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JAPAN
Dec 11, 1998

Conservatives create league to back coalition

Four conservative groups within the Liberal Democratic Party formally launched a new group Friday, demanding a large-scale Cabinet reshuffle and a new party lineup when the LDP forms a coalition with the Liberal Party.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 1998

Obuchi says bureaucrats should speak for Diet members

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi expressed his intention Wednesday to leave some room for bureaucrats to answer questions during Diet sessions, rather than having only Diet members do the job, as proposed by Liberal Party leader Ichiro Ozawa.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 1998

Clarify constitutionality of Japan PKO role: Ozawa

Liberal Party leader Ichiro Ozawa reiterated on Wednesday that the government should clarify its stance on interpreting Self-Defense Forces' participation in United Nations military peacekeeping operations, as it pertains to the Constitution.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 1998

Nonaka seeks Okinawa visit for breakthrough on bases

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Wednesday he hopes to visit Okinawa later this month to seek ways to resolve issues over the reorganization of U.S. military bases in the prefecture and to help revive the ailing local economy.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 1998

Genden Engineering to dissolve over fake nuclear data

Genden Engineering Services and Construction Co., which in October was found to have falsified data on a container for transporting mixed oxide fuel to be used in a planned thermal neutron reactor, announced on Thursday it will dissolve by next summer as a result of the scandal.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 1998

Economy shrinks 0.7% in quarter for fourth straight decline

The economy shrank 0.7 percent in real terms during the July-September quarter compared with the previous three months, marking its fourth consecutive contraction, the longest ever in the postwar years, the Economic Planning Agency announced Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 24, 1998

State maintains SDF position in rebuttal to Ozawa

The government still maintains its interpretation of the Constitution barring Japan from engaging in collective defense, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Tuesday, rebutting an earlier remark by Liberal Party leader Ichiro Ozawa.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1998

Miyazawa rules out consumption tax cut

The 5 percent consumption tax will not be lowered at least for the time being, Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa reiterated Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1998

ANA taken to task for maintenance violations

The Transport Ministry took the rare move of imposing administrative measures against All Nippon Airways Co. over the carrier's violation of its own maintenance regulations, ministry officials announced Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 1998

Sega posts sharp fall in midterm profits

A week before it launches a new console in the heated game-machine war, Sega Enterprises Ltd. on Thursday reported sharp drops in sales and profits for the April-September period.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 1998

Daiwa, Sanwa to seek 900 billion yen in public funds

Daiwa Bank and Sanwa Bank, two of the nation's city banks, will ask for 300 billion yen and 600 billion yen each in public funds under the provisions of the newly adopted bank recapitalization law, officials of the two banks said Thursday as they released their midterm earnings reports.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 1998

NEC to calculate refund owed to Defense Agency, NASDA

NEC Corp. announced Thursday that it will give back the money it overcharged the Defense Agency and the National Space Development Agency of Japan for defense and space-related equipment over several years.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 1998

Ministry announces three executions

Three death row inmates were hanged Thursday, and for the first time in recent history, the Justice Ministry officially announced the executions shortly afterward.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 1998

Moody's downgrades Japanese government debt

Moody's Investors Service has taken Japanese securities issued or guaranteed by the government down a notch from its top Aaa ranking, the U.S. credit rating agency's Japanese unit said on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 1998

Clinton, Obuchi to focus on economy

U.S. President Bill Clinton will arrive in Tokyo Thursday afternoon for a two-day visit, instead of arriving early in the morning as originally scheduled, a top government spokesman said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 1998

LDP-Liberal coalition plan on hold until next meeting

Despite Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's expectations of establishing cooperative ties between the Liberal Democratic Party, which he heads, and the Liberal Party, it is still uncertain whether an agreement will be reached at the next meeting of party leaders, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said...
JAPAN
Nov 16, 1998

Nissan chief praises package, pans tax cut plan

Nissan Motor Co. President Yoshikazu Hanawa greeted the government's latest pump-priming package Monday by saying he "expects much" from its implementation but opposes cutting the consumption tax.
JAPAN
Nov 13, 1998

SDF sends relief workers to Honduras

The government officially approved the dispatch of a Self-Defense Forces relief operation Friday to hurricane-stricken Honduras and immediately sent six Air Self-Defense Force C-130 transport planes loaded with medical equipment and other goods.
JAPAN
Nov 13, 1998

Justice continues to break refugee asylum record

The Justice Ministry granted refugee status to three Myanmar residents Friday, bringing the total of foreigners given political asylum this year to 11.
JAPAN
Nov 13, 1998

Japan Inc. suffers 70% drop in after-tax profit

After-tax profits of Japanese companies listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange plunged 70 percent from the previous year, marking the largest drop since the period immediately after World War II, according to financial reports announced Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1998

FSA chief implores banks to request public funds

Financial Reconstruction Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa again urged banks to apply for a big capital injection Thursday, the day before the Financial Supervisory Agency was to explain application approval standards to 147 banks in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1998

DPJ offers own package

The Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition party, on Thursday unveiled its own economic stimulus package. It's worth nearly 20 trillion yen and includes a system that would provide allowances for raising children but has little chance of being included in a supplementary budget to be debated...
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1998

Celebrities join call for Kobe airport plebiscite

On behalf of civic group members in Kobe, writer Yasuo Tanaka met reporters Wednesday in Tokyo to call for a plebiscite over the planned construction of an airport in Kobe.
JAPAN
Nov 9, 1998

Breakthrough unlikely at Obuchi-Yeltsin summit

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 9, 1998

HIV epidemic likely to worsen, U.S. researcher says

While a breakthrough in HIV treatment two years ago was greeted with euphoria, a leading scientist in AIDS research says the war against the epidemic is far from over.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 1998

Good news kids: End in sight for 'exam hell'

Japanese youngsters may no longer have to endure the ritual of "entrance exam hell" and specialize in cramming for either high school or university admissions tests if the Education Ministry's planned reforms are implemented.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1998

Brazil farm chief urges Japan to expand soybean buys

Francisco Turra, Brazilian minister of agriculture and supply, urged Japan Thursday to further expand its import and distribution of soybeans from his country.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1998

Government backpedals on early tax break pledge

Despite mounting expectations of consumers and businesses, it will be difficult for the government to carry out planned tax cuts in January, the top government spokesman said Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1998

State management team moves into LTCB

The nationalized Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan started afresh Wednesday with a new board of directors appointed by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 1998

New minister pushes for future financial safety net

Staff writer

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?