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JAPAN
Apr 9, 1997

Ozawa open to teamwork with LDP

Ichiro Ozawa, president of Shinshinto, the largest opposition party, said April 9 that cooperation with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party over administrative reform is possible just as the two agreed to cooperate on the issue of forced use of land for U.S. military bases in Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1997

Tsumura pleads not guilty to breach of trust

Akira Tsumura, former president of leading Chinese medicine maker Tsumura & Co., and two colleagues on April 9 pleaded not guilty to aggravated breach of trust allegations related to loan improprieties.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1997

Cohen, Hashimoto seek to ease Okinawa burden

Visiting U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen and Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto agreed April 9 on the need for both governments to further collaborate to ease the military burden on Okinawa, where most of the U.S. troops in Japan are based, government officials said.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1997

TNT for SDF comes from South Korea

Chugoku Kayaku Corp., Japan's sole TNT maker, which suspended production after two explosions last year, has been importing the powder from South Korea since February for use in shells and missiles for the Self-Defense Forces, it was learned April 9.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1997

Talks on U.S.-Japan ties focus on China instead

Distinguished American and Japanese financial, media and foreign policy experts, including former U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce Jeffrey Garten and former Ambassador to the U.S. Yoshio Okawara, met in Tokyo's Akasaka district earlier this week for a symposium on bilateral relations, but instead spent...
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1997

24,000 crank calls result in arrest of rejected comic

A resident of Chiba Prefecture has been arrested for making thousands of crank calls to the offices of Kodansha, a major publishing house, police said.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1997

Nago support sought with heliport study

The government hopes the city of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, will reverse its position and cooperate with the state to launch a feasibility study for the proposed relocation of the Futenma U.S. Marine heliport to a sea-based facility off Camp Schwab, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kaoru Yosano said April...
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1997

Half of workers unhappy, poll finds

Nearly half the corporate employees surveyed are dissatisfied with their companies, with many complaining about their pay and management evaluation of their work, according to a survey by a publishing company.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 1997

Congressman tells of North Korea's plight

A U.S. congressman who recently visited North Korea said April 8 in Tokyo that he met with starving citizens there and witnessed a serious fuel shortage in the flood-stricken country.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 1997

U.S. defense secretary Cohen visits Yokosuka base

YOKOSUKA, Kanagawa Pref. -- U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen, visiting Japan for talks with Tokyo, urged U.S. sailors at the Yokosuka Naval Base on April 8 to maintain America's superpower capability in the Asia-Pacific region in the post-Cold War era.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 1997

Japan Helpline needs phone cards

The Japan Helpline, a nationwide, 24-hour toll-free emergency assistance service, has launched a campaign to meet its astronomical telephone charges.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 1997

First European job fair slated

Seven European chambers of commerce and a trade commission in Japan, backed by the European Commission, will jointly hold the first European Job Fair in Tokyo this month.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 1997

JR cracks down on mobile phone users

To cope with mounting complaints from passengers, East Japan Railway Co. will limit the use of mobile phones on trains starting April 14, the company said April 8.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 1997

LDP needs new partners: Nakasone

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party should consider cooperating with opposition forces over such policy issues as security and administrative reforms, instead of confining itself to its current loose alliance with two small parties, former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone said April 8.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 1997

Lack of vision stalls Ex-Im Bank merger with aid fund

More than two years after the government decided to merge the Export-Import Bank of Japan and the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund, officials involved in its preparation are now unable to find a good way to unite the two institutions.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 1997

Securities watchdog files insider trading complaint

The nation's securities watchdog filed a complaint April 8 with the Nagoya District Prosecutor's Office against four men, including the former chairman of top women's wear retailer Suzutan Co., on suspicion of insider trading.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 1997

CCPC buys 662.3 billion yen in loans

The Cooperative Credit Purchasing Co., a loan collection body set up by the nation's financial institutions, said April 8 that it bought loans worth 662.3 billion yen in principal terms during the latter half of fiscal 1996.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 1997

Mental hospital faces abuse probe

OSAKA -- A council that screens Osaka prefectural mental hospitals inspected Yamatogawa Hospital in Kashiwara, Osaka Prefecture, April 8 over alleged mistreatment of patients.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 1997

Ailing NCB asks banks for capital

Nippon Credit Bank announced April 8 that it will ask other commercial banks and insurance firms to put up an additional 290.7 billion yen in capital for the troubled bank so it can put its house in order.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 1997

Medical treatment to be capped by 2000

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its two non-Cabinet allies on April 7 agreed to implement by 2000 a new medical payment system that will cap the total amount that medical institutions can charge per illness.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 1997

Sumitomo Trust revises down earnings for '97

Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co. announced April 7 that it would revise downward its earnings projections for the year ending March 1997, partly because of the losses incurred by the liquidation of three nonbanks affiliated with Nippon Credit Bank.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 1997

True reform means embracing competition

The Japanese government's deregulation package is a "good first step" but a lot of work still remains to be done, said Glen S. Fukushima, vice president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 1997

State plans to win final rights to base land

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto indicated April 7 that his government will try in the future to grant itself legal and ultimate authority to forcibly rent land for use by U.S. military bases.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 1997

Dollar rises to 125 yen to hit four-year high

The dollar soared against the yen in Tokyo on April 7, briefly hitting 125 yen for the first time since February 1993 amid growing expectations of higher interest returns on U.S. securities.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 1997

Overseas aid tumbles 35% in 1996 to $9.58 billion

Japan's official development assistance in 1996 plunged by 35 percent from the previous year to $9.58 billion, marking the first decline in dollar terms in seven years, the Foreign Ministry said in a preliminary report released April 7.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 1997

Move of capital has municipalities turning big believers

TOKI, Gifu Pref -- One of the small rural towns at the foot of rich, green mountains here in the Tono region could become Japan's new capital in 2010.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 1997

Current account surplus expands 15.4%

IThe nation's current account surplus for February increased 15.4 percent from the same period last year to 865.2 billion yen, logging the second straight month of growth, provisional figures released April 7 showed.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 1997

High tin levels found in tuna

A joint research team has discovered that tuna and bonito in the seas around Japan have high concentrations of organic tin from paints used on ship hulls and material used to protect fish nets.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 1997

Economist says reform plans neglect telecom sector

The government's deregulation package has gone through its second and final revisions, but little progress has been made in the area of telecommunication services, said Tsuruhiko Nanbu, a professor of economics at Gakushuin University.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 1997

Labor officials raid Osaka hospitals

OSAKA -- Labor authorities raided three Osaka Prefecture hospitals operated by a medical corporation and the home of the corporation owner Apr. 4 for alleged violation of the Labor Standards Law.

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