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JAPAN
Nov 27, 1998

Cabinet endorses third extra budget

The Cabinet on Friday approved a 5.677 trillion yen third supplementary budget for fiscal 1998, aimed at financing part of the government's latest stimulus package, worth 24 trillion yen.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 1998

Nippon Life, Deutsche Bank seal tieup

Nippon Life Insurance Co. and Deutsche Bank AG, the largest bank in Germany, have sealed a comprehensive tieup agreement to strengthen their ties in asset management and in the sale of investment trusts in Europe and Japan, the two companies announced Wednesday.
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1998

Nippon Life, Putnam seal investment trust tieup deal

Nippon Life Insurance Co. and Putnam Investments of the United States sealed an agreement Tuesday to strengthen their ties in investment trust sales.Under their alliance, the two firms will jointly develop and retail investment trust products and provide asset management services, officials of the two...
JAPAN
Sep 24, 1998

Mercedes-Benz subcompact hits Japanese market

Mercedes-Benz Japan Co., a fully owned subsidiary of German automaker Daimler-Benz AG, announced Thursday the arrival of its first A-class subcompact car to hit the Japanese market, the A160.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1998

Namikiza theater shows its last film

The Namikiza theater in Tokyo's Ginza district closed its doors on nearly 45 years of film history Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 1998

Parties reach agreement on finance bills

The government and the Liberal Democratic Party reached basic agreement with opposition parties Friday on key financial stabilization bills, clearing a major hurdle before Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's upcoming trip to the United States.
JAPAN
Aug 13, 1998

Package unlikely to spark self-sustained recovery, BOJ says

The economy will probably not make an immediate transition to a self-sustained recovery, even if the government's 16 trillion yen stimulus package is implemented, the Bank of Japan reckoned in a report Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 27, 1998

Will Windows 98 spur PC revival?

The Akihabara district of Tokyo, famous for its abundance of electronics shops, once again was in an uproar in the middle of the night.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 1998

Computers evolving to slimmer, more stylish models

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jul 10, 1998

Eigo Seinen fetes 100 years of publication

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jun 23, 1998

Nissan diesel minivan sports lower emissions

Nissan Motor Co. announced the domestic release Tuesday of its new minivan, the Presage, which the firm says has luxurious, comfortable and environmentally friendly features.
JAPAN
Jun 17, 1998

Diet enacts '98 supplementary budget

Diet enacted the fiscal 1998 supplementary budget Wednesday night, paving the way for the long-awaited implementation of the government's 16 trillion yen stimulus package.
JAPAN
Jun 17, 1998

Japanese Windows 98 to debut July 25

Microsoft Corp. announced Wednesday that it will launch the Japanese version of its Windows 98 operating system on July 25 in Japan.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 1998

U.S. agriculture group hosting trade fair

OSAKA -- A two-day trade fair designed to introduce and promote U.S. agricultural products in the Kansai region opened Wednesday at Osaka MyDome, beside the Osaka Chamber of Commerce building.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1998

Mazda launches new Familia

Mazda Motor Corp. on Tuesday launched a fully redesigned Familia model on the Japanese market.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 1998

High-fashion bikes hit the streets of Harajuku

In the heart of Tokyo's Harajuku, the nation's fashion capital, Yuumi Mizunaga has opened a shop she hopes will win over the area's young trendsetters.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 1998

Hotel opens on Tokyo waterfront

Le Meridien Grand Pacific Tokyo opened in Tokyo's Daiba waterfront district in Minato Ward on Monday.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 1998

Hokkaido Feature: Museum shows Cape Erimo's elemental ties

ERIMO, Hokkaido -- Even on a sunny day in early summer, cold, strong gusts blowing off the Pacific chill tourists who come from around the country to see Hokkaido's famous cape.
JAPAN
May 21, 1998

Economy weak, not deflating, BOJ says

The domestic economy is currently not on the verge of entering a deflationary spiral, Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami said Thursday, adding that he will monitor the effects of governmental pump-priming efforts.
JAPAN
May 11, 1998

Cabinet approves supplementary budget draft

The Cabinet approved drafts Monday for a fiscal 1998 supplementary budget, with actual spending reaching 6.1 trillion yen, and a bill for revision of the Fiscal Structure Reform Law to initiate an economic stimulus package worth more than 16 trillion yen.
JAPAN
May 7, 1998

Ecological housing debuts in Tokyo

An apartment complex to test environmentally friendly technologies opened Thursday in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward, with Gov. Yukio Aoshima on hand at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 1998

Curry's free if you bring a bowl

The Yokohama branch of the Ecology Special Interest Group (EcoSIG) is hosting "International Earth Day '98: The Tsurumi River Tree of Life Celebration" on Sunday in Yokohama.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 1998

Bills allow SDF bigger role in contingencies abroad

Two bills to implement the new Japanese-U.S. defense guidelines were presented Friday to the ruling tripartite alliance, paving the way for the Self-Defense Forces to take unprecedented military roles in contingencies in areas surrounding Japan.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1998

Defense pact won't cover U.S. evacuation assistance

The government has dropped plans to seek legislation that would ensure U.S. assistance in evacuating Japanese civilians during emergencies abroad, Defense Agency Chief Fumio Kyuma said April 14.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 1998

British Embassy celebrates tree centennial

The British Embassy celebrated the 100th anniversary of its cherry trees Friday by planting a sapling and having Princess Nori unveil a commemorative sculpture.
JAPAN
Mar 23, 1998

Spain opens 'ExpoConsumo '98'

Spain kicks off its three-day exposition "ExpoConsumo '98" today in Tokyo as it seeks out more business opportunities and tourists from Japan.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 1998

Kitora chamber reveals ancient planisphere

KASHIHARA, Nara Pref. -- A planisphere carved into a stone chamber inside a 1,300-year-old tumulus in the village of Asuka shows such important constellations as Ursa Major, Orion and Scorpio, an expert has found.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 1998

Hashimoto gets testy over calls to resign

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto told a Diet committee Monday that he would resign as prime minister immediately if it would help change the gloomy economic climate hanging over the nation."But things are not that easy," Hashimoto said angrily, in reply to a demand from an opposition lawmaker that Hashimoto...
JAPAN
Dec 25, 1997

77.67 trillion yen budget approved for fiscal '98

The Cabinet on Thursday approved the final version of an austere 77.67 trillion yen general account budget for fiscal 1998, up only 0.4 percent from the initial budget for the current fiscal year.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 1997

Some hope dreamland will arise from returned base sites

GINOWAN, Okinawa Pref. -- On some 480 hectares of land in the heart of this subtropical island prefecture, a futuristic urban center, touted as an Asian hub for international exchanges, has been envisioned.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan