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JAPAN
Dec 4, 1998

Izui claims oil firm chief asked him to lobby MITI

Junichi Izui, an Osaka-based oil dealer convicted of bribery and tax evasion, has told the judges in a civil suit that he had been directly asked by the former chairman of Mitsubishi Oil Co. to serve as a mediator between the firm and Ministry of International Trade and Industry officials to promote...
JAPAN
Dec 4, 1998

Four LDP factions to merge, support coalition government

Four conservative groups within the Liberal Democratic Party agreed at a meeting on Friday to merge by Dec. 14 and to support Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's initiative to form a coalition government with the Liberal Party.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 1998

WHC can list sites, but can it really protect them?

Staff writer
JAPAN
Dec 4, 1998

LDP-Liberal Party rift grows

Staff writers
JAPAN
Dec 3, 1998

WTO talks should end by 2003, EU says

The World Trade Organization should be able to wrap up its next round of multilateral liberalization talks within three years of its 2000 start, a senior European Union official said Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 1998

Genden Engineering to dissolve over fake nuclear data

Genden Engineering Services and Construction Co., which in October was found to have falsified data on a container for transporting mixed oxide fuel to be used in a planned thermal neutron reactor, announced on Thursday it will dissolve by next summer as a result of the scandal.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 1998

Guru counsel's nitpicking hit in 100th session

The defense counsel for Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara drew flak from the judge for asking a National Police Agency scientist questions that went into too much detail Thursday as the guru's trial marked its 100th session after 2 1/2 years of deliberations.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 1998

Menem urges increase in investment

Argentine President Carlos Menem urged business leaders Thursday to promote investment in the republic to help correct a trade imbalance between the two countries.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 1998

Wakayama residents stressed by media presence

A national institute on mental health has warned the media that coverage of the mass poisoning in a residential community of Wakayama this summer has doubly hurt local people already suffering due to the crime.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 1998

LDP backs Liberal Party Diet reforms

The government hopes to submit bills to the next ordinary Diet session to abolish the current system of having bureaucrats, instead of state ministers, answer lawmakers' questions during Diet deliberations, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 1998

Seeking Refuge: Arbitary policy shutters window to asylum

Last of a three-part series on Japan's refugee policy
JAPAN
Dec 3, 1998

Detention house ordered to pay ex-inmate for injuries

-- The Chiba District Court ordered the national government to pay 150,000 yen in damages to a 33-year-old American for an injury inflicted by guards at the Tokyo Detention House, where he had been held.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 1998

Economy shrinks 0.7% in quarter for fourth straight decline

The economy shrank 0.7 percent in real terms during the July-September quarter compared with the previous three months, marking its fourth consecutive contraction, the longest ever in the postwar years, the Economic Planning Agency announced Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 1998

Kids today tuckered out by TV, not sports

It doesn't take much to exhaust today's Japanese kids, who are too busy watching TV, playing video games or reading comic books to play outdoors, according to an Education Ministry survey released Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1998

Calls rising within BOJ to aid firms, minutes show

Calls from Bank of Japan Policy Board members for the central bank to make additional efforts to support corporate financing were more apparent than at the Oct. 28 meeting, according to the minutes of the meeting released Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1998

Aborigines protest Osaka utility's uranium mine link

Staff writer
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1998

Nara sites added to World Heritage List

Staff writer
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1998

Seeking Refuge: Process not worth it, chosen one says

Second in a three-part series on Japan's refugee policy
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1998

China remarks falsely reported, Nonaka says

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka criticized some foreign media entities Wednesday for misunderstanding and falsely reporting his remarks during Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit last week.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1998

The Asahara Trial: Guru tossed mumbling from court

Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara was ordered out of the courtroom Wednesday after being summoned to the trial of his former disciples and failing to give clear consent when asked to take an oath.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1998

Obuchi hints SDF may play U.N. military role

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi indicated Wednesday that the government may study the possibility of revising existing legislation that prevents the Self-Defense Forces from taking part in U.N. military operations.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1998

The Asahara Trial: 100th hearing just tip of iceberg

and TOMOKO OTAKEStaff writers
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1998

Supreme Court rules speech restraint constitutional

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that it is constitutional to place restraints on court judges' freedom of expression.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1998

Ex-Defense official served fourth warrant

Public prosecutors served a fourth arrest warrant Wednesday to a former Defense Agency official at the center of a major procurement scandal for allegedly taking 3 million yen in bribes from Toyo Communications Equipment Co.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1998

Tokio Marine plans venture with Schwab

Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. is planning a joint discount brokerage with Charles Schwab and Co., Tokio Marine officials said on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1998

Planned Pyongyang missile launch unverified

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said on Wednesday that he is unable to confirm reports that North Korea is preparing to launch another ballistic missile by the end of this year.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1998

Recovery set for autumn, says Economic Strategy Council

Japan's economy seems to have hit bottom and the government's economic stimulus measures will start to be effective by next fall, the chairman of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's economic advisory panel said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 27, 1998

Ex-Aum doctor testifies for Inoue defense

A former doctor for Aum Shinrikyo, currently serving a life sentence, testified for the defense Friday at the trial of the cult's former intelligence chief, Yoshihiro Inoue.
JAPAN
Nov 27, 1998

Kobe mayor targeted after city hall stomps plebiscite push

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 27, 1998

Bill on Constitution review headed for Diet

A nonpartisan group of lawmakers agreed Friday to submit a bill during the current special Diet session proposing the creation of standing committees in both chambers of the Diet to consider revising the Constitution.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat