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COMMENTARY
Sep 6, 2004

Blame it on the cell phones

The continuing doldrums in the Japanese economy began with a slowdown more than 13 years ago -- in May 1991. The slump stems from sluggish consumer spending, which accounts for 60 percent of the gross national product, and bad loans plaguing Japanese commercial banks. Let's consider the reasons for sluggish...
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2004

Toyota to enter brokerage fray via dealers

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to enter the securities brokerage business by selling investment trusts, bonds and other financial instruments at affiliated dealerships possibly within this year, company officials said Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2004

Flawed homeland security

LAS VEGAS -- The dispute between Washington and Tokyo over the fate of Army Sgt. Charles Jenkins, whom the United States accuses of defecting to North Korea some 40 years ago, is more than a case of American legalism vs. Japanese ad hoc policy and humanitarian instincts. The issue goes much deeper into...
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2004

Kono hits Keidanren arms trade push

House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono on Wednesday blasted the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) over its suggestion that the government should lift its ban on arms exports.
BUSINESS
Jun 25, 2004

Manufacturers foresee big capital spending rise

A strong business outlook has translated into a 19.8 percent year-on-year rise in fiscal 2004 spending forecasts for manufacturers, according to a government survey released Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jun 18, 2004

Toshiba, Mitsubishi Electric plan power module transfer

Toshiba Corp. will transfer a major portion of its high-capacity power module business to Mitsubishi Electric Corp. as part of a joint strategy to focus management resources, the two companies said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jun 18, 2004

Summer bonuses to hit record high

Bonus payments planned by 150 major Japanese companies this summer average a record 846,343 yen per employee, according to a recent survey by the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren).
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 12, 2004

Korean democracy passes test

NEW YORK -- Politics in Japan and South Korea are a study in contrasts. It is nearly impossible to identify the polic differences between Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition Democrats. In South Korea, on the other hand, the ruling Uri Party, which now controls both the presidency...
JAPAN
May 25, 2004

Fewer firms inclined to donate to political parties: poll

More than one in four major companies have no plans to make political party donations this year, a Kyodo News survey has reported.
COMMUNITY
May 23, 2004

Show reflects growing 'green' economy

The words "Japanese technology" usually conjure up images of everything from cars and cameras to stereos and mobile phones.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 15, 2004

If it's cricket, it's TV Masala's Club Masala

What luck to pick up a promotional flier for Club Masala -- the first Indian subcontinent cable TV network operating in Japan -- in a branch of the curry chain Samrat. Interesting, I thought, and zipped off an e-mail. Now here I am with its president, Nofil Iqbal, who, it transpires, was born in Pakistan....
BUSINESS
May 12, 2004

Top trading houses post record earnings

Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co., Japan's two largest trading houses, on Tuesday reported record earnings for the year through March, helped by surging petrochemical and natural resources markets.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2004

Sony restructuring plan bites into 2003 net profit

Sony Corp. said Tuesday its net profit fell 23 percent to 88.5 billion yen in fiscal 2003 due to heavy restructuring expenses.
JAPAN / TALKING SHOP
Apr 26, 2004

Diagrams help equity investment pro when words get jumbled

Where there is a diagram, there is a way.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2004

Tsutsumi quits Seibu helm over payoffs

Seibu Railway Co. Chairman Yoshiaki Tsutsumi said Wednesday he will resign over a racketeer payoff scandal involving three company executives.
BUSINESS
Apr 8, 2004

Panel wants Japan Post privatized in 2017 after 10-year transition phase

The government should aim to fully privatize Japan Post around 2017, following a 10-year transitional period starting in 2007, according to the draft of an advisory panel's interim report released Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Apr 8, 2004

Mall, credit card push boost Aeon profit

Aeon Co. said Wednesday its net profit rose 8 percent to a record 55.32 billion yen for the business year that ended Feb. 20, helped by its shopping mall development and credit card businesses.
JAPAN / TALKING SHOP
Mar 29, 2004

Wipro head develops management style to handle Indians

YOKOHAMA -- Masaki Nagao recently applied a typical Japanese business practice to helping reorganize his India-affiliated software firm here.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2004

Japanese airlines grapple for slice of China pie

China became the focus of grave concern among international airlines a year ago, when the SARS epidemic led to a dramatic decline in travelers to the country.
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2004

Matsui, Resona in brokerage account deal

Online brokerage Matsui Securities Co. and Resona Holdings Inc. will soon forge a business tieup under which individual investors will be able to open Matsui brokerage accounts at Resona group banking outlets, company sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2004

Many firms cutting down on travel expenses

Almost half of the companies that responded to a survey said they have reviewed expenses for business trips by employees in the past three years, with about 40 percent reducing or abolishing daily allowances, according to a Tokyo-based private research institute on labor and industry.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 5, 2004

Tax barriers coming down

WASHINGTON -- Last November, with little fanfare, the governments of the United States and Japan concluded and signed a treaty for "the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income."
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2004

NTT units to focus on fiber-optic nets

The two regional land-line carriers of NTT Corp. will focus on expanding fiber-optic networks for broadband services, according to their fiscal 2004 business plans released Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2004

Kansai in dire need of airport guidance

OSAKA -- With Kobe airport due to open next year, joining Kansai International Airport and the domestic hub in Itami, Kansai's business and government leaders have formed a committee to figure out how to effectively operate the region's three airports.
COMMENTARY
Feb 23, 2004

Revise the antimonopoly law

Experts agree that Japan must strengthen its Antimonopoly Act, push deregulation to promote economic reform, reactivate its sluggish economy and protect consumer interests.
EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2004

Shinsei Bank's impressive revival

Thursday's listing of Shinsei Bank on the Tokyo Stock Exchange is good news. It is proof of how a failed and nationalized bank can reinvent itself as a going concern through efficient and innovative private management. The downside is that it took trillions of yen in taxpayer money to revive the bank,...
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2004

New 'happoshu' brew earns Asahi record profits

Industry leader Asahi Breweries Ltd. reported Friday a record net profit for 2003, buoyed by strong sales of a newly introduced "happoshu" beerlike beverage.

Longform

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