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JAPAN
Nov 6, 1997

Business execs urged to cut links to 'sokaiya'

Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka called on representatives of business organizations Thursday to make firm resolutions to cut all ties with "sokaiya" corporate extortionists.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 1997

Government receptive to Okinawa trade zone plan

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Teijiro Furukawa told Okinawa Vice Gov. Mitsuko Tomon in a meeting Wednesday that the central government will give positive consideration to the Okinawa Prefectural Government's proposal to make the prefecture a free trade zone by around 2005.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 1997

Telephone help line to aid children

In an attempt to reach out to children in need of help and support, eight suprapartisan House of Representatives members formed a federation Thursday to set up a 24-hour telephone help line.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 1997

Amway gets 500 complaints a year

The head of a consumer rights organization told a Diet committee Thursday that his group has received about 500 complaints each year since 1992 over the operations of Amway Japan Ltd., a member-based distribution company that makes sales but has no stores.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 1997

Invesco's debut with LTCB to publicize investment trusts

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 6, 1997

PC shipments mark first fall since '92

Domestic shipments and exports of personal computers by Japan's 23 major PC makers dropped for the first time since 1992, totaling 3.97 million units in the first half of the 1997 business year that ended Sept. 30, an industry group announced Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 1997

Bill to reduce the deficit clears the Lower House

A plenary session of the Lower House passed a government-proposed fiscal reform bill Thursday that will use wide-ranging measures to set reduction targets for key budget areas to slash the deficit.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 1997

NGOs press for action at COP3

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

Marubeni earns ISO approval

Marubeni Corp. said Thursday that it has become the nation's first trading firm to qualify for an ISO certification for international quality management.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

Beirut urged to extradite five Red Army terrorists

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto asked Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri on Wednesday to extradite five members of the Japanese Red Army being held in a Lebanese prison.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

Serving the aged has a silver lining

As Japan's society continues to age at an unprecedented rate, companies from a variety of fields are looking into the area of welfare for new business opportunities.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

The Asahara Trial: Aum follower spread sarin 'out of fear'

Former Aum Shinrikyo fugitive Yasuo Hayashi told the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday that he was driven to spread deadly sarin gas on the Tokyo subway in March 1995 out of fear of what would happen if he refused.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

BOJ chief defends easy monetary policy

Bank of Japan Gov. Yasuo Matsushita defended the bank's prolonged easy monetary policy Wednesday as he responded to commonly asked questions and criticisms over its low interest rates.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

JR firms tell government enough is enough for JNR

The presidents of seven Japan Railway group companies told a governmental committee Wednesday they cannot afford to shoulder any more of the 28 trillion yen in debts left by the former Japanese National Railways.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

Red Army member could face prison

Prosecutors demanded a 2 1/2-year prison term Wednesday for Japanese Red Army member Kazue Yoshimura, who is charged with trying to use a forged passport in Peru.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

U.S. land mines in Japan discussed before treaty's signing

Japan and the United States held talks Tuesday and Wednesday in Tokyo on land mines possessed by U.S. forces in Japan, preceding Tokyo's anticipated signing of an international treaty banning antipersonnel mines.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

Ministry wants tax breaks cut, tax rates lowered

The Finance Ministry recommended Wednesday that tax breaks firms receive on five reserve funds be abolished or reduced so their taxable income base can be expanded and overall corporate tax rates reduced beginning in fiscal 1998.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

Defense chief presents heliport plan to Okinawa

Defense Agency Chief Fumio Kyuma visited Okinawa Prefecture on Wednesday to unveil blueprints for a sea-based heliport off Nago, northern Okinawa Island, in a last-ditch effort to win local support for the plan.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

Committee passes key fiscal reform bill

A Lower House ad hoc committee passed a top fiscal reform bill Wednesday that would set a target for deficit reduction and place a ceiling on key budget items.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

MMC chief denies links to 'sokaiya' but intends to resign

The chairman of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said on Wednesday that he knew nothing of the company's involvement with two "sokaiya" corporate extortionists or alleged illegal payoffs, but will step down from the chairmanship to take responsibility.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

KDD sees sales decline

KDD, the country's leading international telecommunications carrier, reported on Thursday a decline in sales to 153 billion yen for the April-September period, an 8.1 percent fall from the same period last year.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

Courts pressured on death penalty

Prosecutors have submitted an opinion to the Supreme Court claiming that rulings by lower courts in a 1991 double murder case in Hokkaido, in which the defendant was sentenced to life in prison, violated the common law standards of the death penalty, it was learned Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1997

Israel called obstacle to peace

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1997

Creating new businesses 'urgent' task, panel says

A subcommittee under the Industrial Structure Council, an advisory body to the minister of international trade and industry, urged the government Tuesday to create two laws to better facilitate the creation of new businesses.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1997

Women against war violence converge on Tokyo

More than 650 international activists and experts opposing wartime violence against women gathered in Tokyo on Monday to urge women to actively change societies that instigate discrimination and violence against them.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1997

Swede brings two views to Hagi pottery

HAGI, Yamaguchi Pref. -- Few have ventured outside the borders defined by tradition in the more than 400 years this town has been producing its famous pottery, renowned as among the best for use in the Japanese tea ceremony.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1997

Big Four to contribute 20 billion yen to Sanyo safety fund

The nation's four largest brokerage houses are expected to contribute 20 billion yen to a securities safety fund so clients of bankrupt Sanyo Securities Co. can withdraw assets from the failed firm, sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1997

Russia seen on verge of joining APEC

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1997

Rengo requests 2 trillion yen tax cut

The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) submitted a request Tuesday for a 2 trillion yen income tax reduction and other measures to three opposition parties and two small non-Cabinet allies of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1997

Financing of Kansai airport runway decided

OSAKA -- Leaders of four Osaka-based business organizations and the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) agreed Tuesday on a plan for how the private sector should finance the construction of a second runway at Kansai International Airport.

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