Search - 2003

 
 
BUSINESS
May 4, 2002

Pursuit of FTAs vital but troublesome

Last month, leading brewer Asahi Breweries Ltd. began shipping its Super Dry beer to Singapore from Japan, instead of from its facilities in China.
COMMENTARY
May 1, 2002

Economic sense clashes with security concerns

HONG KONG -- Taiwan is coming to grips with a paradox: China is both its best friend and its worst enemy. In recent weeks, the island has been debating what its priority should be -- to enhance its economy by taking advantage of what China has to offer, or to safeguard its political security by restricting...
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2002

Japanese cheerleader back for second season with NFL team

When Ai Yasuda was named to the San Francisco 49ers' Gold Rush cheerleading squad for the second straight year, she realized that although the door may not be wide, it is always open.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 28, 2002

Public rests easy with cash under the futon

As the scandals keep a-comin', the citizens are receiving what many believe is a healthy and long overdue reality check about those whom they've entrusted with their collective well-being. Politicians have always been suspicious types and bureaucrats only slightly less so. But now teachers, policemen...
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2002

Cabinet backs posts bills, sparks LDP row

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet on Friday endorsed part of a package of bills on postal service deregulation, disregarding fierce opposition from some heavyweights in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 27, 2002

When a contract contracts, and what comes after

Visitors to Hakone last autumn are most probably still talking about it. How they were in a cable car and saw a Japanese man in another car, traveling in the opposite direction, standing on his head and swiveling his hips 180 degrees with legs splayed open.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2002

LDP acquiesces on bills for postal deregulation

The Liberal Democratic Party on Tuesday backed down from its crusade to block a package of bills on postal services deregulation, saying it would approve the legislation's submission to the Diet.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2002

Nationwide HIV support network set up

A nationwide network to support people infected with HIV and people with full-blown AIDS has been established by Hiroshi Hasegawa, who is HIV-positive.
BUSINESS
Apr 23, 2002

Hoya pretax profit down 5% in '01

Hoya Corp., a maker of optical glass and eyeglasses, said Monday its group pretax profit for the fiscal year to March 31 fell 5 percent to 45.77 billion yen due mainly to the slump in the information technology sector.
BUSINESS
Apr 20, 2002

Posts deregulation bills may shatter LDP, Aso warns

The Liberal Democratic Party may be torn apart if Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi goes ahead with his controversial plan to have four bills related to postal deregulation approved by the Cabinet on April 26, a top LDP policymaker warned Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 20, 2002

Shiokawa to put Japan's case to G7

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Friday he will counter negative views expressed by the International Monetary Fund regarding Japan's economic prospects when he meets with his Group of Seven counterparts in Washington.
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2002

Uniqlo's profits on the wane

With Uniqlo's boom in casual clothing fading away, Fast Retailing Co. on Thursday cut its earnings projections for the business year to August from its previous estimate in January.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 18, 2002

JRFU to start new national tourney

Japan Rugby Football Union went a long way to improving rugby in Japan both on the domestic and international front with the news last week that it was abandoning the traditional company championship for a new nationwide 12-team tournament starting in September 2004.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2002

BOJ voted 8-1 in favor of liquidity drive

The Bank of Japan Policy Board in February voted 8-1 to boost liquidity in the banking system by increasing the central bank's outright purchases of government bonds, according to minutes released Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2002

Lawson reports 11% profit drop

Lawson Inc., the nation's second-largest convenience-store chain operator, said Tuesday its group pretax profit fell 10.9 percent to 35.21 billion yen in the year ended Feb. 28.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 17, 2002

Fighters' proposed move to Sapporo makes sense

Quite a controversy brewing over the proposed relocation of the Nippon Ham Fighters from Tokyo to Sapporo for the 2004 season. The Pacific League club wants to shift its franchise base from the Tokyo Dome to the Sapporo Dome, but the Seibu Lions are trying to block the move, because that team wants to...
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2002

Daiei offloads part of stake in Ichiken

Debt-saddled retailer Daiei Inc. said Monday it has agreed to sell slightly more than half of the group's equity stake in midsize construction firm Ichiken Co. to Toyo Techno Corp.
COMMUNITY
Apr 13, 2002

Support for foreign wives to make their own lives

Joanne Elbinger Higashi recalls the hardships of being newly married to a Japanese in the wilds of Mie Prefecture 20 years ago with a wry smile. "Returning here after visiting the States to show my 8-month-old son to my parents, it rained for weeks on end. It was a nightmare trying to get the diapers...
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2002

Shiokawa eyes tobacco tax hike

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa expressed willingness Thursday to raise taxes on tobacco products starting in fiscal 2003.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2002

Africa aid forum searches for solutions

In an attempt to find solutions to Africa's persistent poverty and low economic growth, regional leaders and experts recently met in Tokyo to discuss ways to remedy the continent of its problematic governments.
BUSINESS
Apr 10, 2002

Yoshinoya beats mad cow with record sales

Despite the outbreak of mad cow disease in September, Yoshinoya D&C Co., Japan's largest operator of "gyudon" beef bowl restaurants, scored record sales and profits on both a consolidated and unconsolidated basis for the business year through February, company officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2002

Computer glitches cripple transactions at Mizuho

Mizuho Financial Group, the world's largest banking group, confirmed Friday that it has a backlog of at least 2.5 million incomplete transactions due to computer system glitches.
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2002

Komatsu, Volvo announce tieup

Komatsu Ltd. said Thursday it has reached a basic agreement with a Belgium-based construction equipment unit of Sweden's AB Volvo to jointly produce and develop construction equipment components.
BUSINESS
Apr 4, 2002

Lobby groups set merger timetable

The Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Osaka Industrial Association agreed Wednesday to draw up a concrete merger plan by the end of June, officials of the two groups said.

Longform

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What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji