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JAPAN
Jun 3, 1997

Outdoor gear: love of nature or fashion craze?

Outdoor products originally designed for taking on a trip to the wilderness have become a common sight in the big city. During the past few years, the fashion-driven young -- clad in colorful outdoor jackets and sporting brand-name day-packs and hiking boots -- have given the concrete jungle a new look....
JAPAN
May 23, 1997

Survey of foreigners leaves Tokyo officials amazed

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government unveiled May 23 the results of its first comprehensive poll on living conditions for foreign residents in Tokyo, which it says is one of the largest ever conducted on foreigners in Japan.
JAPAN
May 12, 1997

Disaster info network takes root in wake of Hanshin quake

OSAKA -- Lifeline suppliers and television and radio broadcasters based in the Kansai region on May 12 announced the creation of a network to enable smooth collection of information at times of disasters.
JAPAN
May 12, 1997

Callback services draw telecom giants' ire

Callback services, though introduced in Japan almost five years ago, continue to thrive under a certain veil of mystery.
JAPAN
May 8, 1997

Health insurance reform passed by Lower House

A bill that would more than double medical costs for the public starting Sept. 1 cleared the Lower House on May 8 with the support of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its two non-Cabinet allies.
JAPAN
May 7, 1997

Tokyo ready to set up non-Japanese advisory council

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will launch this fall a council of about 25 foreign residents.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 1997

Nurse recounts sex slave system of Imperial Navy

Chiyo Nakazato, 71, a former nurse for the Imperial Japanese Navy, remembers that during the war, her male colleagues at the navy hospital on Hainan Island in the South China Sea were so anxious to go out at night they queued up by the door even before 6 p.m., when they were officially off duty.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 1997

Chief determined to build JR West into truly private enterprise

While Masataka Ide, the former president of West Japan Railway Co., was seen as a man of action, Shojiro Nanya, 55, who took over the JR West helm on April 1, is seen as a man of quiet resolve.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 1997

Businesswomen discuss challenges of 21st century

Although the Japanese word for wife is "kanai," literally meaning "in the home," it should be changed to "kasoto," or "outside the home," said former Olympic gymnast and Upper House Councilor Kiyoko Ono in a speech April 25 to members of the 5th World Congress of Women Entrepreneurs.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 1997

Diet gives go-ahead for combat-ready reserve force

The Diet approved on April 25 the creation of a combat-ready military reserve force capable of joining frontline missions in emergencies.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 1997

Okinawa, surplus, and Koreas to dominate U.S. summit

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and U.S. President Bill Clinton are expected to reaffirm their commitment to further strengthen bilateral relations, especially in the security field, when they meet April 25 in Washington.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 1997

Questions raised over Japan's crisis management system

The hostage crisis in Lima ended with the release of all but one of the hostages by Peruvian forces, but questions have been raised about Japan's readiness to deal with a similar situation in the future.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 1997

Yokoyama faces up to Osaka's cash woes

OSAKA -- Two years since he became governor of Osaka Prefecture on a wave of public outrage over political corruption involving his predecessor, former comedian "Knock" Yokoyama finds himself the target of discontent over the prefecture's financial problems.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 1997

JR firms doing just fine without government

Masatake Matsuda, president of East Japan Railway Co., recalls how his company, along with Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) and West Japan Railway Co., rejected the government's plan in December to have the three JR group firms shoulder a greater financial burden for building new bullet train lines....
JAPAN
Apr 16, 1997

Aid views: 'Abductions a frame-up; food comes first'

Allegations that North Korean agents have abducted Japanese are a frame-up and Tokyo should pledge money to the United Nations to help the state's starving citizens, according to a former senior U.N. official who teaches at Saitama University.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 1997

OECD outlines steps for regulatory reform

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has drafted a report recommending eight policy principles for regulatory reform in member countries to help spur their economic growth and promote international trade and investment.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 1997

Polls show Okinawans oppose lease bill

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- A majority of Okinawa residents are against a bill aimed at giving the central government the power to continue leasing land for U.S. military bases, even if landowners refuse to renew the contracts, according to opinion polls conducted by two of the prefecture's local newspapers....
JAPAN
Apr 10, 1997

Flying farmer not licensed: police

URAWA, Saitama Pref. -- Police have sent papers to prosecutors regarding a farmer suspected of flying an unlicensed airplane for eight years, it was learned April 10.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1997

Talks on U.S.-Japan ties focus on China instead

Distinguished American and Japanese financial, media and foreign policy experts, including former U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce Jeffrey Garten and former Ambassador to the U.S. Yoshio Okawara, met in Tokyo's Akasaka district earlier this week for a symposium on bilateral relations, but instead spent...
JAPAN
Apr 8, 1997

LDP needs new partners: Nakasone

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party should consider cooperating with opposition forces over such policy issues as security and administrative reforms, instead of confining itself to its current loose alliance with two small parties, former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone said April 8.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 1997

High tin levels found in tuna

A joint research team has discovered that tuna and bonito in the seas around Japan have high concentrations of organic tin from paints used on ship hulls and material used to protect fish nets.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 1997

Upper House plans bill on war tragedies

A nonpartisan group of Upper House members will introduce a bill aimed at unearthing tragedies caused by Japan before and during World War II and assessing the damage of such events, Diet sources said Apr. 4.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 1997

Mobile computing seminar planned

Professional Training Services and Global OnLine Japan will jointly host a seminar in their Corporate Solution Seminar Series with the support of The Japan Times on April 17 at the Westin Tokyo, at Yebisu Garden Place.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 1997

Man guilty of killing violent son

A 55-year-old man who fled his home with his wife and two daughters out of fear of his violent son was sentenced to five years in prison for killing the 22-year-old son.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 1997

Orix chief urges government to 'climb the next mountain'

The nation's move toward deregulation is at a turning point and the government must continue easing regulations to "climb the next mountain," says the deputy chairman of an Administrative Reform Committee branch.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 1997

3,000 rally against revision of Okinawa land lease law

About 3,000 unionists rallied late Apr. 2 in Tokyo to protest a planned legal revision that would enable the government to continue the forced use of land in Okinawa Prefecture for U.S. military installations after the land lease contracts expire in May.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1997

More 5 yen coins readied for consumption tax hike

Predicting growing demand for 5 yen coins, the Bank of Japan has minted some 400 million of the ring-shaped coins and stockpiled them at its branches. The amount is three to four times the conventional reserves.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1997

Japan vying to be China's choice for high-tech railway

China has yet to decide which country's technology it will adopt for a planned new high-speed rail system between Beijing and Shanghai, and hopes to have more exchanges of technology and experts on the subject with Japan, an executive member of China's Ministry of Railways said recently.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 1997

Use airport slots or lose them, ministry says

The Transport Ministry will confiscate landing and takeoff slots from airlines that have a high percentage of flight cancellations at Narita airport and redistribute them to other carriers starting in 1998, ministry officials said Mar. 19.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 1997

Leniency asked for man who killed son

The lawyer representing a 52-year-old man accused of murdering his delinquent son asked the Tokyo District Court for leniency on Mar. 18, saying the father was ultimately unable to deal with his son's violent behavior.

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