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JAPAN
Nov 4, 1998

Obuchi demands stimulus package with long-term potential

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi called on his Cabinet ministers Wednesday to compile a stimulus package that offers better future prospects for the economy and the lives of the people.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1998

Politicians make progress in coupon debate

Despite oppositions raised from within both the government and the business community, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and two opposition forces moved a step forward Wednesday to realize a proposed plan to distribute merchandise coupons to the public.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1998

Democratic wins bolster Clinton's policies, ministry says

Better-than-expected performances by U.S. Democrats in midterm elections are likely to boost President Bill Clinton's confidence in pursuing his foreign policy prerogatives but have little impact on Japan-U.S. relations.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1998

Obuchi-Yeltsin summit set; isles row to top agenda

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's visit to Russia to hold talks with President Boris Yeltsin will take place from Nov. 11 to 13, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1998

Bankrupt English school leaves students in lurch

OSAKA -- Leap English Conversation School declared bankruptcy late Tuesday night, leaving behind 245 million yen in accumulated debts.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 1998

Institute continues monkeying with primate contraception

Primatological researchers concerned with the increasing population of monkeys at a natural zoological park in Oita Prefecture are continuing with experimental procedures to curb their numbers, despite controversy over the propriety of such operations.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 1998

China wants wartime apology during Jiang's visit

China is urging Japan to apologize for its wartime aggression in China in a joint statement to be made during President Jiang Zemin's visit to Japan later this month, sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 1998

Heliport decision to follow Okinawa poll, Obuchi says

The government will decide on its embattled plan to build a sea-based heliport off the northern Okinawa city of Nago after the Nov. 15 gubernatorial election in the prefecture, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi suggested Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 1998

Mayor of Wakayama arrested for alleged bribery

OSAKA -- Wakayama Mayor Yoshihiro Ozaki was arrested Monday evening on suspicion of receiving 1 million yen in bribes in exchange for favoring an applicant for a municipal job.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 1998

Lower costs fuel boom in exotic, quirky overseas weddings

Regional correspondent
JAPAN
Nov 2, 1998

New magazine to raise profile of volunteerism

HIROSHIMA -- A group of graduate students and researchers at Hiroshima University launched a new bilingual magazine Monday that aims to serve as a domestic and international forum for development issues and volunteer activities in developing countries.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 1998

July-September PC sales show 9% rise

Boosted by the release of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 98 operating system and growth of the home-use consumer market, domestic personal computer shipments increased for the first time in five quarters, an industry association said Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 1998

LDP lawmaker's 'stinginess' said his undoing

The recent fund-skimming scandal involving arrested Lower House lawmaker Yojiro Nakajima would not have broke if he had been less stingy, one of his close aides has told police, investigative sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 1998

Nonaka supports increase in pension funding

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Monday that an increase in government contributions to state-run pensions should be included in next year's revision plan, a reversal from Health and Welfare Minister Sohei Miyashita's remarks the day before.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 1998

Obuchi reaches out in Osaka

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 2, 1998

New minister pushes for future financial safety net

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 2, 1998

Filmmaker's documentary probes education alternatives for Japan

The Japanese version of a documentary video focused on children who stay away from school in Japan was put on sale by the Children Rights Information Center in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 1998

Yomiuri Shimbun on verge of absorbing Chuokoron

The long-established publishing firm Chuokoron-Sha Inc. has signed a tentative agreement with The Yomiuri Shimbun to be absorbed by the publisher of the mass-circulation daily newspaper.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 1998

Yosano urges two more years of stimulus

Additional stimulus budgets of 10 trillion yen are needed for the current fiscal year and the following two years so the government can fill the deflationary gap between supply and demand, trade chief Kaoru Yosano said Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 1998

Mitsubishi Oil logs 2.8 billion yen loss

Major oil distributor and refiner Mitsubishi Oil Co. posted a 3.8 billion yen operating loss and 2.8 billion yen pretax loss for the April-September period, suffering from decreasing oil demand in the economic slump and dwindling prices of oil products, company officials said Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 1998

Bangladesh questions Japanese aid priorities

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 1, 1998

Machimura leaves for Honduras

State Foreign Secretary Nobutaka Machimura left Tuesday for hurricane-hit Honduras, where Japan is likely to deploy military personnel on a relief mission.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 1998

Heating miso could turn pot into projectile

OSAKA -- Consumers should beware when attempting to reheat miso soup in a stainless steel cooking pot because the contents of the pot may suddenly boil over -- and with a loud explosive noise -- overturn the pot, consumer protection officials warned Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 1998

BOJ financing on track, board notes

Signs of a recent move by the Bank of Japan's Policy Board to take a series of new steps to enhance corporate financing were noted in its Oct. 13 meeting, according to the minutes released Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 1998

LDP, New Komeito strike deal on coupons

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito reached a final agreement Tuesday to distribute on a limited basis merchandise coupons worth about 700 billion yen.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 1998

Japan to ease Pakistan sanctions, withhold aid

Japan has decided to partially lift sanctions imposed on Pakistan following its nuclear tests in May and will approve international bank loans to Islamabad, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura told his Pakistani counterpart, Sartaj Aziz, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 1998

LDP lawmaker may lose seat over vote-buying

Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Minoru Noda, 61, is close to losing his Lower House seat over a vote-buying scandal that involved his secretary.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 1998

Defense Agency scouted oil firms ahead of bidding

In yet another dubious procurement deal, the Defense Agency sounded out major oil firms on desired contract prices before accepting bids for the supply of aircraft fuel, it was learned Wednesday from a Board of Audit investigation.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 1998

Banks may waive claims on Haseko

Three major creditor banks to Haseko Corp. are putting the final touches on a plan to waive some 120 billion yen in claims on the troubled condominium developer, according to industry sources.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 1998

No change seen for Alien cards, death penalty

Justice Minister Shozaburo Nakamura said Tuesday he does not intend to abolish the death penalty or amend the Alien Registration Law to end a requirement that foreign permanent residents carry their alien registration card at all times, despite recommendations by a United Nations panel.

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