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BUSINESS
May 24, 2003

Legislation to cut yields paid by insurers submitted to Diet

The government submitted an amended bill Friday to the Diet to allow life insurance companies to cut the guaranteed yields they promised to policyholders, government officials said.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2003

JAL and ANA to get emergency loans

The transport ministry said Wednesday that the Development Bank of Japan will extend emergency loans to Japan Airlines System Corp. and All Nippon Airways Co. to help them overcome the adverse effects of the war in Iraq and severe acute respiratory syndrome.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2003

Key gauge above 50% in March

A key gauge of the current state of the economy stayed above the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent in March for the third straight month, but will probably fall below the line next month due to slowing production, the government said Thursday.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2003

Diet may be taken out of attack-response equation

The Defense Agency may simplify the procedures under which the prime minister can order countermeasures in the event of a ballistic missile attack on Japan, it was learned Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2003

U.S. seeks Japan's help on Pyongyang

Japan and the United States agreed Saturday that the two governments should hold a trilateral meeting with South Korea "at the earliest date" to discuss how to deal with the North Korean nuclear crisis, Japanese officials said.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2003

Electoral vows Koizumi has kept -- and the rest

Following is a summary of the campaign promises that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has kept -- and those he has not:
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2003

Shiokawa pushes idea of Iraq fund

Japan should urge other countries and international organizations to set up a fund to handle reconstruction aid for Iraq, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2003

Protection sought for whistle-blowers in fraud cases

Consumer groups on Monday urged that planned legislation to shield corporate whistle-blowers from retaliation by employers include a provision to protect workers who report fraudulent business deals, government officials said.
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2003

Revival body to buy 7.3 trillion yen in banks' loans

Industrial Revitalization Corp. plans to buy 7.3 trillion yen in claims on bank loans to troubled companies over two years after it begins full operations in May, the Cabinet Office said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2003

Influence of parties may be waning, leaders admit

The influence of political parties may be declining given the strong showing by unaffiliated candidates in Sunday's nationwide local elections, government leaders admitted Monday.
BUSINESS
Apr 8, 2003

Economic gauge showed expansion again in February

The government's key gauge for the current state of the domestic economy stayed above the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent in February for the second month in a row.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2003

Adviser to check needs of Iraq neighbors

Yukio Okamoto, the Cabinet's foreign policy adviser, will visit areas neighboring Iraq next week to discuss what kind of humanitarian aid Japan can offer in connection with the war there, the government announced Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2003

Combat SARS with emergency loans: Ogi

Transport minister Chikage Ogi said Friday her ministry is considering having governmental financial institutions extend special emergency loans to airlines, travel agencies and other industries that face fallout from the epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome that apparently started in China....
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2003

Japan issues travel warning over SARS

Following the World Health Organization's lead, Japan issued a travel warning Thursday for Hong Kong and China's Guangdong Province and stepped up quarantine efforts at airports to guard against the spread of a deadly respiratory virus.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2003

Koizumi says Japan ready to support efforts to reconstruct postwar Iraq

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Friday that Japan is ready to take some action to support the postwar reconstruction of Iraq even before a new law is enacted to facilitate a dispatch of Self-Defense Forces troops.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2003

U.S. request to shutter Iraqi Embassy declined

Japan will not shut down the Iraqi Embassy in Tokyo despite a request from the U.S. to do so, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Wednesday.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 24, 2003

Will new BOJ governor be able to navigate tricky global waters?

Fukui Toshihiko was officially sworn in as new governor of the Bank of Japan on Thursday, with former Vice Finance Minister Toshiro Muto and Kazumasa Iwata, a senior Cabinet official, appointed as vice governors. Under the revised BOJ Law of 1998, all members of the BOJ Policy Board are to serve a five-year...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2003

Koizumi unequivocal on Iraq war

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed unequivocal support Tuesday for U.S. plans to forcibly disarm Iraq.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2003

Public opinion disregarded on Iraq

The government appears to be disregarding public opinion here and siding with American sentiment in shaping Tokyo's stance toward a possible U.S.-led war on Iraq.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2003

Refugees' families no longer welcome

Refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos will no longer be permitted to bring their family members to Japan after March 31, 2004, the government decided at Friday's Cabinet meeting.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2003

Stock resuscitation plan unveiled

In a bid to end a tailspin in Tokyo stock prices, the government on Thursday unveiled six emergency steps, including stricter control of speculative sales.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2003

Pyongyang fires another missile

North Korea fired a ground-to-ship missile into the Sea of Japan on Monday -- the second such launch in two weeks -- in what appeared to be further provocation aimed at gaining Washington's attention.
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2003

Takenaka denies wrongdoing in banker meeting

Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka on Friday denied he violated Cabinet guidelines by meeting with the chiefs of U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., as reported by a magazine.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2003

Panel brings Sakai's arrest one step closer

In another blow to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the ruling coalition, the House of Representatives Steering Committee agreed Thursday to have the full chamber vote on a request to arrest LDP lawmaker Takanori Sakai over alleged political fund law violations.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2003

Koizumi turns on majority opposing war

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, after relying heavily on public support for his political power base, is now turning against the majority of Japanese, who oppose a war against Iraq.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2003

Oshima back in the frying pan

Scandal-tainted farm minister Tadamori Oshima faced more trouble Thursday as opposition lawmakers grilled House of Representatives Legislative Bureau officials who coached Oshima on how to respond to sensitive questions at a recent Diet committee session concerning misdeeds by his former aide.

Longform

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