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JAPAN
Aug 1, 1997

Ex-mayor is sentenced to two years for bribes

Sanyu Ishii, who stepped down last year as mayor of the Tokyo suburb of Komae after incurring huge gambling debts, was sentenced August 1 to two years in prison and fined 4 million yen for accepting bribes from local construction firms.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 1997

Tokyo backs Peru, Vietnam for APEC membership

Tokyo supports Vietnam and Peru in their bids to become members in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda told Australian government officials July 31, according to Foreign Ministry officials.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 1997

Airport firm boasts strict corporate ethics charter

OSAKA -- Kansai International Airport Co. announced on July 31 that it has created a charter for corporate behavior in the company, which states that if misconduct occurs, the top management will severely punish those responsible, including self-imposing punishment on the management, if necessary.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 1997

Transport Ministry says Nakhodka was unseaworthy

The Russian tanker Nakhodka, which broke apart and sank off the Sea of Japan coast in January, was too old and worn out to weather the rough seas, a Transport Ministry panel concluded July 31.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 1997

Business group suggests simpler taxes to spur land sales

The nation's land-related taxes should be simplified to spur sluggish real estate sales, the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai) said July 31.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 1997

Ikeda refuses to specify Japan's crisis zone

Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda declined July 31 to specify the geographical scope of "areas surrounding Japan" that, according to a new bilateral defense cooperation guideline, would require Japanese military support for U.S. forces in the event of war.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 1997

Ministry outlines securities, cash account deregulations

The Finance Ministry on July 31 outlined a package of securities-related deregulation measures that includes lifting a ban on cash management accounts and allowing investment trusts to be sold at banks.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 1997

Australia opposes EU emissions goal for greenhouse gases

Australia is opposed to the European Union's proposal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from 2000, Australian Environment Minister Robert Hill said July 31, according to Foreign Ministry officials.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 1997

Homes of top Yamaichi execs raided

Investigators carried out a raid on the homes of the chairman and the president of Yamaichi Securities Co. in Tokyo on July 31 over the alleged payoffs by the brokerage to a corporate racketeer.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 1997

Fujitsu looks to take over U.S. mainframe-maker Amdahl

Fujitsu Ltd. announced July 31 it will try to purchase all shares of Amdahl stock it does not yet own at $12 per share through an open takeover bid, with the total purchase price expected to be $850 million, pursuant to its definitive merger agreement.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1997

Analysis: Bank's penalty an attempt to assuage public

Finance Ministry's decision July 30 to order Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank to refrain from extending loans to new customers until the end of the calendar year was an attempt to show that it is seriously trying to tackle wrongdoing in the financial markets.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1997

Smart kids can skip senior year to enter college

Students with outstanding talent in mathematics and physics equivalent to a high school graduate level or more will be allowed to skip their last year in high school to enter college at the age of 17, the Education Ministry said July 30.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1997

Analysis: Nomura should weather sanctions nicely

The administrative penalty imposed July 30 on Nomura Securities Co. by the Finance Ministry over payoffs to a corporate extortionist will certainly hurt the nation's leading brokerage, but the pain may not last for very long.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1997

Nomura, DKB hit with harsh penalties

The Finance Ministry slapped administrative penalties July 30 on Nomura Securities Co. and Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank lasting from five months to a year for their roles in one of the biggest financial scandals to hit the nation this decade.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1997

DKB president accepts fate

Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank President Katsuyuki Sugita said July 30 his bank solemnly accepts the administrative punishment meted out for its payoffs and dubious loans to a "sokaiya" racketeer.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1997

How they were punished

The following is a summary of the administrative penalties levied by the Finance Ministry against Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank and Nomura Securities Co. Dai-Ichi Kangyo was ordered to:>1. Suspend the extension of credit to new customers at all of its domestic offices from Aug. 6 to Dec. 31, with some exceptions,...
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1997

Boxers detained for visa violations

The Tokyo Immigration Bureau has detained seven foreigners, including three professional boxers from the Philippines, for allegedly working at factories and farms in Ibaraki Prefecture without proper visas.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1997

Bolivian envoy touts seeds of investment

Bolivian Ambassador Jorge Balcazar Aranibar, who finishes his assignment and departs for home July 31, believes the seeds have been sown for a stronger relationship with Japan.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1997

Top brokerage to cut pay of board members, punish others

Following the announcement of administrative penalties against Nomura Securities Co. for its illegal dealings with a "sokaiya" corporate extortionist, Nomura will cut the salaries of its board members and punish 25 of its employees, President Junichi Ujiie said July 30.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1997

Posts ministry halts dealings

In a concerted action with financial authorities, the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry said July 30 it will suspend its transactions with Nomura Securities Co. and Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank from Aug. 6 through Dec. 31 as punishment for their illegal dealings with a "sokaiya" racketeer.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1997

'Asian' plastics firm coming home as first OSE foreigner

OSAKA -- In 1977, the yen's rise forced Showa Plastics Co. to set up its first overseas factory. The Osaka-based plastic components maker said there was "no (other) choice."
JAPAN
Jul 30, 1997

Change in Cabinet Law urged to promote practical meetings

A legal revision is needed to give the prime minister more authority in actively guiding Cabinet discussions on important issues, members of a government blue-ribbon panel on administrative reform agreed July 30.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 1997

AIDS symposium set for Yokohama

As part of a monthlong effort to educate people on AIDS, Kanagawa Prefecture and the Yokohama YMCA have organized a series of workshops and seminars for Aug. 8 to Aug. 10 at the Kanagawa Citizens' Center.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 1997

Finance officials scolded for taking DKB freebies

Two Finance Ministry inspection officials were reprimanded July 29 for playing free golf and eating free meals with Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank employees in the months following a ministry probe of the bank in 1994.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 1997

U.N. in need of $1 billion to reform itself

The United Nations needs $1 billion to stabilize its financial situation as it undergoes reform, the undersecretary general for administration and management at the U.N. said July 29.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 1997

Aqualine slated to open Dec. 18 with 4,000-yen toll

The Japan Highway Public Corp. submitted an application July 29 to the Construction Ministry to open the new Trans-Tokyo Bay Highway on Dec. 18, with a one-way fare of 4,000 yen for the first five years.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 1997

Ratifying nuclear test ban treaty may pressure holdouts

Signatory countries to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty must ratify it in order to put pressure on India and North Korea to follow suit, said the chief of a preparatory commission for the treaty organization.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 1997

Japan-America Student Conference kicks off in Kyoto

KYOTO -- The 49th Japan-America Student Conference kicked off late July 28 at the Kyoto International Conference Hall, and this time instead of focusing on bilateral relations, participants are looking at changes in the Asia-Pacific community.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 1997

Tokyo praises Thai approach to IMF; offers help on baht

Japanese authorities July 29 welcomed Thailand's decision to begin talks with the International Monetary Fund for help in restoring stability to its weakened baht, adding that Tokyo would seriously consider any Thai request for aid from Japan.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 1997

Cabinet extends Golan peacekeeping mission

The government officially decided July 29 to extend Japan's peacekeeping mission to the Golan Heights by about two years, Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama said.

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