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JAPAN
Apr 9, 1998

Accord inked on Aha base return

U.S. and Japanese representatives signed an official agreement Thursday over the return of a U.S. military base in Aha, northern Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 1998

Alleged bribery of MOF draws 'severe reprimand' at Sumitomo

Sumitomo Bank has "severely reprimanded" an employee in connection with the alleged bribing of Finance Ministry officials, the bank said April 6.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 1998

U.S. rebuts low-level flight drill criticism

The U.S. military issued a memorandum to correspondents recently in response to Japanese media criticism of "inconsiderate low-level flight training in Japan."
JAPAN
Mar 30, 1998

Tokyo-Okinawa dialogue urged

The central government must quickly narrow its differences with the Okinawa Prefectural Government over a controversial heliport plan for the U.S. forces, Defense Vice Minister Masahiro Akiyama stressed Monday.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 1998

Nikko president details illegal profits to Arai

Nikko Securities President Masashi Kaneko confirmed during a Finance Ministry hearing Monday that his brokerage provided illegal profits to Shokei Arai, a Diet member who committed suicide last month hours before he was to be arrested.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 1998

Yamaichi Securities delists at 2 yen a share

The name of Yamaichi Securities -- once Japan's largest brokerage during the heyday of its 100-year history -- was removed from quotation boards at the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya stock exchanges as the firm was delisted March 27.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 1998

16 trillion yen stimulus plan packed with public works

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on March 26 proposed the nation's largest-ever economic stimulus package, worth at least 16 trillion yen.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1998

Writer-turned-BOJ exec strikes fresh note

In his efforts to reform the scandal-struck Bank of Japan and reformulate its monetary policy, Sakuya Fujiwara, a former journalist now working as a central banker, intends to maintain his "fieldwork" and reflect public opinion.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1998

Former Yamaichi chiefs indicted for hiding debt

Former Yamaichi Securities Co. Chairman Tsugio Yukihira and Atsuo Miki, the firm's former president, were indicted Tuesday on charges of violating the Securities Transaction and Commercial Code by hiding about 270 billion yen in debts and still paying about 6 billion yen in dividends to shareholders,...
JAPAN
Mar 23, 1998

LDP rules out income tax cut for this year

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party decided Monday that it will not carry out a large-scale income tax cut this year, ruling out the possibility that such a measure will be included in a planned economic stimulus package.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 1998

State grills bank industry official who advised Yamaichi

Nobuhiko Matsuno, 59, vice chairman of the Regional Banks Association of Japan, was questioned by prosecutors about Yamaichi Securities Co. seeking his counseling when he headed the Finance Ministry's Securities Bureau in 1991, informed sources said March 17.
JAPAN
Mar 16, 1998

Defense Agency takes delivery of biggest submarine

KOBE -- The nation's largest submarine, completed just recently at a shipyard in the area here, was officially handed over March 16 to the Defense Agency.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 1998

Bill to make wards municipalities

The Home Affairs Ministry plans to submit a set of bills to the Diet March 10 to revise laws to convert Tokyo's 23 wards into full-fledge municipalities in April 2000, ministry officials said March 9.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 1998

New BOJ plan to cut pay of governor, executives

The annual salary for the Bank of Japan governor will be lower than that of the prime minister beginning in April.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 1998

Vindicated gassing suspect wants Aum's Niimi to tell truth

Yoshiyuki Kono, falsely accused in connection with the June 1994 nerve gas attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, said Wednesday at the trial of an Aum Shinrikyo figure that he hopes the proceedings shed light on what really happened.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 1998

BOJ breaks precedent, divulges minutes of policy talks

For the first time ever, the Bank of Japan disclosed Tuesday the minutes of a recent monetary policy meeting in line with recently adopted transparency rules.
JAPAN
Mar 2, 1998

Tokyo, Okinawa to resume talks on military bases

The central and the Okinawa governments will soon resume previously stalled talks on U.S. military bases in the prefecture, a special adviser to Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto on Okinawa affairs said Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 23, 1998

Jury still out on Nagano Olympics

NAGANO -- The pavilions are closed and the Olympic banners have disappeared. The souvenir shops are half-empty and Zenkoji Temple has regained its calm demeanor. The city's infamous traffic jams are back, and the taxis once again form long lines waiting for customers.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 1998

New budget for Osaka Prefecture unveiled

OSAKA -- The Osaka Prefectural Government announced Friday a 3.5 trillion yen budget plan for fiscal 1998, in which financial support for elderly people is to be reduced from August.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 1998

Cabinet backs JNR debt relief bills

The Cabinet endorsed two bills Friday to dispose of 27.8 trillion yen in debts amassed by the now-defunct Japanese National Railways, including a controversial measure to have Japan Railway group firms bear 360 billion yen.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 1998

Contractors face collapse as banks gird for Big Bang

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JAPAN
Feb 20, 1998

LDP unveils latest plan to reinvigorate economy

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday unveiled its fourth stimulus package, hoping to boost confidence in the economy before the March 31 end of the fiscal year.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 1998

American teenager blazes path through Japanese schools

Staff writer
JAPAN
Feb 17, 1998

Bill aims to put some backbone into administrative reform

The Cabinet adopted a bill Tuesday that will serve as the basic law to start consolidating a reformed administrative system in January 2001 at the earliest.
JAPAN
Feb 13, 1998

Nagano's traffic no problem for time-pressed athletes

Staff writer
JAPAN
Feb 12, 1998

Paralympics' legacy left in doubt

Last in a series
JAPAN
Feb 6, 1998

Takashimaya section chief sold customer data for 500,000 yen

OSAKA -- A section chief of Takashimaya Co., Ltd., a leading department store chain operator, sold data on about 500,000 customers in July 1995 to a mail list dealer in Tokyo for 500,000 yen, company sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 1998

Kansai execs back government decentralization

KYOTO -- The Kansai region should draw up concrete plans to promote decentralization of administrative power, business leaders attending the 36th Kansai Zaikai Seminar here agreed Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 1998

Case of 1946 assault on state minister finally allowed to expire

A trial that started in 1946 and was continuously resurrected to prevent the statute of limitations from running out while the defendant remained at large was formally dismissed Friday.The defendant, who was not named and who would be 76 years old now, was arrested Feb. 24, 1945, after he pulled a knife...
JAPAN
Jan 30, 1998

NTT's caller ID service makes screening easier

Staff writerEver been harassed by incessant prank calls? Felt nervous about picking up the phone, not knowing who's on the other end of the line?Based on such apprehensions and other misuses of the telephone, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. has shrewdly developed a new business. Starting Sunday,...

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A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami