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JAPAN
May 30, 1997

DPJ proposes public works watchdog

The Democratic Party of Japan submitted a bill to the Diet on May 30 to establish a monitoring system for public works projects to improve their cost-effectiveness. DPJ coleader Yukio Hatoyama said the bill was formulated in response to the nation's worsening fiscal crisis.
JAPAN
May 30, 1997

JAL posts huge losses on weaker yen

Japan Airlines posted a pretax loss of 16.97 billion yen in the year that ended March 31 due to increased fuel costs and a weaker yen, the firm announced May 30. The airline also reported a net loss of 9.2 billion yen. Although its total sales grew by about 80 billion yen, or 7.1 percent, to 1.2 trillion...
JAPAN
May 30, 1997

Flex-time urged for clerical officials

General government clerical officials should have a flex-time system, according to an annual report submitted May 30 by the National Personnel Authority to the Diet and Cabinet. The flex-time system is currently limited to government officials in research posts.
JAPAN
May 30, 1997

Former Nomura president arrested

Hideo Sakamaki, a former president of Nomura Securities Co., was arrested by Tokyo prosecutors on May 30 on suspicion of approving illegal payoffs to a "sokaiya" corporate racketeer. Sakamaki, 61, is suspected of having conspired with former managing directors Shimpei Matsuki and Nobutaka Fujikura, and...
JAPAN
May 30, 1997

China falls to No. 2 spot on aid list

China fell from being the largest recipient of Japanese official development assistance in 1996 after Tokyo temporarily froze grants-in-aid to protest Beijing conducting nuclear tests, the Foreign Ministry said May 30.
JAPAN
May 30, 1997

Patriotic reformation network founded

Attended by nearly 1,000 people, a new nationwide network for patriots was inaugurated May 30 calling for the reformation of Japan, which the group claimed has declined in every aspect.
JAPAN
May 30, 1997

Education council airs reform plan

Respect for a student's individuality will be the key to reforming school education in Japan -- known for its uniformity and conformity -- for the 21st century, an advisory panel to the education minister said May 30.
JAPAN
May 30, 1997

Nomura management involved in payoffs: Ujiie

The entire management of Nomura Securities Co. was involved in dubious connections with a "sokaiya" corporate extortionist, Junichi Ujiie, president of the brokerage, indirectly admitted May 30. "If the arrest of (former Nomura President Hideo Sakamaki) is taken as the involvement of the entire company...
JAPAN
May 30, 1997

Funeral held for slain Kobe boy

KOBE -- More than 500 people, including elementary school children, attended a funeral May 30 to bid farewell to Jun Hase, an 11-year-old boy slain in bizarre circumstances, whose severed head and body were found earlier this week. The memorial service started at 1:30 p.m. at the Heian Kaikan hall in...
JAPAN
May 30, 1997

LDP eyes early re-election of Hashimoto

In the wake of a succession of political victories for Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, some key members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have begun to suggest that the LDP bend party rules and hand Hashimoto an early assurance of re-election as LDP president. Hashimoto's term ends at the close...
JAPAN
May 29, 1997

Lower House approves bill to create finance watchdog

A government-proposed bill to create a new state agency to supervise financial institutions cleared the Lower House on May 29 with support from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its two non-Cabinet allies and other small parliamentary groups.
JAPAN
May 29, 1997

Hitachi logs 24% drop in profits for '96

Hitachi Ltd. reported May 29 consolidated pretax profits of 263.3 billion yen for the 1996 business year, which ended March 31, down 24 percent from the previous year.
JAPAN
May 29, 1997

Major automakers post profit gains

Benefiting largely from the yen's fall against other major currencies, Japan's five major automakers enjoyed profit increases for the 1996 business year that ended March 31, financial results show.
JAPAN
May 29, 1997

Industrial output declined 0.4% in April

Japan's industrial output in April dropped 0.4 percent from the previous month, but overall industrial activities are still on a gradual upward trend, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said in a preliminary report released May 29.
JAPAN
May 29, 1997

Kin battle for rights for North Korea emigres

Relatives of Japanese and Koreans, who emigrated to North Korea but have never been allowed to return to Japan, on May 29 called for public support in Tokyo for the rights of their kin.
JAPAN
May 29, 1997

ANA's Yoshikawa declines president's post

The feud among top managers at All Nippon Airways took an unusual twist May 29 as the airline announced that its president-designate had withdrawn his nomination and a new president had been appointed.
JAPAN
May 29, 1997

Hospitals free to inflate charges for uninsured patients

A 54-year-old Filipino woman living in Inage, Chiba Prefecture, was taken ill in April and had to use an ambulance to go to a hospital in the city of Chiba. She was suffering from acute appendicitis and needed immediate surgery.
JAPAN
May 29, 1997

ANA posts increase in sales and profits for '96

Amid the turbulence that led to the resignation of its three top officials, All Nippon Airways reported pretax profits of 17.3 billion yen in the business year that ended March 31, up 2.9 percent from the previous year.
JAPAN
May 29, 1997

Police raid firms over fake Tamagotchi

OSAKA -- Osaka Prefectural Police on May 29 raided three companies here on suspicion of marketing imitation Tamagotchi.
JAPAN
May 29, 1997

Tokyo unveils plan for internationalization

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government unveiled on May 29 its policy guidelines on the internationalization of Tokyo over the next decade.
JAPAN
May 28, 1997

Japan concerned with new U.N. budget proposals

Japan's proposals on fiscal reform for the cash-strapped United Nations would gradually raise its share of the world body's ordinary budget, to 16.9 percent next year and to 19.5 percent in 2000 from the current 15.7 percent, government officials said May 27.
JAPAN
May 28, 1997

Seoul trade ambassador bullish on Korean economy

Despite a range of difficulties facing South Korea, its economy will soon begin to pick up and the country may well evolve into another major Asian business center, according to Kim Kih Wan, South Korean ambassador for international economic relations.
JAPAN
May 28, 1997

Soccer lottery bill rolls past Lower House

A soccer lottery bill cleared the House of Representatives on May 27, bringing the government one step closer to enacting a controversial method to obtain public funds for sports programs.
JAPAN
May 28, 1997

15th Japan-ASEAN forum opens in Tokyo

Senior officials from Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on May 27 kicked off a two-day high-level meeting in Tokyo to discuss Japan-ASEAN ties as well as regional issues.
JAPAN
May 28, 1997

Disgraced financial execs to brief Diet on 'sokaiya'

Former and present executives of the nation's leading financial institutions are to be summoned to the Diet this afternoon to testify about alleged ties with "sokaiya" corporate extortionists.
JAPAN
May 28, 1997

Court says convicted murderer can file libel suits

The Supreme Court on reversed May 27 a lower court decision denying a convicted criminal the right to file libel suits against newspapers for stories that were published before a ruling on his murder case was handed down by the courts in 1994.
JAPAN
May 28, 1997

German defense chief praises Japan on security

German Defense Minister Volker Ruhe, praising Japan's security role in the Asia-Pacific region, agreed with Defense Agency Chief Fumio Kyuma to expand military ties between the two countries, Japanese officials said.
JAPAN
May 28, 1997

Quadriplegic sues BMW over air bag accident

OSAKA -- A 66-year-old man who was paralyzed in a car accident filed a lawsuit May 27 against the company that imported the vehicle and the dealer he bought it from, claiming he was severely injured because the air bag failed to deploy.
JAPAN
May 28, 1997

Japan orders North Korea to repatriate man

Japan has demanded that North Korea authorize repatriation of a 47-year-old Japanese man who disappeared in 1963 and was later confirmed to be alive in North Korea, it was learned May 27.
JAPAN
May 28, 1997

New bilateral trade fears emerging, U.S. says

Although the bilateral economic relationship between Japan and the United States has been relatively calm recently, tensions may increase as Washington voiced concerns May 27 over market access for foreign-made flat glass products and paper.

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