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JAPAN
Jan 19, 1999

Failed futures firm execs arrested in trading scam

Police arrested eight people Tuesday linked to a defunct Tokyo-based commodity futures trading firm on suspicion that they swindled three company executives out of about 135 million yen, officials said.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 1999

Global One boasts alliance stability

Gary D. Forsee, president and CEO of international telecom joint venture Global One, stressed the stability of the alliance as well as the importance of the Japanese market at a press conference held Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 1999

Failures in '98 hit second-highest level since war

The number of corporate bankruptcies in 1998 jumped to 19,171, the second-highest level in postwar history, a private research firm announced Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 1999

'98 money supply up average of 4%

The nation's key money supply gauge grew an average of 4 percent in 1998, up 0.9 percentage point from its 3.1 percent growth pace logged in 1997, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 1999

Kansai Electric president tapped for Kankeiren helm

Yoshihisa Akiyama, president of the Kansai Electric Power Co. and a vice chairman of the Kansai Economic Federation (Kankeiren), will take over chairmanship of the federation from Yasuo Shingu, who will step down in May, it was announced Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 1999

Kan terms Obuchi 'vacuum cleaner' on issues

Opposition parties lambasted Obuchi's policy address Tuesday for lacking specific measures for solving the nation's problems.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 1999

Mitsui, Chuo Trust plan biggest trust bank in 2000

Mitsui Trust & Banking Co. and Chuo Trust & Banking Co. announced Tuesday that they have reached basic agreement to merge in April 2000 to become the nation's biggest trust bank with a combined capital of more than 40 trillion yen.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 1999

Nissan ready to deal out one-third stake, chief says

A foreign automaker could acquire more than one-third of Nissan Motor Corp., which would give it the right to veto management decisions at shareholder meetings, Nissan President Yoshikazu Hanawa said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 1999

Environment Agency urges restoration of wetlands, coast

Coastal areas and wetlands around the Seto Inland Sea should be restored and land reclamation projects strictly controlled to protect remaining natural areas, an Environment Agency advisory group said in a report released Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 1999

Obuchi kicks off Diet session with optimistic refrain

The government will do its utmost to pull the nation's economy out of its current doldrums and achieve 0.5 percent real-term growth in fiscal 1999, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi repledged Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 1999

Ancient coin find rewrites Japan's monetary history

Japan's money economy began earlier than textbooks have described, archaeologists said Tuesday in unveiling 33 bronze coins from the late seventh century recently unearthed in the village of Asuka, Nara Prefecture.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 1999

New Komeito eyed as coalition takes first test

The regular 150-day Diet session that convenes today will test the effectiveness of the newly launched coalition between Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's Liberal Democratic Party and the Liberal Party in shaping the nation's politics.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 1999

Solution for Japan Inc. on the way: Yosano

By the end of this month, the government will map out a concrete scheme to help resuscitate the competitiveness of the nation's manufacturing and other industrial sectors, Kaoru Yosano, international trade and industry minister, said Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 1999

U.S. committed to Okinawa force reduction: admiral

The United States is committed to reducing its forces in Okinawa as much as possible, Adm. Joseph W. Prueher, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, said in an interview Monday with The Japan Times.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 1999

E-mail boosts use of real thing, Pitney Bowes' CEO says

Despite the growing use of electronic mail and electronic business systems, the market for physical mail systems will continue to grow as new technologies generate new business opportunities, according to the chairman and chief executive officer of a leading mailing system company.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 1999

Japan attempting fresh dialogue with North Korea

Japan hopes to resume dialogue with North Korea in the near future, Shunji Yanai, administrative vice minister for foreign affairs, confirmed Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 1999

November machine orders rose 11%

Private-sector machinery orders received by manufacturers increased a seasonally adjusted 10.8 percent in November from the previous month to 876.5 billion yen, the Economic Planning Agency said Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 1999

Miyazawa qualifies 0.5% target, notes job, bank roles

Economic development in the January-March period — especially in the areas of employment and bank recapitalization — is crucial to achieve the government's 0.5 percent growth target for fiscal 1999, Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 1999

Kan retains DPJ helm; rival taps younger vote

Naoto Kan, 52, was reinstalled Monday as leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, defeating Shigefumi Matsuzawa, 40, at a DPJ convention.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 1999

'Otoshidama' levels down amid recession

Elementary school kids in Tokyo received an average 26,790 yen as "otoshidama" New Year's allowance this year, down 575 yen from last year amid the severe economic downturn, according to a survey conducted by Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 1999

Coalition, government hold first coordination session

The government and the ruling parties held their first coordination session Monday since the Liberal Democratic Party entered into a coalition government with the Liberal Party last Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 16, 1999

Coalition's anticlimactic debut

The curtain rose Thursday on the new conservative coalition government to reveal just one more unimpressive performance of the same old political drama. Much had been said and written about the apparent significance of the realignment, but it seems to have ended up as essentially just another political...
EDITORIALS
Jan 15, 1999

Embarrassed in Malaysia

In a surprising move, Malaysian prosecutors have amended four of the charges that have been brought against former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The prosecutors claim the changes are superficial. The amendments now say that Mr. Anwar used the police to get witnesses to retract allegations that...
JAPAN
Jan 15, 1999

Former lawmaker to plead guilty on all counts

Former LDP lawmaker Yojiro Nakajima, who has been indicted on a total of five charges, including accepting bribes, will plead guilty to all counts, according to sources close to the case.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 1999

Town mergers, decentralization go together: Noda

Mergers of cities and towns should be promoted along with decentralization to reduce administrative costs, said Takeshi Noda, the new home affairs minister.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 1999

New adults view romance, marriage differently

Seventy-eight percent of men and 92 percent of women who celebrated their coming of age Friday agreed they would not want to continue married life "if it didn't work out," according to a recent poll by a Tokyo marriage counseling company.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 1999

Lucky postcard numbers announced

The Posts and Telecommunications lucky prize-winning numbers for the 1999 New Year's greeting postcard lottery were announced Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 1999

Woodblock man carves niche with 'Hyakunin Isshu'

Woodblock carver David Bull refuses to be called an "artist" or "sensei."
JAPAN
Jan 15, 1999

Pension contributors drop below 80% line

The percentage of the population paying premiums into the national pension system came to 79.6 percent in fiscal 1997, the first drop below 80 percent in 36 years, the Social Insurance Agency said in a report issued Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 1999

20-year-olds celebrate adulthood

Ceremonies commemorating Coming-of-Age Day were held Friday, drawing thousands of new adults to municipal offices across the country.

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