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JAPAN
Oct 15, 1997

Small, medium-size firms urge prompt cuts in taxes

Small and medium-size enterprises urged the government Oct. 15 to promptly reduce corporate and income taxes to stimulate the economy.The request was made during a meeting between Mitsuo Horiuchi, the minister of international trade and industry, and representatives for four organizations of small and...
JAPAN
Oct 14, 1997

Bad-loan troubles force Kyoto bank to liquidate

OSAKA -- Kyoto Kyoei Bank said Oct. 14 that it will begin liquidation procedures and transfer its operations to Osaka-based Kofuku Bank by next Oct. 1, after using funds from the Deposit Insurance Corp. to get rid of its nonperforming assets.Kofuku, another second-tier regional bank with bad loans of...
JAPAN
Oct 14, 1997

China to get $1 million to save relics from dam

Staff writerJapan will provide up to $1 million in financial aid to China to conserve and restore innumerous cultural relics that will be submerged by the controversial Three Gorges dam project, government sources said Oct. 14.The assistance will be funneled to Beijing through a special cultural assets-preservation...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

SDP, Sakigake tell Hashimoto to rescind emissions proposal

The Social Democratic Party and New Party Sakigake jointly demanded Oct. 8 that Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto withdraw Japan's proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 5 percent from 1990 levels.The two parties, saying they were not consulted on the proposal until it was announced Oct....
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

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 3, 1997

Think tanks project growth of less than 1%

Six private think tanks and one bank have lowered their projections of real economic growth for the current fiscal year, most of them to less than 1 percent.Forecasts by the institutions range from 1.1 percent to minus 0.5 percent growth in fiscal 1997, which ends in March. The pessimism reflects prolonged...
JAPAN
Oct 3, 1997

Reduced ODA will still travel far, white paper says

Although the amount of Japan's official development assistance is on the decline, such aid will continue to play an important role in combating environmental destruction and poverty in developing countries, an ODA white paper released Oct. 3 says.Japan needs to aggressively tackle these issues through...
JAPAN
Oct 3, 1997

Heliport implementation plan due by November

The government will submit to Okinawa Prefecture by November a rough draft of the plan for building a U.S. Marine helicopter facility offshore Nago, officials of the Defense Facilities Administration Agency said Oct. 3.The planned facility is designed to replace Futenma Air Station in Ginowan.In the...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1997

Deficit proves a tough nut to crack

Even if the government meets its goal of reducing the deficit to 3 percent or less of the gross domestic product by 2003, there will still be a revenue shortfall of 24.9 trillion yen, Finance Ministry calculations showed Oct. 1.In making its calculations, the ministry put annual economic growth in real...
JAPAN
Sep 30, 1997

Okinawa office to promote sea-based heliport

The national government's headquarters for relocating the U.S. Marines Futenma Air Station set up on Sept. 30 a local branch in Okinawa to win support from local residents for construction of a sea-based facility in Nago, northern Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 1997

Law planned to boost land liquidity

The Finance Ministry established a study group Sept. 25 to draft a law to facilitate the creation of companies whose purpose is to secure real estate to boost land liquidity.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 1997

Osaka business forum addresses Kansai decline

Four consul generals gave varying takes on the business climate in Osaka during the 100th Osaka International Forum on Sept. 18.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 1997

Okinawa to get 1 billion yen for jobs

The government announced Sept. 19 that it will allocate 1 billion yen to promote employment-related projects in Okinawa Prefecture as part of a package to help placate local concerns over U.S. military bases.
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 16, 1997

MITI chief vows to tackle 'global megacompetition'

Mitsuo Horiuchi, the newly appointed minister of international trade and industry, is determined to push through "drastic policies" to accelerate deregulation and create a level playing field for Japanese companies competing in this era of "global megacompetition."
JAPAN
Sep 11, 1997

Osaka likely to let toxic waste stay at Universal Studios site

OSAKA -- To ensure that the construction of Universal Studios Japan begins in 1998 as scheduled, Osaka city is likely to allow the nearly 700,000 tons of industrial waste to remain buried on the site.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 1997

Hashimoto seeks support on defense review

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto stressed Sept. 11 that the ongoing review of the Japan-U.S. bilateral defense guidelines must be carried out with broad support at home and from overseas.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 1997

Grounds of Universal site filled with excessive chemicals

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 10, 1997

APEC expresses optimism on food supply outlook

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum has drafted a report painting a cautiously optimistic picture of the region's food situation for the medium- and long-term, despite increasing demand due to rising per capita incomes and population growth.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1997

Debt, tax costs raise budget requests

Budget requests for the fiscal 1998 general account budget totaled 80.554 trillion yen, up 4.1 percent from the current budget, the Finance Ministry reported to the Cabinet on Sept. 9.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1997

U.S., Japan to open foods display

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's trade office in Osaka and a local food distributor will collaborate to open a special exhibition of American foods Sept. 11 in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1997

Experts make appeal over greenhouse issue

KOBE -- A two-day environmental conference for the Asia-Pacific region ended late Sept. 8 after an appeal was made to advanced countries to take initiatives in substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 1997

Legal war on 'sokaiya' planned

The government has decided on a set of legal measures to root out "sokaiya" corporate racketeers and to have stricter penalties imposed against them, officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 1997

Analysts forecast slow growth in July-September quarter

The economy will return to a growth path in the July-September quarter after a sharp plunge in the April-June quarter that think tank analysts have linked to the consumption tax increase in April.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 1997

HQ set up to handle Futenma move

The central government on Sept. 2 set up an exclusive headquarters at the Defense Agency to facilitate the relocation of the U.S. Marines' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture, according to defense chief Fumio Kyuma.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 1997

Finance tells business to bend if change in taxes wanted

The business community should cooperate and accept a broadening of the corporate taxation base in return for a reduction in the actual taxation rate, Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka said Sept. 2.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 1997

Public corporations under reform microscope

The number of executives and employees at 95 government-affiliated corporations should be cut by 10 percent, and another 10 percent cut should be applied to expenditures on public works projects under their umbrella, according to a proposal made August 26 by a panel of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party....
JAPAN
Aug 21, 1997

Foreigners shoulder blame for more crime

The number of crimes blamed on foreigners almost doubled in the first half of this year, but 10 percent fewer foreigners were investigated for crimes than in the same period last year, the National Police Agency announced Aug. 21.
JAPAN
Aug 19, 1997

Reform panel agrees to upgrade Environment Agency

The Administrative Reform Council agreed Aug. 19 to upgrade the Environment Agency to a full-scale ministry to respond to higher priority being placed on environmental protection by the international community.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?