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JAPAN
Oct 17, 1997

Bulgarian president to visit Nov. 16

Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov is scheduled to visit Japan from Nov. 16 to 20 as a state guest to discuss bilateral and international issues with Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, Foreign Ministry officials said Oct. 17.The visit is intended to help strengthen relations between the two nations,...
JAPAN
Oct 16, 1997

Oki to chair Kyoto climate conference

The government plans to recommend Hiroshi Oki, director general of the Environment Agency, as chairman of the forthcoming international conference on global warming, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka said Oct. 16.The recommendation is expected to be accepted by participants of the Third Conference...
JAPAN
Oct 14, 1997

Banker takes aim at reluctance to privatize postal savings

Postal savings should be privatized even though the public generally wants the service kept under state control, the head of the commercial banking industry said Oct. 14.Naotaka Saeki, chairman of the Federation of Bankers Associations of Japan, said discussion of postal savings should include the advantages...
JAPAN
Oct 14, 1997

Reported crimes set postwar record; homicides decline

The number of reported crimes in 1996 hit a postwar record of 2.466 million, up about 30,000 from the previous year, according to a Justice Ministry report released Oct. 14.The 1997 white paper on crime, which includes an overview of postwar trends, was submitted to the Cabinet by Justice Minister Kokichi...
JAPAN
Oct 10, 1997

Thailand urged to bolster economy

Top officials of three Japanese banks with close ties to Thailand on Oct. 10 urged the Thai government to continue trying to implement economic measures that would restore global trust in its battered economy.The calls came during the second day of separate meetings between visiting Thai Prime Minister...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

SDP wrapping up details of 2 trillion yen tax cut

The Social Democratic Party said Oct. 9 that it is finalizing details of its proposal for a one-time tax cut of about 2 trillion yen, SDP Secretary General Shigeru Ito said.The party, one of the two non-Cabinet allies of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, will compile its proposal next week as a supplementary...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Bill to let DIC funds aid bank mergers approved

The Cabinet approved a bill Oct. 9 that would revise the Deposit Insurance Law and allow the use of funds from Deposit Insurance Corp. to aid mergers involving two or more failed financial institutions until the end of fiscal 2000.It would be the second time in as many years for revising the law, highlighting...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Two Osaka banks to merge next year

OSAKA -- Fukutoku Bank and the Bank of Naniwa, two Osaka-based regional banks suffering from mounting bad loans, announced Oct. 9 they will merge next Oct. 1 to speed up restructuring and strengthen their foothold in the region.The merger is expected to become the first one subject to an expected revision...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1997

Pyongyang lists names of wives allowed to visit

Japan has received a list from North Korea of Japanese women who will be allowed to make their first homecoming visit to Japan later this month, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka said Oct. 9.The names of between 10 and 15 women were tentatively put on the list, which was obtained by the government...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

SDP, Sakigake tell Hashimoto to rescind emissions proposal

The Social Democratic Party and New Party Sakigake jointly demanded Oct. 8 that Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto withdraw Japan's proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 5 percent from 1990 levels.The two parties, saying they were not consulted on the proposal until it was announced Oct....
JAPAN
Oct 8, 1997

Effects of Kim's ascension too early to predict

Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi said Oct. 8 that it will be difficult to judge any immediate changes in North Korean policy under the new leadership of Kim Jong Il and that developments in the communist state will be closely watched.Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka echoed Obuchi's assessment.Commenting...
JAPAN
Oct 3, 1997

SDP doubts worth of postal reform proposal

The Social Democratic Party, one of two non-Cabinet allies of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, questioned on Oct. 3 the wisdom of a government panel's proposal to break up the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry.During an Upper House plenary session debate, SDP policy chief Kazuo Oikawa said in...
JAPAN
Oct 3, 1997

Ruling party, allies to send delegation to North Korea

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its two smaller non-Cabinet allies -- the Social Democratic Party and New Party Sakigake -- will select a joint delegation to visit North Korea, LDP Secretary General Koichi Kato said Oct. 3.The visit, the first of its kind in two and a half years, will be made...
JAPAN
Oct 2, 1997

LDP slams postal privatization plan

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party announced its opposition Oct. 2 to a proposal by a government advisory panel to privatize two of the three postal services currently provided by the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry.During Diet debate, Kenji Manabe, policy chief of the LDP's House of Councilors...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 1997

Former minister gets 18 months for bribery

Former Construction Minister Kishiro Nakamura was sentenced Oct. 1 to 18 months in prison for accepting a 10 million yen bribe from a construction company trying to block a government bid-rigging probe.The Tokyo District Court also sentenced Shinji Kiyoyama, 71, former vice president of construction...
JAPAN
Sep 30, 1997

SDP strategy to curb corrupt politicians gets LDP nod

A Social Democratic Party proposal to study measures to restrict activities of politicians who have earlier been convicted of corruption received approval Sept. 30 from a decision-making body of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN
Sep 29, 1997

Hashimoto opens Diet with apology over Sato

In his policy speech before the Diet on Sept. 29, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto reiterated apologies to the public for appointing a politician once convicted of bribery to the Cabinet he formed earlier this month.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 1997

Extraordinary session to be stage for ethics debate

Staff writer
JAPAN
Sep 22, 1997

Ruling alliance agrees to examine ethics

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its two smaller allies said Sept. 22 they will examine their funds and political ethics to salvage the public's trust in the wake of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's ill-fated appointment of convicted bribe-taker Koko Sato to his new Cabinet.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 1997

Okinawa to get 1 billion yen for jobs

The government announced Sept. 19 that it will allocate 1 billion yen to promote employment-related projects in Okinawa Prefecture as part of a package to help placate local concerns over U.S. military bases.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 1997

New transport chief on course for clash over JR debt, taxes

When the new transport minister began talking about solutions to the long-running and lingering problem of debts left over by the former Japanese National Railways, one word kept coming up: "taxes."
JAPAN
Sep 16, 1997

Kyuma stays firm on defense review

Reappointed to a second term as Defense Agency chief, Fumio Kyuma reaffirmed that he will complete the review of the Japan-U.S. defense guidelines and implement the relocation of the U.S. Marines' Futenma Air Station in central Okinawa.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 1997

Mitsuzuka firm on budget austerity measures

Suggestions by some U.S. officials that Japan should slacken the pace at which it implements budget austerity are understandable but go against the nation's interests, Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka said.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 1997

SDP attacks administrative reform report

The Social Democratic Party held its first meeting on administrative reform Sept. 10, criticizing a report compiled last week by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's blue-ribbon government panel.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 1997

Debt, tax costs raise budget requests

Budget requests for the fiscal 1998 general account budget totaled 80.554 trillion yen, up 4.1 percent from the current budget, the Finance Ministry reported to the Cabinet on Sept. 9.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1997

Izui claims he gave cash to top LDP lawmakers

Junichi Izui, an oil wholesaler on trial for alleged income tax evasion and fraud, said Sept. 8 he provided 278 million yen to six Diet members of the Liberal Democratic Party, including Taku Yamasaki, chairman of the LDP's Policy Affairs Research Council.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 1997

Legal war on 'sokaiya' planned

The government has decided on a set of legal measures to root out "sokaiya" corporate racketeers and to have stricter penalties imposed against them, officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 1997

Hashimoto arrives in China with 200 billion yen in hand

BEIJING -- Japan pledged to provide Beijing with an aid package worth more than 200 billion yen Sept. 4, the first day of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's four-day visit to China.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 1997

Ambassador Fuji to attend Diana's funeral

The government has decided that Ambassador Hiroaki Fujii will attend the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, on Sept. 6, Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama said Sept. 4.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 1997

Stumbling blocks to administrative reform still remain

Staff Writer

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?