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JAPAN
Aug 29, 1997

7,200 people would be killed in large quake, Tokyo says

About 7,200 people would be killed, 158,000 injured and 378,000 buildings destroyed by fire if an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale were to hit Tokyo at around 6 p.m. in the winter, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's worst-case scenario, released August 29.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 1997

Foreign Ministry set to cut aid to international groups

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JAPAN
Aug 28, 1997

'98 budget to need deficit-covering bonds again

For the fifth straight year, the government will probably be forced to issue the deficit-covering bonds that have helped drive the nation into fiscal crisis, a senior Finance Ministry official indicated August 28.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 1997

ORIX unveils 'cheap' insurance

ORIX Life Insurance Corp. will introduce Sept. 1 what it calls "unprecedented cheap" life insurance products available only through mail order, the firm announced August 28.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 1997

Ruling allies approve health insurance reforms

After intensive debate, the Liberal Democratic Party and its two non-Cabinet allies agreed August 28 on a plan to rescue the nation's health insurance systems from bankruptcy.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 1997

Hashimoto to seek second term at helm of LDP

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto declared his candidacy August 28 for re-election as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, expressing hopes of continuing to promote reforms while maintaining the current tripartite alliance.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 1997

Tokyo to join global land mine meeting

Tokyo will participate in an international conference on banning land mines slated for September in Norway, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kaoru Yosano said August 28.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 1997

1998 budget requests climb to 80.5 trillion yen

General account budget requests for fiscal 1998 will reach 80.54 trillion yen, up 4.1 percent from the initial fiscal 1997 requests, it was learned August 27.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 1997

Matsushita re-emphasizes path of economic recovery

Bank of Japan Gov. Yasuo Matsushita reiterated August 27 the BOJ's position that the economy on the whole remains on a modest recovery track, although the aftereffects of the consumption tax hike linger on.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 1997

Parties agree on limit of Japan's wartime assistance to U.S.

Minesweeping activities will be among the 42 proposed steps that Japan would take to assist U.S. forces in case of war in Asia now that the ruling parties have reached a consensus.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 1997

Concerns over Olympics to be aired

OSAKA -- Opposition here to Osaka's bid to host the 2008 Olympics is gaining ground.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 1997

Japan strives for international unity on greenhouse gas issue

With a key international conference on climate change less than four months away, Japan is stepping up diplomatic efforts to resolve sharp differences among the industrialized and developing countries over reductions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases widely blamed for global warming.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 1997

Transport Ministry aiming to spread JNR debt

The Transport Ministry said August 27 that it will request 690 billion yen worth of repayment for government bonds be transferred in fiscal 1998 from the government's general account to one for coping with the massive debts now held by JNR Settlement Corp.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 1997

New financial watchdog to be armed with more inspectors

Financial institutions will be supervised by a new, beefed-up watchdog after June 1998.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 1997

Hashimoto vows to take lead on global warming

During a meeting with global warming experts on August 27, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said Japan should take the lead in combating global warming.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 1997

Sato hopeful of WTO talks with China

Trade chief Shinji Sato expressed hope August 26 that upcoming bilateral talks on China's entry to the World Trade Organization would see positive developments.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 1997

Painful truth kept from cancer patients

Although there is treatment available to alleviate the pain of cancer patients, some excruciating misconceptions and the ignorance of medical workers are keeping it from widespread use here.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 1997

Radioactive waste leak reported at Tokai facility

A massive leak of uranium waste was reported August 26 at a nuclear plant operated by the government-run Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corp. (PNC) in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 1997

Panel to prioritize bullet train work

A panel examining the construction of bullet train networks agreed August 26 to decide by late November which of seven sections of four bullet train lines in the Hokkaido, Hokuriku, Kyushu and Tohoku regions will have priority.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 1997

Netanyahu hails China decision on Iran reactor

China's decision not to assist Iran in building a nuclear reactor is a positive sign for regional stability in the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said August 26.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 1997

Firm aims at Japan market for new-style entertainment

New types of entertainment facilities that are family-oriented and regionally based are suitable for the Japanese market and will grow in the future, the head of Orlando-based ITEC Productions, said August 26.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 1997

Toppling billboard post kills Osaka driver, 46

OSAKA -- A 3-ton billboard fell on top of a car that had stopped at traffic lights August 26 in Yao, Osaka Prefecture, crushing the car and killing the driver.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 1997

Senior Aum member fined 100 million yen

A former senior member of Aum Shinrikyo was ordered August 26 to pay a total of 100 million yen in damages to the parents of four people killed in a nerve gas attack by the cult in 1994.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 1997

Panel to deal with weapons left in China

The Cabinet on August 26 approved the formation of a panel to handle the disposal of chemical weapons left in China by the Imperial Japanese Army.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 1997

Public corporations under reform microscope

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JAPAN
Aug 26, 1997

Aum regaining strength, surveillance operation reveals

Aum Shinrikyo has regained its organizational strength and expanded its activities since it was spared disbandment in January under the Antisubversive Activities Law, the Public Security Investigation Agency said August 26.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 1997

MITI requesting 923 billion yen for '98 budget

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry will request 922.8 billion yen for its fiscal 1998 general accounts budget, ministry officials said August 26.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 1997

Wife admits hiding spouse's limbs

OSAKA -- Sakae Maruyama, now under arrest for allegedly mutilating the body of her husband in Katano, Osaka Prefecture, last year, confessed that she tried to hide parts of his body after dismembering it, police sources said August 25.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 1997

Netanyahu woos Japan's high-tech sector

Stressing Israel's status in high-technology manufacturing, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on August 25 called on Japanese firms to take part in joint-venture projects.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 1997

87 Diet members launch opposition study group

In a move seen by many as a stepping stone toward the formation of a new opposition party, the Reform Council was launched on August 25 by 87 Diet members from four opposition parties.

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