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JAPAN
Dec 10, 1999

GM to acquire 20% stake in Fuji Heavy

In another move to enhance its Asian presence, General Motors Corp. of the United States will invest 140 billion yen to obtain a 20 percent stake in Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. as part of a strategic alliance, top officials of the two automakers announced Friday. Fuji Heavy will become the third Japanese...
JAPAN
Dec 9, 1999

Chinese sue over Unit 731 germ warfare

Chinese survivors of Japanese germ warfare filed a lawsuit Thursday with the Tokyo District Court, seeking an official apology from Tokyo and 720 million yen in compensation. The 72 plaintiffs claim they are survivors of Japanese biological attacks and the next of kin of those killed in Zhejiang and...
LIFE / Travel
Dec 9, 1999

Rise and fall of a Japanese matador

SEVILLE, Spain -- Atsuhiro Shimoyama never planned on becoming a bullfighter. Growing up in the greater Tokyo region in the late 1980s, he opted out of going to college, and instead bummed around searching for something meaningful to do during Japan's wildly inflating bubble years.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 9, 1999

Good-time dining for the new year

It's the time of year for that annual conundrum: Where to go for that end of year celebration. It really does have to be something European, with wine and a soft, jazzy backing track. You want something with style, but definitely not too formal; a place with a buzz, but not too well known; with good...
JAPAN
Dec 8, 1999

'Knock' to keep low profile during Y2K celebrations

OSAKA -- While celebrations to usher in the new millennium are being scheduled at a number of venues here, one of Osaka's most visible officials may not be among those taking part. It is speculated that Osaka Gov. "Knock" Yokoyama, who is currently embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal, will have...
JAPAN
Dec 7, 1999

Two anti-Aum laws promulgated

Two laws aimed at cracking down on the activities of Aum Shinrikyo were promulgated Tuesday by the Justice Ministry. The laws -- one to allow authorities to step up monitoring of the cult's activities and the other to facilitate disposal of Aum's assets -- were enacted by the Diet on Friday. The laws...
JAPAN
Dec 6, 1999

Kono claims deal close on ending Pyongyang sanctions

Foreign Minister Yohei Kono expressed his resolve Monday to quickly work to lift remaining sanctions against North Korea and resume bilateral talks on normalizing diplomatic relations. Kono's comments came one day after Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi instructed him to study lifting sanctions against the...
JAPAN
Dec 6, 1999

Nation's GDP slips 1% in July-September term

The economy shrank a real 1 percent during the July-September quarter compared with the previous term, according to gross domestic product figures released Monday by the Economic Planning Agency. The quarterly slide in GDP, the broadest gauge of economic activities, translates into an annualized shrinkage...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 5, 1999

Born to fail the Japanese proficiency test

Today at this very moment, while you are reading this newspaper, myself, as well as thousands of other foreigners in Japan, are failing the Japanese Proficiency Test.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 1999

Delegation urges resumption of talks with Pyongyang

Representatives of a nonpartisan mission that returned from a trip to North Korea on Friday urged Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi to work toward a quick resumption of normalization talks with the Stalinist country. Former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, who headed the delegation, and two other representatives...
JAPAN
Dec 3, 1999

Hino, Isuzu to unite ailing bus operations

Hino Motors Ltd. and Isuzu Motors Ltd. said Friday they will integrate their unprofitable bus businesses into an equally owned joint venture to be established next year. Hino Motors President Hiroshi Yuasa and Isuzu President Takeshi Inoh told a news conference in Tokyo that joint production will begin...
EDITORIALS
Dec 2, 1999

Citizen 'subversives' in our midst?

One person's definition of public security will not be the same as another's. Concepts of what constitutes the peace, safety and order of society -- and perhaps more importantly, what endangers them -- also change at different periods of history. With the Cold War long over, however, most unbiased observers...
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1999

Kumamoto Family makes official funds request

Capital-depleted Kumamoto Family Bank formally applied Thursday to the Financial Reconstruction Commission for 30 billion yen in public funds, the bank said. The Kumamoto-based second-tier regional bank also submitted to the FRC a management improvement plan, including a 14 percent personnel cut and...
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1999

Y2K poll finds homes wary but unprepared

Roughly two out of three households responding to a recent survey said they were unconcerned about possible computer problems related to the start of 2000 and nearly 50 percent said they would not stock up on food and water as suggested by the government. With less than a month to go before the fated...
JAPAN
Dec 1, 1999

Foot-reading cult raided over scam to fleece flock

Police raided offices and gathering spots Wednesday linked to Honohana Sanpogyo over allegations that the religious sect duped thousands of people into paying large sums to cure serious illnesses it diagnosed through reading the soles of their feet.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 1999

Two die in ASDF jet crash; power cut to 800,000

Power was cut to about 800,000 households in Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture on Monday afternoon after an Air Self-Defense Force jet severed a power line before it crashed, killing its two crewmen.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 1999

Life Space guru denies suggesting man leave hospital

The founder of the Life Space self-enlightenment group on Monday denied responsibility for moving a member of the group from a hospital in Hyogo Prefecture to a hotel in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, where the man's mummified corpse was found earlier this month.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 1999

Matsushita, Daikin plan AC alliance

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Daikin Industries, Ltd. announced plans Monday to collaborate in the air conditioning business that will include establishing a joint venture company in April.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 1999

Nago base relocation no done deal

YOKO HANI Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1999

Inamine agrees to heliport relocation

Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine made it clear Friday that he will accept the relocation of key functions of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station to a new facility within the prefecture -- as long as the site is a joint military-civilian site that the U.S. military will be required to leave in 15 years....
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1999

Cabinet OKs bills to aid smaller firms

The Cabinet of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi endorsed a legislation package to invigorate small and medium-size enterprises and boost the number of venture businesses and startups.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1999

Obuchi to talk with leader of Myanmar

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi plans to meet with the leader of Myanmar's military junta on the sidelines of a Nov. 28 Asian summit in Manila, Japanese government sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1999

Tokai mayor blames Tokyo for 'nuclear safety myth'

The Tokai nuclear accident was caused and mishandled by the central government, which has propagated a "nuclear safety myth" and failed to build up adequate emergency measures, Tokai Mayor Tatsuya Murakami said Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 1999

Efforts afoot to woo foreign tourists

Staff writer
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Nov 17, 1999

A Web DJ saved my life

Let's look at the headlines from Net music news. Maestro, hit the rewind:
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Nov 17, 1999

Getting things done

From time to time I have been asked to remind people that although Japan is a very safe country, there are times when it is not. The yearend has always been a time when people should be especially careful. In old Japan, all debts had to be paid by the end of the year, but even a cursory perusal of today's...
JAPAN
Nov 16, 1999

Minister proposes state host holiday

Construction Minister Masaaki Nakayama on Tuesday proposed that the government take over the hosting of ceremonies marking National Founding Day, which have been hosted by a private group, Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki said.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 1999

Fourth party makes bid for NCB

A fourth candidate has officially submitted a bid to buy the failed Nippon Credit Bank, the chairman of the Financial Reconstruction Commission said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 1999

'Mr. Yen' good choice for IMF helm, says Miyazawa

Eisuke Sakakibara, former vice finance minister for international affairs, would be an "excellent candidate" to succeed the departing managing director at the International Monetary Fund, Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 1999

Hayami defends BOJ's zero interest rate policy

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami said Tuesday that the central bank's zero interest rate policy has almost the same effect as inflation targeting, indirectly rejecting the idea that the bank set an inflation target to further ease monetary policy.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years