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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.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 1997

Rain fails to dampen turnout at Yasukuni

Despite intermittent rain, thousands of war veterans and relatives of Japan's war dead visited Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine on Friday, the 52nd anniversary of Japan's surrender at the end of World War II, to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in war.
JAPAN
Aug 12, 1997

Administrative reform debate intensifies as 11th hour nears

Staff writer
JAPAN
Aug 8, 1997

Antinuclear activists uneasy over future

NAGASAKI -- Nearly 200 activists from Japan and abroad gathered August 8 in Nagasaki for a special seminar on what citizens' groups are doing to halt nuclear weapons production.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 1997

Okinawa accepts heliport boring survey

The Okinawa Prefectural Government officially accepted a central government request August 1 to conduct borings at a site off Nago on the east coast of Okinawa Island as part of a survey for a sea-based U.S. military heliport facility, prefectural officials said.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 1997

Ota backs national plan for offshore heliport

Ending six months of silence over the issue of a sea-based heliport off the coast of Camp Schwab in Okinawa Prefecture, Gov. Masahide Ota on July 29 planted his foot on the side of the national government.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 1997

Carlsberg tapping into Japan's trendy beer market

OSAKA -- While four major domestic brewers are engaged in fierce competition to take the biggest share of the virtually zero-growth domestic beer market, the maker of Carlsberg is trying to find its own "suitable and profitable niche."
JAPAN
Jul 22, 1997

Kobe suspect sees hill, pond as 'sacred' sites

KOBE -- A local teenager who is being held on suspicion of the murder and attempted murder of five Kobe schoolchildren has said to police that a hill and a pond believed involved in the crimes are places that are "sacred" and "precious," police sources said on July 22.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 1997

Arnie flexes checkbook for kids

OSAKA -- Hollywood action film hero Arnold Schwarzenegger will donate 1.5 million yen to Osaka Prefecture for a children's recreational facility during a visit to Osaka later this week, prefectural officials said.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 1997

Open debate on disaster bills urged

KOBE -- People pushing for a disaster compensation bill, including well-known author Makoto Oda and several Diet members, visited the Hyogo governor and Kobe mayor earlier this week to explain the bill and seek support. "This is the first time we've met the governor and the mayor in this manner," said...

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami