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JAPAN
Mar 2, 1999

Leaders of five parties call for Constitution review panel

The secretaries general of five political parties asked the Lower House on Tuesday to create a research panel to review the Constitution.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 1999

Transplant network apologizes to family

A Japan Organ Transplant Network executive offered an apology Monday to the family members of an organ donor in Kochi for the group's insufficient protection of their privacy.
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
Feb 24, 1999

Accept 'jusen' role, HLAC to tell banks

The government-backed firm tasked with collecting debts owed by borrowers of the failed "jusen" mortgage lenders will urge 10 banks to take legal responsibility for the jusen fiasco, Housing Loan Administration Corp. President Kohei Nakabo said Wednesday.
COMMUNITY
Feb 21, 1999

Frustrated flowers are good news for you

While Yoneko Yoshida, anxiously awaits the arrival of spring, she is also bracing herself for discomfort. As a victim of hay fever, the 62-year-old Tokyo woman suffers from a scratchy throat, itchy, watery eyes and a persistently runny nose for several weeks each year from February till April.
EDITORIALS
Feb 18, 1999

Europe discovers its Kurdish problem

Europe has worked hard to put considerable distance between itself and the Kurds. There have been condemnations of Turkey's violent, repressive policies toward its Kurdish minority, but sensitivities about Ankara's strategic role in European defense and concerns about the reaction of the 1 million Kurds...
JAPAN
Feb 10, 1999

State ready to entertain New Komeito budget request

The government and the Liberal Democratic Party will consider rearranging the fiscal 1999 state budget plan to possibly include 2 trillion yen in tax rebates and other measures requested by New Komeito, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka indicated Wednesday.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 1999

Daihyaku, Manulife join forces on life insurance

Midsize life insurer Daihyaku Mutual Life Insurance Co. and Manulife Financial of Canada have signed a definitive agreement to form a joint life insurance company with a future merger in mind, company officials announced Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 1999

May deadline set to buy Narita airport land

Are three months enough time to persuade Narita landowners to sell after three decades in which they have steadfastly refused to make way for the New Tokyo International Airport?
JAPAN
Feb 3, 1999

Nippon Life offers one-account plan

Nippon Life Insurance Company announced Wednesday it will introduce a new business scheme April 2, offering life insurance and other services under one account.
JAPAN
Feb 3, 1999

LDP may field joint candidate in Tokyo election

The Liberal Democratic Party should cooperate with other parties to field a joint candidate for the Tokyo gubernatorial election in April, rather than nominate one from its own ranks, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 1999

JR Tokai coughs up 20.5 billion yen for JNR burden

Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) officially announced Tuesday that it will accept the additional financial burden imposed by the government in a scheme to repay about 28 trillion yen in debts left behind by the former Japanese National Railways.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 1999

Ex-minister Kamei to form new LDP faction

Former Construction Minister Shizuka Kamei said Monday that he will try to gather as many members as possible within the Liberal Democratic Party to become a driving engine to support Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's administration.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 1999

H.I.S. makes foray into securities business

Hideo Sawada, president of major discount travel agent H.I.S. Co., purchased a majority stake of Kyoritsu Securities Co., a midsize brokerage affiliated with now-defunct Yamaichi Securities Co., increasing its presence in the financial sector, it was announced Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 1999

Aoshima unveils metro restructuring plan

In an effort to streamline Tokyo's bloated bureaucracy, Gov. Yukio Aoshima unveiled Thursday what he calls an extensive and drastic administrative restructuring plan to reduce its 18 bureaus to seven bureaus and six departments by next year at the earliest.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 1999

Finance sees no need for insurance talks with U.S.

The Finance Ministry says there is no need to resume bilateral insurance talks with the U.S., Vice Finance Minister Koji Tanami said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 1999

Obuchi miffed over 'Super 301' move

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said Wednesday he is "seriously concerned" over the U.S. reinstating its retaliatory "Super 301" trade provision and a revised "Buy American" law.
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 27, 1999

Flu outbreak said cause of 24 deaths

At least 24 people nationwide have died of influenza-related diseases this month, according to a survey conducted by Kyodo News.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 1999

Aichi officially gives up Fujimae dumping plan

Aichi Prefecture officially told the central government Tuesday that local authorities will drop their plan to turn Nagoya's Fujimae tidal flats, the nation's most popular stopover for migratory birds, into a garbage landfill.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 1999

Daiwa, Sumitomo set venture with T. Rowe, R. Fleming

Daiwa Securities Co. and Sumitomo Bank announced Monday that they will form a joint venture with T. Rowe Price Associates, a major U.S. asset management firm, to offer mutual funds tailored to Japanese customers.
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

Tokyo promises expense disclosure in fiscal '99

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will disclose all social expenses by the governor and other top officials from fiscal 1999, officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 1999

Miyazawa suggests restraint to avoid steel trade row

Japan should make efforts to prevent its increasing exports to the United States from developing into a political issue, Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said Friday.
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
Jan 22, 1999

DaimlerChrysler begins tieup talks with Nissan

The chairmen of DaimlerChrysler AG said Friday they opened tieup talks with Nissan Motor Co. Thursday night, but refused to divulge details of their discussions with Nissan President Yoshikazu Hanawa.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 1999

Bureaucrats to be cut by 25% over 10 years

The Liberal Democratic Party and Liberal Party reached a formal agreement at working-level discussions Friday to cut the number of bureaucrats by 25 percent over a 10-year period starting next year.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 1999

New Keizai Doyukai chief aims to revise Japan's image

Fuji Zerox Co. Chairman Yotaro Kobayashi, the newly appointed chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai), expressed hope Friday that he will be able to give foreigners a clear picture of a changing Japan in his new position.
EDITORIALS
Jan 21, 1999

Another massacre in Kosovo

Yugoslavia's contempt for international opinion has been made perfectly clear over the last week. Last week, Serbian police, backed by the heavy weapons of the Yugoslav Army, allegedly massacred 45 civilians in the Kosovo village of Racak. When news of the attack leaked out, Yugoslav authorities were...
JAPAN
Jan 20, 1999

Sanwa, Toyo Trust to set up 'Big Bang' survival alliance

Sanwa Bank and Toyo Trust & Banking Co. have agreed to form an extensive business alliance to survive the ongoing "Big Bang" financial reforms, officials of the two banks announced Wednesday.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight