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May 06, 2024
 

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Sachiko Hirao
For Sachiko Hirao's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2001
Nonutilities slow to light up newly opened market
Fifteen months after the partial liberalization of the electricity retail market, new players in the industry remain scarce.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2001
U.N. forum cautions against globalization's impact on poor
The advance of economic globalization should improve the life of people in developing countries and bring about sustainable development, according to Carlos A. Magarinos, director general of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
JAPAN / STAGING A COMEBACK
May 16, 2001
Can 'e-Japan' make leap from paper to reality?
The economic slump over the past decade has crushed Japan's confidence and raised fundamental questions about the government's ability to turn things around.
BUSINESS
May 3, 2001
Web site clears way for waste disposal
While business chances typically arise from deregulation, some entrepreneurs find golden opportunities when regulations tighten.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2001
Hiranuma reiterates themes toward economic revitalization
Reappointed Economy Minister Takeo Hiranuma said a comprehensive approach of combining the disposal of problem loans and assets, creating new businesses and implementing regulatory reforms is needed to revitalize the economy.
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2001
Conference members seeking strong economic leadership
Although Japan knows it should carry out structural reforms and stimulate domestic demand to get out of its protracted economic slump, it is still waiting for someone to take the initiative and actually do something.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2001
Japan braces for green mandate
Given Japan's acute shortage of landfill sites, the introduction of the Home Appliances Recycling Law on April 1 heralds a new era in the nation's efforts to promote recycling.
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2001
L.A. market touted as gold mine for struggling midsize firms
Mired in a decade-long economic slump, Japan may not seem to be the most eager country to engage in massive direct investment abroad. But Lee Harrington, president and CEO of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., doesn't see it that way.
JAPAN / STAGING A COMEBACK
Mar 8, 2001
Business law changes just scratch surface
Satoshi "Sonny" Koike believes Japan's commercial laws are rigid and inhibitive. Instead of accepting the status quo, however, the 41-year-old entrepreneur has used loopholes in vaguely worded legal terms to stake a claim in the fast-changing world of the Internet.
JAPAN / EMBASSY ROW
Feb 27, 2001
Sweden stresses political ties with EU
As the country currently representing the European Union, Sweden hopes that the coming decade will see the Japan-EU relationship broaden into the political arena, based on the solid economic ties that have been developed between the two countries, according to Swedish Ambassador Krister Kumlin.
BUSINESS
Feb 3, 2001
State to make last oil industry reform bid
A bill to scrap the 39-year-old Petroleum Industry Law, expected to be presented to the current Diet session as early as next week, will be the government's final proposal in its 14-year-long effort to liberalize the nation's oil industry, according to a senior ministry official.
BUSINESS
Feb 3, 2001
State to make last oil industry reform bid
A bill to scrap the 39-year-old Petroleum Industry Law, expected to be presented to the current Diet session as early as next week, will be the government's final proposal in its 14-year-long effort to liberalize the nation's oil industry, according to a senior ministry official.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2001
Egalitarian values stifle creativity: researcher
The egalitarianism embedded in Japanese society deprives researchers and scholars of the economic incentives to pursue creative and innovative studies, according to 46-year-old Shuji Nakamura.
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2001
Amway Japan chief looks to raise firm's public profile, sales
In an effort to combat a decline in sales amid stagnant consumer spending, Amway Japan Ltd. President Stephen A. Robbins is determined to raise the direct selling firm's public profile by forming alliances with major Japanese companies.
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2001
Luxembourg the perfect site for Japan's banks: minister
The European common currency is making Luxembourg more attractive to Japanese financial institutions, Henri Grethen, Luxembourg's economic minister, said Tuesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2001
Reform fledgling offspring of 'lost decade'
During the bubble economy of the late 1980s, few could have predicted the acute banking crisis and long economic malaise that have typified the past decade.
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2000
Reform panel chief hits wall of regulations, vested interests
After making steady progress in the economic field, Japan's deregulatory efforts are now entering a more difficult stage as they come to grips with social regulations, according to Yoshihiko Miyauchi, chairman of Orix Corp. and head of a government panel on regulatory reforms.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2000
Bush expected to focus on Japan rather than China
Experts on Japanese-U.S. relations broadly see George W. Bush's victory in the U.S. presidential election as a good sign for Tokyo, as the Republican Party places relatively strong importance on Japan in its Asia policy, and the new administration is expected to take a less-confrontational approach to trade relations.
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Dec 8, 2000
Widen scope of bilateral trade talks: Hiranuma
Japan and the United States should hold regular government/private-sector meetings as part of new comprehensive discussions on economic and trade issues, International Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma said.
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2000
Net data center outsourcing could ease growth headaches
Fast-growing Internet companies have to frequently upgrade and expand computer servers and related facilities to remain competitive.
Japan says Biden's description of nation as xenophobic is 'unfortunate'
The National Diet building in Tokyo
As visitors surge, Japan seeks ways to make tourism eco-friendly
Much like other hot spots across Okinawa, Onna has diligently strived to captivate both domestic and international tourists, while at the same time grappling with the environmental strain induced by the influx of visitors.
G7 eyes plan on U.S.-led $50 billion aid package for Ukraine
A local resident visits the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday. The U.S. is in talks with close partners to lead a group of allies that would give as much as $50 billion in aid to Ukraine.
Japan drops to 70th in press freedom rankings
A businessman reads a newspaper outside a train station in Tokyo.
As visitors surge, Japan seeks ways to make tourism eco-friendly
Much like other hot spots across Okinawa, Onna has diligently strived to captivate both domestic and international tourists, while at the same time grappling with the environmental strain induced by the influx of visitors.
'Monster' Inoue ready to tear down Luis Nery in title defense at Tokyo Dome
Naoya Inoue (left) and Luis Nery following a pre-fight news conference in Yokohama on Saturday, two days ahead of their super bantamweight title fight.
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
Sapporo court ruling on Ainu fishing rights presents tough questions
A traditional Ainu preserved food called <i>satchep</i> (dried fish) being made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, on Dec. 25. The Sapporo District Court ruled last month that the Raporo Ainu Nation's rights as an Indigenous people did not extend to having an inherent right to fish for commercial reasons.
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.

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