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JAPAN
Oct 13, 1997

22 homeless people apply for Tokyo job counseling

After a number of clashes over the years with homeless people living in Shinjuku Station's underground concourse, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has organized a job counseling program that accepted applications Oct. 13 at a briefing for the concourse dwellers.Such a service has been hindered partly...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1997

Automakers unveil newest models ahead of show

Hoping to stimulate Japan's auto market prior to the Tokyo Motor Show slated for next week, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Saab Japan announced their new models Oct. 13.Mitsubishi has announced that its new Chariot model, fully redesigned for the first time in about 6 1/2 years, will...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1997

Small companies less confident, credit banks say

Confidence among small firms worsened in the July-September quarter, and they expect the dismal situation to continue through the next three months, according to results from a survey released Oct. 13 by the National Association of Shinkin (credit association) Banks. The results reaffirmed the gloomy...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1997

Tokyo stocks sink to new low for year

Tokyo share prices slid broadly in trading Oct. 13 amid incessant concerns over the strength of the economy, leaving the market's benchmark index at its lowest level this year.The 225-issue Nikkei average fell 172.22 points -- roughly 1 percent -- to end the day at 17,204.70. The previous closing low...
JAPAN
Oct 10, 1997

Doctors, citizens rap impending organ transplants

Medical professionals and other citizens called Oct. 10 for more careful consideration to be taken before organ transplants from brain-dead donors are allowed in Japan.At a meeting in Tokyo of those concerned about such medical treatment, Tetsuo Furukawa, a neurologist at Tokyo Medical and Dental University...
JAPAN
Oct 10, 1997

Japan's CO2 cuts would keep gas at 1990 level at best

The government's latest estimates show that as of 2010, Japan's carbon dioxide emissions could be stabilized at their 1990 level at best, despite Tokyo's earlier proposal calling for a maximum 5 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions for developed countries, it was learned Oct. 10.The estimates, to...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

SDP wrapping up details of 2 trillion yen tax cut

The Social Democratic Party said Oct. 9 that it is finalizing details of its proposal for a one-time tax cut of about 2 trillion yen, SDP Secretary General Shigeru Ito said.The party, one of the two non-Cabinet allies of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, will compile its proposal next week as a supplementary...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Hashimoto unveils steps to bolster Thai economy

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto announced a package of measures Oct. 9 to help stabilize Thailand's economy, including a short-term trade insurance worth $1 billion, at his meeting with his Thai counterpart, Chavalit Yongchaiyuth, Foreign Ministry officials said.Japan will extend the $1 billion in...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Digital cameras shaking up photo industry

Digital technology is evolving and product prices are declining at such stunning clips that hardly any new industry developments evoke surprise.
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Tokyo adds medical aid to North Korea food offer

Japan will resume food aid to famine-hit North Korea after a 15-month hiatus, the Cabinet said Oct. 9, announcing that 67,000 tons of rice as well as 94 million yen in medical equipment will be handed over.Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka said Japan will donate $27 million to the United Nations...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Mayor has high hopes for Tokyo-Berlin ties

Despite being continents apart, Berlin and Tokyo have much to learn from each other, Berlin Mayor Eberhard Diepgen said on a recent trip to Tokyo.In an interview with The Japan Times, Diepgen said he expects the Berlin-Tokyo relationship, unofficially established in 1985 and later formalized in a friendship...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Two Osaka banks to merge next year

OSAKA -- Fukutoku Bank and the Bank of Naniwa, two Osaka-based regional banks suffering from mounting bad loans, announced Oct. 9 they will merge next Oct. 1 to speed up restructuring and strengthen their foothold in the region.The merger is expected to become the first one subject to an expected revision...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Pyongyang lists names of wives allowed to visit

Japan has received a list from North Korea of Japanese women who will be allowed to make their first homecoming visit to Japan later this month, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka said Oct. 9.The names of between 10 and 15 women were tentatively put on the list, which was obtained by the government...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

Paying way for U.S. forces legal, state says

OSAKA -- The government asserted in a court reply Oct. 8 that because the Diet has given its approval, it is legal to use public money to cover the costs of stationing U.S. forces in Japan.With its reply, the government asked the Osaka District Court to dismiss a lawsuit lodged by a group of 296 people...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

JR Tokai makes firm TSE debut

Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) made a firm debut Oct. 8 on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, drawing an opening price of 383,000 yen per share.The initial price at the TSE was 24,000 yen higher than the 359,000 yen public offering price set for 800,000 shares. The stock closed the...
JAPAN
Oct 7, 1997

Oil dealer may appear in Diet, Hashimoto hints

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto hinted to reporters Oct. 7 that he does not oppose the idea of summoning to the Diet an oil wholesaler who allegedly provided illicit political donations to several key members of the Liberal Democratic Party.Before the kick-off of the Lower House Budget Committee, which...
JAPAN
Oct 7, 1997

$250 million pledged to Mongolia development effort

An international aid group on Oct. 7 pledged about $250 million to help the economic development of Mongolia, a country struggling in its switch from a Communist-style economy to a free market.The pledge for fiscal 1998 was made at the 6th Mongolia Assistance Group Meeting, held in Tokyo. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,...
JAPAN
Oct 7, 1997

LDP quest to boost economy faces skeptics, tax cut calls

As a council in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party considers an economic package without new fiscal spending, key party members are voicing doubts about such measures.At a regularly scheduled meeting of the party's key members Oct. 7, many called for introducing such measures as special income tax...
JAPAN
Oct 6, 1997

Sannai-Maruyama excavation illuminating Jomon life

Staff writerAOMORI -- Men wearing only a shred of coarse fur hunt animals in the mountains while women and children gather shells and forage for nuts.This was the prevalent image of people of the Jomon Period, which lasted from about 12,000 to 2,300 years ago. But when the Aomori Prefectural Government...
JAPAN
Oct 6, 1997

Firms harsh on theft, not sexual harassment

Japanese companies take strict disciplinary measures against employees who leak corporate secrets or commit financial wrongdoing, but are more lenient when it comes to cases of sexual harassment or office affairs, a private research organization said Oct. 6.The Labor Administration Research Institute...
JAPAN
Oct 6, 1997

Minnesota college living out bubble's burst in Akita

YUWA, Akita Pref. -- When the economic bubble burst in the late 1980s, more than 40 American-style colleges that peppered Japan's educational landscape went under, now leaving only four, one with an ambitious foothold in Akita.Among the universities possessing a campus, Minnesota State University --...
JAPAN
Oct 6, 1997

Maverick assemblyman fights dress code, graft

MISAWA, Aomori Pref. -- The city assembly here has attracted nationwide attention, not for its legislating, but for a member who was punished for his casual attire.He claims his dressing down symbolizes his crusade against corruption. "I know it all looked like a kindergarten-level farce," said Yuki...
JAPAN
Oct 3, 1997

SDP doubts worth of postal reform proposal

The Social Democratic Party, one of two non-Cabinet allies of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, questioned on Oct. 3 the wisdom of a government panel's proposal to break up the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry.During an Upper House plenary session debate, SDP policy chief Kazuo Oikawa said in...
JAPAN
Oct 2, 1997

Arsonist-slayer's life term upheld

A woman's appeal of a life sentence for setting fire to the home of her lover and causing his two children to die was rejected Oct. 2 by the Tokyo High Court.The Hachioji branch of the Tokyo District Court ruled in January 1996 that although Yukie Kitamura, 31, was incapable of sound judgment after...
JAPAN
Oct 2, 1997

Japan to fund repair of Mongolian mine

Staff writerJapan will pledge about 4 billion yen in official loans to Mongolia next week to help rebuild the impoverished and energy-strapped country's Shivee-Ovoo Coal Mine, government officials said Oct. 2.The pledge for Shivee-Ovoo, Mongolia's second largest coal mine, will be made Oct. 7 in Tokyo...
JAPAN
Oct 2, 1997

LDP slams postal privatization plan

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party announced its opposition Oct. 2 to a proposal by a government advisory panel to privatize two of the three postal services currently provided by the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry.During Diet debate, Kenji Manabe, policy chief of the LDP's House of Councilors...
JAPAN
Oct 2, 1997

Actions under defense pact not deemed collective defense

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said actions taken under the revised guidelines for Japan-U.S. defense cooperation will not be interpreted as collective defense, which is banned by the Constitution.Identifying emergency situations that "have an important influence on Japan's peace and security" as...
JAPAN
Oct 2, 1997

Cultist details role in 1989 killing of Sakamotos

The defense counsel for Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara on Oct. 2 cross-examined an Aum figure who stands accused of taking part in the 1989 murders of a Yokohama lawyer and his family.Satoru Hashimoto, 30, appeared before the Tokyo District Court at Asahara's 51st trial hearing. He has admitted...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1997

Internet securities trade has couch investors jumping

OSAKA -- With convenience like late-night or early morning service and never having to leave one's own home, stock trading via the Internet has not surprisingly become increasingly active.It is also alluring to securities companies, who are able to expand their business without opening new branches...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1997

Bureau seizes 14 illegal Chinese immigrants

The Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau is holding 14 Chinese, including one Snakehead-connected broker, for staying and working in Japan illegally, it said Oct. 1.The 14, including four women, are all from China's Fujian Province, bureau officials said, adding that they either smuggled themselves into...

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