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JAPAN
Apr 1, 2004

Government appeals ruling on slave-labor compensation

The government on Wednesday appealed a landmark ruling last week that ordered it and a harbor transport company to jointly pay 88 million yen in compensation to Chinese who served as slave-laborers in Japan during World War II.
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2004

MMC, group firms mull revival

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and its group companies, including leading shareholder DaimlerChrysler AG, began talks Wednesday aimed at drafting revival plans for the struggling automaker, informed sources said.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2004

Some firms find merit-based pay wanting, return to seniority

Seniority-based pay, which almost disappeared amid the prolonged recession, may be staging a comeback at some firms where performance-based salaries are not working effectively.
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2004

Sony holding firm plans approved

The government has approved Sony Corp.'s plans to set up a holding company to oversee its financial service operations, the firm said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2004

Kepco inks accord with COGEMA on MOX supply

OSAKA -- Kansai Electric Power Co. reached an agreement Friday with COGEMA, France's state-owned nuclear fuel reprocessing company, to sign a contract possibly this summer for manufacturing mixed oxide-uranium fuel.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Mar 26, 2004

Meet the Office manager

Everybody knows about Office in Kita-Aoyama -- the funky little fifth-floor, no-elevator hangout with a photocopier next to the DJ booth. But few people have had the pleasure of meeting Sadahiro Nakamura. Then again, you may have met him and just not realized that he was the man behind the scene and...
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2004

JAL hoping for revival with JAS under its wing

The Iraq war and the outbreak of SARS have dealt a severe blow to Japan Airlines System Corp., the holding company of Japan Airlines Co. and Japan Air System Co.
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2004

Resona Bank set to sell Cosmo shares to CSK

Resona Holdings Inc. is in the final stages of talks with CSK Corp. over the sale of a major part of the group's equity stake in Cosmo Securities Co., the company said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2004

Fast Retailing set to exit fruit, vegetable market

Fast Retailing Co. said Monday it will terminate its fresh food business after abandoning hope of turning a profit from selling premium vegetables.
JAPAN / TALKING SHOP
Mar 22, 2004

When words fail, American logistics expert talks bottom line

How do you break the news to a warehouse manager or a trucking company boss that they are about to lose their biggest client?
Events
Mar 21, 2004

KANSAI: Who & What

Almond blossoms on view in Kobe: Toyo Nut Co., a food company based in Higashi-Nada Ward, Kobe, is opening its garden to the public through March 25 to show almond trees in bloom.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INDUSTRY TRENDS
Mar 19, 2004

Firms expecting market for digital SLR cameras to explode

Confined to professionals and top-end amateurs thus far, the market for digital single-lens reflex cameras is expected to explode this year with the release of more affordable models.
Japan Times
Features
Mar 14, 2004

Roots

Have you ever considered making your family tree?
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2004

Metro bank eyes nonguarantee loans

A new bank that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to open next year might extend loans to small and midsize companies without requiring personal guarantees from their owners, Tokyo officials said Friday.
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2004

Uniqlo stages comeback after two years in the doldrums

After suffering weak sales for nearly two years following the end of its phenomenal "fleece jacket boom," casual clothing chain Uniqlo is again enjoying strong sales.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 9, 2004

Rumble in the whiteboard jungle

Our article on the state of eikaiwa teaching in Japan provoked a flurry of responses. Here's a selection of readers' letters
EDITORIALS
Mar 6, 2004

Paying inventors their due

How much should a company pay an employee for his or her invention? The question has stirred controversy in Japan since January when a lower court ruled in favor of a mind-boggling 20 billion yen payment requested by Mr. Shuji Nakamura, a former chemical company employee and now a University of California...
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2004

Seibu execs allegedly sold bargain land to racketeers

An investigation into alleged payoffs by Seibu Railway Co. to "sokaiya" corporate extortionists has revealed that three executives of the firm sold two land plots in Kanagawa Prefecture shortly after turning down a real estate company's purchase offer, Tokyo police sources said Thursday.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 2, 2004

Home Sweet Uchi

Dec 31, 2002, a total of 1,851,758 foreigners were registered with immigration authorities in Japan. That's about 1.5 percent of this country's population. But it's an exceptionally diverse group and comprehensive information on their housing conditions is difficult, if not impossible, to come by.
Japan Times
Features
Feb 29, 2004

Creature comforts fuel business boom

The growing popularity in Japan of dogs as pets has turned its pet industry into a lucrative market in which suppliers and sellers are eagerly competing to offer products and services from the pet's cradle to its grave.
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2004

Sony to set up financial holding firm

Sony Corp. said Friday that it will establish a wholly owned financial holding company on April 1 by separating the department that presently supervises its financial subsidiaries.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

Takei pleads guilty to wiretap

Former Takefuji Corp. Chairman Yasuo Takei pleaded guilty Tuesday to ordering a subordinate to wiretap two journalists -- one who wrote an article critical of the lending company and one who probed the firm's overseas activities.
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2004

Kobe Steel appoints Inubushi chief

Kobe Steel Ltd. Vice President Yasuo Inubushi will be appointed president, the company said Tuesday.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Feb 24, 2004

Advice for the stage-struck and proofing

We have received a sudden clutch of enquiries from stage-struck readers this week.
BUSINESS
Feb 24, 2004

Cats files for bankruptcy amid management scandal

Pest-control firm Cats Inc. filed for bankruptcy Monday, saying it failed to obtain lenders' support after its executives were arrested for allegedly manipulating its share price.
COMMENTARY
Feb 23, 2004

Revise the antimonopoly law

Experts agree that Japan must strengthen its Antimonopoly Act, push deregulation to promote economic reform, reactivate its sluggish economy and protect consumer interests.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2004

Families shell out for latest school supplies

With the new school year just around the corner in April, many manufacturers of school supplies are introducing a slew of new products with the latest designs and gadgets.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INDUSTRY TRENDS
Feb 20, 2004

Makeover for gum gives health-conscious something to chew on

Despite a shrinking confectionary market, chewing gum has been enjoying healthy growth, posting record sales last year.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person