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BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Oct 22, 2007

Japan should study U.S. housing crisis, end land price stagnation

On Sept. 19, just as global financial markets were getting jittery about the U.S. subprime mortgage loan problem, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry released its survey of Japanese land prices.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2007

Nukaga exchange views with Paulson

New Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga said Friday that he and U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, shepherds of the world's two largest economies, have agreed to stay in close touch on developments in the global economy and the financial woes linked to the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis.
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2007

Fukui to keep pushing for higher rates, defying Abe

Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui may say no to an interest rate increase this week. It won't be his last word on the subject.
BUSINESS
Aug 14, 2007

Economic growth slows to annual pace of 0.5%

The economy grew at a weaker than expected 0.1 percent in the April-June quarter as exports to the United States slowed and consumer spending declined, the Cabinet Office said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 11, 2007

Premature plan for devolution

A study group within the Liberal Democratic Party has submitted an interim report on introducing the "doshu" system of regional governments to the Abe administration. The crux of the idea is to divide the nation into nine to 13 regional blocs and give them greater autonomy than they have now.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 3, 2007

How Japanese tax-payers' money is lost in bid-rigging

Every few years, politicians, bureaucrats and construction company bigwigs get embroiled in bid-rigging scandals — and the public's faith in government sinks deeper.
BUSINESS
May 24, 2007

Nonlife insurers take revenue hit

Six major domestic nonlife insurers on Wednesday reported mixed financial results for the business year to March 31 as earnings were affected by revelations of an industrywide failure to pay legitimate claims and payouts for typhoon damage.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 6, 2007

Baseball federation and schools cause student players to suffer

Some scandals shock the public and others don't. The latter type usually involves organizational malfeasance that people suspect is a normal fact of life. However, in some rare cases a scandal of this type will actually strike people in a contradictory way: The purported malfeasance is not a surprise,...
BUSINESS
Apr 3, 2007

Livedoor will stick with its name

Livedoor Co. will stick with its corporate logo because Internet users still place great value on the firm, company officials said Monday, after the scandal-tainted company had considered a name change.
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2007

Citigroup bid firm at 1,700 yen as Nikko tender offer starts

U.S. financial services giant Citigroup Inc. said Wednesday it will launch a public tender offer for Nikko Cordial Corp. from Thursday through Apr. 26 for 1,700 yen per share -- a price Citigroup said it would not increase.
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2007

Nikko to sue former execs over accounting fraud

Nikko Cordial Corp., facing possible delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange, said Tuesday it will sue three former senior executives for a combined 3.1 billion yen for their roles in accounting fraud committed at the firm.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Feb 14, 2007

How to weed out a wrestling wizard

Centuries ago, the Europeans and, in some cases, Americans liked nothing better than a spot of witch-hunting on a quiet news day.
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2006

Nikko Cordial delays revision of '04 report

Scandal-tainted Nikko Cordial Corp. said Thursday the release of its corrected group earnings report for fiscal 2004 will be delayed until Feb. 28 because it has changed auditors.
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2006

Abe banks on continued growth

The government will cut new bond sales by the largest margin on record, curb spending across the board and take a sharp bite out of the deficit under the fiscal 2007 draft budget submitted Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2006

Aozora lists on Tokyo Stock Exchange

The formerly government-controlled Aozora Bank went public Tuesday -- eight years after its predecessor, Nippon Credit Bank, was delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange -- fetching an initial quote of 495 yen, or 13 percent less than its public offering price of 570 yen.
EDITORIALS
Nov 9, 2006

Making the tough calls on taxes

The Tax Commission, an advisory body that directly reports to the prime minister, has started discussions under chairman Mr. Masaaki Honma, a professor at Osaka University. Sixteen of its 20 members, including Mr. Honma, were newly appointed. His appointment came as a surprise.
BUSINESS
Aug 26, 2006

Ashikaga Bank ready for new owners

The government will start screening financial institutions to take over state-administered Ashikaga Bank as early as September, Financial Services Minister Kaoru Yosano said Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 3, 2006

Obituary: Masao Nishimura

Former Industrial Bank of Japan President Masao Nishimura, one of the architects of the Mizuho megabank group, died of heart failure Tuesday at a Tokyo hospital, his family has announced. He was 73.
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2006

Japan eyes more North Korea sanctions

The government is considering imposing additional sanctions on North Korea, including banning the transfer of financial assets and stricter export controls, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 21, 2006

Hankyu-Hanshin deal fails to impress analysts

Hankyu Holdings Inc. said Tuesday it will acquire 63.71 percent of Hanshin Electric Railway Co. for nearly 250 billion yen, paving the way for the first postwar merger of major private railways in October.
COMMENTARY
Jun 15, 2006

Reformers edge ahead in Chinese debate

HONG KONG -- Since Deng Xiaoping began the process of reform and opening up almost 28 years ago, China has repeatedly had internal debates, often heated, as to whether changes had gone too far.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers