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JAPAN
Nov 9, 1998

HIV epidemic likely to worsen, U.S. researcher says

While a breakthrough in HIV treatment two years ago was greeted with euphoria, a leading scientist in AIDS research says the war against the epidemic is far from over.
JAPAN
Nov 9, 1998

Yaohan ex-chief, execs held in dividend scam

SHIZUOKA -- The ex-president of defunct supermarket chain Yaohan Japan Corp. was arrested by police Monday along with two other executives on suspicion balance sheets were falsified to pay shareholders illegal dividends.
JAPAN
Nov 9, 1998

SDF poised to send rescue troops into Honduras

The government dispatched a research squad to hurricane-stricken Honduras on Monday evening in preparation for sending the Self-Defense Forces to the country for relief operations.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 1998

New Komei aims to play pivotal role straddling the fence

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 6, 1998

DKB, Fuji, Yasuda announce new trust bank

The Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Fuji Bank and Yasuda Trust & Banking Co. announced on Friday they would form a new trust bank in April that will focus on corporate pension funds and investment trusts.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 1998

Mitsubishi to layoff 1,000 U.S. autoworkers

Posting huge losses in midterm earnings, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. announced plans Friday to lay off about 1,000 of the 4,600 workers at two major U.S. subsidiaries as part of restructuring efforts.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 1998

Ikeda, IMF differ on '99 GDP projections

Yukihiko Ikeda, policy affairs chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, expressed confidence Friday that the economy will log growth of about 1 percent in the next fiscal year.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1998

Marines, GSDF begin joint drills in Kyushu

A joint military exercise between the Ground Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Marine Corps kicked off Thursday at the GSDF Kirishima Training Area on the border of Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1998

Government backpedals on early tax break pledge

Despite mounting expectations of consumers and businesses, it will be difficult for the government to carry out planned tax cuts in January, the top government spokesman said Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1998

Business leaders cast doubt on coupon plan, tax cuts

Top members of two powerful business organizations Wednesday poured cold water on a political initiative to issue merchandise coupons to boost consumer spending, urging the government to give top priority to implementing its tax cuts.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1998

International groups to hold joint job forum in Tokyo

Fifteen international organizations such as the World Bank, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Trade Organization will hold a special forum in Tokyo on Nov. 10 to inform job-seekers of recruitment opportunities.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1998

Bankrupt English school leaves students in lurch

OSAKA -- Leap English Conversation School declared bankruptcy late Tuesday night, leaving behind 245 million yen in accumulated debts.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 1998

Institute continues monkeying with primate contraception

Primatological researchers concerned with the increasing population of monkeys at a natural zoological park in Oita Prefecture are continuing with experimental procedures to curb their numbers, despite controversy over the propriety of such operations.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 1998

China wants wartime apology during Jiang's visit

China is urging Japan to apologize for its wartime aggression in China in a joint statement to be made during President Jiang Zemin's visit to Japan later this month, sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 1998

Heliport decision to follow Okinawa poll, Obuchi says

The government will decide on its embattled plan to build a sea-based heliport off the northern Okinawa city of Nago after the Nov. 15 gubernatorial election in the prefecture, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi suggested Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 1998

Mayor of Wakayama arrested for alleged bribery

OSAKA -- Wakayama Mayor Yoshihiro Ozaki was arrested Monday evening on suspicion of receiving 1 million yen in bribes in exchange for favoring an applicant for a municipal job.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 1998

New magazine to raise profile of volunteerism

HIROSHIMA -- A group of graduate students and researchers at Hiroshima University launched a new bilingual magazine Monday that aims to serve as a domestic and international forum for development issues and volunteer activities in developing countries.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 1998

Obuchi reaches out in Osaka

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 2, 1998

Yomiuri Shimbun on verge of absorbing Chuokoron

The long-established publishing firm Chuokoron-Sha Inc. has signed a tentative agreement with The Yomiuri Shimbun to be absorbed by the publisher of the mass-circulation daily newspaper.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 1998

Bangladesh questions Japanese aid priorities

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 1, 1998

LDP, New Komeito strike deal on coupons

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito reached a final agreement Tuesday to distribute on a limited basis merchandise coupons worth about 700 billion yen.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 1998

Obuchi at odds with Keidanren over APEC stance

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi instructed his Cabinet members Tuesday to maintain Japan's opposition to early market-opening of forestry and fishery products during upcoming meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Malaysia.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 1998

That was no satellite: Defense Agency

The Aug. 31 rocket launch by North Korea was a test firing of its Taepodong-type ballistic missile, and the satellite that Pyongyang insists was carried by the rocket was most likely just an excuse for the test if it did exist, the Defense Agency concluded Friday.The agency submitted its final report...
JAPAN
Oct 30, 1998

Parents give troubled kids cold shoulder, survey says

Many parents fail to notice signs of their children's frustration, forcing kids to try to resolve problems on their own or by turning to friends for help, according to an Education Ministry survey released Friday.One-fifth of elementary, junior high and high school students polled recently by the ministry...
JAPAN
Oct 30, 1998

JAL first-half profits down 9.1%

Japan Airlines Co. reported 27.8 billion yen in operating profits on an unconsolidated basis for the first half of fiscal 1998, down 24.4 percent from the same period of the previous year, due to the downward trend of air fares, the officials announced on Friday.For the April-September period JAL posted...
JAPAN
Oct 30, 1998

Global satellite phone systems prepare to power up

Staff writerA new global satellite phone system that promises to release users from the fetters of conventional, bulky and cumbersome mobile phones currently in use begins service Sunday amid mixed expectations regarding its success.Nippon Iridium Corp.'s new Iridium service will provide customers with...
JAPAN
Oct 29, 1998

LDP tax panel prepares to dig up more tax cuts

A tax panel of the Liberal Democratic Party is set to begin work to overhaul the nation's tax system in an attempt to help generate lasting economic growth.Attention is focused on how much more the LDP's Tax System Research Commission, chaired by former Finance Minister Yoshiro Hayashi, can add to planned...
JAPAN
Oct 27, 1998

Tax panel debates deduction of housing loan interest

The government Tax Commission on Tuesday debated the idea of deducting housing loan interest.At a general meeting of the advisory panel to the prime minister, six of some 30 panel members voiced pros and cons about the idea while broadly discussing tax reductions to stimulate the moribund economy as...
JAPAN
Oct 27, 1998

Asahi Breweries assessed 700 million yen tax penalty

The Tokyo Taxation Bureau imposed about 700 million yen in penalties and back taxes last year on Asahi Breweries Ltd. for its failure to declare 1.69 billion yen in income transferred to an overseas finance subsidiary over five years through 1995, industry sources said Tuesday.But the Tokyo-based major...
JAPAN
Oct 27, 1998

Seafood exec held over tainted salmon roe sales

SAPPORO -- The former president of a fish processing firm in Hokkaido was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of having knowingly sold salmon roe tainted with E. coli bacteria, which sickened dozens of people nationwide, police officials said.The arrest reportedly marks the first time a food company manager...

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