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JAPAN
Apr 15, 1998

Hashimoto-Yeltsin plan stimulates bilateral economic ties

Second of two parts
JAPAN
Apr 15, 1998

LDP urged to negotiate disaster bill in the open

A citizens' group pushing for new legislation to provide financial assistance to survivors of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake on April 15 called on the Liberal Democratic Party to submit the party's bill to the Diet, rather than negotiate behind closed doors.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 1998

Industrial output fell 3.9% in February

Industrial output in February dropped 3.9 percent from the previous month, a downward revision from the preliminary decrease of 3.3 percent, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said in a report released April 15.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 1998

Protect people's rights, Scalfaro tells Diet ranks

Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro emphasized the importance of the Diet's role in protecting the "rights of the people" April 15 and called for cooperation to help resolve such global problems as war and poverty.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1998

MITI may ease capital criteria for loans to smaller businesses

As part of its forthcoming economic stimulus package, the government may expand limits on the amount of capital that retailers and wholesalers can have when borrowing money from governmental financial institutions, trade chief Mitsuo Horiuchi said April 14.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1998

U.S. experts advocate using info law to improve it

Staff writer
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1998

Matsunaga G-7 trip delayed

Finance Minister Hikaru Matsunaga's departure late April 14 for a meeting of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven was delayed to this morning due to Diet deliberations.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1998

Defense pact won't cover U.S. evacuation assistance

The government has dropped plans to seek legislation that would ensure U.S. assistance in evacuating Japanese civilians during emergencies abroad, Defense Agency Chief Fumio Kyuma said April 14.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1998

Authorities denounce IMF no-growth estimate

Financial authorities expressed disagreement April 14 with an International Monetary Fund economic outlook that put the nation's growth at zero for this year.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1998

Hospital group leader Yasuda sent up for fraud

OSAKA -- The Osaka District Court sentenced the former head of the Yasuda hospital group to three years in prison April 14 and fined him 1 million yen for swindling local governments out of 590 million yen.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1998

Next tax rebate may come in August

The second round of special pump-priming income tax cuts for the current year may be implemented as early as August if related bills are enacted by the Diet by late May, members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's tax panel said April 14.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1998

Imports to stay slow, Volkswagen says

The nation's import car market will probably remain weak for another two to three years, the head of Volkswagen Group Japan KK said April 14, pointing to the continued sluggishness of the economy.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1998

Russia turmoil mars Yeltsin treaty quest

First of two parts
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1998

Man who scaled bridge seized after safe descent

A 40-year-old man descended safely from the top of a railway bridge over Tokyo's Sumida River early April 14 and was apprehended shortly after for disrupting train service, police said.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1998

'Stalker' on wanted list in Osaka woman's slaying

OSAKA -- A Taiwanese woman was stabbed to death Monday night on a street in Tennoji Ward here, and police are searching for a 46-year-old man who they believe murdered her.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1998

Panel agrees on bill to ban officials from receiving gifts

A panel of the ruling alliance agreed April 14 on a draft bill that would, in principle, ban government employees from receiving gifts and entertainment from corporations, organizations and individuals.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1998

Public invited to U.N. conference

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is seeking applicants among the general public to attend an upcoming U.N.-sponsored international conference on urban environmental problems at the Tokyo International Forum in Chiyoda Ward.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1998

Komura to participate in Cambodian election talks

State Foreign Secretary Masahiko Komura will visit Bangkok from Saturday to April 14 to participate in talks to help bring a fair and free election in Cambodia, Foreign Ministry officials said.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1998

Not all parents oppose child drug use, poll says

Not necessarily all Japanese parents are against kids taking illegal drugs, according to a survey released April 13 by the National Federation of High School Parent-Teacher Associations.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1998

Rengo push for bigger tax cuts dismissed

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto dismissed a Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) demand April 13 to implement a 6 trillion yen tax cut this year as technically difficult.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1998

Drugs increasingly used in treating appendicitis

In the past, appendicitis usually meant a patient had to undergo surgery. But doctors are now steering away from the traditional appendectomy and more toward anti-inflammatory drugs, according to a survey by the Health and Welfare Ministry.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1998

Tokyo faces wary G-7 reaction

Finance Minister Hikaru Matsunaga departs today for Washington where he will attend a series of financial meetings, including a gathering of the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1998

Traffic light concern suspected of tax evasion, police ties

A business group that maintains traffic control systems in eastern Japan is suspected of evading 500 million yen in taxes and hiding more than 1 billion yen in income, informed sources said April 13.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1998

Plan to alter austerity law draws opposition fire

Opposition parties grilled Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto on April 13 over ambiguities concerning the extent to which he plans to revise the fiscal austerity law.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1998

Abduction issue critical to normalization, vice minister says

Before Tokyo can resume normalization talks with Pyongyang, a way must be found to resolve the matter of alleged kidnappings of Japanese by North Korean agents, a top Foreign Ministry official said April 13.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1998

Rise in banks' interest rates inevitable: Kato

Interest rates will become "inevitably higher" as Japanese banks compete with foreign financial institutions following the nation's "Big Bang" financial reforms, Koichi Kato, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, predicted April 13.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1998

Hayami rules out hike in official discount rate

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami on April 13 ruled out a hike in the official discount rate in the immediate future, brushing aside suggestions from a senior Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1998

Economy under downward pressure, deflationary risk: BOJ

The economy remains in the doldrums, plagued by weak domestic demand and facing strong downward pressure, the Bank of Japan said April 13 in a monthly economic report gloomier than last month's.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1998

Tokyo's top freshmen urged to break mold, think differently

During a welcoming ceremony for the newest class at the nation's top school, University of Tokyo President Shigehiko Hasumi told students April 13 to let go of preconceptions and dare to confront the ideas and thoughts of others.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 1998

Japanese 'security council' to decide emergency support for U.S.

The Security Council of Japan, an advisory body to the prime minister, will basically decide which emergency situations will warrant Japanese support for U.S. forces under the new defense cooperation pact with the United States, Defense Agency officials said April 10.

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