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JAPAN
Jan 23, 1998

Mitsuzuka vows internal probe of corruption

The Finance Ministry will conduct an internal probe to check on excessive wining and dining of its officials in light of the arrest of a former ministry bureaucrat for alleged acceptance of bribes, Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka said Friday.The results of the investigation will be made public, he...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 1998

Olympic speedskating coach quits over students' rape case

Japan's Olympic speedskating coach Kunio Tanaka said Thursday he will resign his position after being fired by his university over the arrests of five of his hockey students in July on suspicion of rape.Earlier in the day, Tanaka, who is director of Nippon Sport Science University's ice hockey team,...
JAPAN
Jan 21, 1998

Public funds debate starts up

Debate began Wednesday in the House of Representatives Finance Committee on two bills that form the backbone of government plans to infuse up to 30 trillion yen in public funds to stabilize the banking system.Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka said "soul-searching is needed over the traditional administration...
JAPAN
Jan 20, 1998

Hashimoto pushes plan to aid banks with public funds

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said Tuesday that the government's proposal to use public funds to inject fresh capital into banks would not run counter to its "Big Bang" reform efforts nor signal a return to the "convoy system" of financial sector protection.Speaking before a plenary session of the...
JAPAN
Jan 20, 1998

Ushio urges businesses to curtail wining, dining expenses

The business sector should try to cap its social expenses to sharply reduce the amount spent on wining and dining, Jiro Ushio, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai), said Tuesday.Ushio's remarks come after police arrested former executives of Nomura Securities Co....
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 19, 1998

Banks under pressure to cut salaries

Several Cabinet members said Monday that banks should be urged to lower their salary levels, known to be considerably higher than those at firms in other industries, at a time when the government is preparing to use public money to handle the banking crisis.According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo...
JAPAN
Jan 16, 1998

Hashimoto restates dedication to stability, tax cuts

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto on Friday stressed the need to deliver on government pledges to implement a 2 trillion yen pump-priming tax cut and to pass financial stabilization measures.Speaking before the House of Representatives Budget Committee, Hashimoto noted that markets have already responded...
JAPAN
Jan 16, 1998

MPD cop allegedly helped halt Daiwa investigation

An Metropolitan Police Department officer arrested this week on suspicion of taking bribes from Daiwa Securities Co. was asked by the brokerage to help halt a 1993 investigation into the firm, police and prosecution sources alleged Friday.It is possible the MPD's investigation targeting an employee...
JAPAN
Jan 16, 1998

A dozen wives from North Korea ready to visit

The government announced on Friday that 12 Japanese women have been chosen for the second homecoming trip of women who emigrated to North Korea some 40 years ago. Their visit will begin Jan. 27.The women, who live in North Korea with their Korean spouses, will depart Pyongyang and arrive in Tokyo Jan....
JAPAN
Jan 16, 1998

Hashimoto vows LDP will take Upper House majority

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto expressed firm determination Friday to have the ruling Liberal Democratic Party recover a majority in the House of Councilors in the election scheduled for July."We should secure a majority in the Upper House to make it possible for us to take swift measures at a time...
JAPAN
Jan 16, 1998

Japan narrows down sites for new capital to three

An advisory panel to the prime minister announced Friday that it has selected three regions on Honshu as prime candidates for Japan's future capital, scheduled to be completed around 2010.The Council for the Relocation of the Diet and Other Organizations said it will start feasibility studies on the...
JAPAN
Jan 16, 1998

The Asahara Trial: Guru claims innocence

In a barely intelligible statement, Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara said Friday he has already "been found not guilty" of the March 1995 Tokyo subway gas attack and the June 1994 sarin attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture.Asahara, 42, was given the opportunity to speak at his Tokyo District Court...
JAPAN
Jan 16, 1998

Kobe Revisited: City rebuilding economic strength

Staff writerKOBE -- Three years after an early morning earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale resulted in the loss of more than 6,400 lives and left tens of thousands homeless, Kobe has rebuilt most of its economic infrastructure. But its recovery has not come without criticism over the plight...
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 14, 1998

MPD sergeant arrested in Daiwa bribery case

A sergeant in the Metropolitan Police Department was arrested Wednesday for allegedly accepting bribes from a Daiwa Securities Co. executive in return for information about an investigation into a fraud and embezzlement case involving a Daiwa branch.Takayoshi Hontao, a police inspector attached to the...
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

Armed man holds official hostage at Tokyo Stock Exchange

A man in his 40s wielding what appeared to be a pistol took a hostage Tuesday and holed up in the governor's suite on the 14th floor of the Tokyo Stock Exchange building, demanding to meet with the finance minister, police said.The man, clad in a business suit, took captive Masahiro Abe, 50, an exchange...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1998

Limits on construction bond use may be lifted

LDP Secretary General Koichi Kato indicated Friday that the government may lift a division between deficit-covering bonds and construction bonds so more public funds can be injected into the economy."Removing the division is a matter that has lingered for a long time in the minds of a number of senior...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 1998

Mitsuzuka wants construction, deficit bonds separate

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka voiced opposition Friday to recent calls to scrap the current classification divisions between construction and deficit-covering government bonds.Deficit-covering bonds are issued to cover gaps between government spending and revenue in a given fiscal year and require...
JAPAN
Jan 8, 1998

Heavy snow blankets Tokyo region

Tokyo and its surrounding areas were hit by heavy snow Thursday which disrupted traffic and prompted the Meteorological Agency to issue the capital a heavy snow warning -- its first in two years.The snowfall played havoc with Tokyo's highly organized transportation system, forcing train delays in several...
JAPAN
Jan 6, 1998

Hashimoto renews pledge to reform economy

With the leaders of the four leading economic organizations before him, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto renewed on Tuesday his pledge to make the greatest efforts to rebuild the economy and stabilize the financial system."The government will do its best to make this new year a good one for the nation,"...
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
Jan 2, 1998

The Telecoms Race: TTNet takes lead in domestic price war

Second of two partsStaff writerDeregulation in the telecommunications sector began to be slowly implemented over a decade ago, but it is only now that the industry is entering cutthroat price competition, accelerated by the imminent breakup of NTT.On Jan. 7, Tokyo Telecommunication Network Co. (TTNet)...
JAPAN
Jan 2, 1998

Tokyo, Pyongyang bending to renew ties

Staff writerPositive developments have been emerging between Japan and North Korea in their efforts to resume negotiations aimed at establishing diplomatic ties, but a bumpy road still lies ahead, partly because of the deterioration of the South Korean economy.A resumption of full-scale normalization...
JAPAN
Jan 2, 1998

Mitsui set to rebuild its 'zaibatsu' empire

The prewar Mitsui "zaibatsu" conglomerate appears to be making a comeback after being outlawed for five decades as Sakura Bank and other financial institutions belonging to the Mitsui group of companies are contemplating forming a holding company.Financial industry sources said Friday that Mitsui Trust...
JAPAN
Dec 31, 1997

Hashimoto to stay in charge by default, despite recession

Staff writer
JAPAN
Dec 31, 1997

Telecom firms race for position ahead of 'Big Bang'

First in a two-part series
JAPAN
Dec 31, 1997

Keep reform momentum going, Toyoda urges

BY SAYURI DAIMON
JAPAN
Dec 30, 1997

Automobile groups to begin CFC recovery, disposal

The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association and six other auto industry groups will in January begin recovering and disposing of chlorofluorocarbons used in auto air conditioners in Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight