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JAPAN
Aug 25, 2005

Keidanren to officially back Koizumi

The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) will officially back the Liberal Democratic Party in the Sept. 11 Lower House election as a show of support for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reforms, sources said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 3, 2005

Over half of top firms fret Japan-China ties: survey

More than half of major companies surveyed recently are afraid strained relations between Japan and China could adversely affect their business with China.
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2005

Lufthansa to boost Eastern Europe destinations

Lufthansa German Airlines will expand its Eastern European destinations to improve access at a time of growing demand in Japan for business trips to that region, according to the carrier's executive vice president, Thierry Antinori.
Japan Times
Features
Jul 31, 2005

Retail mecca reborn

Many of Japan's thousands of shotengai (mom-and-pop retailers' districts) are struggling these days as customers desert them for major department stores, discount shops and suburban malls. The Osu district of Nagoya, though, is a notable exception. Bucking the nationwide downturn, this area is popular...
Japan Times
Features
Jul 31, 2005

'Secret' city basks in its low-profile limelight

It's at the geographic center of Japan and has in the past been at the hub of its history. It's also the nation's fourth-largest city, with a population of 2.2 million. But despite these, and many more, claims to fame and prominence, Nagoya City in Aichi Prefecture has always been outstanding for its...
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2005

Japan firms' U.K. workers OK

Japanese firms breathed a collective sigh of relief Friday after determining that all their employees in London appear not to have been injured in the series of deadly explosions that rocked the transportation system in the British capital.
EDITORIALS
Jul 2, 2005

Protection in a modern economy

The recent theft of data from some 40 million credit-card accounts in the United States is another reminder of the insecurities of the digital world. Electronic commerce continues to rise in volume but consumers, retailers, financial institutions and other parts of the business chain have not yet adjusted...
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2005

Firms upbeat for first time in three quarters: 'tankan'

Japan's large manufacturers turned more confident about their business in the April-June quarter, marking the first improvement in three quarters, according to the Bank of Japan's "tankan" business sentiment survey released Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 25, 2005

Democrat abroad shapes multimedia for export

Terri MacMillan is marvelous. Funny, outgoing, dramatic and driven, she has a heart of pure gold. Ask anyone who knows her. Come to think of it, it's hard to imagine this funky, articulate American has a single enemy -- except among hard-core Republicans, who must surely hate her guts.
BUSINESS
Jun 24, 2005

New Sony chief looks to go after money-losing operations

New Sony Corp. CEO Howard Stringer said Thursday that his company will winnow out some unprofitable operations as it tries to turn around its lackluster consumer electronics business.
COMMENTARY
Jun 16, 2005

The gulf between Bush, Roh

LOS ANGELES -- I'm sorry, but President George W. Bush just doesn't get South Korea and he doesn't understand its president, Roh Moo Hyun, either. And I doubt he ever will.
Japan Times
Features
Jun 12, 2005

Feast your eyes and more

When it comes to food in the Kansai region, Kyoto is not the first place that springs to mind. Kyoto folk, the saying goes, spend their money on good clothes, whereas people from Osaka spend their money on good food.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jun 5, 2005

Seiji Hirao: Mr. Rugby

At the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Hong Kong in March, a group of eminent rugby journalists were talking about Japan's bid to host Rugby World Cup 2011.
EDITORIALS
May 26, 2005

Bid-rigging at public expense

The Tokyo High Public Prosecutor's Office is conducting a sweeping investigation of a number of public engineering companies on charges of violating the Antimonopoly Law over the years by restricting fair business transactions. Public prosecutors have launched the massive investigation in response to...
BUSINESS
May 25, 2005

SMFG posts record group net loss

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. said Tuesday it posted a record 234.2 billion yen group net loss for the business year ended March 31, a sharp reversal from the 330.4 billion yen net profit it recorded a year earlier.
Japan Times
Features
May 22, 2005

Retirees lead the way back to nature

Yoshishige Nagayama started farming when he retired nine years ago at age 60.
EDITORIALS
May 20, 2005

A cautiously optimistic view

On the face of it, Japan's economy appears headed for a full-fledged recovery. In the first quarter of 2005, the gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.3 percent from the previous quarter, or 5.3 percent in annualized terms, according to the Cabinet Office. It was the first solid quarterly growth since...
BUSINESS
May 20, 2005

Chinese exec foresees a rosy future

Despite recent anti-Japan demonstrations in China, business relations between the two neighbors will eventually deepen and expand in a mutually beneficial way, a Chinese business executive predicted Thursday.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2005

Shiseido posts a net loss of 8.86 billion yen

Shiseido Co. said Wednesday it posted an 8.86 billion yen net loss for the year that ended in March, after booking hefty restructuring costs including an early retirement package.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2005

Sony net profit skyrockets 85%

Sony Corp. said Wednesday its consolidated net profit for fiscal 2004 surged 85.1 percent to 163.84 billion yen, thanks to a strong performance by its movie unit.
EDITORIALS
Apr 15, 2005

Road to corporate turnaround

The Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan (IRCJ), a body created in 2003 to turn around failing corporations, completed part of its mission at the end of March after buying the loans owed by selected businesses. The remaining part of the mission of the semigovernmental agency, due to disband three...
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2005

Cost-cutting a safety threat: JAL unions

Unions at Japan Airlines Corp. are taking the opportunity of JAL being reprimanded by the government over recent safety shortcomings to fault the policies of management, especially its drastic cost-reduction efforts.
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2005

Credit Suisse Trust gets partial suspension

The Financial Services Agency has ordered Credit Suisse Trust and Banking Co. to suspend part of its operations for one month for making several thousand improper business transactions.
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2005

Toyota-led team agrees to aid struggling Misawa

Misawa Homes Holdings Inc. announced Thursday that a team led by Toyota Motor Corp. has agreed to inject 25.8 billion yen in fresh capital into the troubled home builder.
Features / WEEK 3
Mar 20, 2005

On a wing and no fare

When Momoko Sasaki goes traveling, she literally "goes an extra mile" to enjoy perks that few of her peers have likely ever dreamed of.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 13, 2005

Fuji TV in a Horie to distance itself from IT man

Next month, Fuji TV will launch another batch of up-to-the-minute trendy drama series. Among them is one called "Koi ni Ochitara/Boku no Seiko no Himitsu (Falling in Love/The Secret of My Success)" starring SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi as a young man who, after his small family-run factory goes bankrupt,...
EDITORIALS
Mar 10, 2005

Last chance for Daiei's survival

Daiei Inc., Japan's ailing supermarket operator, is ready to make its third -- and final -- attempt at rehabilitation. On Monday, the state-run Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan (IRCJ) formally selected trading house Marubeni Corp. and investment fund Advantage Partners as Daiei's business sponsors....
EDITORIALS
Feb 28, 2005

Look for VAT hike on the agenda

It appears that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is pushing the consumption-tax issue onto the political agenda. During a Lower House plenary session earlier this month, he said, in effect, that the value-added tax should be increased as part of overall social security reform. Until recently, Koizumi...

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