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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

Doi, SDP threaten libel suit over wives' visit rumor

The Social Democratic Party and its leader, Takako Doi, decided Thursday to file a libel suit with the Tokyo District Court over a magazine article that claims Doi's niece is among the Japanese women being allowed to visit next month from North Korea and that Doi is vulnerable to Pyongyang.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 1997

Massive Dow Jones rally sparks Nikkei rebound

The Tokyo Stock Exchange staged a strong rebound Wednesday amid ringing reports of a massive rally on Wall Street overnight.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 1997

Bomb blast in Shinjuku may have targeted Komei

Bomb blast in Shinjuku may have targeted Komei>A bomb that exploded early Wednesday morning in Tokyo, destroying an iron gate to a house, may have been aimed at a Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly member of the Komei party, police said.
JAPAN
Oct 28, 1997

Government continues push to eliminate racketeers

The government will continue calling on the private sector to cut all ties with "sokaiya" corporate extortionists, the Cabinet agreed Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 28, 1997

TSE plunges to 16,312

The Tokyo Stock Exchange was shaken Tuesday by successive plunges in share prices around the globe; trading closed with the benchmark Nikkei average falling to 16,312.69, the lowest since July 1995.
JAPAN
Oct 28, 1997

Kobe mayor Sasayama back at work

KOBE -- Kazutoshi Sasayama returned to his office Tuesday to begin a third four-year term as Kobe mayor after beating two challengers in Sunday's mayoral election.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 1997

More Mitsubishi firms tied to 'sokaiya' payoffs

At least three more firms affiliated with the Mitsubishi group are suspected of sending funds to a bank account linked to two "sokaiya" corporate extortionists arrested earlier this week over illegal payoffs from Mitsubishi Motors Corp., police sources said Oct. 24.The three firms are Mitsubishi Electric...
JAPAN
Oct 24, 1997

Hashimoto concerned over stock plunge

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said Oct. 24 that he is concerned about the worldwide plunge in stock prices triggered by the free fall on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange the previous day, adding that Japan will continue to monitor the markets closely.Responding to questions from reporters, Hashimoto...
JAPAN
Oct 24, 1997

Aviation talks get another go at vice-ministerial level

The United States and Japan will hold another round of aviation talks at the vice-ministerial level next month since the two sides failed to reach an agreement Oct. 24 in Washington, Transport Minister Takao Fujii said Oct. 24."We had thought that we might be able to have a ministerial-level meeting....
JAPAN
Oct 23, 1997

Italy against UNSC expansion, discourages Japan effort

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi on Oct. 23 discouraged Japan from pursuing a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, saying Italy opposes expanding the number of permanent members.During a news conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo's Hibiya district, he also stressed that "there...
JAPAN
Oct 23, 1997

Japan disappointed with U.S. emissions plan

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto indicated Oct. 23 that the U.S. proposal for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions is too lenient.Environment Agency chief Hiroshi Oki, who is scheduled to chair the Kyoto global-warming conference in December, said it would be difficult to build an international consensus...
JAPAN
Oct 21, 1997

Hashimoto pledges to sign international ban on land mines

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto pledged Oct. 21 to sign in December an international treaty banning antipersonnel land mines, pushing the government to form a consensus behind him.Hashimoto outlined his position in a meeting with Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi, Defense Agency chief Fumio Kyuma and Chief...
JAPAN
Oct 20, 1997

Shippers set condition for paying U.S. fines

Japanese shipping companies told a U.S. government agency that they would consider paying fines accrued during September if the agency entirely removes port sanctions it imposed Sept. 14, industry sources said Oct. 20.The fines were due Oct. 15, but the shipping companies refused to pay, sparking the...
JAPAN
Oct 17, 1997

U.S. congressman urges more help for Pyongyang

Food aid by the international community is helping avert a disaster in North Korea, but the famine-threatened communist country needs more food and medicine, U.S. Congressman Tony Hall said Oct. 17 in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 1997

Pitfalls seen in plan to reduce JNR debts

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka announced Oct. 17 his opposition to the idea of issuing special bonds with tax benefits to help dispose of the huge debts left behind by the Japanese National Railways.Mitsuzuka said a bond-issue would run counter to the principle of fairness in taxation. Taxes needed...
JAPAN
Oct 16, 1997

The Asahara Trial: Counsel takes aim at Okazaki testimony

Defense counsel for Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara cross-examined a senior cult figure Oct. 16 about his part in the killings of an anti-Aum lawyer, trying to disprove his contention he was simply following Asahara's orders.Kazuaki Okazaki, 37, one of six cultists accused of slaying Tsutsumi Sakamoto,...
JAPAN
Oct 16, 1997

Oki to chair Kyoto climate conference

The government plans to recommend Hiroshi Oki, director general of the Environment Agency, as chairman of the forthcoming international conference on global warming, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka said Oct. 16.The recommendation is expected to be accepted by participants of the Third Conference...
JAPAN
Oct 15, 1997

LDP, SDP request funds for public work projects

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party urged the government Oct. 15 to put public works projects for upgrading agricultural areas into the supplementary budget.It was basically agreed during a meeting of a group of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's Conference on Fiscal...
JAPAN
Oct 15, 1997

Newspaper association calls for improved ethics

SENDAI -- The Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association kicked off its 50th annual convention Oct. 15 in Sendai with the adoption of a resolution calling for further improvements in ethics in the industry.The resolution also says the current resale price system for newspaper subscriptions should...
JAPAN
Oct 15, 1997

Shinshinto leader Ozawa lashes out at defense guidelines

Shinshinto leader Ichiro Ozawa said Oct. 15 the revised guidelines for Japan-U.S. defense cooperation could lead Japan into a neighbors' war and a violation of the Constitution, which bans the right of collective defense.During his first news conference since June, Ozawa criticized the government for...
JAPAN
Oct 15, 1997

Organ transplants from brain-dead become legal today

Organ transplants from brain-dead people, for decades regarded by Japanese police as murder, became on Oct. 16 legitimate acts of surgery as the landmark Organ Transplants Law went into effect.The implementation ends a nearly three-decade taboo on the procedure, which has virtually disappeared since...
JAPAN
Oct 14, 1997

Bad-loan troubles force Kyoto bank to liquidate

OSAKA -- Kyoto Kyoei Bank said Oct. 14 that it will begin liquidation procedures and transfer its operations to Osaka-based Kofuku Bank by next Oct. 1, after using funds from the Deposit Insurance Corp. to get rid of its nonperforming assets.Kofuku, another second-tier regional bank with bad loans of...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1997

JCP wants Yamasaki summoned before Diet

The Japanese Communist Party on Oct. 13 insisted that Taku Yamasaki, the LDP's policy chief, be summoned to the Diet, saying a recently completed investigation has deepened suspicion that he violated laws in receiving political donations from oil wholesaler Junichi Izui.Izui, now on trial on suspicion...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 1997

Tokyo stocks sink to new low for year

Tokyo share prices slid broadly in trading Oct. 13 amid incessant concerns over the strength of the economy, leaving the market's benchmark index at its lowest level this year.The 225-issue Nikkei average fell 172.22 points -- roughly 1 percent -- to end the day at 17,204.70. The previous closing low...
JAPAN
Oct 10, 1997

Thailand urged to bolster economy

Top officials of three Japanese banks with close ties to Thailand on Oct. 10 urged the Thai government to continue trying to implement economic measures that would restore global trust in its battered economy.The calls came during the second day of separate meetings between visiting Thai Prime Minister...
JAPAN
Oct 10, 1997

Alberta lends Tokyo advice on restructuring

Alberta is committed to sharing its experiences in successful fiscal and government restructuring with Japan, one of its priority markets, according to provincial Premier Ralph Klein.Speaking at a news conference and at a Tokyo luncheon Oct. 9 sponsored jointly by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Pyongyang lists names of wives allowed to visit

Japan has received a list from North Korea of Japanese women who will be allowed to make their first homecoming visit to Japan later this month, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka said Oct. 9.The names of between 10 and 15 women were tentatively put on the list, which was obtained by the government...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

Special income tax cuts ruled out as stimulus

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka on Oct. 8 ruled out the possibility of implementing special income tax cuts to help stimulate the economy, saying such a move would worsen the nation's fiscal condition.Speaking at a news conference, Mitsuzuka pointed out that such tax breaks would have to be financed...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

Vice minister hints new law needed to cut energy use

To achieve a 2.5 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the next century, a law must be revised to give the government greater authority to control energy use, according to Osamu Watanabe, vice minister for international trade and industry.Watanabe was speaking Oct. 8 on the government's proposal...

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past