search

 
 
JAPAN
Feb 13, 1997

MITI backs shift to natural gas

Shinji Sato, minister of international trade and industry, pledged his support Feb. 13 for efforts by gas utilities to shift from petroleum gas to natural gas, which is kinder to the environment. "The government will promote the use of natural gas by utilizing both the national budget and (the) treasury...
JAPAN
Feb 13, 1997

Ikeda to back asylum for N. Korean defector

Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda will depart for Singapore Feb. 14 to attend a foreign ministers' meeting where he is expected to press China to honor a request by a top North Korean defector who wants to go to Seoul.
JAPAN
Feb 13, 1997

Beijing asked to halt immigrants

Following a sharp rise in the number of illegal immigrants from China, Tokyo urged Beijing on Feb. 13 to tighten measures to stop more arriving in Japan. Ryozo Kato, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian Affairs Bureau, told Minister Wu Dawei of the Chinese Embassy that the huge numbers of...
JAPAN
Feb 13, 1997

Dad offers reward to find missing son

SINGAPORE -- A Singaporean businessman is offering a 3 million yen reward to find his only son, who failed to return from a hiking trip to Mount Fuji.
JAPAN
Feb 13, 1997

308 people ready to help in disaster

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has registered 308 bilingual Tokyo residents as volunteers to help foreigners in the event of a natural disaster, metropolitan officials said Feb. 13.
JAPAN
Feb 13, 1997

Nakasone marks 50 years in Diet

Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone was commended Feb. 13 for 50 years of service in the Diet. Nakasone, 78, is the fourth Diet member in Japanese parliamentary history to serve more than half a century.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1997

Life term sought for gangster charged with drug dealing

Prosecutors on Feb. 12 demanded a life prison term for a 56-year-old former mob kingpin accused of engaging in the illegal trade of stimulant drugs for two decades.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1997

FEMA urges Japan to form joint disaster unit

Japan should cooperate with the U.S. government and industry to form a unit like the American National Urban Search and Rescue Response system to improve reaction times to major disasters, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency said Feb. 12.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1997

Palau seeks more than money

A Japanese representative for the Republic of Palau is seeking support, both moral and financial, for the small South Pacific island country, which he said has suffered a terrible setback since the bridge connecting its two main islands collapsed in 1995.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1997

Survivor of Nanjing Massacre describes ordeal

A 77-year-old Chinese woman who survived the 1937 Nanjing Massacre testified in court Feb. 12 that Japanese soldiers stabbed her 37 times when she resisted their attempt to rape her.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1997

Leader of kidnapping may still be at large

Police suspect the mastermind behind a kidnapping in which six Chinese illegal immigrants have been arrested may still be at large, investigative sources said Feb. 12.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1997

Firm to offer cruises with Japanese flavor

Most Japanese who choose a cruise vacation are seeking the luxurious Western atmosphere found aboard the big ships. Very soon, however, they will be able to opt for an ambience that is much closer to home.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1997

Sony, Namco, Polygon to unite in graphics venture

To compete with rapidly advancing computer graphics technology in the U.S., Namco Ltd., Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Polygon Pictures Inc. announced Feb. 12 that they will jointly establish a company to produce digital contents for graphics-based films and entertainment software.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1997

Mitsuzuka vows to control yen's fall

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka, in response to the dollar's rally Feb. 12, said the government will monitor the foreign exchange market and take "appropriate steps" to control it.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1997

Shinshinto opposes sex slave mentions in texts

A group of lawmakers from Shinshinto, the largest opposition party, demanded Feb. 12 that the planned inclusion of descriptions of wartime "comfort women" in school textbooks be scrapped.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1997

Use tax funds to save depositors, banker urges

Taxpayer money should be made available to rescue depositors if financial institutions fail, the head of the nation's regional banks said Feb. 12.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1997

Fulbright grant competition opens

The Japan-United States Educational Commission has announced the opening of competition for 1998-99 Fulbright Awards available to Japanese nationals.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 1997

Will next-generation satellite be analog or digital?

The Posts Ministry and a group of supporters of the analog-based high-definition TV system, led by NHK, are nearing final talks on whether the next-generation BS-4 satellite should be analog or digital.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 1997

Orca auction spurs calls for boycott

Animal rights groups may boycott products from Wakayama Prefecture in response to some 10 killer whales being caught and auctioned to amusement facilities and aquariums, it was learned Feb. 11.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 1997

Cupid liquidation sale attracts hearty crowd

Chihiro Matsuda likes jewelry very much, especially from her boyfriend. But she has one minor problem. "Now that we've broken up, I don't want this bracelet and necklace he gave me," she said. And, she added, now that she has a new boyfriend, she wants to make a fresh start "without bad memories."
JAPAN
Feb 11, 1997

Man-made island plan draws flak in Osaka

OSAKA -- Citizens here are criticizing a proposal to build another man-made island in Osaka Bay, at an estimated cost of 300 billion yen in public funds.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 1997

Protests and rallies mark controversial Founding Day

Denying the validity of dating the founding of Japan from the enthronement of a legendary emperor, citizens' groups staged rallies Feb. 11, calling for the government to abolish the national holiday to ensure the separation of church and state.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 1997

Top Japanese firms investing heavily in India

NEW DELHI -- Top Japanese firms have been announcing several high-profile investments in India, a huge market that has been widely complained about for its formidable trade barriers.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 1997

'24-hour baths' to get sanitation advisement

An association of firms that make and sell so-called 24-hour-baths said Feb. 10 it will introduce voluntary sanitation guidelines for the water used in the systems.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 1997

'96 surplus declines 31% for third straight fall

Japan's current account surplus for calendar 1996 fell 30.9 percent from the previous year to 7.18 trillion yen, marking the third straight year of decline, according to preliminary statistics released Feb. 10.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 1997

Exhibit celebrates late alpine adventurer

The climbing gear and a diary of the late adventurer Naomi Uemura are currently on display at a museum in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward dedicated to the renowned adventurer.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 1997

North Korean presence strengthens on city panel

KAWASAKI -- The foreign residents' advisory panel to the mayor of Kawasaki has agreed to add three resident North Koreans and a South Korean as observers to the body, correcting what has been criticized as a disparity in the representation of the two rival ethnic groups.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 1997

Revised foreigner info booklets available

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has published revised versions of free information booklets in Chinese, Korean and Spanish for foreign residents that offer various basic data on everyday life in Japan, metropolitan officials said Feb. 10.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 1997

U.S. college in Kobe plans to stay

The operator of the Kobe campus of Edmonds Community College, based in the state of Washington, has denied reports in the U.S. that the school plans to shut down its Japanese branch in March due to a decline in the number of students.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 1997

U.S. was tardy reporting radioactive bullets mishap

U.S. Marine Corps jets accidentally fired 1,520 radioactive bullets near Okinawa during training exercises about a year ago, but the Japanese government was not informed until last Jan. 16, Foreign Ministry officials said Feb. 10.

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