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BUSINESS
Mar 6, 2002

Tobishima to speed up debt cut

Construction company Tobishima Corp. said Tuesday it has devised a new rehabilitation plan to cut its group interest-bearing debts of 135 billion yen by 50 billion yen over three years.
BUSINESS
Mar 5, 2002

Hazama shrugs off rumor of Sato Kogyo linkup

Construction firm Hazama Corp. rejected suggestions Monday that it is considering integrating its management with Sato Kogyo Co. or other companies, or that it is seeking additional financial aid from its creditor banks.
BUSINESS
Feb 16, 2002

Fujita seeks integration with Mitsui-Sumitomo

As banks and the government desperately work to solve the issue of mounting problem loans, many of which were extended to the construction industry, financially troubled contractor Fujita Corp. said Friday that it plans to merge its key construction division with Mitsui Construction Co. and Sumitomo...
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2002

Okuda opposes mark-to-market accounting freeze

Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Federation of Employers Associations (Nikkeiren), voiced opposition Wednesday to a proposal to temporarily freeze the mark-to-market method of accounting to protect banks' weakening capital bases.
BUSINESS
Feb 1, 2002

Tokio, Asahi Mutual scrap tieup

The merger of Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. and Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Co.'s life insurance businesses, touted for March 2003, has been scrapped. The decision, reached during a meeting Thursday morning between Tokio Marine President Kunio Ishihara and Asahi Mutual President Yuzuru Fujita, has...
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2002

Keidanren, Nikkeiren still have hurdles to clear

The Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) and the Japan Federation of Employers' Associations (Nikkeiren) are putting the final touches on mandatory procedures for their much ballyhooed integration, scheduled for May 28.
EDITORIALS
Jan 20, 2002

The Segway's Japanese roots

At the end of December, Emeritus Professor Kazuo Yamafuji of Tokyo's University of Electro-Communications had something interesting to add to the buzz of talk about the Segway Human Transporter, the self-balancing robotic scooter unveiled earlier in the month by U.S. inventor Dean Kamen.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2002

Kawasaki to get east-west line -- but at what cost?

A 36-year-old plan to build a subway running east and west in Kawasaki finally appears to be moving forward, drawing praise from residents along the proposed route but criticism from opponents for imposing a huge drain on the city's finances.
BUSINESS
Jan 14, 2002

Shokusan Jutaku seeks protection from creditors

Shokusan Jutaku Sogo Co., a leading builder of custom-made houses, on Sunday filed for court protection from creditors with liabilities of 13.5 billion yen, the company said.
BUSINESS
Jan 11, 2002

Stock surge euphoria may yield to hangover

Although the Tokyo Stock Exchange ushered in 2002 on a positive note, a long lasting surge appears unlikely. The outlook remains bleak for the year ahead and beyond.
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2001

Wary foreign investors shunning Indonesia

JAKARTA -- Foreign investment in Indonesia has been locked in a downward spiral. Despite optimism at the appointment of the current government, the country has barely been able to attract capital from outside. The terror attack against the United Stated on Sept. 11 only partly explains the negative sentiment....
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2001

Shiodome development to spruce up center of Tokyo

The southern half of central Tokyo is teaming with development projects aimed at reviving a city long criticized for its lack of space and greenery.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2001

Lift age for retirement, medical services: proposal

A government strategy drafted with Japan's graying society in mind proposes increasing the mandatory ages for retirement and eligibility for medical services, according to the draft outline obtained by Kyodo News.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Nov 28, 2001

U.S. set to rebound, not Japan

Investors have taken heart from recent U.S. economic reports that show a 7.1 percent rise in retail sales in October, the strongest surge on record, and a continued fall in the number of weekly jobless claims.
BUSINESS
Nov 24, 2001

BOJ urges banks to clarify outlooks

Banks should promptly clarify their business outlooks for the financial market to help them pull out of their bad-loan straits, a senior Bank of Japan official said during a recent interview with Kyodo News.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2001

Jichiro chapters stop paying dues to headquarters

At least 10 prefectural chapters of Jichiro, the nationwide union of local government employees, have stopped paying membership dues to protest allegations of shady financial dealings at the head office.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2001

Government to seek swift CJD settlement

Health minister Chikara Sakaguchi said Thursday the government will try to reach a quick settlement in two damages suits over Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease contracted from transplants of infected dura mater imported from Germany.
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2001

New liquidation rules sought for hopeless firms

OSAKA -- Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa proposed Monday that rules be established to liquidate companies whose debts exceed assets and whose rehabilitation is deemed impossible so that banks' disposal of soured loans can be accelerated.
BUSINESS
Oct 27, 2001

Chuo Mitsui looks for lifeline

Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking Co. announced Friday it will reorganize its trust operations and seek capital injections of between 60 billion yen and 70 billion yen from other members of the Mitsui group.
BUSINESS
Sep 29, 2001

State set to answer airlines' SOS

Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Chikage Ogi expressed her readiness Friday to provide financial support for the nation's airlines to help them cope with the added financial burden of compensation payments and increased security.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2001

Nikkei falls under vital 10,000 line

The benchmark Nikkei stock average tumbled below 10,000 for the first time in 17 years Wednesday as chaos overcame world financial markets following terrorist attacks in the United States the previous day.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2001

Cabinet to start on extra budget

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Friday instructed his Cabinet to begin work on a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year after official data confirmed that the nation's economy shrank in the second quarter of 2001.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2001

Nikkei hits postbubble closing low

An overnight tumble on Wall Street and investors' disappointment in what they see as lukewarm government action on structural reform kept Tokyo stocks weak Friday and again sent the key price index to a new postbubble closing low.
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2001

Yen gaining, credit-easing notwithstanding

The Bank of Japan's latest move to further ease its credit grip has gone largely unheeded on the currency market.
JAPAN / PRIVATIZING PAINS
Aug 24, 2001

Scrapping housing loan entity said threat to low-income ranks

Kyodo News A proposal by the Cabinet's administrative reform headquarters asking Government Housing Loan Corp. to effective stop extending new loans is meeting stiff opposition from the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry, promising heated debate toward the end of the year.
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2001

U.K. family of JAL victim confused at redress delay

The British mother of two girls who lost their father in the world's worst single plane crash in 1985, has expressed both confusion and hope over the family's claim for official and direct compensation from Japan Airlines.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2001

Reform of state-linked firms encounters stiff resistance

A government proposal to drastically overhaul government-backed corporations is facing resistance from the ministries and agencies that control them, according to a government report released Friday.

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