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JAPAN
Oct 2, 1997

U.S. gets thumbs up for Super 301 ruling

Osamu Watanabe, vice minister for international trade and industry, on Oct. 2 applauded Washington's decision not to list Japan's auto market on a Super 301 retaliatory watch list."I regard the decision as the natural conclusion and I appreciate the U.S. government's just judgment," Watanabe told a news...
JAPAN
Oct 2, 1997

Japan to fund repair of Mongolian mine

Staff writerJapan will pledge about 4 billion yen in official loans to Mongolia next week to help rebuild the impoverished and energy-strapped country's Shivee-Ovoo Coal Mine, government officials said Oct. 2.The pledge for Shivee-Ovoo, Mongolia's second largest coal mine, will be made Oct. 7 in Tokyo...
JAPAN
Oct 2, 1997

WebTV to offer Net access via television

WebTV Networks K.K., a wholly owned subsidiary of WebTV Networks, Inc. of the United States, announced Oct. 2 that it will provide an easy-to-handle television Internet access service starting Dec. 1.By connecting the WebTV Internet Terminal that has been specially developed by Sony Corp. to a television...
JAPAN
Oct 2, 1997

LDP slams postal privatization plan

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party announced its opposition Oct. 2 to a proposal by a government advisory panel to privatize two of the three postal services currently provided by the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry.During Diet debate, Kenji Manabe, policy chief of the LDP's House of Councilors...
JAPAN
Oct 2, 1997

Actions under defense pact not deemed collective defense

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said actions taken under the revised guidelines for Japan-U.S. defense cooperation will not be interpreted as collective defense, which is banned by the Constitution.Identifying emergency situations that "have an important influence on Japan's peace and security" as mentioned...
JAPAN
Oct 2, 1997

Internet carriers from four nations plan Asia-Pacific network

Carriers from South Korea, Australia, Hong Kong and Japan will sign a deal later this month to connect their Internet circuits, KDD President Tadashi Nishimoto said Oct. 2.DACOM Corp. of South Korea, Telstra Corp. of Australia, Hong Kong Telecommunications and KDD will sign a memorandum in the middle...
JAPAN
Oct 2, 1997

Scandinavian envoys ask Japan to rethink ODA cuts

The ambassadors of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden on Oct. 2 asked Tokyo to reconsider its intention to cut official development assistance by 10 percent in fiscal 1998, particularly cuts in Tokyo's voluntary disbursement to international organizations, a Foreign Ministry official said.The ambassadors...
JAPAN
Oct 2, 1997

Economic turmoil won't deter South Korea, trade chief says

Staff writerDespite the current economic turmoil involving major business conglomerates and financial institutions, South Korea says it will maintain its deregulation and liberalization policies."We launched this market principle to strengthen company management, and it should help increase international...
JAPAN
Oct 2, 1997

Cultist details role in 1989 killing of Sakamotos

The defense counsel for Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara on Oct. 2 cross-examined an Aum figure who stands accused of taking part in the 1989 murders of a Yokohama lawyer and his family.Satoru Hashimoto, 30, appeared before the Tokyo District Court at Asahara's 51st trial hearing. He has admitted...
JAPAN
Oct 2, 1997

Robber-killer given life sentence

OSAKA -- A man found guilty in five cases of robbery and murder in three prefectures was given a life sentence Oct. 2.Handing down the ruling, the Osaka District Court described the crimes committed by Keiji Ikuta, 45, as "extremely cunning and vicious."According to prosecutors, Ikuta assaulted and murdered...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1997

Aoba Life up and running

Aoba Life Insurance Co. began operations Oct. 1 to act as caretaker for the insurance policies left behind by failed Nissan Mutual Life Insurance Co.The policies of roughly 1.1 million Nissan Mutual policyholders were transferred to Aoba, which is banned from selling new ones. The firm's main duties...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1997

SESC criminal complaints hit new high

Reflecting an increase in crimes involving financial firms, the nation's securities watchdog filed a record five criminal complaints during the year up to June, according to the annual report released Oct. 1 by the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission.The cases brought to prosecutors include...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1997

Internet securities trade has couch investors jumping

OSAKA -- With convenience like late-night or early morning service and never having to leave one's own home, stock trading via the Internet has not surprisingly become increasingly active.It is also alluring to securities companies, who are able to expand their business without opening new branches or...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1997

Bureau seizes 14 illegal Chinese immigrants

The Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau is holding 14 Chinese, including one Snakehead-connected broker, for staying and working in Japan illegally, it said Oct. 1.The 14, including four women, are all from China's Fujian Province, bureau officials said, adding that they either smuggled themselves into...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1997

Deficit proves a tough nut to crack

Even if the government meets its goal of reducing the deficit to 3 percent or less of the gross domestic product by 2003, there will still be a revenue shortfall of 24.9 trillion yen, Finance Ministry calculations showed Oct. 1.In making its calculations, the ministry put annual economic growth in real...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1997

Hashimoto dodges Sato issue in Diet

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto dodged questions Oct. 1 over his responsibility in the failed Cabinet appointment of an ex-convict and instead repeated his reform pledge.During a Lower House plenary session, Kansei Nakano, chairman of opposition party Shinshinto's Diet Affairs Committee, urged Hashimoto...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1997

Former minister gets 18 months for bribery

Former Construction Minister Kishiro Nakamura was sentenced Oct. 1 to 18 months in prison for accepting a 10 million yen bribe from a construction company trying to block a government bid-rigging probe.The Tokyo District Court also sentenced Shinji Kiyoyama, 71, former vice president of construction...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1997

Indonesia looks to exporters, reforms to bolster economy

Staff writerDespite the gloomy cloud hanging over Southeast Asian economies following the recent currency turmoil that began in Thailand, the Indonesian government is on the right track in implementing a wide range of measures to shore up its economy, according to Hartarto, Indonesia's coordinating minister...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1997

War veteran gives Unit 731 testimony

An 84-year-old former Imperial Japanese Army police officer who was stationed in Japan's puppet state of Manchuria during World War II told the Tokyo District Court on Oct. 1 that the army conducted germ warfare experiments on innocent Chinese civilians.Yutaka Mio spoke before the court for Chinese plaintiffs...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1997

Osaka begins collection of PET bottles for recycling

OSAKA -- The Osaka Municipal Government began a separate collection for plastic bottles Oct. 1 to enable such containers to be recycled.Starting this month, the city will collect polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, bottles once every two weeks along with cans, glass bottles and other containers that...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1997

Business confidence gloomier than expected

The Bank of Japan's quarterly survey of business sentiment indicates confidence in the economy is weaker than expected and hints conditions may get worse.The "tankan," released Oct. 1, says that confidence since the previous survey in June is lower even among major manufacturers, who have led the economy...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1997

Nation's first brain research center opens

The first institute in the country specializing in cerebral research, the Brain Science Comprehensive Research Center, has been established within the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, the institute announced Oct. 1.The institute began cerebral research nine years...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1997

Yasuda hospitals lose licenses over fraud

OSAKA -- The Osaka Prefectural Government revoked Oct. 1 the medical license of the Yasuda Hospital group, which is embroiled in a multimillion yen medical funding fraud.This marks the first time a hospital has had its medical license revoked due to illegal conduct, according to the Health and Welfare...
JAPAN
Sep 30, 1997

'Hobo' nursing brouhaha goes to health ministry

Health and Welfare Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Sept. 30 that his ministry will work to create a new job title for men working at nurseries to replace the current "hobo," which means "nursing mother" in kanji.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 1997

New Antigang Law to target gangsters' offices from today

The revised Antigang Law goes into effect Sept. 30, enabling authorities to crack down on the extent to which offices belonging to or affiliated with crime syndicates can be used.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 1997

SDP strategy to curb corrupt politicians gets LDP nod

A Social Democratic Party proposal to study measures to restrict activities of politicians who have earlier been convicted of corruption received approval Sept. 30 from a decision-making body of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 1997

Okinawa office to promote sea-based heliport

The national government's headquarters for relocating the U.S. Marines Futenma Air Station set up on Sept. 30 a local branch in Okinawa to win support from local residents for construction of a sea-based facility in Nago, northern Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 1997

Philippines' fundamentals still sound, Bautista says

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 30, 1997

Hokkaido Takushoku left to solve its own problems

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka said Sept. 30 that his ministry is not at present planning to help the troubled Hokkaido Takushoku Bank increase its capital.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 1997

Sake association plans to promote taste of Japan overseas

Sake sales have been falling in recent years in the domestic market, and the Japanese industry is now hoping to make a breakthrough overseas, Haruo Matsuzaki, chairman of the new Sake Export Association, said Sept. 30.

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