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BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2003

Hitachi-Mitsubishi chip deal OK'd

Hitachi Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. obtained approval Thursday from their shareholders on a plan to spin off and integrate their semiconductor operations under a joint venture to be set up April 1.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2003

METI, BOJ target credit crunch

The government and the Bank of Japan will jointly promote the securitization of small and midsize companies' credit receivable as a new funding tool to deal with the credit crunch, according to plans released Thursday at the Diet.
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2003

Toyota sees 93.9% net profit growth

Toyota Motor Corp. on Wednesday reported a group net profit of 216.1 billion yen for the October-December quarter, up 93.9 percent from the same period a year earlier on brisk sales at home and abroad.
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2003

Burgers to stay cheap but cheese will cost you

will end its discount campaign on cheeseburgers and "frankburger" hotdogs at most of its fast food outlets next week, company officials said Tuesday. In August, McDonald's cut the price of cheeseburgers to 79 yen and frankburgers to 75 yen, but beginning Monday, consumers will have to pay 120 yen for...
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2003

Monetary base up 13.4% to 95.367 trillion yen

Japan's monetary base in January rose 13.4 percent from a year earlier to 95.367 trillion yen, up for the 24th straight month, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2003

Hitachi shoots into black

Hitachi Ltd. announced Tuesday that it posted a group net profit of 1.3 billion yen in the October-December quarter -- in stark contrast to a net loss of 115.8 billion yen a year earlier -- due to reduced costs and solid sales growth.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2003

K-1 promoter arrested over taxes

A key promoter of the popular K-1 martial arts event was arrested Monday on suspicion of evading about 177 million yen in taxes, according to sources.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2003

Nursing home operator taken in for not paying overtime

A nursing home operator in Hamura, western Tokyo, was arrested Monday on suspicion of making employees work without overtime pay in violation of the Labor Standards Law.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Feb 4, 2003

Refunded cash for working at home and a sumo day out

Greetings Greetings from 10,000 meters -- I am beginning this week's column from somewhere high over the Pacific Ocean on United Flight 897 bound for Tokyo.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 4, 2003

Kitting out the big man in Japan

If this writer had to pick a Tom Hanks film to depict his three-and-a-half decades of life in this country, it would be a tossup between "Forrest Gump" and "Big."
COMMENTARY
Feb 3, 2003

Pendulum swings on China vs. Japan

DAVOS, Switzerland -- How wildly the pendulum swings whenever "the experts" start talking about Japan vs. China. One can do no wrong, and the other can do no right.
COMMUNITY
Feb 2, 2003

A crazed genius shining in the light of new learning

Sugita Genpaku was well-known for his broad social network, which owed much to his easygoing nature. One of his more unusual friends, however, was Hiraga Gen'nai -- dubbed Japan's answer to Leonardo da Vinci.
EDITORIALS
Feb 2, 2003

Onward and upward

Just last month, in this space, we noted the 20th anniversary of the birth of the Internet. Twenty is still young, we observed, but for something barely out of its teens, the Internet has wrought an impressive transformation in the way tens of millions of people live and work. Last week a minor news...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 1, 2003

Need a guide to Japan's flea markets? Here it is

Rather, here he is: Theodore Manning, whose book "Flea Markets of Japan: A Pocket Guide for Antique Buyers" was published last month. He no longer lives here, having returned last year to America after a 10-year stretch, so I call him in his new home base of Chicago and we talk by phone.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2003

Kawaguchi criticizes Iraq over violations

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi condemned Iraq on Friday for failing for more than a decade to carry out its obligations under United Nations resolutions, and urged Baghdad to clear suspicions over its possession of weapons of mass destruction.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2003

Mimura to take reins at Nippon Steel

Nippon Steel Corp. said Thursday that Akio Mimura, one of its six executive vice presidents, will be promoted to president April 1, succeeding Akira Chihaya.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2003

Hitachi dropping losers to enhance profits

Hitachi will drop money-losing businesses that now bring in 1.6 trillion yen in annual sales for the Japanese electronics maker in an effort to return to profitability.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2003

Court strikes down Ishihara's bank tax

The Tokyo High Court on Thursday supported a lower court decision invalidating a controversial tax imposed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on major banks, ordering Tokyo to return 162.87 billion yen collected from 17 banks in fiscal 2000 and 2001.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 31, 2003

Lifetime of missed chances

LONDON -- On Jan. 22, two of the world's leading powers celebrated the 40th anniversary of a remarkable reconciliation. At the historic Palace of Versailles, France's President Jacques Chirac and Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder toasted a treaty signed in 1963 by their visionary predecessors, Charles...
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2003

Standing by policies remains elusive ideal

It was a humiliating blow for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2003

Volkswagen aims for sales boost

The Japanese unit of German carmaker Volkswagen AG said Thursday it hopes to increase sales to 62,000 units in Japan in 2003 by introducing attractive new models and reinforcing its sales network in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Snow Brand vows to restore image with safety steps

Snow Brand Milk Products Co., which has recently revamped its corporate structure, restated its pledge Wednesday to restore its image by ensuring safety and ethical conduct.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Misawa to change group structure

Misawa Homes Co. said Wednesday it will reorganize its group structure under a new holding firm to be launched in August.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Niigata Engineering units get new financial backing

Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. said Wednesday it and the governmental Development Bank of Japan will jointly set up two companies to take over failed Niigata Engineering Co.'s mainstay operations.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Sony posts record quarterly sales

Sony Corp. said Wednesday its group sales and net profit for the October-December period each hit record quarterly highs, bolstered by strong performance in its film, electronics and game businesses.
EDITORIALS
Jan 29, 2003

An improved privacy bill

The new privacy legislation prepared by the government -- a replacement for a similar measure that died in last year's Diet session -- represents a step forward. The improved version leaves out, among other things, rules that would unreasonably restrict the media handling of personal information. It...
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2003

Prosecutors given case against USJ

OSAKA -- Police turned over to prosecutors Tuesday their case against the operator of movie theme park Universal Studios Japan and two park employees in connection with the suspected use of an illegal amount of explosives for fireworks.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?