Search - 2005

 
 
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2003

METI to allow JNOC units to join operations

The government plans to let three Japan National Oil Corp. affiliates integrate operations as part of reforms to dissolve the money-losing state oil developer in two years, industry ministry officials said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2003

Ministry sees state bond issues rising

The value of government bonds issued to cover the fiscal 2006 budget deficit is expected to hit 45.5 trillion yen, 25 percent higher than the planned issuance for the 2003 budget, according to a report released Wednesday by the Finance Ministry.
EDITORIALS
Feb 5, 2003

Democracy in the Middle East

Peace in the Middle East depends on two things: settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict and modernization of the Arab regimes in the region. Attention has usually focused on the first item, as the consequences of failure have long been plainly visible. But in recent months -- especially since Sept. 11,...
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2003

Hiroshima mayor wins re-election with ease

Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba and Aichi Gov. Masaaki Kanda sailed to re-election Sunday, while former Kofu Mayor Takahiro Yamamoto won a narrow victory in the Yamanashi gubernatorial race.
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2003

Pay fell 2.3% in 2002

Average monthly pay in all industries in 2002 fell 2.3 percent from the previous year to 343,688 yen, marking the largest drop on record, the government said Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2003

Over half of nation's cities plan to merge

Most of Japan's cities, towns and villages have set up or plan to set up consultative panels with likely partners to examine the possibilities of mergers, according to the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2003

Hitachi dropping losers to enhance profits

Hitachi will drop money-losing businesses that now bring in 1.6 trillion yen in annual sales for the Japanese electronics maker in an effort to return to profitability.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2003

New system eyed to grade low-emission cars

The Environment Ministry intends to create a new system for grading low-emission vehicles in terms of their carbon dioxide output, according to ministry officials.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Misawa to change group structure

Misawa Homes Co. said Wednesday it will reorganize its group structure under a new holding firm to be launched in August.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 29, 2003

Nori, Buffs work out contract

OSAKA -- The Kintetsu Buffaloes signed slugging infielder Norihiro Nakamura to a four-year deal Monday after working out the details of the free-agent contract they agreed to earlier this month. Kintetsu officials hinted the agreement will see Nakamura earn an estimated annual salary of 500 million yen...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2003

Fujitsu, Intel in Linux server deal

Fujitsu Ltd. and Intel Corp. of the United States announced Friday they have agreed to jointly develop low-cost, high-performance Linux-based servers.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2003

Kumagai Gumi ponders spinoff

Ailing construction company Kumagai Gumi Co. plans to spin off its money-losing real estate business and carry out a massive restructuring in the hope of surviving as a slimmer company half its present size, industry sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2003

Green-car proponents urge alliances

Participants at the International Meeting on Environmentally Friendly Vehicles called Friday for voluntary partnerships among automobile-related industries to promote the development and proliferation of low-emission cars.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2003

Kansai casinos a dicey proposition

OSAKA -- It's way past dinner time in the back streets of Osaka's Shinsaibashi district. But one establishment advertising itself as an all-you-can-eat Italian restaurant is doing a booming business.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2003

Ministry panel looks to raise unemployment premiums

A subcommittee of an advisory council to the labor minister urged Thursday that the monthly sum of unemployment insurance premiums be raised to an amount equal to 1.6 percent of an employee's wages beginning April 1, 2005.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2003

Taiwan firm inks deal for more shinkansen line

A group of nine Japanese companies and two Taiwanese firms said Thursday it has landed an order from Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. to lay the northern 150-km section of a bullet train line in Taiwan, in addition to the order it landed for the southern 180-km section.
EDITORIALS
Jan 23, 2003

Forge national consensus on taxes

One year ago the government published a five-year budget projection showing how it expected to make ends meet in fiscal 2002-06. Now, the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, chaired by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, has revised the plan -- downward. The basic picture is that the budget deficit...
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2003

Toyota to add more hybrid models

Toyota President Fujio Cho said Monday his firm plans to increase its range of hybrid car models to about 10 within five years.
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2003

Audi Japan unveils sales targets

The Japanese unit of Audi, part of the Volkswagen group of Germany, unveiled its sales goals Monday, shooting for 12,000 units in 2003 and 16,000 by 2006.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2003

Snow's successor hopes red cartons gain consumers' blessing

On Jan. 7, red milk cartons debuted at stores nationwide, with dairy farmers and retailers hoping the new brand will boost consumption, which has been down since contaminated milk products sickened thousands of people three years ago.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2003

Emission-trading trials planned

The Environment Ministry is planning a test trial to trade carbon dioxide emission rights in fiscal 2003, beginning April 1, ministry officials said Sunday.
COMMUNITY
Jan 19, 2003

The danchi and postwar society

At the time, they were homes most Japanese could only dream about. Within their thick concrete walls, they were equipped with such mod cons as flush toilets and stainless-steel kitchen sinks, and they even had separate bedrooms -- for parents and children.
COMMUNITY
Jan 19, 2003

fl 20030119a1.xml SUN YES Boulevard Blitz

Omotesando Avenue, the tree-lined boulevard leading up to Meiji Shrine, is one of Tokyo's most beautiful streets. After many years of wrangling, though, from the end of March its much-loved look will begin to change dramatically, when demolition crews move in to tear down the Aoyama Apartment Houses...
COMMUNITY
Jan 19, 2003

fl 20030119a3.xml SUN YES DOJUNKAI Concrete ideals

The Great Kanto Earthquake on Sept. 1, 1923, devastated the capital and its vicinity, destroying 63 percent of homes in Tokyo and 72 percent in Yokohama. From the ashes of the fires that raged in the wake of the massive temblor, though, there arose a public-housing policy whose enlightenment was in many...
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2003

Clamor for consumption tax hike getting louder

Cabinet ministers and business leaders have begun calling for a consumption tax hike to cover rising social security costs stemming from the aging population.
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2003

Subaru expects sales increases in '03

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., the maker of Subaru cars, unveiled on Wednesday a new 2003 worldwide sales target of 568,000 vehicles, up 2.4 percent from the year before.
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2003

Daiei to sell stakes in four hotels

Struggling supermarket chain Daiei Inc. said Wednesday it will sell four hotels to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. of the United States for 45.4 billion yen. It also said it is also considering selling Fukuoka Dome.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2003

Electronics trio eyes grid-computing project

NEC Corp., Fujitsu Ltd. and Hitachi Ltd. are considering joint development of software for grid computing, the integration of many computers to enable ultrahigh-speed data processing, company sources told Kyodo News on Monday.

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