1.   Admission to NATO comes with a guarantee that if any member nation is threatened, the alliance will come to its aid.

2.   If the government falls, a center-left alliance could come to power.

3.   The alliance comes as a preemptive move to prevent regulation by the government to crack down on the dissemination of data about individual users by Internet companies.

4.   The alliance comes as demand for memory-intensive personal computer programs, high-definition digital video, multimedia and telecommunications systems soars.

5.   The alliance comes as demand for personal computers in Japan surges.

6.   The announced and nearly announced alliances are coming at a time when there is a growing concern about escalating air fares and lessening competition among major carriers.

7.   The alliance came in June as a preemptive move to prevent regulation by the government to crack down on the dissemination of data about individual users by Internet companies.

8.   The alliance comes a week after Japan and the U.S. agreed to expand airline access between the two countries, settling a dispute over air cargo routes.

9.   The alliance comes at a time when major drugmakers are expanding their non-prescription businesses to position themselves in growing markets in the U.S. and Europe.

10.   The alliance came as a preemptive move against possible regulation by the government to crack down on the dissemination of data about individual users by Internet companies.