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JAPAN
Apr 1, 1999

Local Elections '99: Akashi vows to revive Tokyo

Staff writer
JAPAN
Mar 30, 1999

Debt-equity swaps eyed to cut firms' excess capacity

The government will work out a "concrete scheme" to help debt-ridden firms obtain creditor bank cooperation to dispose of excess capacity accumulated during the bubble economy as part of efforts to regain Japan's industrial competitiveness, trade chief Kaoru Yosano said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 1999

First Obuchi competition meeting yields promises

Government and industrial leaders agreed Monday to work together to restructure excess capacity, create new businesses and promote labor turnover to improve Japan's industrial competitiveness.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 1999

$4.5 billion in aid pledged to Philippines

Aid donors to the Philippines concluded a two-day Consultative Group meeting Thursday in Tokyo, pledging $4.5 billion in economic aid for 1999 to help Manila combat its economic difficulties.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 1999

Chiyoda, UNUM strengthen ties

Midsize insurer Chiyoda Mutual Life Insurance Co. and Maine-based disability insurance firm UNUM Corp. will strengthen business ties hoping to jointly develop and market products, the firms' officials announced Monday.
EDITORIALS
Feb 27, 1999

A wakeup call to the nation

After six months of racking their brains, members of a prime ministerial advisory council have produced yet another blueprint designed to nurse the seriously ill Japanese economy back to health. The worthy work of the Economic Strategy Council should be commended. In their final report to Prime Minister...
JAPAN
Jan 27, 1999

Poll Preview: Celebrity governors in need of new shtick

Four years ago, comedian and Upper House member "Knock" Yokoyama entered the Osaka gubernatorial race three days before the official campaign started, saying he was angry about the collusion in the non-Communist ruling coalition in the prefectural assembly.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 1999

Logistic SDF support of U.N. forces constitutional: Obuchi

The Constitution allows the Self-Defense Forces to provide logistic support to United Nations-led multinational forces, but the provision of weapons and ammunition by the SDF will be determined on a case-by-case basis, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 1999

American Express plans securities firm

American Express Financial Advisors Inc., a financial planning company within the American Express group, will launch business in Japan as a securities firm, company officials announced Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 1998

81.86 trillion yen budget for '99 gets Cabinet nod

The Cabinet on Friday approved the final version of an expansionary 81.86 trillion yen general account budget for fiscal 1999 that calls for an 11 percent increase in public works spending.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 1998

DPJ offers own package

The Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition party, on Thursday unveiled its own economic stimulus package. It's worth nearly 20 trillion yen and includes a system that would provide allowances for raising children but has little chance of being included in a supplementary budget to be debated...
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1998

Government backpedals on early tax break pledge

Despite mounting expectations of consumers and businesses, it will be difficult for the government to carry out planned tax cuts in January, the top government spokesman said Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 1998

FSA to spell out bank funding law to bankers

The Financial Supervisory Agency will meet with representatives from 18 major banks today to explain the newly enacted bank recapitalization law, a senior agency official said Tuesday.The briefing is intended to encourage banks to voluntarily apply for capital injection of public funds under the new...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1998

LDP may bend on recapitalization plans

The government and the Liberal Democratic Party appeared ready Friday to accept some ideas proposed by the Democratic Party of Japan on a bank recapitalization bill.DPJ Secretary General Tsutomu Hata met with his LDP counterpart Yoshiro Mori and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka in the afternoon...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1998

LTCB merger now 'option' for Sumitomo Trust

Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co. President Atsushi Takahashi hinted Thursday the bank's planned merger with the troubled Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan was effectively dead, saying the LTCB is now "one of the options" among the bank's alliance strategies.Takahashi, however, said it is too early to make...
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 4, 1998

Miyazawa urges review of bank-screening criteria

Screening criteria to determine whether public funds should be infused into banks should be revised, Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa indicated Friday, saying the current standards are difficult to understand.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 1998

Sakura seeks to raise 300 billion yen in share issue

Sakura Bank plans to increase its capital by about 300 billion yen within this fiscal year by requesting major firms under the Mitsui group, the bank's largest shareholder, and other clients to purchase new shares, bank officials said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 1998

Huddle held on teamwork in Diet

The heads of three opposition parties pledged on Thursday to strengthen their cooperation.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 1998

'Internet cash' trial set for launch in September

In the latest development in Internet commerce, a cyberbusiness consortium will soon make available virtual cash that is transferable between individual consumers.
JAPAN
Jun 30, 1998

LTCB loans should all transfer to Sumitomo: Imai

Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co. should accept all loans extended by the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan when it merges with the ailing LTCB, according to the head of Japan's most influential business organization.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1998

LTCB reassures investors after share price plunges

The Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan hastily moved to assure investors of its creditworthiness on Tuesday after its share price plunged to its lowest level since the burst of the bubble economy.
JAPAN
May 25, 1998

HSBC gearing for expansion into Japan retail operations

Financial conglomerate Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. will seek to expand its Japanese operations into the retail market "in the not-too-distant future," the chairman of HSBC Holdings said Monday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
May 14, 1998

Government upgrades tourist advisory for Indonesia

The government on Thursday issued a stronger official warning advising travelers to refrain from making sightseeing and other nonessential trips to Indonesia until conditions in the country stabilize, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka told a regular press conference.
JAPAN
May 14, 1998

Societe Generale renews focus on Japan

Societe Generale said Thursday that it would change its business logo in Japan to SG Japan, adding that it plans to galvanize its operations here, especially in the areas of mutual funds and development of new products.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 1998

More firms to get better chance at government loans

Trade chief Mitsuo Horiuchi expressed his intention Friday to open the door for a larger number of retailers and wholesalers to borrow money from the government.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 1998

No end in sight for ANA crew strike

The strike by pilots and flight engineers of All Nippon Airways Co. over the lowering of their salaries -- which management felt were too high -- reached 11 days April 16, causing the cancellation of six more international flights.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1998

MITI may ease capital criteria for loans to smaller businesses

As part of its forthcoming economic stimulus package, the government may expand limits on the amount of capital that retailers and wholesalers can have when borrowing money from governmental financial institutions, trade chief Mitsuo Horiuchi said April 14.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 1998

BOJ reprimands 98 officials over bribery scandals

The Bank of Japan punished 98 officials April 10, including two executive directors, for their connections to the bribery scandal hanging over the central bank as well as other questionable conduct involving financial institutions.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 1998

BOJ board reveals economic beliefs

In a move that may symbolize the central bank's new transparency, newly appointed members of the Bank of Japan Policy Board on Wednesday clearly expressed their opinions about interest rates and the economy.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers