Search - about-us

 
 
JAPAN
Aug 8, 1997

Antinuclear activists uneasy over future

NAGASAKI -- Nearly 200 activists from Japan and abroad gathered August 8 in Nagasaki for a special seminar on what citizens' groups are doing to halt nuclear weapons production.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 1997

Tokyo, Seoul swap regional defense outlooks

Japanese and South Korean defense officials agreed August 8 to further promote military cooperation in stabilizing the northeast Asian region.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 1997

Tokyo war accounts published in English

In an attempt to enlighten foreign residents of Tokyo about Japan's World War II experience, the Minato International Association has published an English translation of the first-person war accounts of 50 Minato Ward residents.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 1997

Robbers take 222 million yen from bank van

MITO, Ibaraki Pref. -- Masked men attacked a bank van before dawn August 8 at an agricultural cooperative in Shimodate, Ibaraki Prefecture, getting away with three cash boxes containing 222 million yen.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 1997

JCP raps LDP assembly candidate over orchids

The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly was thrown into confusion August 8 prior to its first session after the July election over an attack by the Japanese Communist Party on the Liberal Democrat candidate standing for assembly president
JAPAN
Aug 6, 1997

No response from North Korea on high-level talks

Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama admitted August 6 that North Korea has yet to reply to a proposal to hold high-level bilateral talks this weekend, but he would not comment on speculation that Pyongyang has been angered.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 1997

In with a Bang: Foreign financial firms eye deregulation

Japan's so-called Big Bang financial reform is a long time in coming, but foreign financial institutions are well prepared to meet the challenge, according to the head of the Tokyo office of ING Barings Securities Japan.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 1997

Little progress made in U.S.-Japan air talks

Three days of vice-ministerial-level air talks ended in Tokyo on August 6 with the United States and Japan unable to produce signs of progress over expanding air services in the Asia-Pacific region, one of the most lucrative markets in the world.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 1997

Soubert opposes Ung Huot as Cambodian prime minister

The selection of Ung Huot as Cambodia's first prime minister is not acceptable, according to Son Soubert, Cambodia's second vice president of the National Assembly and a close ally of ousted First Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 1997

Korean victims of A-bomb remembered

HIROSHIMA -- Nearly 60 people gathered in the rain here August 5 at a small cenotaph dedicated to Korean victims of the atomic bombing in a ceremony to mark the 52nd anniversary of the attack.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 1997

Debate over youth law upsets Justice minister

Justice Minister Isao Matsuura expressed displeasure August 5 over ongoing public debate on revising the Juvenile Law, saying it focuses too much on whether lawbreakers under age 16 should be subject to criminal punishment.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 1997

Framework for UNSC reform urged

A framework for reform of the U.N. Security Council should be drawn up as soon as possible, Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda and former U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali agreed August 4, according to ministry officials.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 1997

Incinerator waste has locals fuming with dioxin

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. -- When Eiko Kotani, 47, moved with her husband to the suburbs of Tokorozawa's Shimotomi district 19 years ago, she thought the forest sprawling behind their new home would make a perfect playground for their young son and future children. It did, at least for a while.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 1997

Ex-mayor is sentenced to two years for bribes

Sanyu Ishii, who stepped down last year as mayor of the Tokyo suburb of Komae after incurring huge gambling debts, was sentenced August 1 to two years in prison and fined 4 million yen for accepting bribes from local construction firms.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 1997

Transport Ministry says Nakhodka was unseaworthy

The Russian tanker Nakhodka, which broke apart and sank off the Sea of Japan coast in January, was too old and worn out to weather the rough seas, a Transport Ministry panel concluded July 31.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 1997

Aqualine slated to open Dec. 18 with 4,000-yen toll

The Japan Highway Public Corp. submitted an application July 29 to the Construction Ministry to open the new Trans-Tokyo Bay Highway on Dec. 18, with a one-way fare of 4,000 yen for the first five years.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 1997

Cabinet extends Golan peacekeeping mission

The government officially decided July 29 to extend Japan's peacekeeping mission to the Golan Heights by about two years, Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama said.
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.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’