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JAPAN
Jul 23, 1997

Novel mirrors reality of 'sokaiya' scandals

The scandal that has rocked the nation's leading financial firms goes beyond what novelists could ever have imagined, says writer Ryo Takasugi, whose recent novel offers a glimpse into the moral decay of Japanese bankers.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 1997

Development aid conference begins today in Okinawa

A two-day international conference on development will open July 24 in Okinawa Prefecture to seek out and promote more effective forms of development assistance.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 1997

Kobe suspect sees hill, pond as 'sacred' sites

KOBE -- A local teenager who is being held on suspicion of the murder and attempted murder of five Kobe schoolchildren has said to police that a hill and a pond believed involved in the crimes are places that are "sacred" and "precious," police sources said on July 22.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 1997

Arnie flexes checkbook for kids

OSAKA -- Hollywood action film hero Arnold Schwarzenegger will donate 1.5 million yen to Osaka Prefecture for a children's recreational facility during a visit to Osaka later this week, prefectural officials said.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 1997

Ministers promise to curtail 'sokaiya'

Cabinet ministers held their first meeting July 22 to discuss problems related to "sokaiya" corporate extortionists, hoping to stem the scandals rocking Japan's corporate and financial world.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 1997

U.S. prepares to attack motorbike regulations

The United States may file a fresh complaint with the Office of Trade and Investment Ombudsman of Japan as early as next month regarding motorcycle regulations that it says hamper sales of imported vehicles, a U.S. government official said July 22.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 1997

Electricity panel wary of jumping into competition

A government advisory panel commissioned to work out measures for reducing electricity costs held its first meeting July 22, but cautious voices prevailed concerning moves to introduce further competition.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 1997

Refinery staff may have been exposed to gas

AKITA -- Seven refinery workers have reportedly been hospitalized with symptoms indicative of severe colds, but according to the Akita Labor Standards Inspection Office, the workers are suffering from gas poisoning stemming from exposure to sulfuric compounds.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 1997

Talks progress on Japanese wives in North Korea

Tokyo and Pyongyang will continue talks on allowing Japanese women living in North Korea with their Korean husbands to visit Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama said July 22.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 1997

Japanese don't eat dog sushi or burp after meals

Before teacher Paul MacLeod left the U.S. to visit Japan, his students gave him some advice.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 1997

Teen held in Kobe crimes may be insane

KOBE -- Police and lawyers for the 15-year-old boy being held for the slayings of Jun Hase and Ayaka Yamashita, as well as for violent assaults on other children in Kobe, came to the conclusion July 21 that the teen-ager may be insane.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 1997

Thieves take 8 million yen in jewels

CHIBA -- Jewels worth some 8 million yen were stolen early July 21 from a jewelry shop in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, police said.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 1997

Youth dies in car crash; three others injured

KITAKYUSHU -- An 18-year-old company employee was killed and three others injured, one seriously, when their car collided with a utility pole early July 21 in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 1997

MITI chief complains about low interest rate

Trade chief Shinji Sato voiced skepticism July 18 over continuation of the current low interest rates.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 1997

Business leaders say Japanese-style management outdated

KARUIZAWA, Nagano Pref. -- Japanese-style management must undergo reform to place more focus on shareholders and establish effective corporate governance, according to business leaders at the 12th summer seminar of the Japanese Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai).
JAPAN
Jul 18, 1997

Laborer's police brutality suit fails

OSAKA -- The Osaka High Court has rejected an appeal by a local day laborer who charged that he was illegally detained and beaten by Osaka police following a 1992 riot in Nishinari Ward.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 1997

Intervention vowed to back Thai baht

Japan promised Thailand it would intervene in foreign exchange markets whenever necessary to help stabilize the baht, Finance Ministry officials said July 18.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 1997

Hospital group chief tied to falsified records, fraud

OSAKA -- The director of the Yasuda Hospital group ordered his staff to forge medical reports and administrate medicine without actually seeing patients, hospital sources alleged July 18.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 1997

The Asahara Trial: Defense challenges inconsistencies

Lawyers for Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara challenged on July 18 the testimony given by a former key cultist for the prosecution, in which he spelled out the role Asahara played in the 1989 murder of a Yokohama lawyer and his family.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 1997

Imported corn is from China, not North Korea

The government has discovered that the corn unloaded from a North Korean freighter at Aomori port was produced in China, Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama said July 18.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 1997

Ford CEO says friction nearing as surplus rises

DEARBORN, Mich. -- Friction with the United States may be triggered by Japan's increasing trade surplus in the near future, the head of Ford Motor Co. warned July 17.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 1997

Sending planes was right decision, Kajiyama says

The controversial dispatch of three Air Self-Defense Force transport planes to Thailand for a possible evacuation mission in Cambodia was the "right choice," Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama said July 18.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 1997

Insurance group won't push failed firm on dealings

The new chairman of the Life Insurance Association of Japan said July 18 that the group will only question the responsibility of the former management of insolvent Nissan Mutual Life Insurance Co. if a legal violation is uncovered.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 1997

The Asahara Trial: Attack on Sakamoto detailed

A former Aum Shinrikyo follower who confessed to being involved in the murders of an anticult lawyer and his family gave detailed testimony July 18 concerning what he and five other cultists did immediately before the attack on Nov. 4, 1989.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 1997

MITI to hand small firms public works contracts

The government will aim to provide small and medium-size firms with public contracts worth a record 5.159 trillion yen during fiscal 1998, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said July 18.
JAPAN
Jul 17, 1997

ASDF aircraft return from Thailand empty

Three Air Self-Defense Force transport planes sent to Thailand for the possible evacuation of Japanese nationals from Cambodia arrived at Naha airport in Okinawa Prefecture on late July 17 without evacuees.
JAPAN
Jul 17, 1997

Japan's auto market raises concern among U.S. makers

The head of the American Auto Manufacturers Association expressed strong concern July 17 that Tokyo is not putting enough effort into opening Japan's automobile market.
JAPAN
Jul 17, 1997

Heavy rain prompts flood, slide warnings

Heavy rain in central and southern Japan is expected to continue through this morning, the Meteorological Agency said July 17, warning of flooding and landslides.
JAPAN
Jul 17, 1997

Northwest supports drive for 'open skies'

Several top executives of Northwest Airlines on July 17 expressed support for Washington's demand for "open skies," or the full liberalization of the trans-Pacific civil aviation market.
JAPAN
Jul 17, 1997

Keizai Doyukai contemplates future of Japanese business

KARUIZAWA, Nagano Pref. -- Business leaders exchanged opinions July 17 on Japan's international economic relations and the role of the private sector in the ongoing structural reforms at the 12th summer seminar of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai).

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