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JAPAN
Apr 4, 1997

Upper House plans bill on war tragedies

A nonpartisan group of Upper House members will introduce a bill aimed at unearthing tragedies caused by Japan before and during World War II and assessing the damage of such events, Diet sources said Apr. 4.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 1997

EU report reshapes relations with Japan

The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, is preparing a new "communication" policy report on relations with Japan to replace one adopted by the 15 union nations nearly two years ago, Japanese government officials said Apr. 3.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 1997

Politicians' 11 million yen junket attracts criticism

Nine Osaka Prefectural Assembly members, including chairman Yoshio Matsui, are on an overseas junket to promote Osaka's 2008 Olympic bid and to study administrative reform, despite opposition from fellow assembly members and a local citizens' group.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 1997

3,000 rally against revision of Okinawa land lease law

About 3,000 unionists rallied late Apr. 2 in Tokyo to protest a planned legal revision that would enable the government to continue the forced use of land in Okinawa Prefecture for U.S. military installations after the land lease contracts expire in May.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1997

DPJ lobbies for HIV-AIDS support

The Democratic Party of Japan submitted a set of requests to health minister Junichiro Koizumi on Mar. 31, demanding better treatment for people with HIV or AIDS and measures to eradicate public prejudice and discrimination against those with the human immunodeficiency virus.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1997

JNR debt should be figured into reform, panel chief says

Ways to repay the 28 trillion yen debt the nation incurred in connection with the now-defunct Japanese National Railways should be found to take advantage of the government's fiscal structural reforms, according to a key Liberal Democratic Party member.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 1997

State interrogates ex-Aum policeman

Prosecutors have begun interrogating a 31-year-old former police officer who confessed last spring to the March 1995 shooting of National Police Agency chief Takaji Kunimatsu, according to investigation sources.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 1997

New group to fight wartime revisionism

In an attempt to counter moves to "denounce descriptions of Japan's wartime misconduct in history textbooks," 26 intellectuals set up a group Mar. 25 to protect freedom of expression and ensure accurate history is disseminated.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1997

Japan vying to be China's choice for high-tech railway

China has yet to decide which country's technology it will adopt for a planned new high-speed rail system between Beijing and Shanghai, and hopes to have more exchanges of technology and experts on the subject with Japan, an executive member of China's Ministry of Railways said recently.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1997

Aum's Joyu gets three years on perjury, forgery

Aum Shinrikyo spokesman Fumihiro Joyu was sentenced to three years in prison Mar. 24 for his role in covering up the cult's illegal land purchase in Namino, Kumamoto Prefecture, in 1990.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1997

Trilaterals reaffirm roles in world of change

An annual meeting of business, political and academic leaders from Japan, Europe and North America ended Mar. 24 in Tokyo with a reaffirmation of the importance of the trilateral leadership in dealing with global challenges.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 1997

China WTO talks near final stage, Ruggiero says

Negotiation on China's accession to the World Trade Organization is now approaching its final stage, Renato Ruggiero, director general of the WTO, said Mar. 21 in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 1997

Exec tied to Tomobe scandal skips Diet testimony

Real estate company head Mamoru Saito, who is allegedly deeply involved in the Orange Kyosai Kumiai mutual aid society fraud, suddenly refused to give sworn testimony Mar. 21 before the Diet, claiming poor health.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 1997

Nullified politician loses appeal law

The Supreme Court on Mar. 13 dismissed the appeal of an Aomori Prefectural Assembly member whose election victory was nullified because his campaigners violated the election law.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 1997

U.N. secretary general to visit Tokyo, Beijing on Asia trip

Kofi Annan, the new secretary general of the United Nations, may visit Tokyo and Beijing in May, his first trip to the two capitals since taking office Jan. 1, Japanese diplomatic sources said Mar. 13.
JAPAN
Mar 12, 1997

Mexico gets loans of 24.13 billion yen

Tokyo will extend up to 24.13 billion yen in yen loans to Mexico for a water supply and sewage project to help the Latin American country's efforts to protect the environment, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto told Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo on Mar. 12, according to Foreign Ministry officials....
JAPAN
Mar 11, 1997

Gore to visit Japan later this month

U.S. Vice President Al Gore will visit Japan on March 23 and 24 to discuss a wide range of bilateral and Asian issues with Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and other leaders, Foreign Ministry officials said Mar. 11.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 1997

English teachers say industry needs more regulation, not less

OSAKA -- The English-language conversation industry is in urgent need of reform and, unlike other sectors of the economy, needs more regulation, not less.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 1997

Ambulance crews hassled by youths

The Tokyo Fire Department said Mar. 3 there have been 13 recent cases of youngsters confronting or attacking members of ambulance units rushing to emergencies in entertainment districts.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 1997

Fledgling paper demonstrates how sometimes less is better

HAKODATE, Hokkaido -- Lacking a thing or two can sometimes have a positive side. A freshly born newspaper in Hakodate is in the works of proving it.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 1997

Cultist says Inoue aimed at Aoshima

Former Aum Shinrikyo intelligence chief Yoshihiro Inoue specifically named Tokyo Gov. Yukio Aoshima as the target of a parcel bomb that seriously wounded the governor's aide, former cultist Toru Toyoda testified Feb. 25 during Inoue's trial at the Tokyo District Court.
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 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 18, 1997

Oil-hit prefectures state their case for compensation

The governors of nine prefectures along the Sea of Japan badly affected by oil from a wrecked Russian tanker gathered Feb. 18 in Tokyo to call on the central government to remove the wreckage and pay compensation for damage caused to local fisheries.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 1997

DPJ to submit pair of bills for more Kobe quake relief

The Democratic Party of Japan -- the second largest opposition force -- will soon submit to the Diet two bills designed to provide more financial aid to survivors of the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 1997

Reform group to study 'zaito' in full

A review of the government's fiscal investment and loan program needs to be undertaken in its entirety, and not in bits and pieces, a new panel on the issue agreed at its first meeting Feb. 17.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 1997

Reform of fiscal investment program to offer 'no sanctuary'

All aspects of the government's fiscal investment and loan program will be scrutinized "with no sanctuaries" to ensure the system is overhauled in line with administrative reforms, Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka said Feb. 14.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 1997

Asahara ejected again as Sakamoto testimony given

For the second day in a row, a former top member of Aum Shinrikyo testified about when, where and how Aum founder Shoko Asahara ordered his lieutenants to murder lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto and his family.
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 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.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
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