Search - 2004

 
 
BUSINESS
Feb 24, 2001

Matsushita and Toshiba plan Singapore venture

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Toshiba Corp. said Friday they will set up a joint venture in Singapore next month to manufacture low-temperature polysilicon liquid crystal display panels used in video mobile phones and other digital appliances.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2001

Microsoft, Oki sign multimedia tieup

Oki Electric Industry Co. and the Japanese unit of Microsoft Corp. said Wednesday they have agreed to cooperate in the development of multimedia telecommunication systems that integrate the functions of various information and telecommunication tools.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2001

Japan to build supersonic jet

Japanese aerospace scientists will begin full-scale development in March 2002 of a next-generation supersonic transport aircraft, it was learned Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2001

Japan to build supersonic jet

Japanese aerospace scientists will begin full-scale development in March 2002 of a next-generation supersonic transport aircraft, it was learned Monday.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2001

Idemitsu, Tokuyama link on polypropylene

Major chemical company Idemitsu Petrochemical Co. and second-tier chemical maker Tokuyama Corp. will enter into a broad-based tieup in the field of polypropylene to jointly gear up competitiveness ahead of a planned gradual tariff reduction by 2004, company sources said Monday.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2001

New head office for Merrill Lynch

Merrill Lynch and Co. will move its Japan headquarters to a building under construction on the site of the now-closed flagship outlet of Tokyu Department Stores Co. in Nihonbashi.
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2001

Four polyethylene firms plan to merge operations

Mitsubishi Chemical Corp., Showa Denko K.K., Tonen Chemical Corp. and Nippon Petrochemicals Co. plan to merge their polyethylene business, company sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2001

Toyobo shifts focus

Major spinning firm Toyobo Co. will shift the emphasis of its business from traditional mainstay textile products to more profitable nontextile areas such as chemicals and biotechnology-related products, according to company officials.
BUSINESS
Jan 11, 2001

Daiei announces new store strategy

Troubled supermarket chain Daiei Inc. on Wednesday announced a fiscal 2001 business plan that includes realigning its corporate management system and renovating all 243 of its general merchandise and discount stores by the end of fiscal 2003.
BUSINESS
Jan 4, 2001

Redevelopment hits Tokyo's heart

For the moment, it remains an enormous no man's land in the heart of Tokyo, with the only signs of life the numerous cranes, prefab huts and foundations that indicate construction projects are under way.
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2000

Mitsui Sumitomo plans to repay public funds

Sumitomo Bank and Sakura Bank on Tuesday said the merged entity they will form in April, Mitsui Sumitomo Banking Corp., aims to repay by the end of fiscal 2007 all the 1.501 trillion yen in public funds they have received.
COMMENTARY
Dec 22, 2000

The EU gets ready to grow

LONDON -- The recent European Union summit at Nice seems to have been bad tempered and acrimonious. Yet it eventually, even if only after days of wrangling, ended in an agreement of sorts and the way is now open to the admission of new members from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean, leading in due...
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2000

Mitsubishi Motors to shut down major plant in Nagoya

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. plans to close one of its three main domestic car assembly plants during fiscal 2001, which begins next April, company sources said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Dec 17, 2000

No place for tainted symbols

The Soviet Union is dead; long live the Soviet Union. This seems to be the current mood in the corridors of power in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has persuaded the Parliament to restore the Soviet anthem as Russia's national hymn and the czarist red banner, which was used in Soviet times...
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2000

Panel eyes PET recycling rate of 50%

A Health and Welfare Ministry panel released a report Wednesday calling for raising the recycling rate of plastic drink bottles to 50 percent by fiscal 2004, ministry officials said.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 10, 2000

Japanese players strike: believe it when you see it

A number of articles appeared in the press this past week, leading us to think there may be a players strike on the horizon in Japan pro baseball. To my thinking, however, a work stoppage by the players here is about as unlikely as a no-hitter being pitched on opening day or Yomiuri selling the Giants....
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2000

12-year air pollution suit officially ends

OSAKA -- A 12-year air pollution suit was finally resolved Friday as residents of Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, and the central government and an expressway operator formally settled the case at the Osaka High Court after the state pledged to take specific steps to reduce harmful vehicle emissions.
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2000

Matsushita to make cellphones in Latin America

OSAKA -- Matsushita Communication Industrial Co., the nation's leading maker of mobile phones, is considering building a new plant in Mexico or South America to enhance overseas production, the company's president said Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 7, 2000

Slovakia hopes for Japanese Embassy in capital

Slovakia wants Japan to establish an embassy in its capital, Bratislava, and scrap visa requirements to enhance bilateral ties, according to Jozef Migas, president of the National Council -- Slovakia's parliament.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2000

Sides reach settlement over air pollution suit

OSAKA -- An out-of-court settlement was reached Friday in a 12-year air pollution suit filed against the state and an expressway operator by residents of Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, who claim they or deceased family members developed asthma and other illnesses due to harmful substances released by motor...
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2000

Matsushita sets sights on 2003

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Thursday that it expects to raise annual group sales to about 9 trillion yen in fiscal 2003, up about 20 percent from the current level.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2000

Dual corporate tax system eyed

The Home Affairs Ministry on Tuesday proposed a dual corporate tax system that would force businesses to pay local taxes, even if they are operating in the red.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2000

Tieup to create largest chemical firm in nation

Sumitomo Chemical Co. and Mitsui Chemicals Inc., Japan's second- and third-largest chemical firms, said Friday they will integrate their management by October 2003 in a bid to survive intensified global competition.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2000

Japan to promote commercial use of space station

The Space Activities Commission on Monday compiled a draft report that includes the promotion of commercial use as well as scientific and technological research at a Japanese laboratory to be built within the International Space Station, commission officials said.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji