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JAPAN
Apr 9, 1998

The Asahara Trial: Cultist says water sales mulled in Kobe quake

A senior Aum Shinrikyo figure told the Tokyo District Court on Thursday that soon after the Great Hanshin Earthquake of January 1995, he was ordered to make polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles for water to sell in Kobe.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1998

Arianespace inks satellite contract for 2000 launch

France-based Arianespace announced in Tokyo on Thursday that it has signed a contract with Japan's Space Communications Corp. to launch a telecommunications satellite in the early part of 2000.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1998

Kansai execs still tout affinity with Asia

Staff writer
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1998

Acquisitions process said key barrier to foreign investment

While there are effectively no legal barriers, difficulty in carrying out corporate acquisitions poses a major obstacle to boosting foreign investment in Japan, says James Abegglen, a leading expert on Japanese business affairs.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 1998

Hospital chief supplied drug to son

A director of a Chiba hospital has been questioned by police on suspicion that she supplied her son with a government controlled drug to help him study and prepare for a dentist license exam, it was learned April 8.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 1998

21st century global leader is U.S.: poll

Which country will be the most influential in the next century? The answer, if you guessed: the United States.
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 8, 1998

IMF official calls for big income tax cuts

Japan should map out an economic stimulus package that includes large-scale income tax cuts, a senior official of the International Monetary Fund said April 8 in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 1998

Stargazer plan dims city lights, lets Tokyo skies sparkle

The Environment Agency has compiled guidelines that could bring back twinkling stars to the nation's urban skies.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 1998

Child pornography bill receives cautious welcome

A draft bill to clamp down on child pornography and prostitution -- if enacted into law -- would mark a major, but imperfect, step forward for Japan, according to experts at a meeting to discuss the topic.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 1998

Top banker wants to keep post to protect industry's image

The president of the scandal-tainted Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi hinted April 7 that he should be kept on as the head of the banking federation to avoid amplifying foreigners' distrust in Japan's banking sector.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 1998

Survey shows Tokyoites gloomier on economic outlook

The number of Tokyo residents expecting their economic condition to worsen, based on their household budget, hit a record high of 40.7 percent of those surveyed in an annual government poll.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 1998

Citizens, LDP may forge compromise on disaster relief bill

Staff writer
JAPAN
Apr 6, 1998

Marusan Securities probed for possible breach of trust

Police have questioned Marusan Securities Co. about its rationale for shouldering most of a loss incurred by an affiliated company, the president of the midsize brokerage house said April 6.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 1998

Train experts convene for transcontinental freight debate

Railway experts from some 20 countries April 6 discussed the feasibility of transcontinental railway corridors for the smooth and fast transport of cargo through Asia and Europe.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 1998

Fish haulers, riders take to world's longest suspension span

The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, which opened Sunday, began serving as a key link early April 6 in regional public transportation as commuter buses carried passengers and trucks brought fresh food from Shikoku and Awaji Island to Hyogo and Osaka prefectures.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 1998

Enterprise Spirit: Entrepreneur cashes in on Internet telephony

17th in a series of occasional articles on venture businesses
JAPAN
Apr 3, 1998

Hashimoto coming under pressure to change policy

In an effort to recover public confidence in the nation's plummeting economy, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto next week might announce a shift from his austerity policy to one of economic stimulation.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 1998

New institute to focus on social values

About 40 business leaders, scholars, bureaucrats and leaders of nongovernmental organizations on Friday inaugurated an institute to enrich their understanding of contemporary issues and to find important values for the 21st century through discussions of great philosophical and classic literary works....
JAPAN
Apr 3, 1998

Yen continues to retreat

The yen took a battering in Tokyo interbank trading Friday amid concerns over the nation's ailing economy.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 1998

U.S. rebuts low-level flight drill criticism

The U.S. military issued a memorandum to correspondents recently in response to Japanese media criticism of "inconsiderate low-level flight training in Japan."
JAPAN
Apr 3, 1998

Ministry punishes Nikko for payoffs to lawmaker

The Finance Ministry slapped Nikko Securities Co. with a maximum one-month partial suspension of operations Friday for offering trading profits to a Diet lawmaker who killed himself earlier this year.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 1998

BayStars bench gun-salute opener

YOKOHAMA -- In an abrupt turnabout, Yokohama BayStars, a Central League pro-baseball club, on Thursday scrapped plans to have the National Defense Academy's honor guard fire a gun salute at its season opener today at Yokohama Stadium.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 1998

Business groups unhappy with government steps

Reflecting the poor business sentiment shown by the Bank of Japan's latest "tankan" survey, business leaders Thursday criticized the government for its vague economic measures.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 1998

Neighbors agree to Kita-Shinjuku homeless shelter

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will open a temporary homeless shelter late this month in Kita-Shinjuku for people forced to leave a JR Shinjuku Station shantytown after a fire.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 1998

BOJ board reveals economic beliefs

In a move that may symbolize the central bank's new transparency, newly appointed members of the Bank of Japan Policy Board on Wednesday clearly expressed their opinions about interest rates and the economy.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 1998

Yamato center helped refugees break the ice with locals

Staff writer
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1998

Toyota to turn up output at Indiana plant

Toyota Motor Corp. will expand the production capacity at its new plant in Indiana from about 100,000 units to about 150,000 units by the fall of 2000, the firm announced March 31.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1998

Kan appointed leader of new DPJ

Naoto Kan, leader of the largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan, will become head of the newly expanded version, leaders of the four parties involved decided at a meeting March 31.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1998

State may relinquish Aum claim for victims' sake

Policy chiefs of the ruling alliance agreed March 31 to submit a bill to the Diet next week to have the government abandon its claim of about 460 million yen against Aum Shinrikyo to give other victims suing the cult a better chance of obtaining greater amounts of repayment or redress.

Longform

Passengers that were on a morning train attacked by members of the Aum Shinrikyo group wait for medical assistance outside Kasumigaseki Station on March 20,1995.
The day a religious cult brought terror to Tokyo