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Japan Times
BUSINESS / TAKING A CHANCE
Dec 25, 2008

People Tree products pioneering fair trade in Japan

The hand-knit sweaters and scarves and hand-woven bags with an ethnic look are nothing like the products sold to the masses of consumers in most big shopping malls.
EDITORIALS
Dec 17, 2008

Serious slump indicated

The results of a Bank of Japan survey released Monday show that business confidence among companies is rapidly worsening as Japanese companies feel the impact of the global economic slowdown. It seems that the Japanese economy is heading into a serious slump, which may last for a long time.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2008

Keep intervention option open: Gyohten

Monetary authorities in Japan and other nations should consider market intervention when the yen sharply rises against the dollar, according to Toyoo Gyohten, former vice finance minister for international affairs.
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2008

Corporate malaise worst in 34 years

Large manufacturers suffered their steepest fall in confidence in 34 years as the global financial crisis eroded profits, especially for carmakers, the Bank of Japan "tankan" survey showed Monday.
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2008

Travel agents shrug off Thai turmoil

JTB Corp. and H.I.S. Co., the nation's two largest travel agencies, said Wednesday that losses from canceled package tours to Thailand, where antigovernment protesters took control of two airports in the capital, haven't been bad because it isn't peak season yet.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2008

Hedge funds troll for Japan's wealthiest

The city of Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, has been home to the nation's industrial titans since samurai ruled the land more than a century ago. Now it is a feeding ground for hedge funds tapping the wealth of new multimillionaires like Kunihisa Sagami.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 25, 2008

Harajuku in peril?

As a dedicated follower of Japanese pop culture and the coauthor of a book on Japanese teen fashion, I confess that I'm getting a bit concerned about the direction in which the Harajuku district is headed these days.
Reader Mail
Nov 23, 2008

Reaction to 'Chinatown' mystifies

Regarding the Nov. 18 article "Merchants' plan for Chinatown in Ikebukuro faces resistance": As a former assistant manager of the Japan Center in San Francisco, I am extremely perturbed over the Japanese business community's reaction to the goodwill overture made by the Chinese business community in...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 23, 2008

Looking for ways to lure more visitors to these shores

What are people who work in the domestic tourism industry — from tour operators to inn owners to regional tourism promotion offices — doing to attract foreign visitors? Here are the voices of marketers from across Japan:
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Nov 17, 2008

Unlike blue chips, services firms' Japan quirks thwart global reach

Japan's firms are on an unprecedented shopping tour overseas. The value of January-October M&As hit a record ¥6.7 trillion, nearly four times more than a year earlier. The largest was Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group's $9 billion investment in Morgan Stanley.
EDITORIALS
Nov 12, 2008

Financial crisis hits home

The global financial crisis is hitting Japanese companies hard. Symbolic is Toyota Motor Co.'s prediction of its own business performance for the full year to March 2009. The rise of the yen's value and the slowing down of the world economy as seen in decreased auto sales in the United States and Europe...
EDITORIALS
Nov 11, 2008

Historic visit to Taiwan

The Taiwan Strait continues to narrow. Last week witnessed the highest-level contacts between Taiwan and mainland China since the 1949 civil war. The visit of Mr. Chen Yunlin to Taipei continues the bridge-building between the two sides and is a step forward in the eyes of all who seek peace and stability...
COMMENTARY
Nov 11, 2008

Laissez faire has taken a powder

In the wee hours of Oct. 11 Tokyo time, finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of Seven industrialized countries met in Washington to discuss how to resolve the global financial crisis and agreed to protect all depositors and inject public funds to rescue financial institutions.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 11, 2008

Nova refugees: Where are they now?

'All the schools are closed.'
BUSINESS
Nov 6, 2008

Obama victory to boost Japan, experts predict

At least in the short run, the Japanese economy is likely to benefit from Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election, as large-scale economic stimulus packages loom, economists said Wednesday.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 19, 2008

Beat Takeshi helps turn news into farce

For the past week or so commercial networks have been launching their new fall shows, and the ones attracting the most attention are on TBS, which seems to be cornering the market on what it calls "nonfiction" programming. There are at least four new shows that have been promoted using this English term,...
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2008

Keidanren: Immigrant worker influx vital to halt labor shortage

Japan should expedite an increase in immigrant labor to engage in fields ranging from welfare to manufacturing, construction and agriculture to offset the shrinking domestic workforce, the nation's largest business lobby said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 15, 2008

AFLAC good match for Alico Japan: Amos

AFLAC Inc., the world's largest seller of supplemental health insurance, may bid for American International Group Inc.'s Alico Japan life insurance unit, Chief Executive Officer Daniel Amos said.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb