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JAPAN
Jun 11, 1997

Rescued sailor resumes quest to save killer whales

Disappointed, but relieved -- that is how Michael Reppy characterizes his state of mind. Disappointed because his bid for a single-handed trans-Pacific sailing record fell short, but relieved to have survived and be in Japan working to free five killer whales captured last February.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1997

Sony ships 16 millionth PlayStation

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. announced June 11 that total shipments of its PlayStation home video game machine reached 16 million as of the end of May.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1997

False drug charges lead to reprimands for Tokyo police chief

The National Public Safety Commission took disciplinary action June 11 against the head of the Metropolitan Police Department and other ranking officers in connection with a police frame-up of an innocent man.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1997

German petition supports compensation for 'comfort women'

A representative from the German World Day of Prayer Committee presented 66,510 German signatures to the Prime Minister's Office on June 11 urging the government to pay individual reparations to former "comfort women."
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1997

Posts ministry fights panel's privatization plan

The Posts and Telecommunications Ministry repeatedly stressed the need June 11 to keep postal, postal savings and insurance services in the hands of the state, saying that privatization would strip rural, unprofitable areas of their basic postal services.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 1997

Japan merits new look, Aussie report tells firms

The nation's economic policymakers may get some encouragement from a new report by a government think tank in Australia that urges its companies to take another look at potential business opportunities that are emerging with Tokyo's reform efforts.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1997

Shinshinto pushes for security laws for 21st century

Shinshinto, the largest opposition party, called for new legislation to deal with security-related emergencies in a set of plans announced June 10 to prepare the country for the 21st century.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1997

Industrial waste law targets illegal dumpers

The Lower House unanimously enacted legislation on industrial waste disposal June 10 that will hold prefectural governors responsible for building industrial waste disposal centers.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1997

Nike 'doing it' well in Japan

When sporting goods giant Nike, Inc. opened its Niketown superstore in New York last November, the company anticipated that about 100 journalists would attend the opening day ceremonies.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1997

Diet will not debate defense guidelines

Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda said June 10 that the final report on Japanese cooperation in U.S. combat operations and other related activities in the region surrounding Japan will not require Diet approval.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1997

Midsize insurers' sales drop 4.6%

The combined revenues from premiums at the nation's eight medium-size life insurers for the year that ended in March came to 6.045 trillion yen, a drop of 4.6 percent from the previous year, business reports showed June 10.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1997

Bio-toilets flush with eco-pride

Although it is not an act many people spend an exorbitant amount of time contemplating, flushing the toilet relegates about 8 to 13 liters of water to the sewer, a septic tank or some equally unappealing place.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1997

JOC inspectors check out Osaka's prospects

Nine members of the Japan Olympic Committee arrived in Osaka on June 10 for a two-day inspection tour of athletic venues and other sites at which the city hopes to hold the 2008 Summer Olympics.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1997

Homeless undercut kiosks with used magazines

Some homeless people around JR Shinjuku Station run a thriving business selling discarded magazines at discount prices, but kiosks are complaining that their "illegal" rivals are damaging their sales.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1997

Language teachers' union testifies before Tokyo labor panel

The Labor Commission of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government held a hearing June 10 on complaints from a labor union representing foreign-language instructors working for Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1997

Hashimoto ready to visit Russia in '97

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto expressed willingness June 10 to visit Russia this year in response to an invitation from President Boris Yeltsin, Foreign Ministry officials said.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1997

Keidanren suspends DKB, Nomura over 'sokaiya' outlays

The Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) will suspend Nomura Securities Co. and Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank from participation in its activities for a year due to their recent involvement in dubious activities, the federation's chairman, Shoichiro Toyoda, said June 9.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1997

Teen-ager held in fatal stabbing of schoolmate

OSAKA -- A 16-year-old high school boy was fatally stabbed June 9 morning at a train station in Osaka Prefecture and police have arrested a fellow student of the same age on suspicion of homicide.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1997

Aum ex-cop won't face charges for failed NPA hit

Prosecutors will not press charges against a former Metropolitan Police Department officer and Aum Shinrikyo follower in connection with his confessed involvement in the March 1995 shooting of the National Police Agency chief, investigation sources said June 9.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1997

Life insurers raise dividends after seven-year hiatus

The nation's top eight insurance firms were able to boost their dividends to policyholders for the first time in seven years due to progress in writing off nonperforming loans and reducing operating costs, earnings reports released June 9 showed.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1997

Cement overshoes prove mobster's undoing

The Tokyo District Court sentenced a former gangster June 9 to one year in prison for dumping the bodies of two slain managers of a hostess bar in Tokyo's Gotanda district sometime between late 1995 and early 1996.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1997

Russia, Japan agree to strengthen trade ties

Japan and Russia agreed to reinvigorate bilateral trade and economic ties by focusing on the Russian Far East, a place where the two countries can best benefit each other, government officials said June 9.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1997

Hashimoto to visit U.N., EU after Denver summit

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto will leave Tokyo on June 19 to attend the annual summit of the Group of Seven major industrialized nations in Denver and to meet with European leaders in Europe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama announced June 9.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1997

Sansei cop urges revival of traditional Japanese values

Good, old Japanese values are dying out in Japan but still thrive outside the country, says a former Los Angeles police detective who led an international probe into a 1981 murder case widely known here as "L.A. suspicion."
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1997

Medical bills about to double

A bill to revise the Medical Insurance Law is now expected to be enacted within the current Diet session because top officials of the House of Councilors agreed June 9 to quickly put the measure to a vote.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 1997

Aoki praises Japan's handling of hostage crisis

The Japanese government's commitment to peacefully resolving the Lima hostage crisis probably saved many hostages' lives during the daring rescue mission, former Ambassador Morihisa Aoki said in an interview June 6.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 1997

Tokyo assembly passes bill restricting phone, date clubs

The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on June 6 passed an ordinance to restrict so-called telephone clubs, which introduce customers to dates via the telephone, in an effort to stem the practice of teenage prostitution euphemistically called "enjo kosai," or compensated dates.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 1997

Capital move talks shelved till 2003

The Cabinet confirmed June 6 that discussions on moving the capital to a site outside Tokyo will be shelved until 2003 or later as a way to help end the state budget crisis, Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama said June 6.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 1997

Corporate wrongdoing fuels rise in shareholder lawsuits

As cases of misconduct involving major companies and corporate executives increase, so do lawsuits by shareholders seeking damages under the Commercial Code.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 1997

LDP plans Pentagon visit for security guideline review

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on June 9 will call on its two non-Cabinet allies -- the Social Democratic Party and New Party Sakigake -- to form a delegation to visit the U.S. to discuss security-related matters with officials of the Pentagon, LDP policy chief Taku Yamasaki told reporters June...

Longform

Wozme, founded by dancer and choreographer Wakaba Kohei, is composed of Kana Kitty, Ami Ishii, Akane Watanabe and Natsuki. Its aim is to inject elegance and beauty, traits traditionally associated with femininity, into the sometimes grotesque art form of butoh dance.
Wozme, an all-women dance troupe, wants to move the needle in butoh