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JAPAN
Nov 26, 1997

Tokuyo City Bank folds in fourth collapse of month

Tokuyo City Bank, suffering from the weight of 58.8 billion yen in nonperforming loans, effectively collapsed Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 26, 1997

Finance, BOJ chiefs issue plea for public calm

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka and Bank of Japan Gov. Yasuo Matsushita issued a joint statement Wednesday calling on the public to remain calm and not be swayed by unfounded rumors over the recent spate of financial failures.
JAPAN
Nov 26, 1997

Mitsubishi Estate, Hitachi raided over payoffs

The Metropolitan Police Department raided the head offices of Mitsubishi Estate Co. and Hitachi Ltd. on Wednesday over alleged illegal payoffs to a "sokaiya" corporate extortionist.
JAPAN
Nov 26, 1997

Japan to host meeting of aid donors to Vietnam

Japan will host its first meeting of aid donor countries and organizations to Vietnam on Dec. 11 and 12, Foreign Ministry officials said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 1997

Muraoka defends Finance over broker's collapse

Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka defended the Finance Ministry on Tuesday over the collapse of Yamaichi Securities Co., saying it would have been impossible for ministry officials to discover the brokerage had been conducting irregular, off-the-book trading.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 1997

Shock over Yamaichi closure sends stocks, yen reeling

Tokyo share prices fell broadly Tuesday as investors reacted with shock and concern to Yamaichi Securities Co.'s decision to shut down.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 1997

Diplomats given explanation of Tokyo's recycling plans

Diplomats from the embassies of 28 countries, including the ambassadors of Fiji and Malawi, gathered Tuesday for an annual seminar sponsored by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and listened to a briefing on the government's recycling policies.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 1997

Nomura execs plead guilty to 'sokaiya' payoffs

A former president and two former managing directors of Nomura Securities Co. pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to pay 370 million yen to a "sokaiya" corporate extortionist in one of the biggest financial scandals to rock the nation this decade.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 1997

Japan, China agree to carry out energy efficiency project

Japan and China agreed Tuesday on a model project to substantially improve energy efficiency at a major steel plant in Beijing, marking the first plan of the "Activities Implemented Jointly" for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 1997

Japan's 'venture forum' plan targets G-8 jobless problem

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 25, 1997

Sentences upheld for gangsters' attack on Itami

The Tokyo High Court dismissed appeals Tuesday by two gang members found guilty of inflicting bodily injury on movie director Juzo Itami in 1992.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 1997

Environmentalists march in Tokyo ahead of U.N. conference

Pedestrians paused on the sidewalks and curious storekeepers emerged from boutiques at the sound of marching band music echoing through the streets of Tokyo's Shibuya Ward.
JAPAN
Nov 24, 1997

Ministry searches for measures to protect depositors

Alarmed at the successive failures of large financial firms -- the latest being Yamaichi Securities Co. -- the Finance Ministry said Monday it has begun studying new measures to ensure market stability and protect depositors, investors and insurance policy holders, with Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka...
JAPAN
Nov 24, 1997

Backpedaling through a crisis -- public funds near use

Global financial markets have seemingly nudged the government toward undertaking a move it would not have dared consider just one year ago -- suggesting that taxpayers' money be used to restore faith in the financial sector.
JAPAN
Nov 24, 1997

Fuji Bank knew of hidden debts, executive says

Fuji Bank, the top shareholder and main creditor bank of Yamaichi Securities Co, knew by Oct. 6 that the brokerage had hidden debts of about 260 billion yen, a Fuji executive said Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 24, 1997

Yamaichi Securities decides to shut down

Yamaichi Securities Co. formally decided Monday to close down voluntarily amid a financial crisis linked to flagging stock prices, fallen credibility from payoff scandals and recently discovered losses from illegal "tobashi" trading activities.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 1997

Expanding day-care center building on bilingualism

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 21, 1997

Simul International folds

Simul International Inc., a major simultaneous service firm, effectively went bust Friday as it filed for "wagi" composition procedures with creditors, according to private credit research agency Teikoku Data Bank.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 1997

Writeoffs to leave four banks in red

Five of the nation's 10 city banks announced plans Friday to write off their massive bad loans during fiscal 1997, four of them saying they expect to go into the red at the end of the year.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 1997

Okinawa development steps unveiled

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 21, 1997

Top Chinese military official to visit Tokyo for security talks

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 21, 1997

Port workers begin strike over cargo-handling changes

A 24-hour strike commenced Friday as port workers throughout the country protested moves to alter their port practices under pressure from the United States, freezing cargo-handling at several dozen ports.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 1997

Hashimoto drafts plan for government in 2001

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto won the ruling alliance's support late Friday for a compromise administrative reform proposal to hand over the three controversial services of the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry to a new public corporation in five years.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 1997

LDP gets to work on stability measures

Moving on Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's orders, the Liberal Democratic Party has begun a wild scramble to devise measures, including possible infusion of public money, to drive away fears of financial instability.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 1997

Results of transport deregulation mostly good

Deregulation has promoted competition in the transport industry and helped improve consumer benefits, the Transport Ministry said in an annual white paper released Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1997

Foley and Hashimoto agree to strengthen bilateral ties

Thomas Foley, the new U.S. ambassador, started his second official day on the job Thursday with a morning visit to Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and agreed to boost bilateral relations, officials said.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1997

Train leaves its conductor behind

A JR train left its conductor on a platform at Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, on Thursday morning, delaying services and inconveniencing 21,000 commuters on the Sobu Line, the railway company said.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1997

October trade surplus rose 140%

The customs-cleared trade surplus for October rose for the seventh straight month, climbing 139.7 percent from the same period last year to 1.11 trillion yen, according to provisional figures released Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1997

Foley worried about Japanese trade surpluses

U.S. Ambassador Thomas Foley expressed concern Thursday over the increases in Japan's trade and current account surpluses and called for an economic recovery led by domestic demand.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1997

New Nozomi bullet train to start full operations

The new 500-type Nozomi bullet train, which boasts a commercial operating speed of 300 kph, will debut later this month on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line, linking Tokyo and Hakata Station in Fukuoka in four hours and 49 minutes.

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