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JAPAN
May 23, 1997

Diet committee passes J. League lottery bill

The Lower House Education Committee approved a soccer lottery bill May 23, paving the way for the implementation of a system to obtain funds from the public to promote sports.
JAPAN
May 23, 1997

Nine city banks log pretax profits for '96

Nine of the nation's 10 city banks managed to post pretax profits in the year that ended March 31, thanks to their progress in disposing sour loans, according to business reports released May 23.
JAPAN
May 23, 1997

The Asahara Trial: Commuter recalls gas attack victims

A Tokyo company employee described in court May 23 how he helped three victims of the 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system, for which some members of the religious cult Aum Shinrikyo are now on trial.
JAPAN
May 23, 1997

Mitsuzuka backs BOJ's easy money policy

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka, commenting on increasing calls by members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for interest rates to be boosted, reiterated his support for the Bank of Japan's current easy monetary policy.
JAPAN
May 23, 1997

McGill University to offer MBA program

In association with Sophia University, a Canadian university will launch the first foreign graduate degree program in Japan in July of next year, officials announced May 23.
JAPAN
May 23, 1997

Survey of foreigners leaves Tokyo officials amazed

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government unveiled May 23 the results of its first comprehensive poll on living conditions for foreign residents in Tokyo, which it says is one of the largest ever conducted on foreigners in Japan.
JAPAN
May 23, 1997

Rights group says hospital padded staff in '93

OSAKA -- A local volunteer group advocating rights of people with mental disabilities told reporters here May 23 that the Osaka Prefectural Government has neglected charges that a hospital padded the size of its staff to get more money.
JAPAN
May 23, 1997

JR Tokai's net profit jumps 34.7%

Central Japan Railway Co. said May 23 that it posted a pretax profit of 66.3 billion yen in the 1996 business year, up 6.1 percent from the previous year, on operating revenues of 1.15 trillion yen.
JAPAN
May 23, 1997

Ogawa Securities to shut down

OSAKA -- Ogawa Securities Co., burdened with mounting bad loans, will halt operations May 27 and plans to go out of business July 31, the company said May 23.
JAPAN
May 22, 1997

Experts debate pitfalls of nursing care plan

Many Japanese who go into a blue funk over the rapid aging of society may see a silver lining with the Lower House's approval May 22 of key social-welfare bills.
JAPAN
May 22, 1997

Only two speak at 'open' Takashimaya meeting

OSAKA -- Takashimaya Co., tainted by a scandal involving alleged payoffs to a gangster, said May 22 at its annual shareholders' meeting that it would be more open and transparent.
JAPAN
May 22, 1997

Asahi Solar ordered to halt 'persistent' sales practices

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on May 22 ordered Asahi Solar Co. of Oita, a leading maker of solar water heaters, to halt its aggressive home-call sales tactics, authorities said.
JAPAN
May 22, 1997

Nonlife insurers report 2.2% decline in profits

The nation's five major nonlife insurance firms on May 22 released earnings reports for the year that ended March 31, revealing that their combined pretax profits fell 2.2 percent from the previous year.
JAPAN
May 22, 1997

Electronics firms leapfrog falling semiconductor market

Buoyed by strong sales of computer-related equipment and communications devices such as cellular phones, the nation's major electronics manufacturers on May 22 reported increases in sales revenues in the business year that ended March 31.
JAPAN
May 22, 1997

Editor rues not probing Aum for body-burning story

The deputy editor of the Sunday Mainichi weekly magazine testified in court May 22 that he regrets not pursuing rumors that Aum Shinrikyo was burning bodies in an incinerator in 1989.
JAPAN
May 22, 1997

ANA feud takes new twist: Wakasa to resign from board

Tokuji Wakasa, the powerful and controversial 82-year-old honorary chairman of All Nippon Airways, will resign as a board member next month in an apparent move to take responsibility for a recent feud that shook the firm's top management.
JAPAN
May 21, 1997

BOJ bill clears Lower House panel

A government-proposed bill to revise the Bank of Japan Law and give the central bank greater independence cleared the Lower House Finance Committee late May 21.
JAPAN
May 21, 1997

Nation's largest underground mall opens

OSAKA -- Crysta Nagahori, the nation's largest underground shopping mall, was opened to the public May 21 in Chuo Ward here.
JAPAN
May 21, 1997

Rengo hits up BOJ for swift interest rate increase

The Japan Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) called on the Bank of Japan on May 21 to give up its current easy monetary policy, saying it is having a detrimental effect on the economy.
JAPAN
May 21, 1997

Man survives leap from Rainbow Bridge

A man survived after jumping 50 meters into Tokyo Bay from the Rainbow Bridge on May 21 after authorities were unable to talk him out of trying to commit suicide, police said.
JAPAN
May 21, 1997

Japan Olympic Committee to visit rival cities' sites

The Japanese Olympic Committee study group tasked with selecting Japan's candidate for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games will make a two-day visit next month to Osaka and Yokohama, the two cities trying to attract the international event, the JOC said May 21.
JAPAN
May 21, 1997

Tokyu laying track to ease crowded trains

Construction is now in full swing to ease one of the most notorious problems in Tokyo -- overcrowded trains during rush hour.
JAPAN
May 21, 1997

Weak yen helps lift Toyota profits to 620 billion yen

Supported by brisk sales and the weaker yen, Toyota Motor Corp. said May 21 that its unconsolidated pretax profit surged 82.1 percent to 620.4 billion yen -- the third-highest level for the firm -- in the 1996 business year that ended March 31.
JAPAN
May 21, 1997

MITI projects economic windfall from deregulation

Drastic deregulation in five key service sectors would generate 39 trillion yen in fresh investment and boost the nation's economy by 6 percent in the six years between 1995 and 2001, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said in a report released May 21.
JAPAN
May 20, 1997

Honda posts record net sales of 5.29 trillion yen

Backed by strong sales of its cars in Japan and major overseas markets, Honda Motor Co. posted record-high consolidated net sales of 5.29 trillion yen in the 1996 business year, up 24.5 percent from the previous year, the automaker announced May 20.
JAPAN
May 20, 1997

Kajiyama names Nomura account holders in Cabinet

In a reversal of his earlier stance, Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama released late May 20 the names of four Cabinet members who have dealt with and may still hold accounts with Nomura Securities Co.
JAPAN
May 20, 1997

Pair accused of taking murder victim's money

OSAKA -- A former official of a defunct Osaka credit cooperative and another man were arrested May 20 for allegedly withdrawing about 74 million yen from the account of a moneylender who was stabbed to death in late March 1996.
JAPAN
May 20, 1997

Many voices join in battle over 'comfort woman'

Nationwide debate over "comfort women" will probably not end soon. Did wartime Japanese authorities really abduct Korean women for sex slavery, and is it the key question? Should school textbooks cover the issue and should Japan alone be mentioned regarding such practices?
JAPAN
May 20, 1997

Industrial output fell 0.3% in March

Industrial output in March fell 0.3 percent from the previous month, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry announced May 20.
JAPAN
May 20, 1997

Toyota chief content with yen's current rate

The yen's recent surge against the dollar is still in the acceptable range, Hiroshi Okuda, president of Toyota Motor Corp. said May 20.

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