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JAPAN
Jul 10, 1997

Unlicensed bus firms raided

The Metropolitan Police Department and local police raided hotels and operators of duty-free stores July 10 for operating unlicensed tourist bus services in violation of the Land Transport Law, police sources said.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 1997

Landslide in Fukuoka claims at least 19

FUKUOKA -- Inundating rains set off massive flash flooding and landslides in Kagoshima Prefecture on July 10, killing at least 19 people, injuring 13, and leaving two missing, police said.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 1997

Need for Cambodia airlift recedes

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Teijiro Furukawa indicated late July 9 that the need for the government to send Air Self-Defense Force planes to Cambodia to rescue Japanese people there has decreased.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 1997

Panel ready to tackle postal privatization

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's blue-ribbon reform panel will take up this month the highly controversial issue of privatizing the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry's postal, postal savings and postal insurance services, a high-ranking official said July 9.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 1997

May current account surplus grew 154.9%

Japan's current account surplus for May jumped 154.9 percent from a year earlier to 906.8 billion yen, posting the second straight month of increase, according to provisional figures released July 9.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 1997

FTC drafts rules on forbidden holding firms

The Fair Trade Commission released on July 9 its draft guideline for prohibited cases of holding companies under the revised Antimonopoly Law.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 1997

Cluster discovery may rewrite theory on galaxy formation

A team of Japanese astrophysicists have discovered a cluster of galaxies about 9 billion light years away from the Earth -- a discovery that could rewrite the conventional theory on the formation of galaxies.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 1997

Netanyahu to visit Japan with economic agenda

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will make a four-day visit to Japan beginning Aug. 24 in an attempt to further economic relations, diplomatic sources said July 9.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 1997

Japan may reduce official aid to UNDP

Japan may cut its aid disbursement to the United Nations' development unit because of cuts being made to its official development assistance budget, Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda told James Speth, administrator of the U.N. Development Program, according to ministry officials.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 1997

Japan Art Association honors five for cultural contributions

The Japan Art Association on July 9 announced five recipients of the Ninth Praemium Imperiale awards.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 1997

Japan firms urged to take lead in environment

The World Wide Fund for Nature has called on Japanese businesses to establish a council to fight global climate change and take a leading role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions before a key conference in December in Kyoto.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 1997

Sapporo to host U.N. arms symposium

A U.N.-sponsored international conference on disarmament will be held July 22 to 25 in Sapporo to promote international cooperation in arms reduction, Foreign Ministry officials said July 8.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 1997

Transport to stiffen health checks for mariners

The Transport Ministry will this year tighten the physical checkup criteria for older marine pilots to ensure they are physically fit to guide large vessels through busy ports and bays, sources close to the ministry said July 8.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 1997

Wholesale price index eased in June

The domestic wholesale price index for June fell 0.1 percent from the previous month but rose 2 percent from a year earlier, the Bank of Japan said July 8.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 1997

Parties agree to try direct talks with North Korea

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its two non-Cabinet allies agreed July 8 to make efforts to hold direct talks with North Korea, both at the government and party level, to solve questions over emergency food aid and the alleged abduction of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 1997

Family sues Mercedes, dealers over husband's fiery death

OSAKA -- The family of a man killed when his car caught fire filed a lawsuit July 8 against the company that imported and sold him the vehicle as well as two car dealers that handled it.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 1997

Tokyo working out Cambodia evacuation plan

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said July 8 that the government is working out ways of rescuing Japanese nationals stranded in Cambodia, according to a high-ranking government official.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 1997

Hashimoto presents budget-writing rules

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto on July 8 outlined basic rules for fiscal 1998 budget requests that include three special spending brackets to channel 550 billion yen into key areas as well as roughly 240 billion yen in general expenditure cuts.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 1997

Citizens suspicious of Osaka's bid for Olympics

OSAKA -- While Osaka officials say public support for the 2008 Olympics bid is at a fever pitch, many ordinary citizens are concerned that public money is being spent on Olympic-size plans without public accountability, and recent polls indicate a growing number are having second thoughts about the Games....
JAPAN
Jul 8, 1997

Decentralization panel stresses need for local autonomy

Two-thirds of central government jobs currently assigned to prefectural governors and heads of municipalities should be transferred to local authorities, an advisory panel to the prime minister said July 8.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 1997

Hase murder suspect called 'scapegoat'

Japanese society is trying to make a scapegoat of the 15-year-old suspect held in the killing of Jun Hase, according to panelists taking part in a discussion organized by the Social Democratic Party on July 8 to assess the social impact of the case.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 1997

Overseas A-bomb victims seek equality

HIROSHIMA -- Survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki who live outside Japan have recently been calling for the Tokyo government to give them treatment equal to that of survivors resident in Japan.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1997

Family of young transplant patient seeks help with bills

The family of a 6-year-old boy who underwent two heart transplants in the United States last year is in a financial crisis after amassing more than 200 million yen in hospital bills.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1997

LDP panel again delays unveiling of reform plan

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's panel on administrative reform on July 7 again postponed the announcement of its reform package for governmental financial institutions, citing time-consuming negotiations with ministries and agencies.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1997

Restaurateur in bubble-era bank fraud faces 15 years

OSAKA -- Prosecutors demanded a 15-year prison term July 7 for a female restaurateur over 274 billion yen in business crimes involving the now-defunct Toyo Shinkin Bank and other financial institutions during the bubble economy of the early 1990s.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1997

Hashimoto elated with LDP wins; JCP surges

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto expressed confidence July 7 over his Liberal Democratic Party's continued reign over national politics following his party's victory in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly race July 6.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1997

Chugoku Focus: Reclamation foes find new target

MATSUE, Shimane Pref. -- As the controversial project to fill in Isahaya Bay in Nagasaki Prefecture takes its toll on the marine environment, local residents here are battling against another unwanted public works project that appears to serve no purpose.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1997

Supreme Court rejects appeal to transfer Hase

The Supreme Court's No. 1 Petty Bench rejected an appeal July 7 from the attorneys of the 15-year-old suspect in the murder of Jun Hase to have the teen moved to an office for juvenile offenders.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1997

Finance launches group to draft 'Big Bang' legislation

The Finance Ministry has launched a study group to initiate discussions on drafting wide-reaching financial services legislation.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1997

Chugoku Focus: Islanders, firms lament costly Seto bridge

KOJIMA, Okayama Pref. -- At 8 a.m. every weekday, several high school students await their trains here at JR Kojima Station for an unusual trip -- a 20-km commute across the Seto Onland Sea to their school in Shikoku.

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