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JAPAN
Oct 17, 1997

U.S. congressman urges more help for Pyongyang

Food aid by the international community is helping avert a disaster in North Korea, but the famine-threatened communist country needs more food and medicine, U.S. Congressman Tony Hall said Oct. 17 in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 1997

Pitfalls seen in plan to reduce JNR debts

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka announced Oct. 17 his opposition to the idea of issuing special bonds with tax benefits to help dispose of the huge debts left behind by the Japanese National Railways.Mitsuzuka said a bond-issue would run counter to the principle of fairness in taxation. Taxes needed...
JAPAN
Oct 16, 1997

The Asahara Trial: Counsel takes aim at Okazaki testimony

Defense counsel for Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara cross-examined a senior cult figure Oct. 16 about his part in the killings of an anti-Aum lawyer, trying to disprove his contention he was simply following Asahara's orders.Kazuaki Okazaki, 37, one of six cultists accused of slaying Tsutsumi Sakamoto,...
JAPAN
Oct 16, 1997

Oki to chair Kyoto climate conference

The government plans to recommend Hiroshi Oki, director general of the Environment Agency, as chairman of the forthcoming international conference on global warming, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka said Oct. 16.The recommendation is expected to be accepted by participants of the Third Conference...
JAPAN
Oct 15, 1997

LDP, SDP request funds for public work projects

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party urged the government Oct. 15 to put public works projects for upgrading agricultural areas into the supplementary budget.It was basically agreed during a meeting of a group of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's Conference on Fiscal...
JAPAN
Oct 15, 1997

Newspaper association calls for improved ethics

SENDAI -- The Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association kicked off its 50th annual convention Oct. 15 in Sendai with the adoption of a resolution calling for further improvements in ethics in the industry.The resolution also says the current resale price system for newspaper subscriptions should...
JAPAN
Oct 15, 1997

Shinshinto leader Ozawa lashes out at defense guidelines

Shinshinto leader Ichiro Ozawa said Oct. 15 the revised guidelines for Japan-U.S. defense cooperation could lead Japan into a neighbors' war and a violation of the Constitution, which bans the right of collective defense.During his first news conference since June, Ozawa criticized the government for...
JAPAN
Oct 15, 1997

Organ transplants from brain-dead become legal today

Organ transplants from brain-dead people, for decades regarded by Japanese police as murder, became on Oct. 16 legitimate acts of surgery as the landmark Organ Transplants Law went into effect.The implementation ends a nearly three-decade taboo on the procedure, which has virtually disappeared since...
JAPAN
Oct 14, 1997

Bad-loan troubles force Kyoto bank to liquidate

OSAKA -- Kyoto Kyoei Bank said Oct. 14 that it will begin liquidation procedures and transfer its operations to Osaka-based Kofuku Bank by next Oct. 1, after using funds from the Deposit Insurance Corp. to get rid of its nonperforming assets.Kofuku, another second-tier regional bank with bad loans of...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1997

JCP wants Yamasaki summoned before Diet

The Japanese Communist Party on Oct. 13 insisted that Taku Yamasaki, the LDP's policy chief, be summoned to the Diet, saying a recently completed investigation has deepened suspicion that he violated laws in receiving political donations from oil wholesaler Junichi Izui.Izui, now on trial on suspicion...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1997

Tokyo stocks sink to new low for year

Tokyo share prices slid broadly in trading Oct. 13 amid incessant concerns over the strength of the economy, leaving the market's benchmark index at its lowest level this year.The 225-issue Nikkei average fell 172.22 points -- roughly 1 percent -- to end the day at 17,204.70. The previous closing low...
JAPAN
Oct 10, 1997

Thailand urged to bolster economy

Top officials of three Japanese banks with close ties to Thailand on Oct. 10 urged the Thai government to continue trying to implement economic measures that would restore global trust in its battered economy.The calls came during the second day of separate meetings between visiting Thai Prime Minister...
JAPAN
Oct 10, 1997

Alberta lends Tokyo advice on restructuring

Alberta is committed to sharing its experiences in successful fiscal and government restructuring with Japan, one of its priority markets, according to provincial Premier Ralph Klein.Speaking at a news conference and at a Tokyo luncheon Oct. 9 sponsored jointly by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Pyongyang lists names of wives allowed to visit

Japan has received a list from North Korea of Japanese women who will be allowed to make their first homecoming visit to Japan later this month, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka said Oct. 9.The names of between 10 and 15 women were tentatively put on the list, which was obtained by the government...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

Special income tax cuts ruled out as stimulus

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka on Oct. 8 ruled out the possibility of implementing special income tax cuts to help stimulate the economy, saying such a move would worsen the nation's fiscal condition.Speaking at a news conference, Mitsuzuka pointed out that such tax breaks would have to be financed...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

Vice minister hints new law needed to cut energy use

To achieve a 2.5 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the next century, a law must be revised to give the government greater authority to control energy use, according to Osamu Watanabe, vice minister for international trade and industry.Watanabe was speaking Oct. 8 on the government's proposal...
JAPAN
Oct 6, 1997

Sanyo receives 10 billion yen in loans

Ailing Sanyo Securities Co. acknowledged Oct. 6 that it received 10 billion yen in loans from three banks with which it has close ties but did not say whether the money was emergency assistance to keep the brokerage afloat.A senior Sanyo official said his firm borrowed the money from the Bank of Tokyo...
JAPAN
Oct 3, 1997

Nikko chairman, president resign over 'sokaiya' payoff scandal

The chairman and president of Nikko Securities Co. resigned along with six other executives Oct. 3 to take responsibility for the firm's involvement in a payoff scandal, completing a sweep of the Big Four brokerages humiliated by a "sokaiya" corporate racketeer.Chairman Takuya Iwasaki and President...
JAPAN
Oct 2, 1997

U.S. gets thumbs up for Super 301 ruling

Osamu Watanabe, vice minister for international trade and industry, on Oct. 2 applauded Washington's decision not to list Japan's auto market on a Super 301 retaliatory watch list."I regard the decision as the natural conclusion and I appreciate the U.S. government's just judgment," Watanabe told a...
JAPAN
Sep 30, 1997

Hokkaido Takushoku left to solve its own problems

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka said Sept. 30 that his ministry is not at present planning to help the troubled Hokkaido Takushoku Bank increase its capital.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 1997

NCB and Bankers Trust reach cross-shareholding agreement

Nippon Credit Bank and Bankers Trust Co. of the United States will hold between 1 billion yen and 2 billion yen in each other's shares, and Bankers Trust will also acquire an option to buy additional NCB shares worth 15 billion yen in three years, NCB announced Sept. 30.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 1997

Delay forecast for aviation pact

Japan and the United States will probably not reach an agreement by the end of September -- a self-imposed deadline -- in the ongoing bilateral civil aviation talks, Transport Ministry officials said Sept. 25.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 1997

Ailing farm chief, Ochi, 76, resigns post

Ihei Ochi, chief of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, on Sept. 25 resigned from his post, citing poor health.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 1997

Toyoda supports corporate tax cut

The head of the nation's most powerful business group on Sept. 25 called for a cut in corporate taxes, stressing that such a move would invigorate corporate activity, lead to greater tax revenues and not run counter to the government's fiscal reconsolidation efforts.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1997

Ruling alliance agrees to examine ethics

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its two smaller allies said Sept. 22 they will examine their funds and political ethics to salvage the public's trust in the wake of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's ill-fated appointment of convicted bribe-taker Koko Sato to his new Cabinet.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1997

Justice minister urges review of Juvenile Law court system

The juvenile court system should be reviewed to enable family courts to fully investigate juvenile crimes, Justice Minister Kokichi Shimoinaba said in a recent interview.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 1997

Obuchi favors signing of land mine ban treaty

Japan should drop its reluctance and sign a global treaty calling for a total and immediate ban on antipersonnel land mines, Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi said Sept. 19.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 1997

Northwest reaffirms support of 'open skies' as talks near

Prior to next week's scheduled bilateral aviation talks in Tokyo, executives of Northwest Airlines reaffirmed the carrier's position Sept. 18 to firmly support an "open skies" policy that would fully liberalize the air service market between the United States and Japan.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 1997

BOJ outlines new structural reorganization plan

The Bank of Japan partially outlined an organizational reform plan Sept. 12 that would streamline its operations starting in April 1998.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 1997

Factional politics return to sway appointments

Staff writer

Longform

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