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BUSINESS
Sep 15, 2009

'Recession proof' gaming industry now struggling

Despite its reputation for being recession-proof, the domestic video game industry is having a tough time and first-half sales are looking weak, industry experts said Monday.
LIFE
Sep 13, 2009

Winning was the easy part for Hatoyama's DPJ

After generations of rule, the Liberal Democratic Party was trounced by the Democratic Party of Japan in last month's Lower House elections. Jeff Kingston weighs what went wrong, what went right — and what now for a nation whose voters are sick of 'politics as usual'?
BUSINESS
Sep 12, 2009

Chubu Electric hires ex-ABN Amro banker to halt price swing losses

Chubu Electric Power Co. has hired former ABN Amro Holding NV banker Masanori Tsuchiya to hedge against price swings that helped trigger its first loss in 30 years.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2009

Suntory in talks to buy Orangina

Suntory Holdings Ltd. is in talks to buy European drink maker Orangina from Blackstone Group LP and Lion Capital Holdings Inc. as the nation's third-largest brewer expands outside its shrinking domestic market.
BUSINESS
Sep 10, 2009

Shionogi eyes '10 for flu drug sale

Shionogi & Co. forecast that its experimental treatment peramivir will earn annual sales of about ¥5 billion in Japan on demand from hospitals for patients critically ill with influenza, including swine flu.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 9, 2009

A soft spot for the good old/bad old Showa days

One vice I can't rid myself of is listening in on conversations between JK (an abbreviation for joshikōsei, 女子高生, or high school girls) on commuter trains. This has become easier these days due to the introduction of joseisenyōsharyō (女性専用車両, women-only cars) on almost every major...
BUSINESS
Sep 9, 2009

Toyota to hire 800 contract workers

Toyota said Tuesday it is hiring 800 short-term contract workers in its first such job increase in more than a year to keep up with brisk Prius sales. Former workers will have preference.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 9, 2009

Fashion company to retail 200 items for ¥990

GOV Retailing Co. announced Tuesday that one-third of its g.u. brand's fall-winter collection, or 200 of the 600 items, will retail for ¥990.
BUSINESS
Sep 9, 2009

PlayStation 3 hits sales record

Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 video game console's weekly sales jumped to a record in Japan following the introduction of a slimmer, cheaper model, research firm Enterbrain Inc. said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2009

Showa Shell to expand output of solar panels

Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. plans to build a ¥100 billion solar panel factory to expand output capacity about 10-fold and offset waning demand for oil products.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Sep 6, 2009

Two-time MVP Washington re-signs with Evessa

Two-time bj-league MVP Lynn Washington will return to the Osaka Evessa this season, he confirmed on Friday.
BUSINESS
Sep 5, 2009

Carmakers fret loss of stimulus

Kenichi Ishida saw monthly sales at his Toyota dealership surge by up to 50 percent under the government's stimulus plans to boost car demand. Now he frets that famine will follow feast.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2009

Writer slams Google Book deal

A freelance journalist said Thursday he has sent a letter to a U.S. district court informing it of his "clear objection" to the controversial Google Book Search settlement.
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2009

BOJ must be ready to stop supporting credit markets: DPJ's Okubo

The Bank of Japan should plan an exit strategy for its policy of buying government and corporate bonds because the freeze in credit markets has eased, according to an Upper House financial committee director from the new ruling party.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2009

Big business plans revolt against DPJ's 25% emissions-reduction goal

The nation's industries plan to jointly pressure the government to be formed by the Democratic Party of Japan to back off from its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020, business sources said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2009

Microsoft cuts price of Xbox 25%

Microsoft Corp., the second-largest maker of video-game consoles, said Wednesday it will cut the price of its most powerful Xbox 360 player 25 percent in Japan, after a similar reduction in the U.S.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 30, 2009

Japan at a crossroads of government and of its citizens' values

Charles de Gaulle, the magisterial president of France from 1959-69, was inordinately fond of the phrase, "Moi ou le chaos" — "Me or chaos." It was not much of a choice.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan