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JAPAN
Feb 18, 1998

Japan supports Annan's trip to Baghdad

Japan welcomes the planned visit by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to Baghdad on Friday to seek a diplomatic solution to the confrontation over Iraq's refusal to allow the U.N. to inspect its suspected weapons sites, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 1998

On Paper: Banks in a bind as April 1 approaches

First in a series
JAPAN
Feb 17, 1998

GOLD: Japan's ski jumpers sail away to Olympic record

Staff writer
JAPAN
Feb 17, 1998

Transport chief seeks to end officials' free plane rides

Transport Minister Takao Fujii said Tuesday that he has ordered ministry officials to consider abolishing a half-century-old practice under which Civil Aviation Bureau officials get free rides on Japanese airline firms for business trips.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 1998

Finance ministry bank inspectors given the ax

The Finance Ministry dismissed two bank inspectors who were indicted Monday on charges of receiving bribes from banks in exchange for tipoffs about the ministry's pending inspections, Vice Finance Minister Koji Tanami said at a news conference.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 1998

Inventory woes to keep economy down: BOJ

The economy is likely to remain stagnant for the time being as pressure to adjust inventory builds due to sluggish demand, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 1998

APEC draws up program to liberalize nine industrial sectors

Staff writer
JAPAN
Feb 17, 1998

Nation's top banker refuses to resign over bribe scandal

The president of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi said Tuesday that he will not resign from his position as head of a banking industry organization despite allegations that his bank bribed Finance Ministry officials.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 1998

Lending still cautious but easing, BOJ reports

Banks now have weaker lending constraints because of rebounding stock prices, the yen's appreciation and the high expectations for the government's financial stabilization measures, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 1998

Industrial output rose 1.1 % in December

Industrial output in December rose 1.1 percent from the previous month, representing an upward revision of 0.3 percentage point from the preliminary figure, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said in a report released Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 1998

Bill aims to put some backbone into administrative reform

The Cabinet adopted a bill Tuesday that will serve as the basic law to start consolidating a reformed administrative system in January 2001 at the earliest.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 1998

Ministry's 'amakudari' list reveals public-private collusion

As an indication of the cozy relationship between the Finance Ministry and financial institutions, 164 former ministry bureaucrats now serve as executives at such firms, it was learned Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 1998

Engineer guilty of releasing isotopes in lab

OSAKA -- A former Osaka University engineer was given a suspended prison term Tuesday for deliberately sprinkling radioactive isotopes in a laboratory in June.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 1998

LDP approves draft of controversial JNR debt bill

Despite staunch opposition from some party members, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Tuesday cleared a controversial draft bill to dispose of 27.8 trillion yen in debt left by the former Japanese National Railways.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 1998

Diet passes bills for publicly funded bank-bailing measures

The government of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto breathed a sigh of relief Monday after the House of Councilors approved two bills for stabilizing the financial system.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 1998

Hashimoto's speech called lip service only

Staff writers
JAPAN
Feb 16, 1998

Economic recovery stated goal of Hashimoto's policy for 1998

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto stressed Monday in his policy speech for 1998 that his administration's primary task this year is to overcome economic difficulties generated by the speculative economic bubble of the late 1980s and its subsequent burst in the early 1990s.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 1998

Finance Ministry to clean up act: Matsunaga

The Finance Ministry will take steps to increase the transparency of its inspections and administration of financial firms to redeem itself amid the bribery scandal in which it is currently embroiled, Finance Minister Hikaru Matsunaga said Monday before the Diet.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 1998

Former Finance inspectors face new bribery charges

Prosecution authorities have decided to indict two former Finance Ministry bank inspectors on charges of accepting entertainment totaling more than 3 million yen from major commercial banks other four already named in the ongoing scandal, informed sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 1998

Netherlands' Timmer claims gold, shatters speedskating record

Staff writer
JAPAN
Feb 16, 1998

Dutch team spry thanks to Ashiya baker's custom-made rye

ASHIYA, Hyogo Pref. -- The Dutch team at the Winter Olympic Games has a hidden ally in this city more than 300 km from Nagano.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 1998

Chinese undecided on holding 2008 Games

OSAKA -- Chinese Olympic officials visiting Osaka on Monday denied earlier reports that China would not go after the 2008 Olympics, saying no final decision on the matter had been made.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 1998

Chinese sue state over germ warfare

Court hearings began Monday on a class-action suit against the government brought by Chinese nationals demanding an official apology and 1.08 billion yen in damages for germ warfare Japan waged during the Pacific War.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 1998

IATA chief urges Asia to support aviation, tourism

Pierre J. Jeanniot, director general of the International Air Transport Association, called on Asian governments Monday to support the aviation and tourism industries, which have been hard hit by the ongoing regional economic crisis.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 1998

Japan, U.S. business leaders to meet in California

About 20 business leaders from Japan and the United States are slated to meet in California to discuss a variety of topics including trade issues and global warming problems March 1-2, the Japan-U.S. Business Council chairman in Japan said Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 1998

Four-way cooperation called key to Asia-Pacific stability

Japan, China, Russia and the United States may launch a multilateral conference to discuss a variety of issues, including the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region, Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi said Monday in a Diet speech.
JAPAN
Feb 13, 1998

Banking bills clear Upper House committee

Bills critical to the stability of the nation's banking sector cleared the Upper House Committee on Financial Affairs on Friday. They are expected to be enacted by the chamber's plenary session Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 13, 1998

Homeless at Shinjuku station move out of cardboard village

The end may be near for a row of cardboard dwellings in the underground concourse at Tokyo's JR Shinjuku Station.
JAPAN
Feb 13, 1998

Stores fear stale sales will befall Valentine's Saturday

Staff writer
JAPAN
Feb 13, 1998

Nagano's traffic no problem for time-pressed athletes

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