Search - 2004

 
 
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2003

Ministries eye chemical substance database

The health, industry and environment ministries will compile a database on the toxicity and other features of some 28,000 chemical substances over a three-year period starting in fiscal 2004 in line with a new law, officials said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Nov 4, 2003

True structural reform tied to end of bureaucratic rule

The biggest question in the Nov. 9 Lower House election is which side should take power -- a coalition headed by the Liberal Democratic Party or an alliance led by the Democratic Party of Japan. Also at stake is whether Japanese politics will be able to extricate itself from bureaucratic control.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Nov 3, 2003

Punishment for Arsenal players doesn't fit the crime

LONDON -- These are not the best of times for English football.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2003

North Korean no-war pact not in the cards

HONOLULU -- Behind all the diplomatic, and some not so diplomatic, rhetoric in the confrontation between the United States and North Korea over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions are three basic reasons why U.S. President George W. Bush will not offer the North Koreans the nonaggression pact they demand....
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2003

Fujitsu sets up semiconductor unit

Fujitsu Ltd. said Friday it has established a subsidiary in Shanghai to reinforce its semiconductor business in the growing Chinese market.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 1, 2003

Writer fills niche with new yakuza movie book

Mark Schilling is feeling a bit bleary-eyed. His son -- a freshman in media studies at Glasgow University, unused to the time difference between Europe and Japan -- had rung from Scotland around 5 a.m.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2003

Australia basks in afterglow of two high-powered visits

SYDNEY -- The world's two most powerful leaders stopped by in Canberra the other day. It was a neighborly visit, all smiles and trade deals. They're home in Washington and Beijing now, leaving behind the biggest bonanza for Australia since Japan came calling a generation or so ago.
BUSINESS
Oct 31, 2003

Poweredcom to buy stake in IP telephony provider

Poweredcom Inc., an affiliate of Tokyo Electric Power Co., will take a stake in major Internet Protocol telephony provider Fusion Communications Corp. with an eye toward integrating telephone operations in the future, it said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2003

Deflation seen continuing

Most of the Bank of Japan's Policy Board members are expected to forecast in a report due out Friday that deflation will continue into fiscal 2004.
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2003

Widespread risk-hedging seen limiting short-term menace of rising yen

A strong yen is not good news for Japanese export-driven companies. But the impact of the yen's recent surge against the dollar to three-year highs is expected to be limited for now since firms have hedged the currency risk, economists and major manufacturers said.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 29, 2003

Japan Series: Should have known better with those Tigers fans

I should have known better than to predict the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks would win the 2003 Japan Series in five games over the Hanshin Tigers.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2003

Campaign rhetoric faces tougher scrutiny

Few voters in Japan -- or lawmakers for that matter -- ever took a serious look at political party election pledges, knowing they were simply vague policy slogans with little substance.
BUSINESS
Oct 29, 2003

Koizumi foresees pension decline

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday that employees' pension benefits may fall to a level equivalent to about 50 percent of workers' current annual take-home salaries.
EDITORIALS
Oct 28, 2003

Manifestos leave voters in the dark

Not all political parties campaigning for the Nov. 9 general election describe their campaign promises in the form of a "manifesto." But they all have a common objective: explaining their beliefs and policies to the electorate in clear language. Yet many descriptions are equivocal and even confusing...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2003

Coaxing Iran, North Korea

EDMONTON, Canada -- Since no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq, some critics of the Bush administration are suggesting that the use of the military option was premature or even unwarranted unless, of course, the goal all along was to overthrow a dangerous despot -- Saddam Hussein. Certainly,...
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2003

Matsushita eyes merit pay in China

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. plans to introduce a merit-based pay system for plant workers and sales staff at its Chinese subsidiaries beginning in fiscal 2004.
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2003

Sharp to hike Spain output of LCD TVs

Sharp Corp. plans to double the output capacity of liquid crystal display TVs at its Spanish factory in April, seeking to meet surging demand in Europe.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2003

Matsui's success in U.S. hits a home run for Mizuno's sales

New York Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui drew praise for helping his team clinch the American League pennant and for his contribution, albeit in vain, toward their quest for a World Series victory.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2003

Japan to send civilians to help reconstruct Iraq

Japan plans to send civilians including government personnel and private-sector experts to Iraq, possibly by the end of the year, to help renovate schools and set up clinics and businesses, government sources said Sunday.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Oct 27, 2003

Road to stable exchange rates pocked with self-contradictions

By TERUHIKO MANO
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2003

Nations commit cash at Iraq donors' conference

MADRID -- Nudged by the United States, international donors came through with pledges of $19 billion in grants and loans Friday to rebuild Iraq but were falling short of the estimated $56 billion needed to rebuild the country.
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2003

Auto giants increase production in first half

Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. increased global vehicle production in the first half of fiscal 2003 to meet growing overseas demand.
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2003

Leopalace21 to buy into Dia Kensetsu

Apartment rental service Leopalace21 Corp. will purchase a 37.25 percent stake in Dia Kensetsu Co. to help revive the troubled condominium builder, the two companies said Friday.
BUSINESS
Oct 24, 2003

Kanebo, Kao plan cosmetics tieup

Kao Corp. and Kanebo Ltd. said Thursday they have agreed to integrate their cosmetics businesses by the end of March 2007.
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2003

Nobel laureate wants research facility built -- now

Masatoshi Koshiba, the astrophysicist who won the 2002 Nobel Prize, said Wednesday he has urged a government panel to reconsider its recommendation not to fund an advanced physics research facility.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 21, 2003

GM chasing bigger slice of Asia mart

General Motors Corp. wants a bigger piece of rapidly growing markets in the Asia-Pacific region and will strongly promote cooperation with its three Japanese partners, a top GM executive said Monday in Tokyo.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building