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JAPAN
Jun 5, 1998

Former Aum lawyer shows legal mettle

Although the 38-year-old former senior cultist is no longer a lawyer nor an Aum follower, his desire to exercise his legal expertise was apparent Friday as he testified in the trial of cult founder Shoko Asahara before the Tokyo District Court.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 1998

Freedom of expression lacking worldwide: newspaperman

KOBE -- More than two-thirds of the world's population does not have freedom of opinion and expression, Jayme Sirotsky, president of the World Association of Newspapers, told 800 newspaper people from 59 countries and regions gathered for the opening of the 51st World Newspaper Congress and the Fifth...
JAPAN
May 18, 1998

Tokyoites less traditional on gender roles

The percentage of men and women in Tokyo believing in traditional gender roles has sharply dropped in the past decade, Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials said Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 1998

New DPJ still top opposition force

The newly expanded Democratic Party of Japan was officially launched Monday afternoon with 131 Diet members, making it the largest opposition force.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 1998

Business lobby says Hashimoto should quit

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto should step down to take responsibility for mismanagement of the nation's economic policy, a deputy chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai) said April 20.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 1998

Tokyo proposes isles compromise to Russia

Japan has offered a compromise proposal in a long-standing territorial row with Russia under which Moscow will continue to retain the four disputed islands off Hokkaido for a transitional period as long as it confirms their sovereignty belongs to Tokyo, government sources said April 20.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1998

Rise in banks' interest rates inevitable: Kato

Interest rates will become "inevitably higher" as Japanese banks compete with foreign financial institutions following the nation's "Big Bang" financial reforms, Koichi Kato, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, predicted April 13.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1998

Hayami rules out hike in official discount rate

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami on April 13 ruled out a hike in the official discount rate in the immediate future, brushing aside suggestions from a senior Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 1998

The Asahara Trial: Ishii details sexes' regard for guru

Hisako Ishii, formerly a close aid to Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara, testified in court April 8 that there was a difference in the way male and female followers regarded Asahara.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 1998

LDP, Pyongyang agree to set up liaison office

The head of a Liberal Democratic Party delegation to North Korea announced Wednesday that it reached a basic agreement with the Workers' Party of Korea during its recent visit to set up a bilateral liaison office in Pyongyang.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 1998

1.2 million welcomed to nation's workforce

An estimated 1.2 million people joined the workforce Wednesday as companies and government institutions throughout the country held entrance ceremonies to welcome their new recruits.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 1998

Hashimoto hints of fiscal reform law revision

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto implied to a Diet committee March 27 that after the fiscal 1998 budget bills are passed, he will discuss revising the Fiscal Structural Reform Law, a legal barrier to powerful pump-priming measures such as income tax cuts.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 1998

Supreme Court rejects appeal by dog owner

The Supreme Court on March 26 upheld lower court rulings prohibiting a Tokyo condominium resident from keeping a dog.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1998

Writer-turned-BOJ exec strikes fresh note

In his efforts to reform the scandal-struck Bank of Japan and reformulate its monetary policy, Sakuya Fujiwara, a former journalist now working as a central banker, intends to maintain his "fieldwork" and reflect public opinion.
JAPAN
Mar 12, 1998

The Asahara Trial: Killing of Sakamotos baffles Aum lawyer

One-time Aum Shinrikyo lawyer Yoshinobu Aoyama testified as a prosecution witness March 12 in the trial of Aum founder Shoko Asahara, claiming he never considered Tsutsumi Sakamoto, an anti-Aum lawyer believed murdered by cultists, an obstacle to Aum.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 1998

BOJ breaks precedent, divulges minutes of policy talks

For the first time ever, the Bank of Japan disclosed Tuesday the minutes of a recent monetary policy meeting in line with recently adopted transparency rules.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 1998

Asia region in need of dialogue, defense institute report says

With Japan, the United States, China and Russia assuming the balance of power in East Asia, there is a greater need for security dialogue and other efforts to build confidence and maintain stability in the region, according to the annual "East Asian Strategic Review" by the National Institute for Defense...
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.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

Courts pressured on death penalty

Prosecutors have submitted an opinion to the Supreme Court claiming that rulings by lower courts in a 1991 double murder case in Hokkaido, in which the defendant was sentenced to life in prison, violated the common law standards of the death penalty, it was learned Wednesday.
JAPAN
Oct 14, 1997

Banker takes aim at reluctance to privatize postal savings

Postal savings should be privatized even though the public generally wants the service kept under state control, the head of the commercial banking industry said Oct. 14.Naotaka Saeki, chairman of the Federation of Bankers Associations of Japan, said discussion of postal savings should include the advantages...
JAPAN
Oct 2, 1997

Economic turmoil won't deter South Korea, trade chief says

Staff writerDespite the current economic turmoil involving major business conglomerates and financial institutions, South Korea says it will maintain its deregulation and liberalization policies."We launched this market principle to strengthen company management, and it should help increase international...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1997

Hashimoto dodges Sato issue in Diet

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto dodged questions Oct. 1 over his responsibility in the failed Cabinet appointment of an ex-convict and instead repeated his reform pledge.During a Lower House plenary session, Kansei Nakano, chairman of opposition party Shinshinto's Diet Affairs Committee, urged Hashimoto...
JAPAN
Sep 29, 1997

Hashimoto opens Diet with apology over Sato

In his policy speech before the Diet on Sept. 29, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto reiterated apologies to the public for appointing a politician once convicted of bribery to the Cabinet he formed earlier this month.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 1997

Top court strikes Unification appeal

In a first-ever ruling on religious group tactics to canvass offerings, the Supreme Court on Sept. 18 upheld a high court decision that ordered a religious organization to pay 37.6 million yen in damages to two Fukuoka women who were coerced to donate their assets.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 1997

Nation can't afford more pump-priming

There is no possibility that an economic pump-priming package will be drawn up in the latter half of this fiscal year due to financial constraints, a top Finance Ministry official said Sept. 1.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 1997

87 Diet members launch opposition study group

In a move seen by many as a stepping stone toward the formation of a new opposition party, the Reform Council was launched on August 25 by 87 Diet members from four opposition parties.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 1997

Okinawa accepts heliport boring survey

The Okinawa Prefectural Government officially accepted a central government request August 1 to conduct borings at a site off Nago on the east coast of Okinawa Island as part of a survey for a sea-based U.S. military heliport facility, prefectural officials said.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 1997

Biker rights advocate speaks up instead of spinning his wheels

If you don't speak up, you will lose. This is the motto of Hideo Yoshihara, 49, a bookstore owner in Tokyo's Ota Ward, who has earned a reputation for his campaign to change the nation's motorcycle laws.
JAPAN
Jul 17, 1997

Keizai Doyukai contemplates future of Japanese business

KARUIZAWA, Nagano Pref. -- Business leaders exchanged opinions July 17 on Japan's international economic relations and the role of the private sector in the ongoing structural reforms at the 12th summer seminar of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai).
JAPAN
Jul 16, 1997

Ministries told to unite on climate change

Ministries need to transcend their differences and agree to a comprehensive policy to combat global climate change if Japan hopes to successfully host the third U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in December, according to an environmental bureau officer at a press conference July 16 in Tokyo....

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