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JAPAN
Mar 8, 1999

Top bank chiefs admit blame, vow reforms for funds

The 15 applicant banks for public funds said Monday they will write off 9.3 trillion yen in sour loans for fiscal 1998, ending this month, in an attempt to end the bad-loan problem.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 1999

Harley-Davidson to introduce three new models

Harley-Davidson Japan K.K. will put three new models on the Japanese market June 1, including one that is used by police officers in the United States, President Toshifumi Okui announced Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 1999

New high school courses to break with tradition

Breaking away from the nation's traditionally rigid and formatted educational system, high schools will begin focusing more on nurturing the unique abilities of each student in the coming century, according to the draft of the Education Ministry's new teaching guidelines, released Monday.
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 26, 1999

ESC report formulates recovery in next 10 years

The government must restructure its deficit-ridden fiscal condition within the next 10 years, hopefully by the end of fiscal 2008, the Economic Strategy Council recommended in its final report submitted Friday to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 1999

Toyota to field F-1 racing team

Toyota Motor Corp. President Hiroshi Okuda announced Thursday in Tokyo that Japan's No. 1 automaker will enter Formula One racing by 2003 and launch research and development activities including engine and chassis development.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 1998

Hibiya stacks in danger of closing

Tokyo's 90-year-old Hibiya Library may close one year from now unless the capital's financially troubled metropolitan government comes to the rescue.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 1998

Nissan denies rumor of DaimlerChrysler talks

Nissan Motor Co. President Yoshikazu Hanawa on Friday denied his company has negotiated with DaimlerChrysler AG over a capital-tieup alliance, but added that "generally speaking," the firm will welcome talks for a global alliance with other major automakers to survive the 21st century.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 1998

WTO talks should end by 2003, EU says

The World Trade Organization should be able to wrap up its next round of multilateral liberalization talks within three years of its 2000 start, a senior European Union official said Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 13, 1998

Textbook amendments may require written reasoning

The school textbook screening process may become more simple and transparent beginning in 2000, and students' school bags may become less bulky, the Education Ministry said Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 1998

Sapporo joins Taiwanese group for restaurant venture

Sapporo Breweries Ltd., a major beer brewer, said on Thursday it has set up a joint venture in Taiwan with a local business group to run a beer restaurant chain featuring the company's draft beer products and non-Chinese dishes.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 1998

Buyers scarce for former JNR plots

Japan Railway Construction Public Corp. has taken over 1,273 hectares of land that remained unsold when JNR Settlements Corp. ended its 11-year history last week.The public corporation hopes to sell off the property by fiscal 2003 to help reduce 28.3 trillion yen in debts left behind by the defunct...
JAPAN
Oct 26, 1998

Kuwait seeks more investment from Japan

Kuwait hopes to attract more Japanese investment when it enacts a new investment law, Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah told Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi on Monday.Sabah told Obuchi that Kuwait wants to expand relations with Japan in various areas, especially...
JAPAN
Oct 20, 1998

Ninth Nissan Sunny makes debut

Nissan Motor Co. on Tuesday unveiled the ninth-generation models of its popular Sunny series, constructed on a platform that is to be shared by a number of cars to substantially cut development costs.Nissan, which has been plagued by dwindling profits and weak consumer spending, plans to reduce the...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1998

Japan, South Korea ink new tax pact

Japan and South Korea signed a new taxation convention Thursday that will treat South Korea as a developed country by removing preferential measures and effectively increase Japan's tax revenue.The agreement, to be applied from 2000 subject to parliamentary approval, promotes business activity taxation...
JAPAN
Sep 1, 1998

Nissan develops new emission-cutting powertrain

CHIBA -- Combining its cutting-edge engine and transmission technologies, Nissan Motor Co. has developed a new powertrain that it said can improve its vehicles' fuel economy by 50 percent and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 35 percent.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 1998

No mega-merger on horizon for road-warrior Honda

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jul 17, 1998

Business association calls for radical government reforms

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jun 16, 1998

Partyspeak: Hata asks voters to rout out the LDP

First in a series Staff writer
JAPAN
May 8, 1998

LDP council approves financial reform bills

The Liberal Democratic Party's Executive Council on Friday approved several economic bills, including one for revising the fiscal austerity law, that will be submitted to the Diet on Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 1998

Fiscal reform law changes to be minimal

Revisions to the Fiscal Structural Reform Law will be kept to a minimum, and current spending caps imposed on key expenditure areas will hopefully remain unchanged, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1998

Rise in banks' interest rates inevitable: Kato

Interest rates will become "inevitably higher" as Japanese banks compete with foreign financial institutions following the nation's "Big Bang" financial reforms, Koichi Kato, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, predicted April 13.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 1998

Hashimoto vows tax cuts

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto announced Thursday that his government will double the 2 trillion yen tax cut for this year and implement a 2 trillion yen tax cut in 1999.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 1998

Diet passes 77.67 trillion yen budget

The 77.67 trillion yen fiscal 1998 national budget was passed by the Diet late April 8 in a House of Councilors plenary session vote.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 1998

New roles for construction bonds eyed

A Liberal Democratic Party panel began discussions Wednesday on reviewing the role and nature of government construction bonds to see whether they can be used to help finance a wider range of projects.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1998

Effects of tax cuts are overestimated, Yamasaki insists

and MARI KOSEKI
JAPAN
Mar 23, 1998

LDP rules out income tax cut for this year

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party decided Monday that it will not carry out a large-scale income tax cut this year, ruling out the possibility that such a measure will be included in a planned economic stimulus package.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 1998

Lower House approves 78 trillion yen budget

The 77.67 trillion yen fiscal 1998 state budget cleared the Lower House late March 20 and moved on to the Upper House with no amendments, allowing Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto to clear a major political hurdle.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 1998

Cabinet expresses concern over business conditions

During a Lower House Budget Committee meeting Friday, Cabinet members admitted serious concern over current business conditions.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 1998

Finance Ministry to clean up act: Matsunaga

The Finance Ministry will take steps to increase the transparency of its inspections and administration of financial firms to redeem itself amid the bribery scandal in which it is currently embroiled, Finance Minister Hikaru Matsunaga said Monday before the Diet.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.