Search - news

 
 
JAPAN
May 6, 1997

Japanese firms catching on to stock options

An increasing number of Japanese corporations are introducing de facto "stock option" arrangements so their executives and employees can take advantage of a highly lucrative system available to many U.S. corporate executives.
JAPAN
May 6, 1997

Politician joins activists in landing on Senkaku Islands

An opposition lawmaker and three other activists landed early May 6 on one of the Senkaku Islands, which are claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan, Maritime Safety Agency officials said.
JAPAN
May 1, 1997

Authorities to act on forex fluctuation

Authorities will closely monitor foreign exchange markets and take appropriate action in line with the latest statement by the Group of Seven industrialized nations calling for exchange rates that will not lead to huge external surpluses, a top Finance Ministry official said May 1.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 1997

G-7 statement hard one to digest, Mitsuzuka says

It will take some time for the foreign exchange market to fully understand the significance of the statement issued May 4 by the finance ministers and central bankers of the Group of Seven, Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka said April 30.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 1997

Disclosure for disposal of arms left in China urged

The government must make public information on how it will dismantle poison gas weapons abandoned in China at the end of the war, a citizens' group holding exhibitions on Japan's wartime development and use of poison gas demanded April 28.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 1997

G-7 agrees to constrain dollar, surplus

WASHINGTON -- The Group of Seven industrialized nations, warning against a further upswing of the dollar against the yen, joined hands April 27 in an attempt to check the U.S. currency's rise and to keep Japan's external surplus from increasing markedly.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 1997

NCB, Bankers Trust formally announce tieup

Nippon Credit Bank and Bankers Trust Company formally announced April 25 their agreement to collaborate on securitization of transactions and overseas financial business operations and to hold shares in each other.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 1997

Witnesses relive Tokyo subway gas attack

Three witnesses for the prosecution testified at the April 25 session of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara's trial, telling the court how they cared for victims of the 1995 Tokyo subway nerve gas attack immediately after the incident occurred.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 1997

Ministry considers punishment for Nomura

The Finance Ministry has begun studying details of the punishment to be imposed on Nomura Securities Co. over its shady stock deals and payments to a firm linked to a "sokaiya" corporate extortionist, according to ministry officials.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 1997

Hashimoto accepts lack of advance warning about attack

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said April 23 that he regrets Tokyo was not informed in advance of the rescue operation at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima, but added he "understands" the decision of Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 1997

Scandal forces Nomura to reshuffle management

Nomura Securities Co. said April 22 that Managing Director Junichi Ujiie will assume its presidency May 1 in place of Masashi Suzuki. The move is aimed at improving the brokerage's public image in the wake of a scandal involving shady stock deals and payments to a firm linked to a "sokaiya" corporate...
JAPAN
Apr 22, 1997

Banking head says industry 'positive' on NCB bailout

Nippon Credit Bank's recently announced restructuring plan seems sufficient to revitalize the bank and NCB's calls for financial aid will be considered in a positive way, the new head of the nation's banking industry said April 22.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 1997

New Vietnamese consul arrives to push Osaka trade

OSAKA -- Le Ngoc Thu, consul general for Vietnam in Osaka, said here April 21 the new consulate general will work to promote trade between Vietnam and Osaka Prefecture.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 1997

Tokyo governor eyes a cleaner metropolis

Tokyo Gov. Yukio Aoshima, who will enter the last half of his four-year term next week, said April 18 that his priority in the remaining tenure will be a fight against garbage and changing Tokyo into a city of recycling.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 1997

WTO sought on Indonesia car row

Japan has initiated procedures to file a request with the World Trade Organization to set up a dispute settlement panel to examine Indonesia's national car policy, according to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 1997

Mitsui Marine may support NCB

Mitsui Marine & Fire Insurance Co. is leaning toward complying with a request from Nippon Credit Bank for new capital to support its restructuring efforts, the president of the nonlife insurer said April 17.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 1997

Mitsuzuka urges pension reform

The public pension system needs to be reformed -- through such steps as cuts in payments to high-income earners -- if it is to withstand the effects of a rapidly aging population, Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka said April 15.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 1997

Tokyo halts high-level talks with Iran

Japan will suspend high-level dialogue with Iran "for the time being" but has no immediate plan to recall its ambassador to Tehran, Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda said April 15.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 1997

Aoshima qualifies scope of disclosure

Tokyo Gov. Yukio Aoshima unveiled a new set of guidelines Friday to widen information disclosure on wining and dining expenses at meetings, but said he will exclude names of metropolitan assembly members from the disclosure for three months -- in an apparent bid to save them from being affected in the...
JAPAN
Apr 11, 1997

ANA to help Skymark obtain license

All Nippon Airways has signed a contract with Skymark Airlines to provide technical assistance to help Skymark obtain a license to begin business, ANA President Seiji Fukatsu said Friday. In a news conference, Fukatsu said that the contract was signed in late February and that ANA will help Skymark procure...
JAPAN
Apr 10, 1997

Top officials back yen; currency's fall halted

Mindful of U.S. warnings against the recent rise in Japan's surpluses, high-ranking financial officials April 10 launched a sudden tirade of comments that the recent fall of the yen is excessive and hinted at corrective action. Their remarks effectively halted the yen's plunge against the dollar, pushing...
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1997

Ozawa open to teamwork with LDP

Ichiro Ozawa, president of Shinshinto, the largest opposition party, said April 9 that cooperation with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party over administrative reform is possible just as the two agreed to cooperate on the issue of forced use of land for U.S. military bases in Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1997

Nago support sought with heliport study

The government hopes the city of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, will reverse its position and cooperate with the state to launch a feasibility study for the proposed relocation of the Futenma U.S. Marine heliport to a sea-based facility off Camp Schwab, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kaoru Yosano said April...
JAPAN
Apr 7, 1997

Dollar rises to 125 yen to hit four-year high

The dollar soared against the yen in Tokyo on April 7, briefly hitting 125 yen for the first time since February 1993 amid growing expectations of higher interest returns on U.S. securities.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 1997

Sato to take up supercomputers

Trade chief Shinji Sato said Apr. 4 that he will take up the issue of the U.S. government procurement of supercomputers when he visits the United States later this month.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 1997

Business confidence on plus side for first time since 1991

Business confidence among principal manufacturing companies has taken a turn for the better for the first time in more than five years, according to the Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan" survey released Apr. 2.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 1997

MITI slams U.S. trade report

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry on Apr. 1 denounced the U.S. government's trade report for containing what it called a series of one-sided views, erroneous accounts and unfounded allegations.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 1997

Hokkaido banks to merge

Hokkaido Takushoku Bank, one of the nation's 10 major city banks, and the regional Hokkaido Bank announced Apr. 1 that they will merge on April 1, 1998, to cut costs ahead of the proposed "Big Bang" of financial deregulation.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1997

Revision of base law moves to fast track

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto on Mar. 31 announced that he will try to revise a law -- hopefully by late this month -- to enable the government to legally continue providing land for use by U.S. military bases in Okinawa after leases for some plots expire.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 1997

Fed's fund rate hike won't affect BOJ policy

The U.S. Federal Reserve Board's decision to raise its Federal Fund rate by 0.25 percentage point will not directly affect Japan's current easy monetary policy, the head of the Bank of Japan said Mar. 26.

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