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JAPAN
Jan 22, 1998

U.S. bends in air talks

The United States has started to show flexibility on same-country code-sharing, one of the key disputes in the bilateral aviation talks with Japan, Transport Ministry officials said Thursday.The move came on the second day of new high-level civil aviation talks held in Washington. The U.S. side showed...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 1998

Lodish still looking for elusive ring

Staff writer SAN DIEGO -- He knows the Super Bowl well, maybe better than anyone on his team. But he doesn't have a winner's ring, and most of his teammates don't either.Denver Broncos reserve defensive tackle Mike Lodish will make his fifth Super Bowl appearance in his eight-year career when the AFC...
JAPAN
Jan 21, 1998

In latest air talks, U.S. demands more flights

In high-level civil aviation talks that got under way Tuesday in Washington, the United States made fresh demands that Japan let "nonincumbent" U.S. carriers offer 56 more flights a week through regional airports in Japan, Transport Ministry officials said Wednesday.The two sides had already agreed...
JAPAN
Jan 20, 1998

SDP gives up drive to accelerate ban on political donations

After several months of discussions, the Social Democratic Party on Tuesday gave up efforts to persuade the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to implement ahead of schedule a ban on corporate and group donations to individual politicians.The proposed ban is to take effect in 2000 under the political funds...
JAPAN
Jan 19, 1998

Shochiku president, son ousted

In a corporate coup d'etat, the board of directors at film and theater giant Shochiku Co. removed President Toru Okuyama and his son, Kazuyoshi, a senior managing director, from their posts Monday.Shochiku, Japan's pioneer film company, known for its "Tora-san" series, decided to name Senior Managing...
JAPAN
Jan 16, 1998

Japan, EU to recognize test results on electrical goods

Staff writerIn the first breakthrough in nearly two years of tough negotiations, Japan and the 15-nation European Union have agreed in principle to mutually recognize test results for electrical goods and telecommunications peripheral devices, government officials said Friday.The Japanese government...
JAPAN
Jan 15, 1998

Winning Nengajo numbers released

The Posts and Telecommunications Ministry announced on Thursday the winning numbers for the 1998 Nengajo (New Year's greeting card) lottery.The lucky numbers for first prize are 486861 or 564816. Second prize: 41777 (the last five digits). Third prize: 2846 or 5938 (the last four digits). Fourth prize:...
JAPAN
Jan 15, 1998

Japan praises IMF-Indonesia pact

Japan on Thursday applauded the agreement reached between Indonesia and the International Monetary Fund on new economic policy measures to be implemented by Jakarta.Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka both welcomed the move. Mitsuzuka released a formal statement that...
JAPAN
Jan 14, 1998

Public debt will overtake GDP in 1999: Finance Ministry

The country's public debts will expand to 529 trillion yen by March 1999, a figure bigger than the nation's economy, the Finance Ministry announced Wednesday.The outstanding long-term debts of local and the central governments combined are expected to exceed forecasts for the nation's gross domestic...
JAPAN
Jan 14, 1998

Hashimoto drops new hint of tax cut

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto on Wednesday repeated hints he made the previous day that further tax cuts to boost domestic consumption and support the sagging economy have not been ruled out."The government will strive to make it unnecessary to continue a 2 trillion yen cut in income and residential...
JAPAN
Jan 14, 1998

Rengo requests 4 trillion yen tax cut

The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) on Wednesday requested 4 trillion yen in income and residential tax cuts from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its two small non-Cabinet allies.Rengo also called for measures to fight unemployment and for labor laws to be revised to help stabilize...
JAPAN
Jan 13, 1998

More pump-priming steps may be implemented

Mitsuo Horiuchi, the minister of international trade and industry, indicated Tuesday that additional pump-priming measures may be implemented to prevent a global economic crisis from originating in Japan.Speaking at a regularly scheduled news conference, Horiuchi said that to prevent further deterioration...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Japan and Britain address Asia crisis

Japan and Britain shared concerns Monday over the recent instability of the Indonesian rupiah but agreed that South Korea is making progress in escaping its economic quagmire, according to a senior Japanese government official.Visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair met with Finance Minister Hiroshi...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Old Buddhist statue will have new home

OSAKA -- For the Kudara Kannon statue of the Goddess of Mercy, 1997 was a busy year.Kudara Kannon, a national treasure belonging to Horyuji Temple in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, was displayed at the Louvre museum and at the Tokyo National Museum.Next autumn, a building specially designed to house the...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Hashimoto vows efforts to protect financial system

In a departure from the norm, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto opened the 150-day Diet session Monday with a speech focusing solely on financial markets and the economy, stressing that Japan will not let its woes drag the rest of Asia and the world into more turmoil."It is our firm resolve that neither...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

WorldCom to expand Japanese base

WorldCom Japan Ltd., a subsidiary of U.S.-based WorldCom Inc., said Monday it will expand its presence in the Japanese telecommunications market by establishing its own fiber-optic network.As deregulation is slated to begin this month, WorldCom, which currently holds a Type II carrier license, will...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Opposition parties put down Hashimoto's speech

Two opposition party leaders railed Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto after his Monday speech to the Diet, saying his administration has failed to come to grips with the current economic downturn.Liberal Party head Ichiro Ozawa termed the government's recently announced economic measures -- which Hashimoto...
JAPAN
Jan 12, 1998

Blair kicks off UK98

British Prime Minister Tony Blair proclaimed a future of improved ties between Japan and Great Britain in a speech Monday at the British Embassy in Tokyo.The speech marked the official opening of Festival UK98, a series of events promoting British culture among Japanese. Blair called UK98 "a celebration...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1998

Blair hails Toyota plan to expand production in U.K.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Hiroshi Okuda, president of Toyota Motor Corp., announced at a press conference Friday that the automaker has decided to expand an engine factory in Great Britain.Toyota will increase the annual manufacturing capacity of 1,000cc to 1,300cc gasoline engines at a...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1998

Emissions-cutting panel holds first meeting

A government panel on global warming launched efforts Friday to find ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 6 percent from 1990 levels, in accordance with a convention signed last month at an international conference in Kyoto.The panel, headed by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and consisting of all...
JAPAN
Jan 8, 1998

Agency rates 20 life insurers' ability to pay claims

Amid growing public concerns about financial institutions, the Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) on Thursday released a ranking of 20 major life insurance firms in terms of ability to provide payouts.The list included 10 life insurers whose ratings had been previously released in accordance with paid...
JAPAN
Jan 8, 1998

Finance revision to qualify preferred stock buys by DIC

Financial institutions that want the Deposit Insurance Corp. to purchase their preferred stock will first be required to submit management improvement plans to ensure that public funds will not be used too freely to bail out ailing banks, a top Finance Ministry official said Thursday.Banking Bureau...
JAPAN
Jan 7, 1998

Opposition parties unite over policy, 6 trillion yen tax cuts

Six opposition parties agreed Wednesday to specific policy measures, including a call for tax cuts worth 6 trillion yen, for their planned joint parliamentary group.The leaders of the Democratic Party of Japan, Shinto Yuai (New Party Fraternity), Kokumin no Koe (Voice of the People), the Taiyo Party,...
JAPAN
Jan 6, 1998

Yen keeps losing ground to dollar

The yen gave up further ground against the dollar Tuesday amid concerns over the ailing Japanese economy and financial crises in Southeast Asian countries.The yen fell to 134.38 yen to the dollar at one point, its lowest in almost six years, before settling at 133.57-60 yen at 5 p.m., compared with...
JAPAN
Jan 5, 1998

Aoshima wants foreign panel's views, not politics

Staff writerThe foreign residents' council recently launched in Tokyo should not be political, but it will be a valuable source of foreigners' opinions for the governor, Yukio Aoshima said in a New Year's interview."I don't want the council to have a political meaning," the Tokyo governor said. "It...
JAPAN
Dec 30, 1997

Vacationing masses forgo holiday exodus

The annual yearend and New Year's holiday exodus from major cities to hometowns has been slow-moving, making traffic less congested than in previous years.
JAPAN
Dec 30, 1997

Nikkei average ends year with 3.3% leap past 15,000

Providing the market with a bit of optimism after a turbulent year, Tokyo share prices rebounded strongly Tuesday, the final trading day of 1997, on a bout of futures-related buying.
JAPAN
Dec 30, 1997

The Asahara Trial: Prosecutors face lifetime task

Staff writer
JAPAN
Dec 26, 1997

Worst of financial crisis is over, Finance Minister says

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka expressed full confidence in the nation's financial health Friday, saying that the crisis is over and implementation of the government's stability measures will restore calm to the industry.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 1997

77.67 trillion yen budget approved for fiscal '98

The Cabinet on Thursday approved the final version of an austere 77.67 trillion yen general account budget for fiscal 1998, up only 0.4 percent from the initial budget for the current fiscal year.

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