Search - business

 
 
BUSINESS
Jun 14, 2002

Will new responsibility make farm ministry act responsibly?

Will too many cooks spoil the broth?
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 14, 2002

Okinawa airline plots cheap flights to Haneda

A new low-cost airline hopes to capitalize on recent changes in the government's aviation policies and give Okinawans a cheaper option of getting to and from the mainland.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 14, 2002

'Allez Nippon!' -- how Japan learned to love M. Troussier

Watched any World Cup matches in the past few weeks? Yelled your heart out? Ready to slit your wrists -- or, more to the point, to strangle a shinpan (referee) or two? Predictably, a few of my friends have sworn never to touch coffee made from Costa Rican beans ever again (what was that referee thinking...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 13, 2002

'Dark Side' proved a lightning rod for readers' ire

Being a columnist can be lonely. Apart from doing interviews, researching and writing are pretty solitary activities and feedback is limited. Getting a handful of e-mails, be they cranky, critical or supportive, marks a successful column.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2002

Ex-SDF officer held over cash scam

OSAKA — A 44-year-old former Self-Defense Forces officer has been arrested for allegedly bilking a woman out of some 9.5 million yen by posing as a trading house president, it was learned Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 13, 2002

Canon to merge two subsidiaries

Printer maker Canon Inc. said Wednesday it will merge subsidiaries Canon Aptex Inc. and Copyer Co. to create a new company specializing in office printers.
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2002

Mitsubishi elevator firm given sabotage warning

The Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday warned Mitsubishi Electric Building Techno-Service Co. to stop sabotaging its competitors.
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2002

Builders launch recycling venture

Construction firms Kajima Corp., Taisei Corp. and Shimizu Corp. said Tuesday they have formed a joint venture to develop and sell recycled building materials.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2002

Who's winning the 'coca war'?

LA PAZ, Bolivia — On a hot December afternoon last year, 150 farmers in Chimore, a town in the Chapare region of central Bolivia, unloaded bananas and pineapples onto the Santa Cruz-Cochabamba highway. There was no market in sight and even if there was, the goods were not for sale. Rather, they were...
EDITORIALS
Jun 11, 2002

Loya Jirga gets down to business

A fghanistan takes a crucial step toward building a viable future this week with the convening of a grand assembly of tribal elders. The Loya Jirga will pick a government that will rule the country until general elections are held. While the conclave has been long anticipated, and is critical to the...
COMMENTARY
Jun 10, 2002

Peculiarities that give pause

More than a year after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi debuted under the "structural reform" slogan, its real meaning remains vague. The pivotal question is, what aspects of the Japanese structure (systems and practices) should be changed, and how?
EDITORIALS
Jun 10, 2002

Scientific analysis should come first

The government's decision to host an international project to build the next-generation thermonuclear experimental reactor in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, lacks a critical element: public understanding. The decision, prompted by a group of Liberal Democratic Party legislators promoting nuclear fusion...
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2002

Japan, Cuba quietly hail century of state relations

HISANE MASAKI Staff writer Quietly and with little fanfare, Japan is celebrating the 100th anniversary this year of state-to-state contact with Cuba.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 9, 2002

In step with the real Japan

We both confess to complete and utter madness, but we've been having a whale of a time -- and not only down in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, where the International Whaling Commission had its recent roughhouse, and where we completely pigged out on kujira no niku (whale meat) before heading on to...
COMMUNITY
Jun 9, 2002

Seeing Japan from top to bottom

We both confess to complete and utter madness, but we've been having a whale of a time -- and not only down in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, where the International Whaling Commission had its recent roughhouse, and where we completely pigged out on kujira no niku (whale meat) before heading on to...
LIFE / Travel
Jun 9, 2002

In step with the real Japan

We both confess to complete and utter madness, but we've been having a whale of a time -- and not only down in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, where the International Whaling Commission had its recent roughhouse, and where we completely pigged out on kujira no niku (whale meat) before heading on to...
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2002

State targets single moms in bid to fight divorce rate

In reaction to the growing number of divorces in Japan, the government said Friday it will restrict single mothers' eligibility to receive child-care benefits.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2002

Kobe Steel to sell equity to Comalco

Kobe Steel Ltd. said Friday it has signed an agreement to sell its 9.5 percent interest in Australian aluminum refiner Boyne Smelters Ltd. for around $78.5 billion to Comalco Ltd.
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Jun 7, 2002

Working with people to save the Earth

Money was not Fareeha Ibrahim's reason for joining the JET program. In fact, as a senior policy adviser in Australia's Environment Department, her annual income was significantly more than the 3.6 million yen she gets as a JET.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2002

Sometimes 'open' schools are more secure

OSAKA — The main gate of Hakata Elementary School in the city of Fukuoka is kept wide open.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2002

Tiananmen legacy to haunt new leaders

EDMONTON, Canada -- Tuesday was another anniversary of the tragic morning of June 4, 1989, when the Chinese government used force to crack down on student protesters and their supporters in and around Tiananmen Square.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 6, 2002

Looking at the bright side of Japan's cash woes

One of the most soul-destroying experiences of my life in Japan occurred back in 1986.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2002

Foreigners flock to Aichi town to learn Japanese

Japanese generally know two things about the city of Okazaki in Aichi Prefecture.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2002

Koizumi postal reforms draw flak from LDP vested interests

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was criticized Tuesday by a lawmaker from his own Liberal Democratic Party over his long-held goal to privatize the nation's postal services.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2002

Nissan Construction to receive aid

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Tuesday it has designated failed Nissan Construction Co. eligible for an employment aid program.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2002

Single men in 30s save either a lot or naught

OSAKA — In terms of saving money, single males in their 30s generally fall into two extreme categories: those who diligently set aside their yen and those who spend all they have, according to a recent survey by a consumer credit company.
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2002

NEC and Matsushita in China tieup

NEC Corp. and Matsushita Communication Industrial Co. said Monday they have established a joint venture with a local firm in China to expand their third-generation mobile handset business.
BUSINESS
Jun 3, 2002

U.S. energy policy pushes new course

KANSAS — The Bush administration is attempting to direct global energy policy in a new direction five years after the landmark Kyoto agreement to roll back emissions of greenhouse gases.
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Jun 3, 2002

Can a nation learn from Nissan's success?

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The twin announcements that Nissan made a record profit of 372 billion yen last year and that Carlos Ghosn has been appointed chief executive officer of the parent company, Renault, as well as retaining the presidency of Nissan, are an extraordinary landmark.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan