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JAPAN
Jan 27, 1998

Specify priority ODA sectors, panel tells Obuchi

The nation needs to specify priority sectors in extending official development assistance because its resources are under restraint due to tight fiscal policy, according to a final report released Tuesday by a 10-member private consulting body to Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi."Japan's ODA has been well...
JAPAN
Jan 27, 1998

Tax official admits guilt in taking bribes

A former tax officer pleaded guilty Tuesday to accepting 4 million yen in bribes to help an acquaintance carry out a tax-dodging scheme.Akio Tobinai, 52, formerly with the Kamakura Tax Office in Kanagawa Prefecture, pleaded guilty in his first hearing before the Tokyo District Court. According to prosecutors,...
JAPAN
Jan 27, 1998

Banker wants 'MOF-tan' abolished

Banks should consider abolishing positions specifically created to maintain close contact with Finance Ministry officials, the head of the banking industry federation said Tuesday.Naotaka Saeki, president of Sanwa Bank and chairman of the Federation of Bankers Associations of Japan, put forward the proposal...
JAPAN
Jan 27, 1998

Keidanren seeks easing of share buyback rules

The Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) on Tuesday urged the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to establish a law to ease rules governing companies' share buybacks until March 2000 to revitalize the sluggish stock market.Takashi Imai, a Keidanren vice chairman, made the request in a...
JAPAN
Jan 27, 1998

Mitsuzuka to step down over bureaucrat arrests

Giving in to pressure from both the opposition and allies of the Liberal Democratic Party to step down, Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka announced Tuesday that he will resign to take responsibility for the arrests of two ministry inspectors accused of taking bribes.The decision was conveyed to Prime...
JAPAN
Jan 27, 1998

Competition, investment needed in Japan, EU envoy says

Staff writerGreater competition stimulated by more foreign investments is what Japan needs to revive its sagging economy, according to Jorn Keck, departing ambassador of the European Union."Japan, now more than ever, needs foreign investment in order to improve the efficiency of many areas of industry,"...
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1998

Merging U.S. guarantors to set up shop in Tokyo

MBIA Inc. and CapMAC Holdings, two major U.S. financial guarantors set to merge in March, will set up an office in Tokyo this summer to enhance their business in the Japanese market, the firms' CEOs announced Monday.Financial guarantors assure investors of the principal and interest of municipal or corporate...
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1998

DPJ seeks to use gender-based quotas in fielding candidates

The Democratic Party of Japan, the nation's largest opposition party, announced Monday it plans to introduce a gender-based quota system for selecting candidates for national and local elections."It is the first time for a political party to introduce the system in this country, where it is widely known...
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1998

BOJ tells banks to restore trust, dispose of loans

Bank of Japan Gov. Yasuo Matsushita urged Japanese financial institutions Monday to expedite the disposal of their bad loans and reinforce their capital bases to regain the trust of the markets, saying financial market players are taking an increasingly severe look at their financial health.At the opening...
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1998

Japan is urged to sign bans on torture, death penalty

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson urged the Japanese government Monday to sign an international treaty banning torture and an international protocol banning the death penalty, Foreign Ministry officials said.Robinson said in a meeting with Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi that she wants...
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1998

JR East to debut double-decker coach cars

East Japan Railway Co. plans to use double-decker coaches for all the cars in its popular Hokuto limited express sleeper train linking Tokyo's Ueno and Sapporo.Production of the coaches will start in the summer and the train will be in operation by summer 1999.The train will consist of 12 double-decker...
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1998

Finance Ministry inspectors arrested over bank bribes

Two officials of the Finance Ministry's Finance Inspection Department are under arrest on suspicion of accepting bribes from banks in the form of wining and dining, the special investigative squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office announced Monday night.The two arrested were identified...
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1998

SUPER BOWL XXXII: Fourth time's the charm for Elway

Staff writerSAN DIEGO -- The number four turned out to be a lucky charm for John Elway, who guided the Denver Broncos to their first ever Super Bowl victory Sunday.In his fourth appearance in the NFL championship game, the 15-year veteran quarterback out of Stanford finally grabbed the big one. "I can't...
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1998

Koike made direct payoff demands, court told

Ryuichi Koike, a "sokaiya" corporate racketeer on trial for extortion, demanded payoffs during direct meetings with executives of firms involved in the huge financial scandal surrounding him, prosecutors said Monday during his Tokyo District Court trial.Describing Koike, 54, as a "skillful" and "aggressive"...
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1998

Kajiyama denies ambition to be next prime minister

Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama on Monday denied that he will be tapped to replace Prime Minister Ryutaro, who, according to rumors, may be forced to step down in a few months due to his economic policy failures."Some people say that I still have ambition (to become prime minister), but...
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1998

Columbia crew traces mission's success to hardships of space

Crew members of the space shuttle Columbia, which returned to Earth early last month after a successful mission, said Monday the extraordinary challenge of working in space fostered a sense of unity that overrode differences in culture.Eight members of NASA's space team -- six aboard the spacecraft and...
JAPAN
Jan 23, 1998

Hata leads official launch of Minseito

The new political party Minseito was officially formed Friday through the integration of three center-right opposition parties, most of whose members once belonged to the now-defunct Shinshinto.Former Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata, 62, leader of the new party, said during the inaugural conference at a...
JAPAN
Jan 23, 1998

Seoul retaliates as Tokyo scraps 1965 fishery pact

Seoul denounced Tokyo's decision Friday to unilaterally terminate a 1965 fisheries pact following the breakdown of nearly two years of negotiations.In swift response, South Korean Foreign Minister Yoo Chong Ha declared the Japanese decision "unfriendly" and said his country will, in retaliation, immediately...
JAPAN
Jan 23, 1998

Bill targets renewal of old-fashioned shopping districts

Three government ministries on Friday presented to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party the outline of a bill to revitalize commercial districts in line with the planned abolition of the Large-Scale Retail Store Law.The bill would allow for a total expenditure of 1.5 trillion yen to bring economic vitality...
JAPAN
Jan 23, 1998

Super Bowl Preview: Packers, Chiefs to play in Tokyo

Staff writerSAN DIEGO -- The Kansas City Chiefs will make their second trip to Tokyo to take on the Green Bay Packers on Aug. 2 at the Tokyo Dome in the American Bowl, the National Football League announced Thursday.The American Bowl will resume after a one-year absence for Tokyo's ninth NFL preseason...
JAPAN
Jan 23, 1998

Foley, U.S. House's Leach step up calls to spur domestic demand

Both U.S. Ambassador Thomas Foley and James Leach, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Financial Services, called on Japan on Friday to stimulate domestic demand and help Asian economies recover.Leach, a Republican, said trade deficits with Asian countries will escalate...
JAPAN
Jan 23, 1998

Osaka residents stage rally to run gangsters out of town

OSAKA -- About 350 residents of Osaka's Tennoji Ward held a rally here Friday to demand that the Nakano-kai and Takumi-gumi gangs vacate their offices in a residential district of the ward.At the rally, residents pledged they would not allow any criminal gangs to settle in the ward while the group promotes...
JAPAN
Jan 23, 1998

OECD sets guidelines to stop harmful tax competition

Staff writerThe 29 member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have agreed in principle on guidelines for eliminating "harmful" tax competition designed to attract more foreign capital, government sources said Friday.The guidelines call for the nations to roll back what...
JAPAN
Jan 23, 1998

Mitsuzuka vows internal probe of corruption

The Finance Ministry will conduct an internal probe to check on excessive wining and dining of its officials in light of the arrest of a former ministry bureaucrat for alleged acceptance of bribes, Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka said Friday.The results of the investigation will be made public, he...
JAPAN
Jan 23, 1998

Gas firms' rate plans under fire

Mitsuo Horiuchi, minister for international trade and industry, put explicit pressure Friday on three major gas companies to refrain from their planned gas rate hikes in April.Speaking at a regular news conference, Horiuchi expressed strong displeasure with Thursday's announcement by Tokyo Gas Co., Toho...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 1998

Fund to aid Russian firms urged

Irina Hakamada, chairwoman of the Russian State Committee for Support of Small Business, on Thursday called for a new fund to support Russian small and medium-size firms.Speaking to reporters at the Russian Embassy in Tokyo, she stressed the need to create a financing mechanism to help nurture small...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 1998

Raiders gamble on youthful coach

Raiders gamble on youthful coach> SAN DIEGO -- The Oakland Raiders have filled their vacant head coaching position with Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Jon Gruden, Fox-TV reported Wednesday.Gruden will be the third coach in three years for Oakland, which fired Joe Bugel earlier this month after...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 1998

Olympic speedskating coach quits over students' rape case

Japan's Olympic speedskating coach Kunio Tanaka said Thursday he will resign his position after being fired by his university over the arrests of five of his hockey students in July on suspicion of rape.Earlier in the day, Tanaka, who is director of Nippon Sport Science University's ice hockey team,...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 1998

U.S. bends in air talks

The United States has started to show flexibility on same-country code-sharing, one of the key disputes in the bilateral aviation talks with Japan, Transport Ministry officials said Thursday.The move came on the second day of new high-level civil aviation talks held in Washington. The U.S. side showed...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 1998

Lodish still looking for elusive ring

Staff writer SAN DIEGO -- He knows the Super Bowl well, maybe better than anyone on his team. But he doesn't have a winner's ring, and most of his teammates don't either.Denver Broncos reserve defensive tackle Mike Lodish will make his fifth Super Bowl appearance in his eight-year career when the AFC...

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