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JAPAN

Jan 25, 2000

Panel snubs opposition, begins seat-cut talks

Amid fierce protest from the opposition camp, a Lower House committee began deliberating a controversial bill Tuesday that would reduce the number of Diet seats. The move is apparently an effort by the ruling camp to maintain the framework of the coalition by fulfilling a promise made earlier between...

JAPAN

Jan 25, 2000

Kobe Steel exec admits paying 'sokaiya' 30 million yen

OSAKA -- A former managing director of Kobe Steel Ltd. admitted during his first court hearing Tuesday that the firm paid 30 million yen in cash to a "sokaiya" corporate extortionist in violation of the Commercial Code. Hiroshi Kajiwara, 58, acknowledged the facts outlined by prosecutors and said he...

JAPAN

Jan 21, 2000

Obuchi asks envoys to solicit Asian opinions on G8 meetings

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi instructed Japan's ambassadors to 24 Asia-Pacific nations Friday to gather opinions from the leaders of their assigned countries regarding the Group of Eight summit to be hosted by Japan in July, a Foreign Ministry official said.

JAPAN

Jan 21, 2000

Sofia envoy urges more business ties

Bulgarian Ambassador Petar Andonov, who has been in Tokyo since August 1998, said Friday that he wants to see Japanese Internet-based technology companies cooperating with Bulgarian firms. This is "very important" for the future development of the two countries' economic relations and will make optimal...

JAPAN

Jan 21, 2000

French back weaker yen

By Hiroshi Yamagiwa

French Finance Minister Christian Sautter on Friday said he still shares Japan's concern over the yen's appreciation.

JAPAN

Jan 21, 2000

Workers bullied out amid restructuring

By Hiroshi Matsubara

Staff writer For a 32-year-old company employee in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward, the past two years have been a nightmare. And still, he does not know how to end it. Ever since he rejected his employer's request two years ago to voluntarily quit, he has been constantly harassed by bosses and colleagues. "The...

JAPAN

Jan 21, 2000

Expected deadlock in Diet may bring dissolution

As talks with opposition parties began to break down Friday, the LDP-Liberal Party-New Komeito coalition went ahead and submitted a controversial seat-reduction bill to the Diet. Meanwhile, the Liberal Party and New Komeito jointly submitted another controversial bill -- one that would give permanent...

JAPAN

Jan 21, 2000

Stocks, cell phones raise industrial index

The nation's overall service industry activity increased 0.6 percent in November from the previous month due to increased mobile phone sales and active stock trading, marking the first rise in three months, according to a preliminary report issued Friday by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry....

JAPAN

Jan 21, 2000

Agency unveils law to cut waste, push recycling

Draft legislation aimed at reducing waste, encouraging recycling and realizing a more sustainable society was unveiled Friday by the Environment Agency. The draft calls for a comprehensive law that details the responsibilities of government, industry and citizens -- including producers of goods and...

JAPAN

Jan 21, 2000

NCB chiefs plead not guilty to '97 window-dressing

Three former executives of the now-defunct Nippon Credit Bank pleaded not guilty Friday to falsifying the bank's fiscal 1997 earnings report to conceal bad loans. The defendants are the bank's former chairman, Hiroshi Kubota, 68; a former president, Shigeoki Togo, 56; and a former vice president, Tadao...

JAPAN

Jan 21, 2000

Sales overseas expected to rise despite strong yen

Despite the rising value of the yen, most Japanese affiliates overseas expect year-on-year increases in sales during the October-March period thanks to economic recovery in Asia, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said in a report released Friday. The report is based on a survey conducted...

JAPAN

Jan 21, 2000

Tokyo cuts welfare, wages to trim budget

The financially strapped Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Friday unveiled an austere 5.98 trillion yen budget for fiscal 2000, a decrease of 4.9 percent from the current year and its smallest in 12 years. The belt-tightening was made possible after slashing social welfare expenditures, city employee...

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.

A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan

By Hanako Lowry

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

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