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JAPAN

Dec 13, 1999

'Tankan' readings rise modestly across board

Businesses have become less pessimistic about their outlook over the past three months, according to the Bank of Japan's "tankan" business confidence survey. The central bank's quarterly survey for December, released Monday, shows business sentiment has improved among firms in all four main categories...

JAPAN

Dec 13, 1999

Bills to lower 'shoko' firms' interest cap pass Diet

The Diet passed a package of bills Monday to tighten restrictions on "shoko" loan lenders by revising a law to cut the interest rate ceiling from 40.004 percent to 29.2 percent starting June 1. Shoko lenders are financial institutions who specialize in making collateral-free, guarantor-required, short-term...

JAPAN

Dec 13, 1999

Yasuda, Fukoku announce insurance alliance

Yasuda Mutual Life Insurance Co. and Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Co. announced Monday that they will form a wide-ranging alliance to share costs for investment in computer systems and cooperate in other areas. The move by Yasuda, the sixth-largest life insurer in terms of assets, and Fukoku, which...

JAPAN

Dec 13, 1999

NPA bill to grant NPSC power in internal probe

The National Police Agency has drawn up a bill to reform the Police Law that would, if enacted, authorize the National Public Safety Commission to instruct the head of the NPA to investigate questionable police conduct, police sources said Monday. Under the proposed reform measures, each prefectural...

JAPAN

Dec 10, 1999

Obuchi, Li affirm strength of state ties

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and Li Ruihuan, a visiting senior Chinese Communist Party official, reaffirmed Friday that their two countries will further strengthen ties based on firm mutual trust, a Foreign Ministry official said. Li, the No. 4 figure in the Politburo Standing Committee, the Communist...

JAPAN

Dec 10, 1999

Kofuku pair deny giving family firms illicit loans

OSAKA -- Former top executives of the failed Kofuku Bank pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of unlawfully providing loans to their family companies, causing the bank 9.3 billion yen in losses. In their first hearing before the Osaka District Court, Tokusuke Egawa, 72, former president of Kofuku Bank,...

JAPAN

Dec 10, 1999

Forgiveness doesn't come easy as war conference opens

A three-day conference on compensation for victims of Japanese World War II crimes opened Friday in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward amid calls for "forgiveness without forgetfulness," but not all participants found it easy to forgive. During the opening session of the International Citizens' Forum on War Crimes...

JAPAN

Dec 10, 1999

GM to acquire 20% stake in Fuji Heavy

In another move to enhance its Asian presence, General Motors Corp. of the United States will invest 140 billion yen to obtain a 20 percent stake in Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. as part of a strategic alliance, top officials of the two automakers announced Friday. Fuji Heavy will become the third Japanese...

JAPAN

Dec 10, 1999

Mori denies LDP wants millions

Yoshiro Mori, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, on Friday denied media reports that his party has informally asked 10 major banks to contribute political donations totaling 100 million yen. The LDP's No. 2 man said the party will continue to refrain from accepting donations from...

JAPAN

Dec 10, 1999

Shinagawa gives parents, pupils choice in education

By Junko Takahashi

Staff writer In an innovative attempt to make public schools more competitive, Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward has introduced a program through which parents can choose their children's elementary school from several in their area. The new program, which begins in April, will allow children who are ready to...

JAPAN

Dec 10, 1999

Lawmakers urge funding for ASDF tankers

A group of Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers studying national security issues adopted a resolution Friday to urge the government to earmark money in the fiscal 2000 budget to buy air tankers for the Air Self-Defense Force. The resolution, which will be submitted to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and...

JAPAN

Dec 10, 1999

Public funds mulled for insurance-sector bailout

The Life Insurance Policyholders Protection Corp., an insurance industry safety net, formally asked the government Friday to take "necessary measures" to beef up the safety net in case more life insurers go bankrupt. The corporation, set up a year ago with funding from the nation's 47 life insurers,...

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.

That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

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