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JAPAN
Feb 25, 1997

Areas damaged by spill to get 2 billion yen

The government will provide about 2 billion yen in subsidies to local governments in areas affected by oil spilled from the wrecked Russian tanker Nakhodka, Transport Minister Makoto Koga said Feb. 25.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 1997

Government consensus on holding firms seen as a start

While the business and financial communities are pleased that the ruling coalition finally reached an agreement on lifting a 50-year-old ban on holding companies, they say they have yet to get all they want.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 1997

Sato to carmakers: don't cut export prices

The nation's automakers should refrain from cutting export prices even if the yen falls against the dollar, trade chief Shinji Sato said Feb. 25.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 1997

Firm links with Lamborghini on sports car

A sports car designed by Japanese firm Gigliato Design Co. and produced by Italian manufacturer Automobili Lamborghini will debut on the Japanese and European markets this year, executives of the two companies announced Feb. 25.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 1997

Gang member arrested in Tamagotch extortion

OSAKA -- A Yamaguchi-gumi gangster from Settsu, Osaka Prefecture, was arrested Feb. 25 on suspicion of extorting 5 million yen from a trader who failed to make good on a promise to ship him 200 of the best-selling Tamagotch virtual pets, they said.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 1997

Government slams U.S. film complaints

U.S. allegations of discrimination in Japanese laws and actions on imported photographic film are "groundless," the government said Feb. 21.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 1997

Osaka to use 980 million yen for Olympics

OSAKA -- The Osaka Municipal Government will allocate 980 million yen of its fiscal 1997 budget for its campaign to host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, it was announced here Feb. 21.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 1997

Number of high school dropouts rises to 98,179

The number of high school dropouts rose slightly to 98,179 in fiscal 1995 but remained within the fluctuating range of the past decade, according to an Education Ministry report released Feb. 21. The dropout ratio from all public and private high schools was 2.1 percent, up 0.1 percentage point from...
JAPAN
Feb 21, 1997

Mongolia seeks patron in Japan

After several years of vigorous democratization efforts and painful free-market reforms, Mongolia appears to be eagerly courting new shepherds to lead its 2.4 million people toward a more prosperous and secure future.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 1997

Opposition parties disagree over tax cuts

Three opposition parties on Feb. 21 effectively gave up their joint attempt to demand the continuation of special tax cuts this year, enabling the government to cement its plan to raise income taxes by 2 trillion yen a year.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 1997

Japan offers special fish quota to EU

In a bid to avert a possible legal battle with the European Union at the World Trade Organization over fish imports, Japan has informally proposed granting the 15-nation union a special import quota for certain fish like mackerel and horse mackerel, government sources said Feb. 21.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 1997

Life insurers opposed to banks moving in

The nation's life insurers joined ranks with their nonlife counterparts Feb. 21 in voicing opposition to the entry of banks into the insurance market through holding companies.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 1997

JR West president to step down

Masataka Ide, president of West Japan Railway Co., will step down April 1 and Vice President Shojiro Nanya will take his place, Transport Minister Makoto Koga announced Feb. 21.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 1997

No accord yet on holding firms; deadline Feb. 24

The ruling coalition moved closer to agreement Feb. 21 on revising the Antimonopoly Law to lift a 50-year-old ban on holding companies. However, it failed for the second time this week to meet a deadline for settling the issue.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 1997

Garuda pilot details Fukuoka crash

The captain of Garuda Indonesia Flight 865, which crashed at Fukuoka airport last June, said he aborted takeoff because he thought the aircraft might hit objects or buildings nearby if he continued, according to the draft of a report released Feb. 21 by the Transport Ministry's Aircraft Accident Investigation...
JAPAN
Feb 20, 1997

Chinese community grieves Deng Xiaoping

People in Yokohama's Chinatown, the largest Chinese community in Japan, and elsewhere around the country grieved over the death Feb. 20 of Deng Xiaoping.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 1997

Insurance leader speaks out against allowing banks

Banks' entry into the insurance business would reduce competition and should not be permitted, even through holding companies, the head of the nation's nonlife insurance industry said Feb. 20.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 1997

Chinese here ponder possibility of turmoil

Some Chinese in Tokyo expressed concern Feb. 20 that Deng Xiaoping's death might throw China into turmoil.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 1997

Japanese embassies on alert after arrests

Fearing retaliation for the weekend arrests in Lebanon of five suspected members of the Red Army, Japanese embassies were ordered on alert, Foreign Ministry officials said in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 1997

Budget for public works to be reviewed

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's study group on fiscal reform, consisting of leaders from the government, the ruling party and its allies, said Feb. 20 it will review the planned 630 trillion yen to be spent on public works projects between fiscal 1995 and 2004, officials said.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 1997

JETRO taking applications for business Japanese test

Applications are now being accepted for the Second JETRO Business Japanese Proficiency Test for non-native Japanese speakers, the Japan External Trade Organization has announced.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 1997

Yokota base-noise hearings take off

Court hearings began Feb. 20 on a lawsuit brought by residents around the U.S. Yokota Air Base in Fussa, Tokyo, seeking a ban on night and early morning flights and damages for past jet noise.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 1997

Special tax measures mulled for NTT split

Special tax measures may be temporarily applied for the planned breakup of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. but they will not be applied to consolidated earnings, a top Finance Ministry official said Feb. 20.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 1997

Group advises on rent discrimination

A human rights group representing Korean residents will set up a three-day hotline next week to provide support and advice to foreigners facing discrimination in trying to find apartments.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 1997

Pyongyang showdown seen between Kim, reform camp

Kim Jong Il and his allies in North Korea's hierarchy could be in their final days of power, according to a prominent Tokyo-based Korea watcher.
JAPAN
Feb 19, 1997

Dragon Airlines plans more Japanese routes

Hong Kong Dragon Airlines hopes to open new routes to three Japanese cities in the near future, the new head of the carrier said Feb. 19 in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Feb 19, 1997

Businessmen seek understanding, poll shows

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JAPAN
Feb 19, 1997

January trade surplus falls 91.7%

The nation's customs-cleared merchandise trade surplus for January plunged 91.7 percent from the same month last year to 5.2 billion yen, according to preliminary figures released Feb. 19.
JAPAN
Feb 19, 1997

New rules on holding companies delayed

Due to continuing disputes over the handling of labor-management relations, the ruling coalition on Feb. 19 decided to allow one extra day for discussions before finalizing new guidelines for holding companies under a revised Antimonopoly Law.
JAPAN
Feb 19, 1997

DPJ issues budget-cutting plan

The Democratic Party of Japan submitted a set of proposals Feb. 19 to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its two smaller allies to cut by 3.4 trillion yen a planned 77.4 trillion yen budget package for fiscal 1997. Its proposals are an effort to prevent the already debt-stricken national coffers...

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