calculate refund owed to Defense Agency, NASDA

NEC Corp. announced Thursday that it will give back the money it overcharged the Defense Agency and the National Space Development Agency of Japan for defense and space-related equipment over several years.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 1998

The Asahara Trial: Guru fingered in cult lynching

A convicted Aum Shinrikyo figure testified in court Thursday that cult founder Shoko Asahara ordered a fellow cultist to kill errant follower Kotaro Ochida in front of the guru and other senior Aum members in January 1994.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 1998

Ministry announces three executions

Three death row inmates were hanged Thursday, and for the first time in recent history, the Justice Ministry officially announced the executions shortly afterward.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 1998

Obuchi, Ozawa seal alliance

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Liberal Party on Thursday agreed to begin a cooperative relationship that is expected to grow into a non-Cabinet coalition by the next ordinary Diet session, slated for January.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 1998

Letter campaign eyed to expand nuclear test ban club

Japan will increase efforts to seek ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty by sending letters to several countries, including the United States, China, India and Pakistan, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 1998

Moody's downgrades Japanese government debt

Moody's Investors Service has taken Japanese securities issued or guaranteed by the government down a notch from its top Aaa ranking, the U.S. credit rating agency's Japanese unit said on Tuesday.

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