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JAPAN
Dec 24, 1997

Another public funds scheme hatched

Mitsuo Horiuchi, minister for international trade and industry, on Wednesday urged financial authorities to consider using public funds for an investment cooperative that would purchase corporate shares held by banks.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 1997

LDP's Kato suggests regional banks close overseas units

In another attempt to ease the growing credit crunch, Koichi Kato, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has urged Japan's regional banks to close their international operations and focus on supplying more funds to local companies.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 1997

Heroic actor Toshiro Mifune dead at age 77

Actor Toshiro Mifune, who appeared in 16 Akira Kurosawa films, including "Rashomon" in 1950 and "Seven Samurai" in 1954, died Wednesday night at a hospital in Mitaka, Tokyo. He was 77.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 1997

'Pocket Monsters' show on hold as investigation continues

TV Tokyo has announced it will suspend broadcasts of the popular "Pocket Monsters" cartoon series pending an investigation into last week's outbreak of convulsions and fainting that afflicted about 700 viewers.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 1997

Economic worries send TSE below 15,000 level

The Tokyo stock market ended sharply lower Monday, with the downtrend in share prices continuing unabated amid growing worries about the ailing economy.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 1997

Mitsuzuka tells banks to avoid credit crunch

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka called on the banking industry Monday to take strict steps to ensure there would be no credit crunch toward the end of the year -- a situation anxiously anticipated by many small businesses.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 1997

Entrepreneur says a business can be ecological, profitable

Staff writer
JAPAN
Dec 19, 1997

92 billion yen lopped off defense program

The government said Friday it will cut spending for its five-year defense program by 92 billion yen to conform to its ongoing financial structural reform, the Defense Agency said.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 1997

Shares and yen tumble as credit crunch worsens

Share prices and the yen came under severe selling pressure Friday in Tokyo amid reports that a credit crunch has forced a major food trader out of business.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 1997

Insurance exec says solvency margins must be disclosed

Life insurance firms will have to disclose their solvency margins under a new policyholders' protection system being formed by the Finance Ministry, the chairman of the Life Insurance Association of Japan said Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 1997

Harlequin Air launches first flight

Harlequin Air, a new airline affiliated with Japan Air System, started services Friday with a chartered flight from Fukuoka to Brisbane, Australia.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 1997

Favored tariff system for rich nations may end soon

Japan's preferential tariff treatment of imports from relatively rich countries and regions, including South Korea, should be gradually eliminated beginning in fiscal 1998, an advisory panel said in a report released Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 1997

Three scientists awarded Japan Prize

Three scientists, one Japanese and two Belgians, were selected as recipients of the 1998 Japan Prize, the Tokyo-based Science and Technology Foundation of Japan announced Friday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 1997

Auto sales in '98 won't reach level of '96, industry says

Japan's total auto sales in 1998 will mark a slight 3 percent rise over this year but remain much lower than the 1996 level, according to a forecast by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers' Association.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 1997

Daiei establishes holding firm

Daiei Inc., the nation's largest retail chain, announced Wednesday that it has established a holding company to strengthen its financial condition, becoming the first company to take advantage of a change in the Antimonopoly Law.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 1997

Shinshinto leadership to be decided today

The two candidates in today's Shinshinto leadership election made their final attempts Wednesday to capture support within the government's largest opposition force, and party sources say the race is too close to call.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 1997

Opposition parties unmoved by tax reductions

Shinshinto said Wednesday that Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's sudden announcement of a 2 trillion yen tax cut demonstrates the failures of his administration's economic policies.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 1997

Intellectual property rights due for major boost

To provide stronger and more efficient protection for intellectual property rights, the Patent Office said Tuesday it will make major revisions to patent-related laws for the first time in nearly 40 years.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 1997

Open thermal power sector to competitive bidding, panel urges

All new thermal power development should be made subject to competitive bidding starting in fiscal 1999, a government advisory panel said in an interim report released Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 1997

Abuse claims spur transfer of disabled patients

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and 10 municipalities in Tokyo said Monday they will temporarily shelter 18 mentally disabled people at welfare facilities in Tokyo because their guardians and attorneys claimed they have been physically and mentally abused at a Fukushima facility.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 1997

Bond issue sinks government's fiscal reform plan

The government plans to issue nearly 6.8 trillion yen in deficit-covering bonds in fiscal 1998 to finance a package of tax cuts aimed at boosting the economy and stabilizing the financial system, according to Finance Ministry sources. The bond flotation is nearly 750 billion yen smaller than that for...
JAPAN
Dec 12, 1997

Turmoil-filled Diet session concludes

Staff writer
JAPAN
Dec 12, 1997

Ozawa fails to bring Komei membership into Shinshinto fold

Shinshinto President Ichiro Ozawa finally abandoned efforts Friday to persuade Komei leader Tomio Fujii to drop the party's plan to field its own proportional representation candidates in next summer's Upper House election.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 1997

Japan ripe for opening to foreign investment, Foley says

The time is right for Japan to implement policy changes to eliminate barriers to foreign investment and encourage more cross-border mergers and acquisitions, U.S. Ambassador Thomas Foley said Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 1997

Dashed merger plan likely to delay Shinshinto election

Shinshinto, the largest opposition party, may postpone its scheduled Dec. 18 election to select a new party leader as negotiations with the Komei group remain stalled over Komei's decision to cancel its earlier plan to merge with Shinshinto, party sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 1997

Cabinet withstands no-confidence motion

Claiming that Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto is incapable of running the government, Shinshinto introduced a no-confidence motion Thursday to the Diet.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 1997

Opposition parties ready no-confidence motion

As confusion lingers in the Diet over procedures for revising the Deposit Insurance Law, the opposition camp is poised to submit a no-confidence motion today against the Cabinet of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 1997

Workers sue contractors for 'black lung' disease

A group of 72 former tunnel workers and family members of workers who have died joined about 180 others from two other groups Wednesday to demand a total of 2.3 billion yen in damages from their employers for a work-related lung disease.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 1997

Outline of financial stability plan addresses DIC, liquidity

A Liberal Democratic Party subcommittee debating steps to stabilize the financial system basically agreed Wednesday on a broad outline that includes galvanizing Deposit Insurance Corp. and increasing the liquidity of financial institutions.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 1997

Bill to revise Deposit Insurance law passes Lower House

After half a day of confusion, a bill to broaden the circumstances under which funds from the Deposit Insurance Corp. can aid financially troubled institutions was approved Tuesday evening by the full Lower House.

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