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JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

SDP wrapping up details of 2 trillion yen tax cut

The Social Democratic Party said Oct. 9 that it is finalizing details of its proposal for a one-time tax cut of about 2 trillion yen, SDP Secretary General Shigeru Ito said.The party, one of the two non-Cabinet allies of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, will compile its proposal next week as a supplementary...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Bill to let DIC funds aid bank mergers approved

The Cabinet approved a bill Oct. 9 that would revise the Deposit Insurance Law and allow the use of funds from Deposit Insurance Corp. to aid mergers involving two or more failed financial institutions until the end of fiscal 2000.It would be the second time in as many years for revising the law, highlighting...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

LDP agrees to summon Izui to Diet

The ruling and opposition parties agreed Oct. 9 to return Diet proceedings to normal next week after the Liberal Democratic Party agreed to have a scandal-tainted oil wholesaler testify before the Diet before the end of November.Directors of the Lower House Budget Committee decided to reopen deliberations...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Myanmar activist sues to become refugee

A Myanmarese activist filed a lawsuit Oct. 9 against the Justice Ministry, demanding it reverse its earlier decision to reject his application for refugee status and deport him.The ministry's decision in the case of 42-year-old Mya Wai will probably set the tone for the 81 other Myanmarese applying for...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Hashimoto unveils steps to bolster Thai economy

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto announced a package of measures Oct. 9 to help stabilize Thailand's economy, including a short-term trade insurance worth $1 billion, at his meeting with his Thai counterpart, Chavalit Yongchaiyuth, Foreign Ministry officials said.Japan will extend the $1 billion in trade...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Thai leader calls on Japanese ventures to boost exports

While committing to improve the investment environment in his country, Thai Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyuth urged Japanese business leaders to promote exports from their industrial ventures in the ailing Southeast Asian economy.Chavalit requested such efforts particularly in the automobile, automotive...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Digital cameras shaking up photo industry

Digital technology is evolving and product prices are declining at such stunning clips that hardly any new industry developments evoke surprise.
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Tokyo adds medical aid to North Korea food offer

Japan will resume food aid to famine-hit North Korea after a 15-month hiatus, the Cabinet said Oct. 9, announcing that 67,000 tons of rice as well as 94 million yen in medical equipment will be handed over.Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka said Japan will donate $27 million to the United Nations...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Mayor has high hopes for Tokyo-Berlin ties

Despite being continents apart, Berlin and Tokyo have much to learn from each other, Berlin Mayor Eberhard Diepgen said on a recent trip to Tokyo.In an interview with The Japan Times, Diepgen said he expects the Berlin-Tokyo relationship, unofficially established in 1985 and later formalized in a friendship...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Two Osaka banks to merge next year

OSAKA -- Fukutoku Bank and the Bank of Naniwa, two Osaka-based regional banks suffering from mounting bad loans, announced Oct. 9 they will merge next Oct. 1 to speed up restructuring and strengthen their foothold in the region.The merger is expected to become the first one subject to an expected revision...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Mitsuzuka lauds merger

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka expressed support Oct. 9 for the merger between Fukutoku Bank and the Bank of Naniwa, calling it a sign that the two financial firms are determined to weather the upcoming financial deregulation.In a statement, Mitsuzuka noted that aggressive restructuring efforts and...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Pyongyang lists names of wives allowed to visit

Japan has received a list from North Korea of Japanese women who will be allowed to make their first homecoming visit to Japan later this month, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka said Oct. 9.The names of between 10 and 15 women were tentatively put on the list, which was obtained by the government...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

Ecological impact plan drafted for public works

The Environment Agency has completed the draft of a methodology for predicting the environmental impact of public works projects, agency sources said Oct. 8.The draft also includes basic matters to be assessed for such predictions when the Environmental Impact Assessment Law goes into effect in June...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

LDP approves $27 million in food aid to North Korea

The Liberal Democratic Party gave the go-ahead Oct. 8 to a government plan to send $27 million in food aid to North Korea, a move widely regarded as a swap to enable Japanese women now living there to visit their homeland.The aid, to be formally approved by the Cabinet as early as Oct. 9, is to be provided...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

Paying way for U.S. forces legal, state says

OSAKA -- The government asserted in a court reply Oct. 8 that because the Diet has given its approval, it is legal to use public money to cover the costs of stationing U.S. forces in Japan.With its reply, the government asked the Osaka District Court to dismiss a lawsuit lodged by a group of 296 people...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

Special income tax cuts ruled out as stimulus

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka on Oct. 8 ruled out the possibility of implementing special income tax cuts to help stimulate the economy, saying such a move would worsen the nation's fiscal condition.Speaking at a news conference, Mitsuzuka pointed out that such tax breaks would have to be financed...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

Consumer activists demand labels for engineered food

A consumer coalition of 59 activist groups from across Japan handed an appeal to the government Oct. 8 demanding mandatory labeling on genetically engineered foods.The "Down with Genetic Engineered Food!" campaign, organized by the Consumers Union of Japan, asked both the Health and Welfare Minister...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

Aum doctor details cult's entry into Russia

Aum Shinrikyo experienced financial problems and started changing its dogma in summer 1992, when the cult began efforts to branch out into Russia, according to former Aum physician Ikuo Hayashi in his trial at the Tokyo District Court on Oct. 8.Due to the heavy financial burden of investing in publishing,...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

SDP, Sakigake tell Hashimoto to rescind emissions proposal

The Social Democratic Party and New Party Sakigake jointly demanded Oct. 8 that Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto withdraw Japan's proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 5 percent from 1990 levels.The two parties, saying they were not consulted on the proposal until it was announced Oct....
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

Vice minister hints new law needed to cut energy use

To achieve a 2.5 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the next century, a law must be revised to give the government greater authority to control energy use, according to Osamu Watanabe, vice minister for international trade and industry.Watanabe was speaking Oct. 8 on the government's proposal...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

Opposition chiefs stage rally for summoning Izui

The heads of three opposition parties staged a public rally Oct. 8 outside Shimbashi Station in Tokyo, calling for support for their Diet boycott over delays in summoning oil wholesaler Junichi Izui to testify in the Diet.Shinshinto, the Democratic Party of Japan and Taiyo Party boycotted the opening...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

Effects of Kim's ascension too early to predict

Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi said Oct. 8 that it will be difficult to judge any immediate changes in North Korean policy under the new leadership of Kim Jong Il and that developments in the communist state will be closely watched.Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka echoed Obuchi's assessment.Commenting...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

JR Tokai makes firm TSE debut

Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) made a firm debut Oct. 8 on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, drawing an opening price of 383,000 yen per share.The initial price at the TSE was 24,000 yen higher than the 359,000 yen public offering price set for 800,000 shares. The stock closed the...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

Ishikawa tops quality-of-life survey

Ishikawa Prefecture placed first in a newly calculated quality-of-life satisfaction index of prefectures, followed by Nara, Shizuoka, Kanagawa and Shiga, the Mitsubishi Research Institute said Oct. 8.Compared with similar indexes by the Economic Planning Agency, the new index is based on various statistics...
JAPAN
Oct 7, 1997

Oil dealer may appear in Diet, Hashimoto hints

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto hinted to reporters Oct. 7 that he does not oppose the idea of summoning to the Diet an oil wholesaler who allegedly provided illicit political donations to several key members of the Liberal Democratic Party.Before the kick-off of the Lower House Budget Committee, which...
JAPAN
Oct 7, 1997

Berlin in right position for budding East Europe markets

As the geopolitical center of Europe has shifted eastward since the end of the Cold War, Berlin will play a greater role as an international base for regional markets, the mayor of Berlin said Oct. 7.Speaking at a symposium through Japanese translators in Tokyo's Sumida Ward, Mayor Eberhard Diepgen said...
JAPAN
Oct 7, 1997

$250 million pledged to Mongolia development effort

An international aid group on Oct. 7 pledged about $250 million to help the economic development of Mongolia, a country struggling in its switch from a Communist-style economy to a free market.The pledge for fiscal 1998 was made at the 6th Mongolia Assistance Group Meeting, held in Tokyo. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,...
JAPAN
Oct 7, 1997

LDP quest to boost economy faces skeptics, tax cut calls

As a council in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party considers an economic package without new fiscal spending, key party members are voicing doubts about such measures.At a regularly scheduled meeting of the party's key members Oct. 7, many called for introducing such measures as special income tax cuts...
JAPAN
Oct 7, 1997

Osaka group cites ability to cut gases 21%

An Osaka-based nongovernmental organization on Oct. 7 proposed a set of policy options that it claims would reduce the nation's 2010 carbon dioxide emissions by 21 percent of the 1990 level.The proposal, put forward by a study group of the Citizens Alliance for Saving the Atmosphere and the Earth (CASA),...
JAPAN
Oct 7, 1997

Foreigners urge Tokyo to accelerate deregulation

Foreign business communities on Oct. 7 urged Japan to further accelerate and deepen economic structural reforms to boost domestic demand and reduce its massive trade surplus.The opinions were voiced by foreign members of the Import Board, a subcouncil under the Trade Conference chaired by Prime Minister...

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