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JAPAN
Sep 11, 2001

Tanaka apology seen as a start

Former American POWs and their supporters greeted Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka's apology delivered to them Saturday in San Francisco with mixed reactions, saying it was a good start but still a long way from a solution.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2001

Nikkei hits 10,195 in lowest close since 1984

The Nikkei stock average plunged to a fresh 17-year low Monday after Friday's tumble on Wall Street and a negative report on domestic machinery orders erased a rally sparked by a Finance Ministry comment out of Shanghai.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 9, 2001

Making space to swing a cat in a rabbit hutch

Blame for the consumer spending slump is usually pinned on widespread anxiety over an uncertain future. But another reason, one that isn't discussed as much, is that most citizens already have everything they want.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2001

Official says he padded bills for 20 years

An assistant director of the Foreign Ministry who was arrested Thursday on suspicion of defrauding the state out of some 423 million yen by padding hotel bills for international meetings in 1995 has admitted padding accommodation fees for the past 20 years, investigative sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2001

Coordination still seen as key tactic for North Korea

Japan, the United States and South Korea on Thursday reaffirmed the importance of close coordination among the three countries in formulating policy for North Korea and pushed for an early visit to Seoul by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2001

Japanese bonds could receive lower rating

Moody's Investors Service Inc. may downgrade its Aa2 rating on Japanese government bonds, citing the nation's feeble economy, the rating agency said Thursday.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2001

Suzuki denies all links with Kenyan project

The following are excerpts from an interview with Lower House member Muneo Suzuki about a controversial hydropower project in Kenya. The interview was conducted on Aug. 22 in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2001

Tokyo price index falls 1.2%

The key gauge of Tokyo's consumer prices fell 1.2 percent in August from a year earlier for a record 23rd consecutive month of decline, the government said Friday in a preliminary report.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2001

Dirty waters surround Kenya dam plan

A group of lawmakers will arrive in Kenya on Sunday for a two-day inspection tour that is likely to end up endorsing a controversial hydroelectric dam project.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2001

Budget requests set to hit 85.7 trillion yen

Fiscal 2002 budget requests from government ministries and agencies will total 85.7 trillion yen, up 3.7 percent from the initial budget for the current fiscal year, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2001

Use of counterfeit passports to enter Japan on the rise

The number of arrests for entering Japan on fake passports rose sharply in the first half of the year, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2001

Tanaka to establish expert panel

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Thursday she will set up a panel of foreign policy experts next week to help her draw up policies.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2001

Public works budget favors urban projects

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry on Wednesday announced a budget request of 7.918 trillion yen for fiscal 2002.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2001

Haneda extension, beltways enter urban renewal account

The government decided Tuesday that the expansion of Tokyo's Haneda airport to allow more international flights and the construction of beltway systems in major cities will be designated as urban redevelopment projects, officials said.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2001

Isahaya reclamation project faces review

An ongoing reclamation project in Isahaya Bay, Nagasaki Prefecture, will have to be scaled down as the current plan "is unrealistic to pursue," farm minister Tsutomu Takebe said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2001

Kawakami to replace JICA head Saito

Veteran diplomat Takao Kawakami will replace Kunihiko Saito as head of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2001

Ogi told to submit privatization plans

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday ordered transport minister Chikage Ogi to submit her ministry's draft plans for privatizing six controversial state-backed corporations.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2001

Quake insurance tax break in works

The Cabinet Office said Saturday it will pursue an independent tax exemption system for earthquake insurance premiums in line with requests for revisions to the tax system in fiscal 2002, government officials said.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2001

Disaster drill held at Diet building

The government staged a helicopter takeoff and landing drill in front of the Diet building Saturday morning, conducting the exercise as if a large-scale earthquake had occurred directly under the Kanto region.
JAPAN / PRIVATIZING PAINS
Aug 25, 2001

Local authorities turn up noses at broke pension fund resorts

Kyodo News The sale of 12 health resorts to repay debts incurred by the now-defunct Pension Welfare Service Public Corp. is not proceeding smoothly because the local governments that were asked to purchase them are all refusing to do so.
JAPAN / PRIVATIZING PAINS
Aug 24, 2001

Scrapping housing loan entity said threat to low-income ranks

Kyodo News A proposal by the Cabinet's administrative reform headquarters asking Government Housing Loan Corp. to effective stop extending new loans is meeting stiff opposition from the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry, promising heated debate toward the end of the year.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2001

Security alliance redefined after end of Cold War

Staff writer In August 1990, when then Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu telephoned U.S. President George Bush to offer a $1 billion contribution to the U.S.-led multinational forces in the Persian Gulf, Bush offered a disappointed-sounding "Thank you" before hanging up.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2001

TSE downbeat despite promise of reforms

The Tokyo stock market remains caught between crosscurrents stemming from expectations of the positive effects of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reform initiative and fears of further deterioration in the prospects for economic and corporate earnings.
JAPAN / PRIVATIZING PAINS
Aug 23, 2001

Pork-barrel highway entity key target for privatization

Kyodo News Japan Highway Public Corp. is the most symbolic privatization target of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's "structural reforms without sanctuaries" campaign.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.