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JAPAN
Oct 13, 1998

BOJ board maintains money policy, considers new moves

The Bank of Japan's Policy Board agreed Tuesday by a majority vote to keep its monetary policy unchanged, the central bank said.It is believed that the decision reflects a view shared by most financial experts that there is little room for another interest rate cut to spur the crippled economy.At a...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1998

Northeast Asia security forum to go 'track 1'

Staff writerJapan, the United States and Russia will inaugurate an official security-dialogue forum as early as next year to discuss the Northeast Asian situation and possible security cooperation among the three major players in the region, government sources said Tuesday.The three countries will upgrade...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1998

Bank bill clears Lower House; enactment seen Friday

The new bank recapitalization bill designed to keep capital-short banks afloat cleared the Lower House Tuesday and was immediately sent to the Upper House, which is expected to enact the measure Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1998

Container data for nuclear fuel labels doctored

A Tokyo-based engineering firm affiliated with Japan Atomic Power Co. falsified data on a container for transporting mixed oxide fuel to be used in planned thermal neutron reactors, Transport Minister Jiro Kawasaki said Tuesday.Genden Engineering Services and Construction Co. tampered with the data...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1998

Infrastructure meeting spotlights e-commerce

The Global Information Infrastructure Commission ended a two-day meeting Tuesday in Tokyo with a joint statement calling for more concerted actions by business and governments to expand electronic commerce and telecommunications infrastructure development.Participating members from the forum, which...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1998

Tax evasion, bribes earn Izui two years in prison

The Tokyo District Court sentenced oil dealer Junichi Izui to two years in prison Tuesday for tax evasion and bribery, and acquitted him on a fraud charge over a series of oil deals involving Mitsui Mining Co. and other firms.Presiding Judge Kohei Ikeda also levied 80 million yen in fines against the...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1998

Lawmakers to pursue apology for failed emigration plan

Three lawmakers said Tuesday they will form a nonpartisan league that will urge the government to compensate hundreds of Japanese who moved to the Dominican Republic 40 years ago under a failed Foreign Ministry emigration program.More than 10 Diet members are expected to join the league by the time...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1998

Crime soars to postwar record

The number of reported Penal Code violations in 1997 hit another postwar record of 2.518 million, up some 52,600 from the year before, according to an annual government report on crime released Tuesday.The 1998 crime white paper, which includes an overview of last year's general criminal trends and...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1998

Jiang to hear war apology during visit

Tokyo plans to express "remorse and apology" to China in a joint statement the two countries will issue when Chinese President Jiang Zemin visits Japan, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura hinted Tuesday.Jiang hopes to visit Japan later this year, according to ministry officials.Komura told a news conference...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1998

Surgeon applauds 'advanced' donor card rule

Japan's donor card rule, termed the world's most restrictive, has been blamed by organ transplant promoters for the delay in establishing the life-saving procedure in Japan. Satoru Todo, a world-renowned liver transplant surgeon, disagrees.From a different angle, the donor card rule is "the most advanced"...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1998

SmithKline wins 3 billion yen lawsuit

SmithKline Beecham Seiyaku K.K. was awarded some 3 billion yen in damages in a patent infringement lawsuit, the largest compensation ordered in such a case in Japan, the drug maker said.The Tokyo District Court ruled Monday that Fujimoto Seiyaku Co., a drug maker based in Osaka Prefecture, sold an ulcer...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1998

TV, photo ban nearly over for sworn Diet testimony

The Lower House voted unanimously Tuesday on a bill to lift the ban on photographing and televising people giving sworn testimony before the Diet.All political parties in the chamber supported the bill, which would revise the Diet Testimony Law, during a plenary session. The bill was immediately sent...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1998

Yeltsin to give answer on isle row when Obuchi visits

Russian President Boris Yeltsin will respond to Japan's new proposal on resolving the islands dispute between Japan and Russia in mid-November, when Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi makes an official visit to Moscow, ministry officials said Tuesday.The message from Alexander Panov, the Russian ambassador...
JAPAN
Oct 12, 1998

Bandai founder left 2.65 billion yen estate

The late Naoharu Yamashina, founder of toy manufacturer Bandai Co., the maker of the popular electronic pet Tamagotchi, left behind an estate worth 2.65 billion yen when he died last October at age 79, Tokyo's Shinagawa Taxation Bureau said Monday.Savings and stocks make up the core of the inheritance...
JAPAN
Oct 12, 1998

NPA bucks Justice plan to scrap fingerprinting

The Justice Ministry and National Police Agency are at sharp odds over the ministry's recent announcement that it plans to abolish the practice of fingerprinting foreigners living in Japan.The Liberal Democratic Party's subcommittee on immigration policies basically approved the ministry's stance Thursday,...
JAPAN
Oct 12, 1998

Bank bill nears passage as LDP gains two allies

A new bank recapitalization bill is expected to clear the Lower House today and the Upper House by the end of this week as at least two opposition parties have agreed to jointly propose the bill put forward by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN
Oct 12, 1998

EU pressures Japan for speedy recovery to rescue Asia

The European Union on Monday called on Japan to enact policies to expand its economy so the nation can lead Asia out of its crises, Foreign Ministry officials said.At a meeting of ministers from Japan and the EU, Sir Leon Brittan, vice president of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said...
JAPAN
Oct 12, 1998

Heart expert favors alternatives to transplants

Staff writerInstead of organ transplants, more thought should be given to alternatives such as use of artificial organs, cardiology expert Hiroshi Yamaguchi says.He opposes making transplants from brain-dead donors standard treatment. "Organ transplants are not something almighty. I think the demerits...
JAPAN
Oct 12, 1998

Komura, OECD chief eye investment liberalization pact

Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura and Donald Johnston, head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, agreed Monday on the importance of concluding an investment liberalization agreement, especially given the current economic turbulence, ministry officials said.OECD member states...
JAPAN
Oct 12, 1998

Upper House enacts finance resuscitation laws

The Diet enacted financial reform laws Monday afternoon that mandate creation of a "financial resuscitation committee" to handle failed and failing banks as well as a public institution to buy bad loans from them.The government and Liberal Democratic Party now turn their attention to a bank recapitalization...
JAPAN
Oct 12, 1998

Osaka declares 'antisnatching' day

OSAKA -- Osaka Prefectural Police declared Monday an "antisnatching" day in the prefecture and a special campaign was launched to fight crime here."Let's work together to wipe out the bad reputation of being the number one (purse-) snatching prefecture in Japan," said Hirokazu Yamamoto, chief of the...
JAPAN
Oct 12, 1998

Japan to review financial accord with U.S.

Japan and the United States will hold working-level meetings Thursday and Friday in Tokyo to check progress on a 1995 bilateral accord on financial services, according to Japanese officials.Officials from the Finance Ministry and the U.S. Treasury Department will discuss a variety of issues concerning...
JAPAN
Oct 12, 1998

ASDF accidents spark one-day halt in training

The Air Self-Defense Force grounded all nonessential aircraft Monday following a recent series of accidents involving its jets, the Defense Agency said.Operation of all aircraft except those on standby for emergency takeoff or obligatory missions was halted for one day to review safety, it said. The...
JAPAN
Oct 12, 1998

Cargill plans to takeover Toshoku

The world's largest grain trading house said on Monday that it will help collapsed Japanese food trader Toshoku Ltd. rehabilitate by turning it into a wholly owned subsidiary.Cargill Inc. of the United States, based in Minnesota, hopes to set up its own domestic food distribution system by using Toshoku's...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1998

President Kim greets fellow Koreans in Kansai

After arriving in Osaka from Tokyo on Friday afternoon, South Korean President Kim Dae Jung and his wife, Lee Hee Ho, met Korean residents of the Kansai region at an Osaka hotel.In front of more than 700 participants, Kim thanked Korean residents for the help they offered when the country was hard hit...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1998

Tokyo court dismisses sex slave suit, ignores alleged ordeals

The Tokyo District Court on Friday rejected claims by 46 former "comfort women" from the Philippines who were seeking compensation from the Japanese government for forcing them to provide sex for Japanese soldiers during World War II.Presiding Judge Yoriaki Ichikawa of the Tokyo District Court dismissed...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1998

Financial talks scheduled with U.S.

Japan and the United States will hold working-level meetings Thursday and Friday in Tokyo to check progress on a 1995 bilateral accord on financial services, Japanese officials said Friday.Officials from the Finance Ministry and the U.S. Treasury Department will discuss a variety of issues concerning...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1998

Tokyo offers counseling for foreigners

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will hold counseling sessions on everyday life problems this month and next month, with English and Chinese speaking staff for non-Japanese residents, officials said.Counseling for foreigners will cover such problems as status of residence, housing, marriage, education,...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1998

Military port shift OK elates Defense chief

Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga on Friday welcomed the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly's decision to support the relocation of the U.S. military port facility in Naha to neighboring Urasoe."I understand that local businesses (in Urasoe) want to gain the port facility. I will keep watching the situation...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1998

Suddenly mighty yen continues thrashing dollar

The dollar gave up further ground against the yen in Tokyo on Friday amid reports that U.S. President Bill Clinton supports a stronger yen.The dollar plunged to 115.70 yen at one point, its lowest level in 14 months in Tokyo, before settling at 117.18-22 yen at 5 p.m., down from 122.35-37 yen late Thursday.The...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji