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JAPAN
Sep 30, 1997

New Antigang Law to target gangsters' offices from today

The revised Antigang Law goes into effect Sept. 30, enabling authorities to crack down on the extent to which offices belonging to or affiliated with crime syndicates can be used.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 1997

Sake association plans to promote taste of Japan overseas

Sake sales have been falling in recent years in the domestic market, and the Japanese industry is now hoping to make a breakthrough overseas, Haruo Matsuzaki, chairman of the new Sake Export Association, said Sept. 30.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 1997

New liquor taxes start narrowing gap today

As the autumn chill diminishes the nation's thirst for beer and the search begins for something else to drink, imbibers should keep in mind that a bottle of premium brandy will now be a bit more affordable.
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 29, 1997

Groups wary of Osaka Olympics

Representatives of the city of Osaka and Osaka Prefecture, local sports federations and citizens' activist groups gathered Sept. 27 at a symposium to weigh the pros and cons of staging the Olympics in Osaka.
JAPAN
Sep 29, 1997

NPA vows to help crime victims gird for reprisals

The National Police Agency pledged Sept. 29 to step up efforts to protect crime victims from retaliation after the people who victimized them are released from prisons, NPA sources said.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 1997

Powell urges China engagement

Japan and the United States need to engage China while maintaining a solid partnership, and the new Japan-U.S. defense guidelines can help to strengthen this relationship, retired U.S. Gen. Colin Powell said in Tokyo Sept. 26 at a symposium addressing future Japanese-U.S. relations.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 1997

Court rules Dentsu liable in '91 employee suicide

The world's largest advertising agency, Dentsu Inc., has been ruled negligent in failing to prevent the suicide in 1991 of an employee who had worked excessive hours, despite seeing signs he needed rest, the Tokyo High Court said Sept. 26 in upholding a lower court ruling.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 1997

Green conference to be held in Ube

An international symposium on the preservation of the world's environment will be held Oct. 17 in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 1997

Prosecutors raid Nikko in 'sokaiya' payoff probe

Nikko Securities Co.'s head office in Tokyo was raided Sept. 25 by prosecutors and members of the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Committee in connection with the brokerage's suspected illegal payoffs to "sokaiya" corporate extortionist Ryuichi Koike.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 1997

Thai economic crisis puts a dent in carmakers

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 25, 1997

Defense portrays contrite Hayakawa

Lawyers for Aum Shinrikyo figure Kiyohide Hayakawa sought to emphasize his human side Sept. 25 at his trial hearing, saying he is deeply repentant and has testified candidly, in the trials of other cult defendants, about his involvement in various crimes.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 1997

Teacher's rumors ruled harassment

OSAKA -- The Osaka District Court ordered a male junior high school teacher Sept. 25 to pay 500,000 yen in compensation to a former female colleague whom he harassed.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1997

Theme park foes take protest against Universal abroad

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1997

Aoki president denies market rumors

The president of medium-size general contractor Aoki Corp. denied market rumors Sept. 22 that his firm was in a financial crisis, stressing that the company has been steadily reducing its debts.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1997

Sato is gone but Hashimoto's problems remain

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1997

Justice minister urges review of Juvenile Law court system

The juvenile court system should be reviewed to enable family courts to fully investigate juvenile crimes, Justice Minister Kokichi Shimoinaba said in a recent interview.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1997

Sato resigns Cabinet post

After a week of political turmoil that rocked the Liberal Democratic Party's ties with its Diet allies, LDP member Koko Sato, who in 1986 was convicted of bribery, resigned Sept. 22 as head of the Management and Coordination Agency over the outcry against his appointment.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 1997

Sato expected to resign from Cabinet on Monday

Koko Sato, a veteran Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker convicted in the Lockheed payoff scandal, is expected to resign as director general of the Management and Coordination Agency on Sept. 22 when he meets with Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 1997

Nomura, DKB pledge to reform

Nomura Securities Co. and Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank each submitted plans Sept. 19 to the Finance Ministry for steps to strengthen their internal control systems.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 1997

Average household savings rising

The average level of savings per household increased 3.5 percent to 13.5 million yen this year, and average after-tax income rose slightly to 6.05 million yen, according to a Bank of Japan survey released Sept. 19.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 1997

Honda unveils fuel-efficient drive system

Honda Motor Co. has unveiled a new motor-assisted driving system that will drastically improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
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 18, 1997

Tokyo police continue gang sweeps

About 500 officers of the Metropolitan Police Department were mobilized Sept. 18 to search about 100 offices and locations in Tokyo related to the Yamaguchi-gumi and Nakano-kai crime syndicates on suspicion of violation of the Firearms and Swords Control Law.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 1997

Recruit's Ono given suspended sentence

Toshihiro Ono, the former chief of Recruit Co.'s presidential secretariat, was given a two-year prison term Sept. 17, suspended for three years, for selling unlisted Recruit Cosmos shares to two Diet members from 1985 to 1986.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 1997

IMF halves Japan's growth forecast

Japan's economic growth forecast for the 1997 calendar year has been revised downward to 1.1 percent from April estimates of 2.2 percent, the International Monetary Fund said Sept. 17.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 1997

Chinese activist gets suspended term for ramming blockade

A Chinese prodemocracy activist was sentenced Sept. 17 to one year in prison, suspended for three years, for ramming his car into a police blockade last June in front of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 1997

Iranian man alleges abuse in Fuchu prison

An Iranian man who was incarcerated at Fuchu prison has filed a 15 million yen damages suit against the national government, claiming that guards in the western Tokyo facility mistreated him, his lawyers said Sept. 17.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 1997

Yamaichi execs arrested over payoffs to 'sokaiya'

Prosecutors arrested five officials of Yamaichi Securities Co. on Sept. 17, including a former senior managing director, on suspicion of illegally making payoffs to a "sokaiya" corporate extortionist.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 1997

New transport chief on course for clash over JR debt, taxes

When the new transport minister began talking about solutions to the long-running and lingering problem of debts left over by the former Japanese National Railways, one word kept coming up: "taxes."

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