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JAPAN
Mar 24, 1997

Trilaterals explore Democracies' woes

The challenges facing industrialized democracies as they enter the 21st century may, at first glance, appear daunting -- ranging from economic stagnation to security and global political leadership -- but they cannot be allowed to become as insurmountable as they seem, according to panelists at a symposium...
JAPAN
Mar 21, 1997

Expert dismayed at Orcas' condition

Dr. Paul Spong, a Canadian specialist on killer whales, expressed concern and dismay about the condition of five whales captured in Wakayama Prefecture last month.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 1997

Young Eurasian leaders discuss economic integration

Regional integration taking place in Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region should be compatible with the World Trade Organization and should lead progressively to the lowering of external barriers by both regions, young leaders in politics, academics and business from 25 Asian and European countries...
JAPAN
Mar 7, 1997

IBM targets potential of electronic commerce

IBM Corp. will focus on the growing potential of electronic commerce by using its strengths in the field of enterprise network computing, according to Louis Gerstner, the firm's chairman and chief executive officer.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 1997

Land-mine conference gets under way

A two-day international conference to address the problem of antipersonnel land mines kicked off Mar. 6 in Tokyo with participation of officials from 38 countries and 11 international organizations, including the United Nations.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 1997

QE2 receives regal greeting during visit to Kobe

KOBE -- The British luxury liner Queen Elizabeth 2 arrived at Kobe port Mar. 3, marking her first visit to the city since the Great Hanshin Earthquake crippled the major shipping center.
JAPAN
Feb 26, 1997

Video game makers fight a battle over hardware

There is a lesson to be learned from how VHS overthrew Sony Corp.'s Beta system and Microsoft Corp.'s Windows has nearly finished off Apple Computer Inc.'s Macintosh. Now it is being taught in the home video-game market. The lesson: To survive, forming alliances is essential.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 1997

Cultist says Inoue aimed at Aoshima

Former Aum Shinrikyo intelligence chief Yoshihiro Inoue specifically named Tokyo Gov. Yukio Aoshima as the target of a parcel bomb that seriously wounded the governor's aide, former cultist Toru Toyoda testified Feb. 25 during Inoue's trial at the Tokyo District Court.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 1997

Government slams U.S. film complaints

U.S. allegations of discrimination in Japanese laws and actions on imported photographic film are "groundless," the government said Feb. 21.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 1997

Mongolia seeks patron in Japan

After several years of vigorous democratization efforts and painful free-market reforms, Mongolia appears to be eagerly courting new shepherds to lead its 2.4 million people toward a more prosperous and secure future.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 1997

Japan offers special fish quota to EU

In a bid to avert a possible legal battle with the European Union at the World Trade Organization over fish imports, Japan has informally proposed granting the 15-nation union a special import quota for certain fish like mackerel and horse mackerel, government sources said Feb. 21.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 1997

Sex-slave fund to publish its stance

Amid smoldering opposition from some circles to the planned reference to military "comfort women" in school textbooks, the government-initiated fund to distribute atonement money to the wartime sex slaves will release a paper later this week to state its case.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 1997

Ex-Pan Am employees announce revival in Asia

Hoping to complete an ironic twist of fortune, former employees of a U.S. airline that collapsed under deregulation in 1991 said Feb. 18 that they want to revive the carrier in East Asia -- by taking advantage of ongoing deregulation in Japan.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1997

Shinshinto opposes sex slave mentions in texts

A group of lawmakers from Shinshinto, the largest opposition party, demanded Feb. 12 that the planned inclusion of descriptions of wartime "comfort women" in school textbooks be scrapped.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 1997

Orca auction spurs calls for boycott

Animal rights groups may boycott products from Wakayama Prefecture in response to some 10 killer whales being caught and auctioned to amusement facilities and aquariums, it was learned Feb. 11.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 1997

Protests and rallies mark controversial Founding Day

Denying the validity of dating the founding of Japan from the enthronement of a legendary emperor, citizens' groups staged rallies Feb. 11, calling for the government to abolish the national holiday to ensure the separation of church and state.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 1997

NEC develops the first four-gigabit DRAM

NEC Corp. announced Feb. 6 it has developed the world's first four-gigabit dynamic random access memory chip, capable of storing approximately the same amount of data as a CD-ROM.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 1997

TSE wooing foreign firms in effort to halt exodus

During the asset-inflated bubble economy of the late 1980s, when the Tokyo stock market was enjoying rocketing prices, brisk transactions and a high reputation, securities authorities did not have to worry about how to invite foreign companies to list. But times have changed.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 1997

Group forms to cut carbon dioxide emissions

An international group of local governments was launched Jan. 29 in Hayama, Kanagawa Prefecture, in a bid to cut carbon dioxide emissions 20 percent to help prevent global warming.The group, named "20 Percent Club for Sustainable Cities," was founded by 27 local governments here and 22 overseas. Members...
JAPAN
Jan 27, 1997

Kajiyama elaborates on sex-slave comments

Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama apologized Jan. 27 to the South Korean people for his remarks concerning the "comfort women" that overshadowed the weekend Japan-Korea summit. Comfort women is the term Japan euphemistically used to refer to its wartime sex slaves.But he then repeated his earlier...
JAPAN
Jan 27, 1997

Fraud probe nets arrest of Tomobe's wife, son

Police on Jan. 27 arrested five officials belonging to a mutual aid society affiliated with Upper House member Tatsuo Tomobe, 68, on suspicion of massive fraud.The five arrested include Tomobe's wife, Mikiko, 61, who is the head Orange Kyosai Kumiai, and his son, Momoo, its 29-year-old managing director,...
JAPAN
Jan 27, 1997

Turkish most jealous, Canadians least, Harlequin says

Turkish people are the most jealous when it comes to love, followed by the Spanish and Portuguese, according to a global annual survey of 20 countries released Jan. 27 by the romance novel publishing company Harlequin K.K.Ranked least jealous were Canadians, while Japanese came in 15th, the Japanese...
JAPAN
Jan 24, 1997

Debt will grow without reforms, Finance Ministry warns

The outstanding balance of government bonds will reach 67.7 percent of gross domestic product in fiscal 2005 if the government fails to carry out structural reforms and continues to issue bonds to make up for all revenue shortfalls, the Finance Ministry warned Jan. 24.In its midterm fiscal outlook submitted...
JAPAN
Jan 24, 1997

LDP member hits sex-slave entries in texts

An Upper House member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party raised doubts Jan. 24 about the government's decision to authorize junior high school textbooks that include descriptions of military "comfort women."During an interpellation to Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, lawmaker Kiyoko Ono said teaching...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 1997

Museum to get rare swallowtail butterfly specimens

OSAKA -- The widow of Kaoru Sumiyoshi on Jan. 24 will present 6,086 butterfly specimens left by her husband, who was known for his research on swallowtails, to the Osaka Municipal Natural History Museum.Sumiyoshi was a former professor at Hyogo Education University and passed away in September 1995...
JAPAN
Jan 21, 1997

Kosugi stands ground on "comfort women" in textbooks

Descriptions of "comfort women" will be printed in junior high school textbooks in April as scheduled, Education Minister Takashi Kosugi said Jan. 21 in a meeting with a group of intellectuals who are demanding the plan be scrapped.Seven members of the Group to Make New History Textbooks demanded that...
JAPAN
Jan 20, 1997

Ikeda stresses U.S. ties, Asia-Pacific cooperation

Better relations with the United States, China and South Korea are pivotal for Japan as it seeks stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region, Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda said at the regular Diet session's opening Jan. 20.Ikeda said Japan will seek cooperation with the U.S. in line with a...
JAPAN
Jan 17, 1997

Groups hit payment of Korean sex slaves

Women's rights activists supporting former sex slaves slammed on Jan. 17 the Asian Women's Fund's recent pledge to make payments to seven South Korean victims, saying it is hurting the relationship between the victims and their supporters, as well as dividing the sex slaves themselves.In a Tokyo news...
JAPAN
Jan 16, 1997

Tokyo University researchers to get step-in VR facility

The University of Tokyo will complete an advanced virtual reality facility in April that is expected to usher in a new era in virtual reality simulations.The facility will allow researchers to position themselves within the same virtual environment as the objects they are studying, allowing them to...
JAPAN
Jan 16, 1997

Japan unlikely to freeze fund money to sex slaves

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kaoru Yosano said Jan. 16 that it would be difficult for Japan to comply with a request by South Korea to suspend compensation payments to South Korean women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers before and during World War II.Yosano, at a regular news conference,...

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes