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JAPAN
Jan 13, 1998

Blair sees a new chapter in bilateral ties

A new chapter is opening in Anglo-Japanese relations as the two countries work together for peace and security, and a better international economy, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday.He told a news conference at the Japan National Press Club that his visit helped strengthen the bilateral...
JAPAN
Jan 13, 1998

Armed man holds official hostage at Tokyo Stock Exchange

A man in his 40s wielding what appeared to be a pistol took a hostage Tuesday and holed up in the governor's suite on the 14th floor of the Tokyo Stock Exchange building, demanding to meet with the finance minister, police said.The man, clad in a business suit, took captive Masahiro Abe, 50, an exchange...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Horiuchi tells EC recovery coming in April

Trade chief Mitsuo Horiuchi assured European Commission Vice President Leon Brittan on Monday that the Japanese economy will soon return to a stable recovery driven by domestic demand.During his meeting with Brittan, Horiuchi said a range of economic pump-priming measures, including 2.3 trillion yen...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Japan and Britain address Asia crisis

Japan and Britain shared concerns Monday over the recent instability of the Indonesian rupiah but agreed that South Korea is making progress in escaping its economic quagmire, according to a senior Japanese government official.Visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair met with Finance Minister Hiroshi...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Old Buddhist statue will have new home

OSAKA -- For the Kudara Kannon statue of the Goddess of Mercy, 1997 was a busy year.Kudara Kannon, a national treasure belonging to Horyuji Temple in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, was displayed at the Louvre museum and at the Tokyo National Museum.Next autumn, a building specially designed to house the statue...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

DKB allegedly treated bureaucrats to cover payoffs

As business at Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank slowly recovers following the revelation of payoffs to a "sokaiya" extortionist, fresh allegations have surfaced that the bank had wined and dined Finance Ministry officials to cover up the payoffs.The bank's business suffered severely amid the scandal, in which 11...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Ex-Taiheiyo broker grilled over fund misuse

OSAKA -- Police are questioning a former Taiheiyo Securities Co. employee on suspicion of misusing more than 300 million yen in his client's fund, informed sources said Monday.They said the former acting sales chief at the Umeda branch here received more than 300 million yen from a client between March...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Hashimoto vows efforts to protect financial system

In a departure from the norm, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto opened the 150-day Diet session Monday with a speech focusing solely on financial markets and the economy, stressing that Japan will not let its woes drag the rest of Asia and the world into more turmoil."It is our firm resolve that neither...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Dai-Ichi Kangyo executives plead guilty to payoffs

Four former executives of Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank pleaded guilty Monday to extending illegal loans to a "sokaiya" corporate extortionist in violation of the Commercial Code, in their first trial hearing before the Tokyo District Court.The four, all wearing navy-blue suits and white shirts, are former Vice...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Japan's recovery vital to stability in Asia, Mitsuzuka says

Japan's economic recovery is extremely vital to the stability of Asian economies and the continued expansion of the global economy, Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka said Monday in a speech at the opening of the year's regular Diet session.He added that it is the government's responsibility to take...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

WorldCom to expand Japanese base

WorldCom Japan Ltd., a subsidiary of U.S.-based WorldCom Inc., said Monday it will expand its presence in the Japanese telecommunications market by establishing its own fiber-optic network.As deregulation is slated to begin this month, WorldCom, which currently holds a Type II carrier license, will apply...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Opposition parties put down Hashimoto's speech

Two opposition party leaders railed Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto after his Monday speech to the Diet, saying his administration has failed to come to grips with the current economic downturn.Liberal Party head Ichiro Ozawa termed the government's recently announced economic measures -- which Hashimoto...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Imai officially tapped by Toyoda to head Keidanren

Shoichiro Toyoda, chairman of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), announced Monday that he has chosen Takashi Imai, president of Nippon Steel Corp., to succeed him at the helm of the nation's largest business organization.The announcement was made at a regular meeting of Keidanren's...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Blair kicks off UK98

British Prime Minister Tony Blair proclaimed a future of improved ties between Japan and Great Britain in a speech Monday at the British Embassy in Tokyo.The speech marked the official opening of Festival UK98, a series of events promoting British culture among Japanese. Blair called UK98 "a celebration...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Banks assess bad loans at 76 trillion yen

The nation's major and regional banks estimate they have accumulated 76.71 trillion yen in potentially sour loans, the Finance Ministry said Monday.The amount, calculated under different standards than those used by the ministry, was about 3.5 times greater than 21.73 trillion yen reported by the ministry...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1998

Limits on construction bond use may be lifted

LDP Secretary General Koichi Kato indicated Friday that the government may lift a division between deficit-covering bonds and construction bonds so more public funds can be injected into the economy."Removing the division is a matter that has lingered for a long time in the minds of a number of senior...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1998

Mitsuzuka wants construction, deficit bonds separate

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka voiced opposition Friday to recent calls to scrap the current classification divisions between construction and deficit-covering government bonds.Deficit-covering bonds are issued to cover gaps between government spending and revenue in a given fiscal year and require...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1998

Blair hails Toyota plan to expand production in U.K.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Hiroshi Okuda, president of Toyota Motor Corp., announced at a press conference Friday that the automaker has decided to expand an engine factory in Great Britain.Toyota will increase the annual manufacturing capacity of 1,000cc to 1,300cc gasoline engines at a Toyota...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1998

Fiscal woes plague Osaka governor

Staff writerNearly three years ago, comedian and Diet member "Knock" Yokoyama shocked the nation by winning Osaka Prefecture's gubernatorial election as an independent, despite entering the race only three weeks before the voting.Yokoyama won because voters, angry with the former governor for his involvement...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1998

St. Ignatius Church reveals initial phase of facelift

The first phase of construction of a new building for St. Ignatius Church, near Yotsuya Station in Tokyo, is finished and was unveiled to the press Friday.The building, a Catholic church well known in the Japanese and foreign community alike, is oval-shaped and has a floor space of 1,450 sq. meters,...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1998

Emissions-cutting panel holds first meeting

A government panel on global warming launched efforts Friday to find ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 6 percent from 1990 levels, in accordance with a convention signed last month at an international conference in Kyoto.The panel, headed by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and consisting of all...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1998

Committee agrees to begin work on new bullet train sections

A committee of representatives from the government and the three ruling parties agreed Friday to begin construction on three new bullet train sections in fiscal 1997.The committee had been discussing the proposed public work projects, under which runs would be built between:1) Hachinohe and Shin Aomori...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1998

Free home stays available for Paralympics participants

The Nagano Olympic and Paralympic Homestay Program Committee is inviting friends and families of officials and athletes participating in the Games to apply for free accommodation in Nagano.Between Feb. 1 and Mar. 15, qualified visitors will be able to stay two or three nights -- but no more than a week...
JAPAN
Jan 8, 1998

Agency rates 20 life insurers' ability to pay claims

Amid growing public concerns about financial institutions, the Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) on Thursday released a ranking of 20 major life insurance firms in terms of ability to provide payouts.The list included 10 life insurers whose ratings had been previously released in accordance with paid...
JAPAN
Jan 8, 1998

Finance revision to qualify preferred stock buys by DIC

Financial institutions that want the Deposit Insurance Corp. to purchase their preferred stock will first be required to submit management improvement plans to ensure that public funds will not be used too freely to bail out ailing banks, a top Finance Ministry official said Thursday.Banking Bureau Director...
JAPAN
Jan 8, 1998

Hashimoto dismisses calls for any further tax cuts

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto indicated Thursday that he opposes income and residential tax cuts above the 2 trillion yen already announced.Speaking before the House of Councilors' Finance Committee, Hashimoto said he was aware of calls from business leaders and opposition parties for a greater reduction...
JAPAN
Jan 8, 1998

Heavy snow blankets Tokyo region

Tokyo and its surrounding areas were hit by heavy snow Thursday which disrupted traffic and prompted the Meteorological Agency to issue the capital a heavy snow warning -- its first in two years.The snowfall played havoc with Tokyo's highly organized transportation system, forcing train delays in several...
JAPAN
Jan 7, 1998

Kumon left estate of 1.91 billion yen

Takeshi Kumon, president of Kumon Education Institute, left an estate valued at about 1.91 billion yen when he died last year, Tokyo tax authorities disclosed Wednesday.The property, mainly made up of the late Kumon's house and land in Tokyo's Meguro Ward and shares of the institute, has been inherited...
JAPAN
Jan 7, 1998

LDP aims to take Upper House majority

A draft of the Liberal Democratic Party's policy platform for 1998 carries a call to arms to win a majority in the Upper House in the July election.The LDP currently holds 120 seats in the 252-seat chamber. It lost its majority in the chamber in July 1989, following the introduction of the consumption...
JAPAN
Jan 7, 1998

Priest held over stimulant possession

Tokyo police have arrested a Shinto priest for possessing 2 grams of stimulant drugs in violation of the Stimulant Drug Control Law, police said Wednesday.According to police, Masanori Sagara, 50, of the Oizumi Hikawa Shrine in Nerima Ward, was found in possession of 2 grams of stimulants near JR Ikebukuro...

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