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JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

Committee passes key fiscal reform bill

A Lower House ad hoc committee passed a top fiscal reform bill Wednesday that would set a target for deficit reduction and place a ceiling on key budget items.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

MMC chief denies links to 'sokaiya' but intends to resign

The chairman of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said on Wednesday that he knew nothing of the company's involvement with two "sokaiya" corporate extortionists or alleged illegal payoffs, but will step down from the chairmanship to take responsibility.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

KDD sees sales decline

KDD, the country's leading international telecommunications carrier, reported on Thursday a decline in sales to 153 billion yen for the April-September period, an 8.1 percent fall from the same period last year.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1997

Courts pressured on death penalty

Prosecutors have submitted an opinion to the Supreme Court claiming that rulings by lower courts in a 1991 double murder case in Hokkaido, in which the defendant was sentenced to life in prison, violated the common law standards of the death penalty, it was learned Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1997

Israel called obstacle to peace

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1997

Creating new businesses 'urgent' task, panel says

A subcommittee under the Industrial Structure Council, an advisory body to the minister of international trade and industry, urged the government Tuesday to create two laws to better facilitate the creation of new businesses.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1997

Women against war violence converge on Tokyo

More than 650 international activists and experts opposing wartime violence against women gathered in Tokyo on Monday to urge women to actively change societies that instigate discrimination and violence against them.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1997

Swede brings two views to Hagi pottery

HAGI, Yamaguchi Pref. -- Few have ventured outside the borders defined by tradition in the more than 400 years this town has been producing its famous pottery, renowned as among the best for use in the Japanese tea ceremony.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1997

Big Four to contribute 20 billion yen to Sanyo safety fund

The nation's four largest brokerage houses are expected to contribute 20 billion yen to a securities safety fund so clients of bankrupt Sanyo Securities Co. can withdraw assets from the failed firm, sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1997

Russia seen on verge of joining APEC

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1997

Rengo requests 2 trillion yen tax cut

The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) submitted a request Tuesday for a 2 trillion yen income tax reduction and other measures to three opposition parties and two small non-Cabinet allies of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1997

Financing of Kansai airport runway decided

OSAKA -- Leaders of four Osaka-based business organizations and the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) agreed Tuesday on a plan for how the private sector should finance the construction of a second runway at Kansai International Airport.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1997

Worsening economy sparks dissent within LDP

A number of lawmakers on the Liberal Democratic Party's Executive Council on Tuesday voiced concern over a bill that would designate specific reduction targets in key budget areas, arguing the bill would make it impossible for the government to stimulate the economy via spending measures.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1997

Dome in the dunes ready for desert study

TOTTORI -- Scientists are now busy working in a gigantic new glass dome at the famous Tottori Sand Dunes, which silently covers a 16-km stretch of the Sea of Japan coast.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 1997

Nikkei ends higher after nearing 16,000

Share prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange were erratic Friday, with the Nikkei average at one point swooping to within a hair of the key 16,000 barrier but eventually logging a slight rise over the previous day. The index closed at 16,458.94, up 94.00 points.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 1997

VP Kishi takes helm at Tokyo-Mitsubishi bank

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, a leading commercial bank, will promote Vice President Satoru Kishi to the post of president to replace current President Tasuku Takagaki, the bank announced Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 1997

Panel agrees on abolishing securities tax

A blue-ribbon subcommittee on revisions to the taxation system basically agreed Friday that securities transaction and brokerage taxes should be abolished, or at least reduced, beginning in fiscal 1998. The subcommittee is to draw up an interim report by the end of November for the general meeting of...
JAPAN
Oct 31, 1997

1,200 firms divorce 'sokaiya'

About 1,200 companies, mainly listed firms based in the Tokyo area, have declared plans to sever relations with "sokaiya" corporate extortionists, the Metropolitan Police Department said Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 1997

Tokyo pressuring states before COP3

Japan will take every diplomatic opportunity to narrow differences over greenhouse gas emissions targets to ensure the upcoming COP3 international global warming conference in Kyoto does not fail, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka said Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 1997

Man held over bogus bills

A 26-year-old Chinese man was arrested in Yokohama for passing counterfeit 5,000-yen notes early this week, police said Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 1997

Hikari Tsushin rides crest of telecommunications wave

Staff writer
JAPAN
Oct 31, 1997

Bank of Japan to control liquidity via 'repo' market

In a bid to reinforce its monetary control, the Bank of Japan will adopt a new tool to open market operations as early as this month by using the expanding market for bond repurchase agreements, the BOJ announced Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 1997

Public corporations fail to declare 16 billion yen

The National Tax Administration Agency said Friday that 926 public-interest corporations, including those running private schools and temples, failed to declare 16.443 billion in corporate income for the July 1996 to June 1997 period.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 1997

Death-row convict wins libel case

The Tokyo District Court on Friday ordered commentator Atsuyuki Sassa and Bungei Shunju, a major publishing house, to pay 350,000 yen in damages to Hiroshi Sakaguchi, a former Japanese Red Army activist now on death row, for defamation.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 1997

Japan, Spain agree on annual summit

Spain and Japan have agreed to hold an annual summit in a bid to strengthen their political dialogue, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar Lopez said Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 1997

Rival to challenge Ozawa for helm of Shinshinto

Ichiro Ozawa, the embattled leader of Shinshinto, will face new challenges in December when the largest opposition party is expected to elect its next chief.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 1997

Muraoka shoves ministries toward deregulation

Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka pressed 12 ministries Thursday to work harder to swiftly compile deregulatory measures to boost the economy.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 1997

Profits climb at JAL but dive at competitors

Japan Airlines posted sharp increases in profits and sales in April-September period of 1997 due to a favorable domestic market, while the two other major airlines reported profit drops, according to earnings reports released Thursday by the three carriers.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 1997

Nikkei unloads Wednesday's gains, slips 3%

Tokyo investors were beginning to feel nauseous Thursday from the roller coaster fluctuations on the Tokyo Stock Exchange as the Nikkei average slipped nearly 3 percent. It closed the day at 16,364.94, down 492.10 points.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 1997

Crimes committed by rightists increase by 40%

Crimes by rightist groups went up 40 percent during the first eight months of this year from the same period last year, the National Police Agency said Thursday.

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