Search - 2005

 
 
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2004

Koizumi to host Roh at 'onsen' resort

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun will hold a summit Dec. 17 to Dec. 18 in the "onsen" hot spring resort of Ibusuki, Kagoshima Prefecture, Foreign Ministry sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
Oct 8, 2004

Persistent SMFG buys 300 shares in UFJ

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. said Thursday it has acquired 300 shares in takeover target UFJ Holdings Inc., opening the door to counter a merger offer from a rival Japanese bank.
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2004

Government to unify welfare policies for disabled people

The government plans to unify welfare policies covering services for physically and mentally disabled people, according to officials.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2004

Carbon tax should target users, not providers: official

Any new carbon tax should be imposed on consumers of fossil fuels, not their importers and processors, a senior Environment Ministry official indicated Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2004

Finance Ministry to cut government bond issues

The Finance Ministry will cut the issuance of new government bonds for fiscal 2005 to less than the 36.6 trillion yen planned for the current fiscal year, Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2004

Sharp rolls out LCD TV boasting a 65-inch screen

Sharp Corp. said Tuesday it has developed the world's largest liquid crystal display TV, featuring a 65-inch screen.
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2004

Fears over digital sector, personal consumption cloud outlook

Although the economy is now in its fifth-longest expansion in postwar history, the outlook is clouded by worries over the future course of the digital industry and personal consumption.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 3, 2004

Repair schemes can't please all nations

HONOLULU -- The proposal that Japan, India, Germany and Brazil become permanent members of the U.N. Security Council is almost certain to fail, but it may trigger sweeping reforms in a 1945 institution incapable of coping with the issues of 2005.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2004

New locations sought for U.S. bases

The government will work to reduce the U.S. military presence in Okinawa by searching for alternative host cities elsewhere in Japan, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2004

'Tankan' rosiest in 13 years, but future cloudy

While business sentiment among Japan's large manufacturers in the July-September quarter was the highest in more than 13 years, the future looks far from rosy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 2, 2004

Tokaido Shinkansen Line fetes 40 years

Ceremonies were held Friday marking 40 years since the Tokaido Shinkansen Line opened, pioneering the bullet train service linking Tokyo and Osaka just ahead of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 2, 2004

FTA concessions needed: Nakagawa

Japan may have to make more concessions to push forward free-trade negotiations with Southeast Asian nations, according to Shoichi Nakagawa, minister of economy, trade and industry.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 1, 2004

Tax increases on the table: Tanigaki

With the economy relatively steady, Japan is ready for debate on tax increases and government program cuts to put the nation's finances in order, according to Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki.
BUSINESS
Oct 1, 2004

Mitsukoshi to shut down 10 unprofitable outlets

Department store chain Mitsukoshi Ltd. said Thursday it will close 10 unprofitable outlets across the country in 2005 in an effort to boost profitability amid weak sales.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 30, 2004

Japanese baseball owners approve interleague plan

The owners of professional baseball clubs approved a plan Wednesday to hold interleague regular-season games next year for the fist time ever.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 29, 2004

Fan power prevails as crisis in Japanese baseball subsides

It appears we will come out of the so-called Japanese baseball crisis with the two-league system intact, six teams each in the Central and Pacific circuits, a new team in Sendai and interleague play in 2005.
BUSINESS
Sep 29, 2004

KDDI phones to function as e-money

KDDI Corp. said Tuesday it will start selling mobile phones by fall 2005 that can function as electronic money.
BUSINESS
Sep 28, 2004

Subsidies boost use of ETC system

More drivers have begun to use the electronic toll-collection system since the introduction of subsidies, cheaper devices and plans to cut tollway fees for users.
BUSINESS
Sep 28, 2004

Large firms still feel confident

Business confidence among large companies remained positive for the second consecutive quarter in the July-September term, the government said Monday.
BUSINESS
Sep 28, 2004

New band eyed for cell phone service

The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry plans to allocate to commercial mobile phone operators some of the frequencies currently used for public services, ministry sources said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 27, 2004

A greater burden for higher earners

The government's Tax Commission is discussing the fiscal 2005 revision of the tax system. The focus this time is on the decrease or abolition of the fixed reduction for individual income and resident taxes, which was introduced in 1999 as an economic-stimulus measure. Rather than draw the line there,...
BUSINESS
Sep 25, 2004

SMFG extends validity period for UFJ merger proposal

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. said Friday it has extended to June 30 the period in which its proposal to UFJ Holdings Inc. that the firms merge via a one-to-one share exchange ratio will remain valid.
BUSINESS
Sep 22, 2004

ANA to offer in-flight broadband

All Nippon Airways Co. said Tuesday it will offer in-flight broadband Internet access in November, the first Asian airline to offer a service of this kind and the second carrier to do so overall.
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2004

MTFG jumps gun on UFJ capital boost

Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. said Friday it has injected 700 billion yen into UFJ Bank, two weeks ahead of schedule, apparently to block a hostile takeover bid for UFJ Holdings Inc. by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past