Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Business Topics
Business Oct 3, 2013
Lixil aims to boost overseas sales
Lixil Group Corp., Japan’s largest housing fixtures maker, will try to raise its annual overseas sales to ¥1 trillion by 2020 on a consolidated basis, its president said Wednesday. “We have established a base to expand globally,” Yoshiaki Fujimori said in a speech in ...
Economy Oct 3, 2013
TPP countries to ban subsidies only when overfishing is feared
The 12 countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations are now planning to only scrap fishing subsidies that clearly cause overfishing, negotiation sources said Thursday. The United States has been calling for a general ban on fishing subsidies, but with many other TPP ...
Business | ANALYSIS Oct 2, 2013
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Business Oct 2, 2013
TPP talks getting down to nitty-gritty
Chief negotiators from the 12 countries thrashing out the Trans-Pacific Partnership worked on last-minute preparations Wednesday before their ministers and leaders gather in Bali, Indonesia, with the aim of reaching a basic agreement on the free trade pact. “We have been able to arrange ...
Business Oct 2, 2013
China ready to join negotiations on services trade liberalization
China plans to join Japan, the United States and Europe in negotiations to liberalize the services trade, according to sources. China, the world’s third-biggest services market, would be the first major emerging economy to join the negotiations. If new trade rules are established among ...
Corporate Oct 2, 2013
Nintendo to drop Wii at home
Nintendo said Wednesday it will stop making its basic Wii game console for the Japanese market, but will keep producing it internationally. The move to abandon the venerable machine, which competes with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3, will allow Nintendo to focus ...
Economy Oct 2, 2013
Abe trying to strike a delicate balance
by Shinya Ajima
When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met the news media after deciding to raise the consumption tax next April, he stressed that his administration can pursue economic growth and fiscal discipline at the same time. The declaration Tuesday, which almost sounded as if he was ...
Business Oct 2, 2013
METI forms team to help small suppliers survive tax hike
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry set up an office Wednesday to ensure small firms can raise the prices of their products supplied to larger companies after the 5 percent sales tax is raised to 8 percent in April, as decided by Prime ...
Corporate Oct 2, 2013
Driving systems in spotlight at high-tech fair
Automakers rolled out their advanced driving technologies and IT-equipped vehicles for the opening of Japan’s major high-tech fair Tuesday. More carmakers are joining electronics companies at the CEATEC Japan exhibition this year as vehicles increasingly employ advanced information technology. Honda Motor Co. and Mazda ...
Business Oct 2, 2013
ANA lands 11 Haneda slots; JAL is given five
The transport ministry said Wednesday that All Nippon Airways Co. will receive 11 slots in the expanded international flight schedule next March at Tokyo’s Haneda airport while Japan Airlines Co. will get five. ANA has been lobbying for a “fair” allocation of the new ...
Corporate Oct 2, 2013
Softbank mars credit rating of customers
Softbank Mobile Corp. said that due to a computer programming error, it reported 63,133 customers as “delinquent” to a credit information agency even though they were making installment payments for their mobile phones on time. Credit card companies and financial institutions inquired with the ...
Business Oct 2, 2013
IT startup barters its way into niche
by Tomoko Otake
At around noon on a recent weekday, the Roppongi branch of Shamrock by Abbot Choice, a Tokyo-based Irish-style pub chain, had a bustling lunchtime crowd. Koichiro Tawa reached for a menu and ordered a hamburger special — with melting cheese, a green salad and ...