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JAPAN
Oct 14, 1997

China to get $1 million to save relics from dam

Staff writerJapan will provide up to $1 million in financial aid to China to conserve and restore innumerous cultural relics that will be submerged by the controversial Three Gorges dam project, government sources said Oct. 14.The assistance will be funneled to Beijing through a special cultural assets-preservation...
JAPAN
Oct 14, 1997

Japan and Mercosur agree on economic cooperation

Delegates from Japan and Mercosur, the South American common market that includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, agreed Oct. 14 to promote further economic cooperation as they recognized the potential to further develop trade and investment between the two regions."The Mercosur side remarked...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1997

22 homeless people apply for Tokyo job counseling

After a number of clashes over the years with homeless people living in Shinjuku Station's underground concourse, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has organized a job counseling program that accepted applications Oct. 13 at a briefing for the concourse dwellers.Such a service has been hindered partly...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1997

JCP wants Yamasaki summoned before Diet

The Japanese Communist Party on Oct. 13 insisted that Taku Yamasaki, the LDP's policy chief, be summoned to the Diet, saying a recently completed investigation has deepened suspicion that he violated laws in receiving political donations from oil wholesaler Junichi Izui.Izui, now on trial on suspicion...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1997

Automakers unveil newest models ahead of show

Hoping to stimulate Japan's auto market prior to the Tokyo Motor Show slated for next week, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Saab Japan announced their new models Oct. 13.Mitsubishi has announced that its new Chariot model, fully redesigned for the first time in about 6 1/2 years, will...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1997

Small companies less confident, credit banks say

Confidence among small firms worsened in the July-September quarter, and they expect the dismal situation to continue through the next three months, according to results from a survey released Oct. 13 by the National Association of Shinkin (credit association) Banks. The results reaffirmed the gloomy...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1997

Current account surplus surged 78% in August

The nation's current account surplus for the month of August grew 77.7 percent over the same month last year to 817.8 billion yen, according to provisional figures released Oct. 13 by the Finance Ministry.This marks the fifth straight month in which the figure has increased on a year-on-year basis,...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1997

Guidelines 'clarify' SDF role, Hashimoto explains

the government has not changed its interpretation of the war-renouncing Constitution in relation to the newly reviewed Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said Oct. 13.Rather, Hashimoto said, the government has clarified the Self-Defense Forces' roles in emergencies.The...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1997

Tokyo stocks sink to new low for year

Tokyo share prices slid broadly in trading Oct. 13 amid incessant concerns over the strength of the economy, leaving the market's benchmark index at its lowest level this year.The 225-issue Nikkei average fell 172.22 points -- roughly 1 percent -- to end the day at 17,204.70. The previous closing low...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1997

New energy proposal dictates 'drastic' changes in lifestyle

As part of its initiative to tackle global warming, the government on Oct. 13 announced a series of energy-conservation measures it says will cause "drastic changes" to people's lifestyles.The proposed measures, however, would only stabilize carbon dioxide emissions at the 1990 levels by 2010 and fall...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1997

Massive police raids descend on warring gangs' lairs

OSAKA -- Massive raids on gangster offices were launched by Osaka Prefectural Police on Oct. 13 targeting mobsters associated with the warring and Nakano-kai and Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicates.Approximately 1,300 prefectural officers were mobilized at 200 locations in the largest operation ever launched...
JAPAN
Oct 10, 1997

Doctors, citizens rap impending organ transplants

Medical professionals and other citizens called Oct. 10 for more careful consideration to be taken before organ transplants from brain-dead donors are allowed in Japan.At a meeting in Tokyo of those concerned about such medical treatment, Tetsuo Furukawa, a neurologist at Tokyo Medical and Dental University...
JAPAN
Oct 10, 1997

Japan, Korea make progress in fisheries dispute

Japan and South Korea have made progress in their fisheries dispute but differences still remain, Foreign Ministry officials said Oct. 10.The officials said the progress is not "major" but that the two sides deepened understanding of each other's stance. During three days of talks in Tokyo that ended...
JAPAN
Oct 10, 1997

Thailand urged to bolster economy

Top officials of three Japanese banks with close ties to Thailand on Oct. 10 urged the Thai government to continue trying to implement economic measures that would restore global trust in its battered economy.The calls came during the second day of separate meetings between visiting Thai Prime Minister...
JAPAN
Oct 10, 1997

Alberta lends Tokyo advice on restructuring

Alberta is committed to sharing its experiences in successful fiscal and government restructuring with Japan, one of its priority markets, according to provincial Premier Ralph Klein.Speaking at a news conference and at a Tokyo luncheon Oct. 9 sponsored jointly by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in...
JAPAN
Oct 10, 1997

World brewers toast Osaka beer festival

OSAKA -- It's the summit gathering where everyone's an ambassador.International Beer Summit '97 Osaka, which kicked off here late Oct. 9, is being hailed by international microbrewery experts as one of the world's top beer festivals. More than 100 different brews, from ales to lagers to exotic concoctions...
JAPAN
Oct 10, 1997

Number of Tokyo's homeless people rising

The number of homeless people living in Tokyo's Sanya district and surrounding areas such as Ueno, Asakusa and near the Sumida River increased 30 percent from last year to 1,400, a homeless supporters' group said Oct. 10.The group, which helps homeless people in Taito and Sumida Wards, conducted the...
JAPAN
Oct 10, 1997

Japan's CO2 cuts would keep gas at 1990 level at best

The government's latest estimates show that as of 2010, Japan's carbon dioxide emissions could be stabilized at their 1990 level at best, despite Tokyo's earlier proposal calling for a maximum 5 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions for developed countries, it was learned Oct. 10.The estimates, to...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

SDP wrapping up details of 2 trillion yen tax cut

The Social Democratic Party said Oct. 9 that it is finalizing details of its proposal for a one-time tax cut of about 2 trillion yen, SDP Secretary General Shigeru Ito said.The party, one of the two non-Cabinet allies of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, will compile its proposal next week as a supplementary...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Bill to let DIC funds aid bank mergers approved

The Cabinet approved a bill Oct. 9 that would revise the Deposit Insurance Law and allow the use of funds from Deposit Insurance Corp. to aid mergers involving two or more failed financial institutions until the end of fiscal 2000.It would be the second time in as many years for revising the law, highlighting...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

LDP agrees to summon Izui to Diet

The ruling and opposition parties agreed Oct. 9 to return Diet proceedings to normal next week after the Liberal Democratic Party agreed to have a scandal-tainted oil wholesaler testify before the Diet before the end of November.Directors of the Lower House Budget Committee decided to reopen deliberations...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Myanmar activist sues to become refugee

A Myanmarese activist filed a lawsuit Oct. 9 against the Justice Ministry, demanding it reverse its earlier decision to reject his application for refugee status and deport him.The ministry's decision in the case of 42-year-old Mya Wai will probably set the tone for the 81 other Myanmarese applying...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Hashimoto unveils steps to bolster Thai economy

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto announced a package of measures Oct. 9 to help stabilize Thailand's economy, including a short-term trade insurance worth $1 billion, at his meeting with his Thai counterpart, Chavalit Yongchaiyuth, Foreign Ministry officials said.Japan will extend the $1 billion in...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Thai leader calls on Japanese ventures to boost exports

While committing to improve the investment environment in his country, Thai Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyuth urged Japanese business leaders to promote exports from their industrial ventures in the ailing Southeast Asian economy.Chavalit requested such efforts particularly in the automobile, automotive...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Digital cameras shaking up photo industry

Digital technology is evolving and product prices are declining at such stunning clips that hardly any new industry developments evoke surprise.
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Tokyo adds medical aid to North Korea food offer

Japan will resume food aid to famine-hit North Korea after a 15-month hiatus, the Cabinet said Oct. 9, announcing that 67,000 tons of rice as well as 94 million yen in medical equipment will be handed over.Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka said Japan will donate $27 million to the United Nations...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Mayor has high hopes for Tokyo-Berlin ties

Despite being continents apart, Berlin and Tokyo have much to learn from each other, Berlin Mayor Eberhard Diepgen said on a recent trip to Tokyo.In an interview with The Japan Times, Diepgen said he expects the Berlin-Tokyo relationship, unofficially established in 1985 and later formalized in a friendship...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Two Osaka banks to merge next year

OSAKA -- Fukutoku Bank and the Bank of Naniwa, two Osaka-based regional banks suffering from mounting bad loans, announced Oct. 9 they will merge next Oct. 1 to speed up restructuring and strengthen their foothold in the region.The merger is expected to become the first one subject to an expected revision...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Mitsuzuka lauds merger

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka expressed support Oct. 9 for the merger between Fukutoku Bank and the Bank of Naniwa, calling it a sign that the two financial firms are determined to weather the upcoming financial deregulation.In a statement, Mitsuzuka noted that aggressive restructuring efforts...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Pyongyang lists names of wives allowed to visit

Japan has received a list from North Korea of Japanese women who will be allowed to make their first homecoming visit to Japan later this month, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka said Oct. 9.The names of between 10 and 15 women were tentatively put on the list, which was obtained by the government...

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