Search - about-us

 
 
JAPAN
Jul 29, 1997

Biker rights advocate speaks up instead of spinning his wheels

If you don't speak up, you will lose. This is the motto of Hideo Yoshihara, 49, a bookstore owner in Tokyo's Ota Ward, who has earned a reputation for his campaign to change the nation's motorcycle laws.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 1997

Osaka urges 470 to check out of Yasuda group hospitals

OSAKA -- The Osaka prefectural and municipal governments on July 29 began urging more than 470 patients registered at three hospitals owned by the scandal-ridden Yasuda Hospital group to move to other medical institutions.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 1997

Tokyo won't seek greenhouse gas target in Bonn

Japan will attempt to build a consensus on a framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from 2000 but will not propose numerical targets, at an upcoming meeting in Bonn, government officials said July 28.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 1997

Typhoon leaves 30 people injured in its wake

Typhoon No. 9 injured 30 people in 18 prefectures while passing through western Japan over the weekend, the National Police Agency said July 28.
JAPAN
Jul 25, 1997

At least 538 Japanese wives still living in North Korea

Letters and other contacts have confirmed that at least 538 out of an estimated 1,800 Japanese women who moved to North Korea with their Korean husbands are still alive, data compiled by a civic group and made available July 25 indicate, as bilateral efforts continue to set the stage for allowing the...
JAPAN
Jul 25, 1997

Keidanren says private sector should make more effort

OYAMA, Shizuoka Pref. -- Business leaders should be more involved in accelerating the structural reforms that Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's government is currently trying to implement, top executives said July 25.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 1997

Ambassador urges new development strategies

Efforts to formulate a new development strategy are becoming increasingly important as the world community seeks to establish a common framework for development in the post-Cold War era, Japan's ambassador to the U.N. said July 24.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 1997

Keidanren sees solution in external auditors

OYAMA, Shizuoka Pref. -- Japanese firms need to create a strong system of checks and balances on management by hiring more external auditors, top business leaders agreed July 24 at the annual summer forum of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren).
JAPAN / History
Jul 23, 1997

Scholar’s New Testament intro opens eyes

Kenzo Tagawa, 61, a leading New Testament scholar, finds the sales of his latest book ‘‘encouraging’’ and ‘‘surprising.’’
JAPAN
Jul 23, 1997

JETs arrive in Tokyo enthusiastic for new life

The newest JET program participants have descended on Tokyo anxious to fan out across the country.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 1997

Departing Canadian envoy pleased with trade progress

Canada is satisfied with the improved access to Japan's construction and housing sectors, but other sectors are still rigid, departing Canadian Ambassador Donald Campbell said July 24.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 1997

Development aid conference begins today in Okinawa

A two-day international conference on development will open July 24 in Okinawa Prefecture to seek out and promote more effective forms of development assistance.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 1997

Electricity panel wary of jumping into competition

A government advisory panel commissioned to work out measures for reducing electricity costs held its first meeting July 22, but cautious voices prevailed concerning moves to introduce further competition.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 1997

Japanese don't eat dog sushi or burp after meals

Before teacher Paul MacLeod left the U.S. to visit Japan, his students gave him some advice.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 1997

Teen held in Kobe crimes may be insane

KOBE -- Police and lawyers for the 15-year-old boy being held for the slayings of Jun Hase and Ayaka Yamashita, as well as for violent assaults on other children in Kobe, came to the conclusion July 21 that the teen-ager may be insane.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 1997

Thieves take 8 million yen in jewels

CHIBA -- Jewels worth some 8 million yen were stolen early July 21 from a jewelry shop in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, police said.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 1997

Youth dies in car crash; three others injured

KITAKYUSHU -- An 18-year-old company employee was killed and three others injured, one seriously, when their car collided with a utility pole early July 21 in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 1997

MITI chief complains about low interest rate

Trade chief Shinji Sato voiced skepticism July 18 over continuation of the current low interest rates.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 1997

Laborer's police brutality suit fails

OSAKA -- The Osaka High Court has rejected an appeal by a local day laborer who charged that he was illegally detained and beaten by Osaka police following a 1992 riot in Nishinari Ward.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 1997

The Asahara Trial: Defense challenges inconsistencies

Lawyers for Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara challenged on July 18 the testimony given by a former key cultist for the prosecution, in which he spelled out the role Asahara played in the 1989 murder of a Yokohama lawyer and his family.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 1997

Ford CEO says friction nearing as surplus rises

DEARBORN, Mich. -- Friction with the United States may be triggered by Japan's increasing trade surplus in the near future, the head of Ford Motor Co. warned July 17.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 1997

The Asahara Trial: Attack on Sakamoto detailed

A former Aum Shinrikyo follower who confessed to being involved in the murders of an anticult lawyer and his family gave detailed testimony July 18 concerning what he and five other cultists did immediately before the attack on Nov. 4, 1989.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 1997

MITI to hand small firms public works contracts

The government will aim to provide small and medium-size firms with public contracts worth a record 5.159 trillion yen during fiscal 1998, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said July 18.
JAPAN
Jul 17, 1997

ASDF aircraft return from Thailand empty

Three Air Self-Defense Force transport planes sent to Thailand for the possible evacuation of Japanese nationals from Cambodia arrived at Naha airport in Okinawa Prefecture on late July 17 without evacuees.
JAPAN
Jul 17, 1997

Keizai Doyukai contemplates future of Japanese business

KARUIZAWA, Nagano Pref. -- Business leaders exchanged opinions July 17 on Japan's international economic relations and the role of the private sector in the ongoing structural reforms at the 12th summer seminar of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai).
JAPAN
Jul 17, 1997

The Asahara Trial: Defense team attacks follower's testimony

Defense lawyers for Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara cross-examined former cult follower Kazuaki Okazaki on July 17 and pointed out inconsistencies between his testimony and the depositions of other cult members over the killing of an anti-Aum lawyer and his family.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 1997

Ogasawaras ready to get their goats

Western technology and ideas weren't the only things Commodore Matthew Perry brought when he and his "black ships" ended Japan's policy of self-imposed seclusion in 1853. He also brought goats -- at least that's one explanation for their conspicuous presence on the Ogasawara island chain, roughly 900...
JAPAN
Jul 16, 1997

KKC chief denies swindling investors

Ichiro Yamamoto, former chairman of Keizai Kakumei Club, which was raided in June 1996 for allegedly swindling investors out of 178 million yen, pleaded not guilty July 16 to charges of fraud before the Tokyo District Court.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 1997

Open debate on disaster bills urged

KOBE -- People pushing for a disaster compensation bill, including well-known author Makoto Oda and several Diet members, visited the Hyogo governor and Kobe mayor earlier this week to explain the bill and seek support. "This is the first time we've met the governor and the mayor in this manner," said...
JAPAN
Jul 16, 1997

Departing German envoy discusses mutual benefits

Even though Germany is home to a number of Japanese culture centers and various collections of East Asian art, Japan should do more to promote its image there and in Europe as a whole, said departing German Ambassador Heinrich-Dietrich Dieckmann in a recent interview.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji