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JAPAN
Jan 10, 1997

Man denies involvement in killing exec

An underworld figure on Jan. 10 denied playing any part in the February 1994 fatal stabbing of Juntaro Suzuki, 61, managing director of Fuji Photo Film Co.Masaomi Ito, 42, claimed during the first hearing of his case before the Tokyo District Court that he never collaborated with the 30-year-old mobster...
JAPAN
Jan 10, 1997

First day of civil aviation talks ends nowhere

Japan and the U.S. made no progress Jan. 10 in their first day of civil aviation talks, spending the session strongly rejecting each other's proposals, according to Transport Ministry officials. The discussions will continue Jan. 11.Saying it is unlikely that either side will agree to the current proposals...
JAPAN
Jan 10, 1997

Firms, universities end recruiting agreement

Company and university representatives agreed Jan. 10 to abolish their 10-year-old agreement that restricts the recruiting of prospective March graduates before a specified date each year.Instead, companies and universities will separately create a voluntary guideline and each will respect the guideline...
JAPAN
Jan 10, 1997

Oil spill threatening nuclear power plants

A large oil spill from a wrecked Russian tanker is approaching Wakasa Bay, along which a number of nuclear power plants are located, the Maritime Safety Agency announced Jan. 10.Seawater is used in the plants to cool the steam from the power-generating turbines and the slick could force the nuclear...
JAPAN
Jan 10, 1997

Japan debates how to handle Iran

Japan appears likely to face strong pressure from the United States within the next few months over a prickly issue that has proved divisive ever since President Bill Clinton took office four years ago: How to deal with Iran.U.S. relations with Iran, which have been tense since the 1979 Islamic Revolution...
JAPAN
Jan 10, 1997

Mazda may drop minicar production

Mazda Motor Corp. hinted Jan. 10 that it may withdraw from the minicar development and production business because minicar standards are expected to change in October 1998.A Mazda spokesman did not deny media reports that the firm will stop production of its Carol minicar, although he said that it will...
JAPAN
Jan 10, 1997

Tokyo convention complex opens

A giant convention-exhibition complex was opened Jan. 10 in central Tokyo when Gov. Yukio Aoshima and other invited guests cut the opening ribbon.Built by the metropolitan government on the site of its old offices, which are now in western Shinjuku, the Tokyo International Forum includes a hall with...
JAPAN
Jan 10, 1997

Clarke says G-7 nations welcome a strong dollar

Britain's chancellor of the exchequer Kenneth Clarke said in Tokyo Jan. 10 that he believes the United States is still supportive of a strong dollar.Speaking at a press conference, Clarke acknowledged that finance ministers and central bank heads of the Group of Seven industrialized nations have welcomed...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1997

Phased-in Open Skies OK: Larson

The United States is ready to accept a phased-in approach to Open Skies -- full liberalization of the international aviation market -- if Japan agrees to implement it in the near future, the U.S. chief negotiator for U.S.-Japanese aviation talks said Jan. 9 in Tokyo.Alan Larson, U.S. assistant secretary...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1997

Moscow offers help as oil spreads

Oil from a wrecked Russian tanker has spread to shorelines in five prefectures along the Sea of Japan coast and may be heading east beyond the Noto Peninsula to Toyama Prefecture, the Maritime Safety Agency said Jan. 9.The Russian government meanwhile offered to cooperate with Japan in collecting the...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1997

Nagano boy names bullies before suicide

NAGANO -- A 13-year-old boy hanged himself at his home and a note found at the scene said he had been bullied by four schoolmates, it was learned Jan. 9. The boy's mother found her son hanging from the eaves of their home in Suzaka, Nagano Prefecture, shortly before 11 p.m. Jan. 7, one day before the...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1997

Town's energy need blows in the wind

TACHIKAWA, Yamagata Pref. -- On a cloudy winter afternoon, a cold, fierce wind blowing from the Sea of Japan relentlessly turns three large windmills on a hill. Inside a nearby building with an oval-shaped roof, a man in work clothes keeps an eye on the windmills' control console, checking the rotors,...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1997

U.K. official urges earlier decontrol

Kenneth Clarke, Britain's chancellor of the exchequer, urged Jan. 9 that sweeping deregulation of Japan's financial system be undertaken sooner than the current timetable of 2001, according to government officials.During a meeting with Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka, Clarke said he hopes the reforms,...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1997

Oil spill damaging region's tourism

MIKUNI, Fukui Pref. -- After shattering the hopes of local fishermen for a good catch this season, the oil spill from a wrecked Russian tanker has also started to hurt this region's tourism industry.Mikuni's nationally renown Tojimbo district, with its spectacular cliffs and views of the Sea of Japan...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1997

Prosecutors launch raids in oil dealer scandal

Prosecutors raided the homes and offices of Osaka oil wholesaler Junichi Izui and executives of Mitsubishi Oil Co. and Mitsui Mining Co. Jan. 9 who were arrested Jan. 8 on suspicion of fraud involving 2.39 billion yen.The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office said it is filing fraud charges against...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1997

Post vacant until after Aum ruling

Despite a request by citizens' groups, the Public Security Commission will not fill the position of a member who died last month before it decides whether to invoke the Antisubversive Law against Aum Shinrikyo, the commission chairman announced Jan. 9.Following the Dec. 28 death of commission member...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1997

Panel readies for finance watchdog

The government formally kicked off preparations Jan. 9 for setting up a new state agency to inspect and supervise financial institutions independent from the Finance Ministry. It set a self-imposed target to draw up necessary bills by mid-March.At the first meeting of the government's preparatory committee...
JAPAN
Jan 8, 1997

Season's coldest front hits western Japan

The season's coldest weather front brought heavy snow to mountainous areas of western Japan on Jan. 8, disrupting travel by road, rail, ferry and air.The Meteorological Agency said the cold air mass was 35 degrees below zero. It is located about 5,400 meters above the Korean Peninsula, was moving south,...
JAPAN
Jan 8, 1997

Peru criticizes Japanese press for entering hostage compound

LIMA -- The Peruvian government on Jan. 7 criticized Japanese press members who are covering the hostage crisis at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima for their impromptu forays into the besieged compound.Prime Minister Alberto Pandolfi in a statement said the entry of Japanese reporters into...
JAPAN
Jan 8, 1997

Mitsuzuka vows to keep an eye on TSE

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka said Jan. 8 that authorities will closely monitor movements in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where the key Nikkei index closed below the 19,000 mark for the second straight day.Concern over the future of the nation's economy was one reason behind the continued slide of...
JAPAN
Jan 8, 1997

Canoeing group offers disabled people recreation, not rehabilitation

OSAKA -- On a riverside road, a man in a wheelchair tries to unload a canoe tied to the top of his car. A stranger stops his vehicle nearby that also carries a canoe, walks down to him and offers to help. They later go to the river together, chatting about their vessels and currents. This is the kind...
JAPAN
Jan 8, 1997

Postal savings surge as rates elsewhere draw little interest

Customers swarmed to the nation's post offices in December and deposited 1.45 trillion yen more than they withdrew, apparently underlining the public's disappointment in the record low interest rates at other financial institutions. The figure was announced Jan. 8 by the Posts and Telecommunications...
JAPAN
Jan 8, 1997

Oil spill starts taking toll on marine environment

MIKUNI, Fukui Pref.-- Oil from a wrecked Russian tanker continued Jan. 8 to wash ashore on the Sea of Japan coast, dealing a serious blow to the local environment and economy.Stormy weather continued to hamper cleanup efforts in the spill, which could turn out to be the worst in the nation's history....
JAPAN
Jan 7, 1997

Hashimoto arrives in Brunei to strengthen ASEAN ties

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei -- Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto arrived in Brunei Jan. 7 for the first leg of his eight-day tour of five of the seven members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.Hashimoto later held talks with the head of state of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. Regular summits...
JAPAN
Jan 7, 1997

Major oil spill hits Fukui coast as weather wards off cleanup

Oil slicks from a wrecked Russian tanker in the Sea of Japan started washing ashore Jan. 7 on the northern Honshu coast and cleanup crews were powerless to stop a possible environmental disaster because of stormy weather.A Maritime Safety Agency spokesman said a 10-km wide slick broke up overnight into...
JAPAN
Jan 7, 1997

Kansai business group to get new chief

OSAKA -- Tetsuro Kawakami, chairman of the Kansai Economic Federation (Kankeiren), announced Jan. 7 that he will step down in May when he completes the current term. He will be succeeded by Yasuo Shingu, chairman of Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd.Kawakami took the top post at the prestigious business...
JAPAN
Jan 7, 1997

Gunshot heard inside Peru hostage site

LIMA -- While the standoff between the Peruvian government and guerrillas holed up in the Japanese ambassador's residence here entered its fourth week, several photographers staking out the complex were startled in the early hours of Jan. 7 by what sounded like a gunshot.Scott Dalton, an Associated...
JAPAN
Jan 7, 1997

Nikkei average plummets to 18,896

The Nikkei average closed Jan. 7 at 18,896.19, below the sensitive 19,000 line for the first time in 13 months, down 549.81 from the close Jan. 6.The yen was quoted at 115.34-115.36 as of 3 p.m. The currency, which also fell to 117 to the dollar Jan. 6, rebounded briefly into the 114 levels early Jan....
JAPAN
Jan 7, 1997

Apollo 13 captain to kick off quake disaster symposium

An international symposium on earthquake disaster measures will be held Jan. 13 to 21 in Tokyo and Kobe, with one of two opening speeches in Tokyo to be given by James A. Lovell Jr., captain of Apollo 13, the ill-fated U.S. mission to the moon.The other speech will be given by Sakyo Komatsu, Japan's...
JAPAN
Jan 7, 1997

Tokyo foreigners to get 57 million yen in new services

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government decided Jan. 7 to allocate 57 million yen in the next fiscal year for new measures for long-term foreign residents, government sources said.The budget includes 19 million yen to create labor counseling windows in English and Chinese and 30 million yen to start an FM...

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