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JAPAN
May 14, 1999

Miyazawa wants economic bills in June

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa on Friday called for drawing up a comprehensive package of measures by mid-June to strengthen industrial competitiveness and tackle growing unemployment.
JAPAN
May 12, 1999

Soka Gakkai warms to coalition plan

Soka Gakkai, the nation's largest lay Buddhist organization and supporter of New Komeito, appeared to welcome on Wednesday New Komeito's move to form a coalition with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, sources said.
JAPAN
May 12, 1999

Is Japan ready for World Cup fans?

Staff writer
JAPAN
May 12, 1999

Preparatory talks for 2000 G8 summit held

The government held its first preparatory meeting Wednesday for next year's Kyushu-Okinawa Summit, confirming that related ministries will cooperate closely to make the summit a success, government officials said.
JAPAN
May 10, 1999

Seoul's objections cloud future of sex-slave redress

The government's top spokesman denied Monday that its quasi-private fund set up to compensate women who were forced into sexual slavery for the Imperial Japanese Army during the war will be shut down due to South Korean opposition, but he said Japan will have to take Seoul's wishes into consideration....
JAPAN
May 10, 1999

Japan warns NATO on China embassy bombing

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka cautioned NATO Monday, saying its accidental bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade has deeply hurt China's prestige.
JAPAN
May 7, 1999

Public must mold info-disclosure system to needs

Staff writer
JAPAN
May 7, 1999

State plans aid bills to help industry slim down

The government hopes to enact bills to reinvigorate Japanese industry by the end of the current Diet session, including measures such as tax breaks for manufacturers disposing of unnecessary facilities accumulated during the asset-inflated bubble economy, a top government official indicated Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 1999

March unemployment rate renews record high at 4.8%

Japan's unemployment rate in March rose to yet another record high of 4.8 percent, figures released Friday show, prompting the government to announce emergency plans to alleviate the situation.
EDITORIALS
Apr 28, 1999

No victory for the security alliance

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi has his "omiyage" for U.S. President Bill Clinton. Following Monday night's approval of three bills to implement the updated Japan-U.S. defense guidelines by a special Lower House committee, the full Lower House approved them Tuesday, and Mr. Obuchi will be able to tell the...
JAPAN
Apr 28, 1999

Nonaka eyes tripartite unity in Lower House polls

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Wednesday that the Liberal Democratic Party, Liberal Party and New Komeito should consider campaign cooperation for the next Lower House elections to further cement their tripartite ties.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 1999

Second aid package set for Kosovo

The government announced a comprehensive aid package Tuesday for Kosovar refugees, featuring $200 million in humanitarian and financial support for international aid bodies, refugee-hosting countries and the future return of the refugees to Kosovo.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 1999

Construction chief links dam's fate to plebiscite

The controversial Yoshino River dam project will be scrapped if residents of Tokushima hold a plebiscite and a majority of the voters oppose it, Construction Minister Katsutsugu Sekiya said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 1999

Takeshita's hospitalization fuels rumors

Speculation has not abated over the health of former Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita, who has been hospitalized for nearly a month due to what was described by his aides as back pain.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 1999

Analysis: Defense changes dodged public debate

Staff writers
EDITORIALS
Apr 24, 1999

Big hopes for small business

The latest government annual report on small enterprises bears out an important fact that is often overlooked amid news-breaking moves by big businesses: Small corporations continue to play a vital role in the Japanese economy. The report, submitted this week to the Cabinet by the Ministry of International...
JAPAN
Apr 21, 1999

JR West decides not to sue the state

West Japan Railway Co. decided Wednesday not to sue the national government over its decision to impose an additional burden on the firm related to the mounting debt left behind by the former Japanese National Railways.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 1999

Ishihara's China stance throbbing headache for Japan

Japan has no intention of changing its policy toward China, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Monday when asked to comment on Tokyo Gov.-elect Shintaro Ishihara's series of anti-China remarks.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 1999

Miyazawa mum on splitting Finance

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said Friday he will wait and see how the Finance Ministry is to share its policy-planning authority with the proposed Financial Agency.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 1999

Incoming prosecutor says affairs bring vitality

Extracurricular activities are a source of vitality for prosecutors, said the deputy prosecutor general of the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office, it was learned Wednesday.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 14, 1999

A British art gallery finds an answer to a perennial problem

SOUTHAMPTON, England -- The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford is generally acknowledged to be the world's first modern museum worthy of the title. Unlike its predecessors, it was not just a cabinet of curiosities -- archaeological relics and anthropological wonders amassed by some explorer and shown in his...
JAPAN
Apr 13, 1999

State accepts prosecutor's resignation

The resignation of the nation's No. 2 prosecutor, Mamoru Norisada, was accepted by the government Tuesday in connection with his affair with a 28-year-old former bar hostess.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 1999

Ishihara takes aim at Yokota

As the Liberal Democratic Party scrambled to squelch any finger-pointing over the poor showing of its candidate, Shintaro Ishihara took his first stab Monday at the U.S. following his election to the Tokyo governorship, saying bilateral ties will improve if the U.S. Yokota Air Base is returned or used...
COMMENTARY
Apr 9, 1999

National security put to test

Two suspected North Korean spy boats recently invaded Japanese territorial waters in the Sea of Japan. A national controversy still rages over the incident, which came at a time when the Diet was debating legislation covering the new Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines. The intrusion sparked a...
JAPAN
Apr 7, 1999

Airlift Kosovo refugees to Japan?

Japan is considering taking in Kosovo refugees, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka indicated Wednesday.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 1999

Hopes for Pyongyang pinned on Murayama mission

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka expressed hope Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il will meet with former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama for talks during his visit to Pyongyang.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 1999

GDP goal within reach, Miyazawa says

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa voiced confidence Friday that Japan will be able to clear its target of 0.5 percent growth in gross domestic product in fiscal 1999.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 1999

Spy satellites to be 100% made in Japan: Nonaka

The government plans to rely solely on Japanese technology in developing four intelligence satellites to be launched by 2002, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Thursday.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 1999

New Komeito limits support for Akashi

In a last-minute compromise, New Komeito said Thursday it would support former U.N. Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi, who is being fielded by the Liberal Democratic Party, for the Tokyo gubernatorial election -- but just "at the local level."
JAPAN
Mar 31, 1999

Administration reluctant to alter SDF law

Senior government officials took pains Wednesday to keep the recent intrusion into Japanese territorial waters of suspected North Korean spy boats from becoming a catalyst for some legislators to galvanize the nation's legal defense frameworks.

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?