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.
National Oct 1, 2013
MSDF ships make first port call in Myanmar
Maritime Self-Defense Force training vessels on a round-the-world voyage arrive in Myanmar on Monday for a five-day mission, marking the first-ever port call by an MSDF vessel to the country.
Politics & Diplomacy Sep 28, 2013
Myanmar refugees arrive via U.N. resettlement plan
Four families from Myanmar arrived Friday night in Tokyo on a pilot U.N. refugee resettlement program introduced in fiscal 2010. The families are from ethnic minorities in Myanmar and had been living in a refugee camp in Thailand, across the border. After a 180-day ...
Corporate Sep 20, 2013
Nissan plans Sunny plant in Myanmar
Nissan Motor Co. said Friday it will build a car assembly plant in Myanmar to begin manufacturing the Nissan Sunny compact sedan in 2015. The company said the Myanmar Investment Commission approved its application for the joint venture plant with Malaysia’s Tan Chong Motors ...
National Sep 16, 2013
NPO offers medical services to Myanmar
by Hiroko Harima
A group of doctors, nurses and volunteers from Japan are providing medical services in Sagaing, Myanmar. Japan Heart is a nonprofit organization that offers medical services at a hospital set up by a local Buddhist monk to treat the poor more than 20 years ...
Asia Pacific Sep 15, 2013
Bubble trouble hits sales of jade in Hong Kong
Prized as a magical imperial stone, jade is a status symbol of the superrich in Asia, but rocketing prices in the top-end of the market have left traders in Hong Kong struggling to find buyers. With the cost of high-quality raw jade and jade ...
Corporate Aug 27, 2013
ANA to buy 49% stake in Myanmar air carrier
ANA Holdings Inc. will buy a 49 percent stake in Myanmar's Asian Wings Airways Ltd., becoming the latest firm to expand in the Southeast Asian nation.
Business | Focus Aug 16, 2013
Myanmar strategy to get rethink after failed infrastructure bids
Japan is going to have to rethink its strategy for opening business opportunities in Myanmar, one of the last untapped markets in Asia, as Japanese consortia have failed to win international tenders to develop the country’s infrastructure. Airport construction and expansion projects as well ...
Business Aug 14, 2013
Ota meets Myanmar president
Visiting Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Akihiro Ota has met with Myanmar President Thein Sein at the Presidential Palace in Naypyitaw, state media reported Tuesday. The meeting Monday focused on infrastructure development projects in Myanmar, including upgrading airports and rail services, electric power ...
Corporate Aug 12, 2013
Mitsubishi, JALUX on inside track to run Myanmar airport
Mitsubishi Corp. and JALUX Inc. said Monday they have obtained preferential negotiating rights from the Myanmar government to operate Mandalay International Airport and remodel its passenger terminal. If the consortium, which includes SPA Project Management Ltd., a Myanmar company, wins the order, it will ...
Asia Pacific Aug 2, 2013
Myanmar monasteries offer boot camp to calm spirits of frazzled souls
by Kelly Macnamara
Predawn wake-up calls, days of silence and hunger may not be everyone’s idea of a holiday, but for tourists seeking spiritual sustenance, Myanmar’s monasteries offer help on the path to Buddhist nirvana. The search for inner peace is unlikely to appeal to those who ...
Global-related Jul 28, 2013
Taking stock of Burma, Japan and 'pivot to Asia'
by Curtis S. Chin
Hope and change remain alive in Burma even as serious concerns continue about human rights violations and growing internal religious and ethnic tensions.
Asia Pacific Jul 22, 2013
Blast at radical Myanmar monk event injures five: police
A small blast near an event hosted by a radical Myanmar monk who stands accused of inflaming Buddhist-Muslim tensions has left five people injured in Mandalay, police said Monday. “The scene was about 100 yards (90 meters) away from the preaching event,” said an ...