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JAPAN
Dec 26, 1997

Ozawa plans to disband Shinshinto for new party

No. 1 opposition party Shinshinto announced Friday that its Diet members would gather later today to discuss disbanding into two new parties to be launched in early January.
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.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 1997

Aum gas-attack damages raised to 1.12 billion yen

The court-appointed trustee of the Aum Shinrikyo religious cult agreed Thursday to raise the amount of damages payable to victims of the 1995 Tokyo subway gas attack by 27 million yen.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 1997

First 1998 Diet session to open January 12

The Cabinet will decide today to convene the 1998 regular Diet session on Jan. 12, a week earlier than originally planned, so deliberations on a supplementary budget for 1997 can start quickly after the New Year's holidays, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka said Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 1997

Finance pushes back key banking reform

In a bid to end a cautious trend in bank lending, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday it will essentially push back by one year the planned introduction of stricter capital requirements for banks operating solely in Japan.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 1997

Honda plans to increase U.S. auto production

Honda Motor Co. announced on Wednesday that by the end of 2001, it will increase its annual production capacity in the United States and Canada to more than 1 million vehicles from the current level of 790,000 units.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 1997

Water-meter firms found guilty of bid-rigging

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday found 25 water meter manufacturers and 34 of their employees guilty of rigging bids for Tokyo Metropolitan Government contracts in violation of the Anti-Monopoly Law.
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 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 23, 1997

Feature: Horse-drawn globe-trotters come to Japan

Staff writer
JAPAN
Dec 22, 1997

LDP member admits profiting from shady Nikko stock deals

An LDP Lower House member became entangled in the scandals enveloping the country's four major brokerages Monday when he admitted to receiving profits from Nikko Securities Co. through dubious equity investments.
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

Student violence tops record 10,000 incidents

The number of incidents of violence at public junior high and high schools surpassed 10,000 in fiscal 1996, the highest total since the survey was started in 1983, according to an Education Ministry report released Monday.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 1997

Entrepreneur says a business can be ecological, profitable

Staff writer
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 18, 1997

Aqualine opens to traffic under, above Tokyo Bay

KAWASAKI -- More than three decades after the idea was first put forward, an expressway beneath Tokyo Bay opened Thursday with simultaneous ceremonies in Kanagawa and Chiba prefectures.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 1997

Analysis: Ozawa in trouble despite victory

Staff writer
JAPAN
Dec 18, 1997

Laborer sit-in in Osaka enters third week

OSAKA -- About 500 day laborers continued their sit-in Thursday at an Osaka labor welfare facility, demanding nighttime shelter in a protest that began Dec. 3.
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 18, 1997

New Osaka train line speeds up bay route

OSAKA -- Technoport Line, a new train line linking existing subway and monorail lines, opened here Thursday, offering better access to the Osaka Bay area.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 1997

Ozawa wins re-election as Shinshinto president

Ichiro Ozawa was re-elected Thursday as president of Shinshinto over challenger Michihiko Kano, former head of the Management and Coordination Agency.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 1997

The Asahara Trial: Cultist says 'bad guy' label unfair

Aum Shinrikyo follower Kiyohide Hayakawa reacted angrily Thursday to a lawyer's remark that he was once hostile to parents of live-in cultists who wanted their children returned.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 1997

Tear gas injures dozens as pickpockets flee train

At least 65 passengers suffered eye or throat pain Thursday morning when a gang of pickpockets sprayed tear gas in a Tokyo train to escape arrest, police and firefighters said.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 1997

Analysis: Tax-cut package elicits praise and doubt

Staff writer
JAPAN
Dec 17, 1997

'Pocket Monsters' shocks TV viewers into convulsions

At least 651 young people in 30 prefectures were taken to hospitals with convulsions and other maladies Tuesday evening after watching the popular TV cartoon "Pocket Monsters," based on the best-selling Nintendo Game Boy software of the same name, the Fire Defense Agency Agency of the Home Affairs Ministry...
JAPAN
Dec 17, 1997

Those affected by 'Pokemon' show number in thousands

The number of viewers affected by the "Pocket Monsters" television program Tuesday evening continued to increase Wednesday, with schools around the country reporting that thousands of children were made ill.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 1997

Hashimoto unveils surprise two trillion yen tax cut

A special 2 trillion yen tax cut will be included in this fiscal year's supplementary budget, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto announced Wednesday, signaling an abrupt about-face in his fiscal restructuring efforts.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 1997

Explanation of tax cuts

The 2 trillion yen special tax cuts announced Wednesday by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto will mean roughly 65,000 yen for an average household of a married couple with two children, government sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 1997

LDP approves 750 billion yen package of tax cuts

The Liberal Democratic Party effectively completed a package of tax revisions Tuesday for fiscal 1998 that would allow tax cuts worth about 750 billion yen.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 1997

Ozawa hints that dissenters should leave

Ichiro Ozawa, leader of Shinshinto, the largest opposition party, indicated Tuesday he would accept splitting the party if members disagree with his policy proposals.

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