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JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

Isuzu posts 37.7 billion yen first-half loss

Hurt by the sluggish domestic demand and the appreciation of the yen, Isuzu Motors Ltd. posted unconsolidated pretax losses of 37.7 billion yen in the first half of fiscal 1999, the truck maker reported Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

Sumitomo Marine turns down four-way insurance merger

After four weeks of thinking, Sumitomo Marine & Fire Insurance Co. announced Friday it will not join a plan by its three rivals to consolidate their companies.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

Kono vows $28 million for Timor refugees

Foreign Minister Yohei Kono has told United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan that Tokyo will extend $28 million in humanitarian assistance for refugees in East Timor in response to U.N. appeals for aid, according to Foreign Ministry officials.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

No progress in renewal talks for Saudi oil field

Japan and Saudi Arabia made little progress during negotiations held in Riyadh by the two governments earlier this week to renew oil-drilling rights for Tokyo-based Arabian Oil Co., trade chief Takashi Fukaya said Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

Court overturns visa rejections of Bangladeshi pair

The Tokyo District Court on Friday invalidated the decisions of a former justice minister who rejected petitions filed by two Bangladeshis with Japanese wives seeking special permission to stay in Japan even though they have overstayed their visas.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

Festivities mark Emperor's 10th anniversary

Politicians, business leaders and musicians gathered with the public to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Emperor's reign in both civic- and government-sponsored festivities Friday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

LDP stalls on foreign resident suffrage bill

The Liberal Democratic Party told its coalition partners Thursday that it needs time to form a consensus on granting suffrage to permanent foreign residents, and that it will be impossible to submit the bill during the current session, a New Komeito executive said.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

KDD profit soars to 11.2 billion yen

KDD Corp. posted an unconsolidated pretax profit of 11.2 billion yen in the first half of fiscal 1999, up 118.5 percent from the same period a year earlier, the telecommunications carrier reported Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

'Sokaiya' linked to Kobe Steel has stock in 500 firms

OSAKA -- A "sokaiya" corporate racketeer arrested on suspicion of receiving illegal payoffs from Kobe Steel Ltd. was found to be holding stocks of about 500 companies worth about 400 million yen in market value, sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

Gas attack getaway driver gets life term

A former Aum Shinrikyo fugitive was sentenced to life in prison Friday for his involvement in the 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

Japan hits the road for weapons treaty

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

Report on Kyrgyz hostage crisis urges security steps

The Foreign Ministry on Friday released its study on the abduction of four Japanese in Kyrgyzstan, detailing various steps to ensure the security of Japanese engaged in development assistance work abroad.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1999

Japan hit over weak antinuclear stance

Staff writer
EDITORIALS
Nov 11, 1999

Banishing the nuclear specter

The specter of a nuclear holocaust lingers as the world approaches the 21st century. True, the end of the Cold War halted the U.S.-Soviet nuclear-arms race and prompted efforts to reduce strategic nuclear weapons. But the theory of nuclear deterrence -- which created a "balance of terror" during the...
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Mazda first-half profits slide 69%

Mazda Motor Corp. posted 5.9 billion yen in unconsolidated pretax profits for the first half of fiscal 1999, down 68.8 percent from the same period last year, the country's fifth-largest automaker reported Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 11, 1999

Crown tops bush hat, for now

Two definitive historical events of the past quarter-century have determined the agenda for 21st-century Australia: the dismissal of the Whitlam government by Governor General John Kerr in November 1975; and the defeat of the republican cause in the referendum of November 1999.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Scholars petition state to give illegals amnesty

A group of scholars supporting the amnesty appeal of 21 foreigners who have overstayed their visas submitted a petition to the justice minister Thursday requesting that he grant special permission for the foreigners to live permanently in Japan.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Foley urges Osaka to use U.S. firms in public works

OSAKA -- Including American firms in the construction of Olympic facilities in Osaka and at the site of Kobe airport will help, not hurt, local economies, U.S. Ambassador Thomas Foley said here Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

No agreement reached in glass talks

Tokyo and Washington failed Thursday to come to an agreement on renewing a 1995 bilateral arrangement over foreign access to Japan's flat-glass market, officials said.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Ozawa denies he put merger plan to LDP leaders

Amid mounting speculation over his party's possible merger with the LDP, Liberal Party leader Ichiro Ozawa on Thursday denied media reports that claimed he put the merger plan to LDP leaders over the weekend.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Government unveils 18 trillion yen stimulus

The government unveiled an 18 trillion yen economic stimulus package Thursday that it hopes will put the economy on a full recovery track in the second half of fiscal 2000.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Nichiei chief admits some collectors 'heavy-handed'

Nichiei Co. President Kazuo Matsuda on Thursday admitted that some employees might have been extremely heavy-handed in trying to collect on loans and apologized for causing trouble to the public.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Obuchi plies Annan for U.N. reform

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi on Thursday told visiting U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan that Japanese are becoming dissatisfied with their nation's increasing share of U.N. expenses and the lack of progress in reforming the Security Council, a Foreign Ministry official said.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Tokyo governor's house goes Italian

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Tokyo to host secret emissions talks

Staff writer
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 11, 1999

Japanese white lightning from a still in Tonga

I admit it. I had to travel all the way to the Kindom of Tonga to learn about shochu. In my six years in Japan, I had simply not heard of it. Sounds ridiculous, but it's true. No, the Tongans don't make it, never mind drink it. They hadn't heard of it till recently either. In fact, most of them still...
LIFE / Food & Drink / WINE WAYS
Nov 11, 1999

Whatever the varietal, the grape has to be great

Had any good wine lately? I'm sure you have, but make a note of Baron de Ley Reserva 1995. It is aged in oak for 24 months and is a typical yet wonderful Rioja red that's characteristic of those made from the elusively flavorful tempranillo grape, an indigenous Spanish varietal noted for its plummy,...
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Economists give stimulus plan mixed reception

Staff writer
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 11, 1999

Homebrewing for fun, taste and profit

"Hamm's" is the first spoken word recorded in Rob Nelson's baby book. His parents say he was influenced by the rhythmic beat of the Hamm's Beer television commercial. Now, when not consuming one of his own homebrew creations, Nelson, 47, is out searching for the perfect pint. His favorite beer to date,...
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1999

Will WTO waiting game pay off for Japan?

Staff writer

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals