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JAPAN
Nov 11, 1998

U.S. also faulted for concealing Japanese war atrocities

Tokyo and Washington continue to keep under wraps what happened in the Japanese army's research laboratories in Manchuria during the war, an American historian studying Japan's biological warfare said, noting that in this sense, the atrocities linger on more than half a century later.
JAPAN
Nov 9, 1998

World Bank pushes comprehensive development of 10 countries

Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura and World Bank President James Wolfensohn agreed Monday to take foreign aid into a new realm.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 1998

Camps close in on merchandise coupon deal

The Liberal Democratic Party and two small opposition parties appeared close to reaching an agreement Friday on distributing merchandise coupons to the public to boost personal consumption.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 1998

Ikeda, IMF differ on '99 GDP projections

Yukihiko Ikeda, policy affairs chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, expressed confidence Friday that the economy will log growth of about 1 percent in the next fiscal year.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1998

International groups to hold joint job forum in Tokyo

Fifteen international organizations such as the World Bank, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Trade Organization will hold a special forum in Tokyo on Nov. 10 to inform job-seekers of recruitment opportunities.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1998

Politicians make progress in coupon debate

Despite oppositions raised from within both the government and the business community, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and two opposition forces moved a step forward Wednesday to realize a proposed plan to distribute merchandise coupons to the public.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 1998

Democratic wins bolster Clinton's policies, ministry says

Better-than-expected performances by U.S. Democrats in midterm elections are likely to boost President Bill Clinton's confidence in pursuing his foreign policy prerogatives but have little impact on Japan-U.S. relations.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 1998

Lower costs fuel boom in exotic, quirky overseas weddings

Regional correspondent
JAPAN
Nov 2, 1998

Yomiuri Shimbun on verge of absorbing Chuokoron

The long-established publishing firm Chuokoron-Sha Inc. has signed a tentative agreement with The Yomiuri Shimbun to be absorbed by the publisher of the mass-circulation daily newspaper.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 1998

Bangladesh questions Japanese aid priorities

Staff writer
JAPAN
Nov 1, 1998

BOJ financing on track, board notes

Signs of a recent move by the Bank of Japan's Policy Board to take a series of new steps to enhance corporate financing were noted in its Oct. 13 meeting, according to the minutes released Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 1998

Annual Kyoto Prizes awarded

KYOTO -- A Swiss scientist, a Japanese mathematician, and an American artist were awarded the 1998 Kyoto Prizes Tuesday at a special ceremony in Kyoto.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 1998

Northwest begins booking flights online

Northwest Airlines, Inc. has become the first foreign air carrier to accept ticket reservations and purchases through its Japanese Web site, the company announced Friday.The Internet service covers flights by Northwest Airlines and its partner, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Customers can book and buy yen-denominated...
JAPAN
Oct 29, 1998

LDP, opposition parties set final date for coupon plan

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party agreed Thursday with the opposition parties Shinto Heiwa (New Peace Party) and Komei to finalize on Nov. 9 a proposed plan to hand out merchandise coupons to the public in an effort to reinvigorate the now-stagnant personal consumption.In their first meeting, members...
JAPAN
Oct 29, 1998

Ministry suggests refresher courses for teachers

Not only students but also teachers will be encouraged to study harder in the next century -- to brush up their teaching and guiding abilities to meet the changing needs of kids, according to an advisory panel to the education minister.In its final report released Thursday, the Educational Personnel...
JAPAN
Oct 29, 1998

Banks again asked to take public funds

OSAKA -- For the second time this week, Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami on Thursday urged Japanese banks to quickly apply for public funds to accelerate their bad-loan writeoffs.In his keynote speech at the 24th ASEAN-Japan Business Meeting here, he said that Japanese financial institutions, facing...
JAPAN
Oct 29, 1998

ANA reports 10 billion yen net profit for first half

All Nippon Airways Co. reported 10 billion yen in unconsolidated net profit for the first half of fiscal 1998, up 68.2 percent from the same period the previous year, the carrier announced Thursday.For the April-September period, ANA reported 6 billion yen in operating profit, down 48.8 percent from...
JAPAN
Oct 29, 1998

APEC members endorse paperless trading by 2010

Staff writerJapan, the United States and 19 other members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum have agreed in principle to institute paperless trading by 2010, government sources said Thursday.The agreement will be finalized at the 10th annual meeting of APEC foreign and trade ministers and...
JAPAN
Oct 28, 1998

Local handling urged for proposed consumption coupons

If municipal governments, instead of the central government, issue 30,000 yen gift coupons, this could help to boost personal consumption, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Wednesday.Komei and Shinto Heiwa (New Peace Party) have been asking the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to issue coupons...
JAPAN
Oct 28, 1998

BOJ board agrees to leave monetary policy unchanged

The Bank of Japan's Policy Board has agreed to keep its monetary policy unchanged, the central bank said Wednesday.The decision, adopted by a majority vote of the board's nine members, reflects a view shared by most financial experts that there is little room for another interest rate cut to spur the...
JAPAN
Oct 28, 1998

Nippon Iridium delays debut for trial launch

Nippon Iridium Corp. will on Nov. 1 launch a trial of its new satellite cellular phone service, rather than full-scale service as initially planned, to test whether full service can be offered when users travel abroad, it was announced Wednesday.According to the company, it will not charge a basic monthly...
JAPAN
Oct 27, 1998

Tax panel debates deduction of housing loan interest

The government Tax Commission on Tuesday debated the idea of deducting housing loan interest.At a general meeting of the advisory panel to the prime minister, six of some 30 panel members voiced pros and cons about the idea while broadly discussing tax reductions to stimulate the moribund economy as...
JAPAN
Oct 27, 1998

Tokyo security forum to discuss Asia-Pacific crisis

Defense policymakers from 20 countries in the Asia-Pacific region gathered Tuesday in Tokyo to kick off a three-day international forum on regional security.Participants in the Forum for Defense Authorities in the Asia Pacific Region include senior defense officials from China, India, South Korea, Russia,...
JAPAN
Oct 27, 1998

Ratio of job offers to seekers hits new low

The number of job offers to job seekers hit a postwar low in September, dropping to 0.49 from 0.50 in August, the Labor Ministry said Tuesday.With only 49 job offers for every 100 people looking for work, the seasonally adjusted ratio gauging labor demand continues a steady decline that began when the...
JAPAN
Oct 27, 1998

Small firms call out for faster government action

Small and medium-size companies urged the government Tuesday to accelerate efforts to substantially improve their business conditions, including early compilation of a large-scale third supplementary budget."Small and medium-size companies are facing an unprecedented crisis. We want the government to...
JAPAN
Oct 27, 1998

FSA to spell out bank funding law to bankers

The Financial Supervisory Agency will meet with representatives from 18 major banks today to explain the newly enacted bank recapitalization law, a senior agency official said Tuesday.The briefing is intended to encourage banks to voluntarily apply for capital injection of public funds under the new...
JAPAN
Oct 26, 1998

'Air Do' gets go-ahead for Sapporo-to-Tokyo flights

Hokkaido International Airlines obtained a license Monday from the Transport Ministry to operate regular passenger flights between Sapporo and Tokyo, thus becoming the second new carrier to enter the domestic airline market under ongoing deregulation efforts.The Sapporo-based firm, better known as "Air...
JAPAN
Oct 23, 1998

Miyazawa sanguine on Long-Term credit debacle

Following the government's decision to temporarily place the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan under state control, Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said Friday that the bank's depositors and clients do not have to worry about its imminent takeover.Speaking at a news conference, he said all depositors'...
JAPAN
Oct 23, 1998

Ostracized burakumin leather tanners faced with new threat

The biggest victim of a leather products trade dispute between Japan and the European Union may turn out to be the hisabetsu buraku — the ostracized hamlets where many of Japan's social outcasts earn a living tanning leather.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 1998

Diet coalition wants funds upped for homes with children

Policy chiefs from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its two smaller allies agreed Monday evening that another 4 billion yen should be allocated in the 1998 fiscal budget to help households with young children.The step was taken after Takako Doi, leader of the Social Democratic Party, met with...

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo