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JAPAN
Oct 8, 1998

LTCB merger now 'option' for Sumitomo Trust

Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co. President Atsushi Takahashi hinted Thursday the bank's planned merger with the troubled Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan was effectively dead, saying the LTCB is now "one of the options" among the bank's alliance strategies.Takahashi, however, said it is too early to make...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1998

Gift coupons government's latest demand strategy

Providing consumers with merchandise coupons in an effort to stimulate personal consumption will be studied as a possible measure for the second fiscal 1998 supplementary budget, government officials said Thursday.Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka confirmed during a morning news conference that...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1998

The Kim Visit: Leaders look ahead, vow cooperative ties

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and visiting South Korean President Kim Dae Jung put the past behind them Thursday, with Japan apologizing for its past colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula and both pledging to establish a new partnership in a variety of fields for the 21st century.Obuchi said at a joint...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1998

Yen bulks up to 114; Nikkei takes dive

The dollar continued plummeting against the yen Thursday morning in London, briefly dropping to the 114 level for the first time since July 1997 on stop-loss sales by U.S. hedge funds.While the yen's sudden muscle is a mixed blessing for Japan -- it hurts exporters but helps banks struggling to maintain...
JAPAN
Oct 7, 1998

Public funds for banks, stimulus get panel's nod

The government should inject a substantial amount of public funds into financial institutions and implement large-scale fiscal stimulus measures to prop up the economy, members of an advisory body to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said Wednesday.During the day's discussions of the Strategic Economic Council,...
JAPAN
Oct 6, 1998

Saison ties with H.I.S. in travel insurance

Saison Automobile & Fire Insurance Co., a nonlife insurance wing of the Saison group, and H.I.S. Co., a travel agency that has a strong foothold in the overseas travel market, reached a comprehensive tieup agreement Tuesday to provide new insurance services for those traveling abroad, the two companies...
JAPAN
Oct 5, 1998

Defense data discarded before raids, Akiyama admits

The former chief of the Defense Agency secretariat discarded documents linked to the procurement scandal at his home before prosecutors raided the agency on Sept. 3, Masahiro Akiyama, administrative vice minister of the agency, admitted Monday.Denying earlier news reports that Masayuki Fujishima, 55,...
JAPAN
Oct 2, 1998

IBJ, Dai-ichi Life plan tieup by 2000

The Industrial Bank of Japan and Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co. announced Friday a plan for a broad-based business tieup designed to strengthen each side to survive the Japanese "Big Bang" financial deregulation.The move is the latest business alliance to be announced among the major Japanese financial...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1998

DKB, J.P. Morgan form investment trust venture

Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank and J.P. Morgan and Co. of the United States has sealed a tieup agreement to sell investment trust products in Japan through DKB's sales channels, the two companies announced Thursday.The move is an attempt to gain a competitive edge over established alliances between rival financial...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1998

Kim visit may pave Emperor's way to Seoul

Japan hopes that South Korean President Kim Dae Jung's visit next week will pave the way for the Emperor to visit South Korea, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Thursday.The government's chief spokesman made the remarks in reference to media reports that the president, during his four-day visit...
JAPAN
Sep 29, 1998

Government mulls early stimulus implementation

The government is considering earlier implementation of its planned tax reductions and other economic pump-priming measures, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka indicated Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 29, 1998

Tokyo to resume KEDO project role

Japan will soon resume its involvement in a project to build two light-water nuclear reactors for North Korea, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura indicated Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 28, 1998

LDP, opposition reach final agreement on bills

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition camp reached a final agreement early Monday morning, putting an end to the prolonged dispute over financial stabilization bills.
JAPAN
Sep 28, 1998

Tokyo welcomes Schroeder

Japan is ready to cooperate closely with Gerhard Schroeder, whose Social Democrats won Germany's general election Sunday, to deepen bilateral relations, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 28, 1998

Defense Agency delays results of internal probe

The interim results of the Defense Agency's in-house probe of a suspected coverup in an overcharging scandal will be released in October, a month later than originally scheduled, the agency said Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 28, 1998

City banks Tokai, Asahi agree on retail tieup

In a strategic move to strengthen their presence in the retail banking field, Tokai Bank and Asahi Bank, both among the nation's nine major city, or commercial, banks, reached a comprehensive tieup agreement Monday to consolidate their branch offices and jointly develop financial products.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 1998

Lower House deliberating land mine treaty

The government began legislative procedures Thursday to ratify an international treaty banning the production, stockpiling and use of antipersonnel land mines.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 1998

Food poisoning strikes Defense officials

Two ill Defense Agency officials may have become Japan's latest food poisoning victims after eating a dinner prepared at an agency facility Wednesday evening, the agency said Thursday.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1998

Opposition, LDP policy chiefs agree to meet

After several days of wrangling over financial stabilization bills, opposition parties on Tuesday agreed to a policy chiefs-level meeting with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1998

Sumitomo Life buys into Taiheiyo

In an aggressive move to expand its financial services, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. has purchased about 10 percent of outstanding shares in ailing Taiheiyo Securities Co. and its subsidiary Taiheiyo Investment Trust Management Co., the two companies announced Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 1998

TSE takes nosedive to new postbubble low

The Nikkei average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange plummeted Monday to a new postbubble low as ambiguities in last Friday's deal on financial stabilization measures between leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition camp ignited disappointment among market traders.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 1998

Honda unveils compact utility vehicle

In a bid to capture younger customers, Honda Motor Co. on Monday introduced the HR-V, a new compact multipurpose utility vehicle, which hits the market today.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 1998

Diet remains stalled over financial bills

Negotiations over key financial stabilization bills remained stagnant Wednesday, with the opposition camp criticizing the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for its lack of meaningful proposals.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 1998

Latin American crisis sparked G-7's emergency call

The economic crisis in Latin America was the biggest factor behind an emergency statement issued Tuesday by the Group of Seven industrialized countries, Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 14, 1998

U.N. campus to offer international courses

United Nations University will offer international courses starting in February for university graduates and postgraduates, university officials in Tokyo said Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 1998

GDP shrinks 3.3% for third quarterly decline in row

The economy shrank by an annualized 3.3 percent in the April-June quarter of fiscal 1998 over the previous quarter, falling for the third straight quarter -- its worst showing since World War II, the Economic Planning Agency announced Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 1998

Toyota to raise stake in Chiyoda to 47.1%

Toyota Motor Corp. will increase its stake in Chiyoda Fire & Marine Insurance Co. from the 37.1 percent at present to 47.1 percent by the end of September to strengthen Chiyoda's financial backbone and ties between the two firms, the automaker announced Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 1998

Too much, too little, too late?

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi instructed his Cabinet ministers Friday to work out measures that will double people's living, business and recreational space within five years, and create some 500,000 new jobs through economic structural reform within the next two years.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 1998

Mitsubishi heavyweights form financial services alliance

In a strategic move to secure an edge over competitors amid ongoing "Big Bang" financial deregulations, four financial firms in the Mitsubishi group announced Friday they are forming a business alliance that will provide a wide range of new financial services.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 1998

Economic council targets 14 issues for recovery

An advisory panel to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi on Thursday selected 14 main issues that it will address in its attempt to help the government achieve full-scale economic recovery within two years.

Longform

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