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COMMENTARY / World
Jul 12, 2003

East Asian FTA? Dream on!

LONDON -- At their summit meeting in Beijing last week, Presidents Roh Moo Hyun of South Korea and Hu Jintao of China agreed to push for a summit declaration on the establishment of a free trade area (FTA) among South Korea, China and Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 11, 2003

Narita looks to privatization, more profits, lower landing fees

With legislation for privatizing Narita airport set to win Diet approval Friday, the head of the operating authority pledged to do his utmost to make Japan's main gateway more profitable so it can go public in a few years after becoming a wholly state-owned joint stock corporation.
EDITORIALS
Jul 1, 2003

Another nudge for the U.S. economy

The stars are beginning to line up for the U.S. economy. The war in Iraq ended quickly, the Bush tax cut has become law, economic indicators point to growth in the second half of the year and the dollar is declining against other currencies, boosting the prospects for exports. To help nudge things along,...
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2003

FSA lists rules on bank side businesses

The Financial Services Agency has drawn up rules for regional lenders operating sideline businesses, such as providing advice to companies or leasing unused office space, FSA sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2003

FSA lists rules on bank side businesses

The Financial Services Agency has drawn up rules for regional lenders operating sideline businesses, such as providing advice to companies or leasing unused office space, FSA sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2003

FSA lists rules on bank side businesses

The Financial Services Agency has drawn up rules for regional lenders operating sideline businesses, such as providing advice to companies or leasing unused office space, FSA sources said Saturday.
COMMUNITY
Jun 29, 2003

Cherchez la femme

Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing. -- Proverbs 18:22
COMMUNITY
Jun 29, 2003

Going it alone 'to lift the gloom'

Reiko Togo has been very dissatisfied with Japan's magazine industry for a very long time. "Magazines have become just vehicles for advertisements, and there are none I want to read," she says.
BUSINESS
Jun 26, 2003

Mizuho executives fail to placate shareholders

While leaders in other industries are incorporating changes to improve better shareholder participation in managerial decisions, the shareholders' meeting held Wednesday by Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. indicates change is slow to come to the banking sector.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 17, 2003

Execs get taste of democratic approach to harmony

Can a corporation perform well with just the workers pulling together in a democratic manner and no top managers around to call the shots? One school of thought says yes.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 14, 2003

Domestic auto retailers revamping sales channels

Domestic automobile retailers find themselves in a state of flux as intensified competition due to structural and demographic changes in the market lead many Japanese automakers to revamp their sales networks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2003

UPS to buck economic trend and expand in Japan

Despite the current volatility of the economic climate, United Parcel Service Inc., the world's largest package delivery company, will actively expand operations in Japan, according to the head of UPS Asia Pacific Region.
LIFE / Digital / NETWISE
Jun 12, 2003

Internet at light speed

Here we go again. Just when I thought I was enjoying affordable, high-speed Internet access, along comes yet another new technology that makes my once-fat data pipe look like a swizzle stick. I'm talking fiber.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 10, 2003

My mother, the terrorist and other successful families

An old saying in Japanese goes, "Oya no hikari wa nanahikari," literally, "A parent's light is [as good as] seven lights." In other words, children who play their cards right can bask in the glow of their parent's fame.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2003

Slush fund claim heats Duskin case

Duskin Co., a major cleaning equipment rental firm under investigation for a series of questionable transactions, provided 5 million yen to a struggling business partner in 1998 through a company slush fund, sources familiar with the case said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jun 6, 2003

Pay raises average a meager 1.65%

The average monthly pay hike granted in the spring wage negotiations was 1.65 percent, the second-lowest level on record, according to a survey released Thursday by the nation's most powerful business lobby.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2003

Life insurers' revenues, assets still spiraling down

Falling stock prices and sluggish demand left all the nation's major life insurance companies with reduced revenues and net assets in the year that ended on March 31, according to earnings reports released Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 31, 2003

Improve your English via e-mail correspondence

Studying French from age 11, it was exciting when my school in England teamed up with another in France for correspondence exchange. Francoise and I wrote to one another for five years before fading from one another's lives. But I have never forgotten her, or her impact on my life: opening up the world...
BUSINESS
May 29, 2003

Toei studio group profit up 87.7%

Major film studio Toei Co. on Wednesday reported an 87.7 percent jump in its group net profit for the year to March 31, due largely to improved profitability in its mainstay movie business.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 27, 2003

Painless driving instruction and a move to Japan

More on DIY trading "Gaijin" writes that further to my answer to Wilma Jay (Lifelines; April 29), there are around 60 Internet brokers through which she could do day trading. (Gaijin himself/herself makes a living through trading).
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 22, 2003

Corporate values ignore the bottom line

With all the scandals swirling around U.S. corporations, public respect for CEOs has plunged and, as a lawyer, I can empathize. Stories about sleazy lawyers chasing after ambulances still bring color to my cheeks, so I understand what it's like to work in a profession that is equated with sharks and...
COMMENTARY / World
May 19, 2003

SARS sets off power struggle in Beijing

CAMBRIDGE, England -- The SARS epidemic centered in China has become a global issue. Most people in the world, even if they are not infected or in serious danger of infection, are indirectly affected by the restrictions on freedom of movement and economic downturns directly attributed to reactions the...
BUSINESS
May 17, 2003

Corporate responsibility in spotlight

If you make up the rules, you've got an excellent chance of winning the game.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2003

Casio swings back into the black

Casio Computer Co. swung back into the black in fiscal 2002 thanks to cost-cutting efforts and increased sales in its electronics business, the office equipment and consumer electronics manufacturer said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2003

NTT back in the black but sales on the slide

NTT Corp. on Tuesday reported a consolidated net profit of 233.36 billion yen for the business year to March 31, marking a dramatic turnaround from its 834.67 billion yen group net loss in fiscal 2001.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 11, 2003

Koreans make good moves

THE KOREAN DIASPORA IN THE WORLD ECONOMY, edited by C. Fred Bergsten and Inbom Choi. Washington D.C.: Institute for International Economics, Special Report 15, January 2003, 180 pp., $25 (paper) In recent years, increasing attention has been given to the social and economic role of diasporas -- communities...
BUSINESS
May 10, 2003

Sorting out the recent fuss over pension funds, share prices

Thought Tokyo stock prices could fall no further? Think again. Corporate pension managers are poised to sell between 2 trillion yen and 3 trillion yen worth of stocks in the coming months -- and think tanks estimate that figure could double.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 9, 2003

Camera-phones help DoCoMo to post solid profit

NTT DoCoMo Inc., the nation's top mobile phone firm, said Thursday it posted a group net profit of 212.49 billion yen for the year through March, thanks to strong growth stimulated by camera-equipped handsets.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2003

Aiful posts 70.9% rise in net profit

Consumer loan company Aiful Corp. said Thursday its group net profit jumped to 59.91 billion yen in fiscal 2002, up 70.9 percent from the previous year as a result of efforts to become a more diversified financial group.

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