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JAPAN
Sep 9, 1998

State to continue pursuit of Russia peace treaty

Japan's policy of seeking a peace treaty with Russia by the end of 2000 is unchanged, despite political and economic difficulties in Russia, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1998

JNR debt-sharing proposal gains support

A plan to allocate the debt left behind by the former Japanese National Railways among the seven JR group companies received backing by economic experts during a Lower House committee meeting Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1998

Saudi prince's visit may focus on oil-drilling rights

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1998

Stalker arrested over six-year harassment

OSAKA -- Police have arrested a 60-year-old man for allegedly stalking a woman over a six-year period and causing her to suffer from a nervous breakdown, it was learned Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1998

Business confidence still down, survey shows

Business confidence during the July-September period remained at or near all-time lows among big, medium-size and small firms, according to a Finance Ministry survey released Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1998

BOJ slashes call rate in monetary rescue action

In a surprise move, the Bank of Japan's Policy Board agreed Wednesday to further ease monetary policy by guiding the weighted average of the overnight call money rate down to around 0.25 percent per year.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1998

Minister's kin stuck with his unreported assets

The family of former Transport Minister Tokusaburo Kosaka, who died in 1996 at the age of 80, failed to report about 1 billion yen in taxable assets he left behind, it was learned Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1998

North Korea reactor aid to remain frozen

The government will continue to freeze assistance for light-water nuclear reactor projects in North Korea, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1998

G-7 meeting likely to avoid Russia issue

Senior officials of the Group of Seven industrialized nations are unlikely to devise a program at their weekend meeting to assist the troubled Russian economy, Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1998

Wholesale prices fell 2.1% in August

Domestic wholesale prices dropped 2.1 percent in August compared with the same month last year, down for the sixth consecutive month, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1998

Banking industry backs government bailout plan

Satoru Kishi, chairman of the Federation of Bankers Associations of Japan, expressed support Tuesday for the government's plan to inject public money into ailing banks to prevent failures.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1998

Girl, 15, confesses to poisoning prank

A 15-year-old junior high school girl confessed Tuesday that she mailed bottles of disinfectant disguised as weight-loss medicine to 26 students and one teacher at her school in Tokyo's Minato Ward last month, police said.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1998

Prison term upheld for hired killer

KANAZAWA, Ishikawa Pref. -- The Nagoya High Court on Tuesday upheld the seven-year prison term imposed by a lower court on a policeman-turned-detective for murdering a debt-ridden business executive at his request, and for the attempted murder of another person.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1998

Negotiations on finance bills to start

The LDP and three opposition parties today will enter full-scale negotiations to revise bills to reform the ailing financial system, pushing aside the dilemma over the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1998

Keidanren chairman pressures DPJ to speed up debate

The chairman of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) urged the head of the Democratic Party of Japan on Tuesday to accelerate Diet debate on necessary bills to resuscitate the nation's financial system, according to Keidanren officials.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1998

Ministry may alter entrance exam rules

Education Minister Akito Arima indicated Tuesday that his ministry may reconsider its current stance on the entrance of graduates from "unauthorized" universities to graduate programs at state-run institutions.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1998

Japan still tops in ODA

Japan's total official development assistance in 1997 decreased 1.8 percent from a year earlier to $9.44 billion, but the nation was the world's top aid donor for the seventh consecutive year, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday in a report.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1998

EPA says state of economy now 'very severe'

The Economic Planning Agency downgraded the state of the economy in its September report on Tuesday by saying the economy has entered "an extended slump and a very severe situation."
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1998

Government poised to override opposition

The government is ready to push ahead with its plan to bailout the Long-Term Bank of Japan with public funds whether the opposition parties like it or not, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka indicated at a press conference Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1998

Aum cultist admits to wiretapping

Former Aum Shinrikyo fugitive, Yasuo Hayashi, 40, testified in court Tuesday that he wiretapped phones, including that of an anti-Aum group chief.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1998

Cultist says heavier sarin role due to doubt

Former Aum Shinrikyo fugitive, Yasuo Hayashi, 40, testified in court Tuesday that he believes Shoko Asahara, the cult's founder, made him release three bags containing sarin instead of two in the 1995 Tokyo subway attack, because Asahara knew Hayashi doubted Aum's doctrines.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1998

Third quarterly GDP decline expected in April-June

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1998

Nuclear activist urges Japan to take lead in disarmament

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1998

Opposition plan targeted by the FSA

A top official of the Financial Supervisory Agency on Tuesday voiced disapproval at a portion of the financial-stabilization bills submitted by opposition parties to the Diet.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 1998

Miyazawa denies U.S. asked for hike in bank-bailing funds

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa on Monday denied media reports that the United States has asked Japan to increase the amount of public money it has set aside to aid troubled financial institutions.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 1998

Okinawa draws more tourists as air fares, yen fall

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- Constant conflict over the presence of U.S. military bases and tragic old war stories keep Okinawa in the news.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 1998

Rengo pressures Obuchi to fulfill job, tax cut promises

The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) urged the government Monday to make good on its promised tax reductions, including 4 trillion yen in income tax cuts.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 1998

Surveillance urged as Aum expands activity

Aum Shinrikyo is becoming increasingly active and establishing new facilities in the Tokyo area with profits from its lucrative computer business, the Public Security Investigation Agency warned Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 1998

Ogata calls on Japan to expedite refugee efforts

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, urged Japan on Monday to process refugee applications more swiftly and to make its refugee policies more transparent.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 1998

Dollar drops into 131 yen range

The dollar plummeted against the yen Monday amid growing fears that financial crises in Russia and other emerging markets will negatively impact the U.S. economy.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?