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JAPAN
Jan 14, 1998

Rengo requests 4 trillion yen tax cut

The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) on Wednesday requested 4 trillion yen in income and residential tax cuts from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its two small non-Cabinet allies.Rengo also called for measures to fight unemployment and for labor laws to be revised to help stabilize...
JAPAN
Jan 14, 1998

Three opposition parties plan to merge on Jan. 23

Three conservative opposition parties decided Wednesday that they will launch a new party on Jan. 23 with former Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata at the helm.All of the members of Kokumin no Koe (Voice of the People), the Taiyo Party and From Five gathered at a Tokyo hotel to finalize basic policies, basic...
JAPAN
Jan 14, 1998

Big banks praised for accepting publicly funded capitalization

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka on Wednesday applauded moves on the part of major Japanese banks to accept an infusion of public funds through the government-supported purchase of their preferred stock and subordinated bonds.On Tuesday, leading Japanese banks such as the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and...
JAPAN
Jan 14, 1998

Northwest exec sees flaw in slot-distribution plan

In the runup to next week's U.S.-Japan aviation talks in Washington, a top executive of Northwest Airlines, Inc. pointed out a problem Wednesday with a new proposal for allocating slots at congested Narita airport.Richard Hirst, senior vice president of the carrier, said at a news conference that the...
JAPAN
Jan 13, 1998

State aims to force JR to shoulder more JNR debt

The government will present on Friday a new interpretation of JR-related bills being prepared to justify forced payment by seven group companies to shoulder some of the 28 trillion yen debt left by the former Japanese National Railways.The reinterpretation has been unofficially cleared by the Cabinet...
JAPAN
Jan 13, 1998

Disputed islands block way to Japan-South Korea fishing pact

Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka said Tuesday that the government remains unable to find a solution to a dispute with South Korea over rights to islands in the Sea of Japan and a new fisheries pact.Earlier in the day, Muraoka met with Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi and Yoshinobu Shimamura, head...
JAPAN
Jan 13, 1998

Mitsuzuka to remain at helm of Finance Ministry

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka stressed Tuesday that he would not resign, because it is imperative that he carry out his duties and try to secure Diet passage of bills and the fiscal 1998 budget.Speaking at a regular news conference, Mitsuzuka pointed out that he was responsible for drawing up both...
JAPAN
Jan 13, 1998

Banker apologizes for wining and dining

The leader of the nation's banking industry apologized Tuesday for the excessive wining and dining of Finance Ministry officials carried out in the past by some bankers."We needed such bankers, but we regret there was some excessive entertaining," Naotaka Saeki, chairman of the Federation of Bankers...
JAPAN
Jan 13, 1998

Isuzu forecasts 11% drop in auto sales

Sales at Isuzu Motors Ltd. for 1998 will drop 11 percent to 631,000 units amid the economic slump in the domestic market and Southeast Asia, the company said Tuesday.Isuzu produced 705,029 vehicles last year and plans to produce 623,000 this year, down 12 percent. The economic crisis in Thailand will...
JAPAN
Jan 13, 1998

Debate sought as banks triple figures for sour loans

Figures indicating that the nation's banks have more than triple the amount of bad loans than originally thought will help spur Diet debate on using public funds to stabilize the financial system, Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka said Tuesday.On Monday, the Finance Ministry said independent assessments...
JAPAN
Jan 13, 1998

More pump-priming steps may be implemented

Mitsuo Horiuchi, the minister of international trade and industry, indicated Tuesday that additional pump-priming measures may be implemented to prevent a global economic crisis from originating in Japan.Speaking at a regularly scheduled news conference, Horiuchi said that to prevent further deterioration...
JAPAN
Jan 13, 1998

Bankers adopt U.S.-style disclosure rules for bad loans

The Federation of Bankers Associations of Japan adopted on Tuesday stricter disclosure standards on banks' bad loans, modeled on U.S. standards.Under the new rules, for example, banks will be obliged to release their figures for nonperforming loans if the borrower does not pay interest for three months...
JAPAN
Jan 13, 1998

Nikkeiren says firms can't afford pay hikes

The economy is in the doldrums and corporations cannot afford to grant wage increases, according to a report adopted Tuesday at an extraordinary general meeting of the Japan Federation of Employers' Associations (Nikkeiren).Prior to this year's spring labor offensive, known as "shunto," the position...
JAPAN
Jan 13, 1998

Blair sees a new chapter in bilateral ties

A new chapter is opening in Anglo-Japanese relations as the two countries work together for peace and security, and a better international economy, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday.He told a news conference at the Japan National Press Club that his visit helped strengthen the bilateral...
JAPAN
Jan 13, 1998

Armed man holds official hostage at Tokyo Stock Exchange

A man in his 40s wielding what appeared to be a pistol took a hostage Tuesday and holed up in the governor's suite on the 14th floor of the Tokyo Stock Exchange building, demanding to meet with the finance minister, police said.The man, clad in a business suit, took captive Masahiro Abe, 50, an exchange...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Horiuchi tells EC recovery coming in April

Trade chief Mitsuo Horiuchi assured European Commission Vice President Leon Brittan on Monday that the Japanese economy will soon return to a stable recovery driven by domestic demand.During his meeting with Brittan, Horiuchi said a range of economic pump-priming measures, including 2.3 trillion yen...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Japan and Britain address Asia crisis

Japan and Britain shared concerns Monday over the recent instability of the Indonesian rupiah but agreed that South Korea is making progress in escaping its economic quagmire, according to a senior Japanese government official.Visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair met with Finance Minister Hiroshi...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Old Buddhist statue will have new home

OSAKA -- For the Kudara Kannon statue of the Goddess of Mercy, 1997 was a busy year.Kudara Kannon, a national treasure belonging to Horyuji Temple in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, was displayed at the Louvre museum and at the Tokyo National Museum.Next autumn, a building specially designed to house the statue...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

DKB allegedly treated bureaucrats to cover payoffs

As business at Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank slowly recovers following the revelation of payoffs to a "sokaiya" extortionist, fresh allegations have surfaced that the bank had wined and dined Finance Ministry officials to cover up the payoffs.The bank's business suffered severely amid the scandal, in which 11...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Ex-Taiheiyo broker grilled over fund misuse

OSAKA -- Police are questioning a former Taiheiyo Securities Co. employee on suspicion of misusing more than 300 million yen in his client's fund, informed sources said Monday.They said the former acting sales chief at the Umeda branch here received more than 300 million yen from a client between March...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Hashimoto vows efforts to protect financial system

In a departure from the norm, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto opened the 150-day Diet session Monday with a speech focusing solely on financial markets and the economy, stressing that Japan will not let its woes drag the rest of Asia and the world into more turmoil."It is our firm resolve that neither...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Dai-Ichi Kangyo executives plead guilty to payoffs

Four former executives of Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank pleaded guilty Monday to extending illegal loans to a "sokaiya" corporate extortionist in violation of the Commercial Code, in their first trial hearing before the Tokyo District Court.The four, all wearing navy-blue suits and white shirts, are former Vice...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Japan's recovery vital to stability in Asia, Mitsuzuka says

Japan's economic recovery is extremely vital to the stability of Asian economies and the continued expansion of the global economy, Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka said Monday in a speech at the opening of the year's regular Diet session.He added that it is the government's responsibility to take...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

WorldCom to expand Japanese base

WorldCom Japan Ltd., a subsidiary of U.S.-based WorldCom Inc., said Monday it will expand its presence in the Japanese telecommunications market by establishing its own fiber-optic network.As deregulation is slated to begin this month, WorldCom, which currently holds a Type II carrier license, will apply...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Opposition parties put down Hashimoto's speech

Two opposition party leaders railed Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto after his Monday speech to the Diet, saying his administration has failed to come to grips with the current economic downturn.Liberal Party head Ichiro Ozawa termed the government's recently announced economic measures -- which Hashimoto...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Imai officially tapped by Toyoda to head Keidanren

Shoichiro Toyoda, chairman of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), announced Monday that he has chosen Takashi Imai, president of Nippon Steel Corp., to succeed him at the helm of the nation's largest business organization.The announcement was made at a regular meeting of Keidanren's...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Blair kicks off UK98

British Prime Minister Tony Blair proclaimed a future of improved ties between Japan and Great Britain in a speech Monday at the British Embassy in Tokyo.The speech marked the official opening of Festival UK98, a series of events promoting British culture among Japanese. Blair called UK98 "a celebration...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Banks assess bad loans at 76 trillion yen

The nation's major and regional banks estimate they have accumulated 76.71 trillion yen in potentially sour loans, the Finance Ministry said Monday.The amount, calculated under different standards than those used by the ministry, was about 3.5 times greater than 21.73 trillion yen reported by the ministry...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1998

Limits on construction bond use may be lifted

LDP Secretary General Koichi Kato indicated Friday that the government may lift a division between deficit-covering bonds and construction bonds so more public funds can be injected into the economy."Removing the division is a matter that has lingered for a long time in the minds of a number of senior...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1998

Mitsuzuka wants construction, deficit bonds separate

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka voiced opposition Friday to recent calls to scrap the current classification divisions between construction and deficit-covering government bonds.Deficit-covering bonds are issued to cover gaps between government spending and revenue in a given fiscal year and require...

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