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JAPAN
Jun 16, 1997

Diet legislates independent financial watchdog

The Diet passed a bill June 16 to create a state agency independent of the Finance Ministry for supervising the nation's financial institutions.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 1997

New venture promises free home-page setups

Internet users will be able to open their home pages for free in a "cybercity" that will be launched as early as September, Softbank Corp. and California-based GeoCities Corp. announced June 16.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 1997

Self-styled rice seller defends sake sales

A 61-year-old rice retailer claimed in court June 16 that his sales of "doburoku" unrefined sake are not in violation of the Liquor Tax Law, which bans the unlicensed production of alcoholic drinks.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 1997

The pill creeps closer to contraceptive status

The Public Health Council drafted a report June 16 that effectively approves low-hormone birth control pills on condition that measures against the spread of sexually transmitted diseases be strengthened.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 1997

Marines' artillery drill relocation mapped out

Japan and the U.S. officially decided June 16 that the U.S. Marine Corps will discontinue live artillery drills over Highway 104 in Okinawa Prefecture, a senior Japanese defense official said.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 1997

Organ transplant bill nears Upper House vote

After only four hours of debate June 16, two-thirds of the Upper House select committee on brain death and organ transplants passed a compromise bill that will authorize organ transplants from brain-dead donors by narrowing the definition of brain death.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 1997

Key is goods and services trade, MITI says

The recent rise in Japan's current account surplus is a temporary phenomena and should not be taken as a sign of a relapse into trade friction, Shinji Sato, minister for international trade and industry, said June 16.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 1997

Business, Hashimoto chew the fat over taxes

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto met with business leaders June 16 in Tokyo and urged them to cooperate with him in his plans for fiscal reform.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 1997

GDP up 1.6% in January-March period

The economy grew 1.6 percent in real terms in the January-March period from the previous three-month period, bringing real growth in gross domestic product during fiscal 1996 to a strong 3 percent, according to a preliminary government report released June 13.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 1997

NTT eyes international market as Diet approves breakup

Following the Diet's passage of three telecommunications bills to breakup Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. into three firms under the control of a single holding company, NTT President Junichiro Miyazu said on June 13 that the reorganization will globalize Japan's telecommunications industry.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 1997

DKB's Fujita likely to face full probe

Prosecutors appeared ready June 13 to launch a full-fledged investigation of Ichiro Fujita, vice president of Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, over his suspected involvement in the bank's illicit loans to a "sokaiya" corporate extortionist.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 1997

LDP panel delays Ex-Im merger with JDB

A task force within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has decided to further delay until at least the end of this month a final decision on whether to merge the Export-Import Bank of Japan and the Japan Development Bank due to strong resistance from concerned parties, party sources said June 13.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 1997

Transport sets profit goal for Japan Freight

A Transport Ministry study group is urging Japan Freight Railway Co. to further improve its management so it can meet conditions for public listing in five years.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 1997

Upper House passes bill to double medical fees

A much-debated bill that will more than double medical costs for the public from Sept. 1 cleared the Upper House on June 13, supported by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the Social Democratic Party and New Party Sakigake.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 1997

Top surgeon backs brain-dead transplants

Full disclosure of information, fairness and the best efforts of those involved will be crucial when the nation resumes organ transplants from brain-dead donors, a liver transplant expert told a Diet hearing June 13.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 1997

Reports just beginning of road to deregulation

Reports released June 13 on financial deregulation should only be seen as the start, rather than the culmination, of the government's efforts to ignite a "Big Bang" in the domestic financial market.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 1997

Land Agency warns Tokyo about overpopulation problem

Overpopulation is hindering the Tokyo area from protecting itself from natural disasters and is causing other serious problems, a National Land Agency report warned June 13.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 1997

Eerie quiet descends on site of Kobe boy's slaying

KOBE -- Almost three weeks after the mutilated body of an 11-year-old boy was found here, an eerie quiet has descended on Suma Ward and the neighborhood of Tomogaoka.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 1997

Taunting killer's note linked to word processor

KOBE -- Investigators have pinpointed the maker of a word processor believed used by the killer of an 11-year-old Suma Ward boy last month to write a message sent to the daily Kobe Shimbun, informed sources said June 13.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 1997

Hashimoto to announce environment plan at U.N.

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto will formally announce an "Initiative for Sustainable Development" aimed at boosting Japan's assistance in environmental protection in developing nations, government sources said June 12.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 1997

Ambassadors issue call to ban land mines

Japan should join with the 100-plus nations that have agreed to back a Canadian initiative to ban antipersonnel land mines, the ambassadors to Tokyo from Canada, Belgium, Austria, Norway and the Philippines said in a joint news conference June 12.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 1997

Sakakibara sparks dollar's advance toward 116 yen

The dollar nearly reached the 116 yen level in Tokyo trading June 12 after remarks made by a senior Finance Ministry official triggered massive short-covering.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 1997

Catalina Marketing banks on tailored coupon system

Catalina Marketing Corp. is introducing to Japan a new marketing system it claims is more cost-effective than existing methods, officials of the U.S. consumer promotion company announced June 12.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 1997

Japan joint defense plan with U.S. considered

The government may draw up de facto rules of engagement so the Self-Defense Forces and U.S. military can jointly repel an attack on Japan, a senior Defense Agency official told the Diet on June 12.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 1997

U.S. awaits okay for live-fire drills at Mount Fuji

Japan and the United States will decide by the middle of next week to let U.S. Marine Corps based in Okinawa conduct live firing drills at the foot of Mount Fuji in early July, a senior defense official said June 12.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 1997

LDP council to evaluate judiciary system

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on June 12 set up a special research council on the nation's judicial system, hoping to greatly increase the number of jurists and to improve their quality, according to Okiharu Yasuoka, a LDP Lower House member and deputy head of the council.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 1997

NOVA to refund 3.8 million yen to students

NOVA, a major language-school chain, will refund a total of 3.8 million yen to 18 students who were unable to use lesson tickets they had purchased, a Tokyo Metropolitan Government committee said June 12.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 1997

Yanase joins deal to sell Saab autos

Yanase & Co. will begin importing and marketing passenger cars built by Saab Automobile AB starting July 1, the two firms announced June 12.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 1997

U.S. education expert sees gradual diversification here

Gearing toward individual-oriented education in Japan is a worthy goal, but whether it is actually possible remains questionable, according to the only foreign member of a core advisory panel to the education minister.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 1997

Investment may rise 3.2% in '97, MITI says

Corporate investment during fiscal 1997 is expected to increase 3.2 percent from the previous year, reflecting the ongoing moderate economic recovery and improvement in corporate profits, according to a report released June 12 by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

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