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BUSINESS
Jul 14, 2006

Firms to get help in wireless market

The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry plans to draw up a new set of rules this fall to allow companies that do not own their own wireless infrastructure to more easily enter the mobile communications business, ministry officials said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 13, 2006

Convenience store trio circle wagons against Seven-Eleven

Three major convenience store chains have agreed to jointly develop and market soft drinks in cut procurement costs and to better compete with industry leader Seven-Eleven Japan Co., sources said Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 13, 2006

Problems go beyond data falsification

The criminal investigation into the falsification of earthquake-resistance data for buildings, which surfaced in November 2005 and shook the nation, has ended with the indictment of disgraced structure designer Mr. Hidetsugu Aneha and several other people. The investigation's outcome shows the issue...
BUSINESS
Jul 12, 2006

Major insurers plan firm to run joint sales outlets

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co., Mitsui Life Insurance Co. and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. said Tuesday they will jointly set up a new company to operate outlets to sell insurance products.
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2006

Horie key in takeovers: ex-CFO

Former Livedoor Co. Chief Financial Officer Ryoji Miyauchi told the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday that Livedoor founder Takafumi Horie played a key role when the Internet company decided whether to take over other firms.
BUSINESS
Jul 12, 2006

Resona open to capital ties with brokerages, others

The Resona banking group is thinking of pursuing capital tieups with brokerages or other companies to improve services for listed firms and other corporate borrowers, Resona Holdings Inc. President Hiroyuki Mizuta said in a recent interview.
BUSINESS
Jul 12, 2006

Apple Japan marketing guru quits

Apple Computer Inc. Vice President of Marketing Yoshiaki Sakito, one of the company's top Japan executives, has stepped down, the company said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 12, 2006

Cell phone makers vow to unify jacks, chargers

Trade groups representing mobile communications providers and cell phone makers have informed the government they plan to develop common specifications for cell phone jacks and battery charger plugs around 2010, when fourth-generation handsets are expected to become commonplace, ministry officials said...
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2006

Porn 'anime' boasts big U.S. beachhead

recognizable among anime fans worldwide. Hentai is now used overseas to describe anime with strong sexual content. While Mandarake capitalizes on the kinky boom, other retailers are reluctant to export such products.
EDITORIALS
Jul 11, 2006

Independent judgment in doubt

The public controversy over Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui's 10 million yen investment in a fund led by maverick fund manager Mr. Yoshiaki Murakami, revealed in mid-June, has yet to die down. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party take the position that Mr. Fukui...
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2006

EHomes head admits lying to gain building inspector license

Togo Fujita, president of eHomes Inc. and a key figure in the building safety fraud centered on architect Hidetsugu Aneha, pleaded guilty Friday to falsifying financial documents in 2001 in order gain state certification to conduct structural engineering safety checks, many of which it apparently failed....
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2006

Spending cuts, deferring sales tax hike, get nod

The Cabinet on Friday approved an economic policy guideline for 2006 aimed at shoring up the government's woeful finances with spending cuts and tax revisions, but leaves the dreaded consumption levy hike for a later administration to deal with.
EDITORIALS
Jul 8, 2006

Payback time after merging

The drama triggered when the Murakami fund, managed by maverick investor Mr. Yoshiaki Murakami, purchased a large chunk of Hanshin Electric Railway Co. shares came to an end last week as shareholders of both Hanshin and Hankyu Holdings Inc. voted for a merger. It is the first merger of major railway...
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2006

Nikkei ad exec linked to inside trading

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office is mulling charging an employee of Nihon Keizai Shimbun Inc. with insider trading, sources said.
BUSINESS
Jul 4, 2006

MHI seeks U.S. nod on new reactor

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Monday it has begun procedures with the aim of winning Washington's design certification for its new advanced pressurized water reactor by the end of 2011 to market it in the United States.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2006

ChuoAoyama starts its partial penalty period

Leading accounting firm ChuoAoyama PricewaterhouseCoopers on Saturday suspended some of its operations through the end of August for failing to prevent Kanebo Ltd. from releasing falsified earnings reports.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2006

Lawson opens test stores tailored to elderly shoppers

Convenience store operator Lawson Inc. has opened outlets tailored for the elderly in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, and in Awaji, Hyogo Prefecture, the first attempt of its kind among major convenience store operators.
BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2006

Jobless rate falls to 4% as recovery gains momentum

Japan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.0 percent in May, down from 4.1 percent in April, its lowest level in eight years, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2006

Sony, Mazda, Mitsui, Mitsubishi face back taxes

Tax authorities ordered Sony Corp. and three other major companies to pay billions of yen in back taxes Friday as part of a crackdown on tax evasion on overseas earnings as the government hunts for more revenue and tries to improve corporate transparency.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2006

Long-term fiscal health needs cuts, taxes: experts

Monday's decision by the government to cut spending and aim for a primary surplus by 2011 is a step in the right direction, but more drastic reforms are needed to whip the books back into shape, experts say.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2006

Sompo Japan punishes 584 after suspension

Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. has punished 584 people in the wake of a business suspension order it received for misconduct related to thousands of cases of unpaid insurance benefits, the company said.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 25, 2006

Goodies to let you live with the Y

The pea-green artery pumping shoals of company staffers into the heart of Japan Inc. every morning, and funneling them home by night, perfectly exemplifies Japanese efficiency.
BUSINESS
Jun 24, 2006

Son says Vodafone can top rivals with content

Mobile phone carrier Vodafone K.K., which Softbank Corp. acquired in April, can outperform rivals NTT DoCoMo Inc. and KDDI Corp. by funneling content from Softbank subsidiary Yahoo Japan Corp. into its mobile business, Softbank President Masayoshi Son said Friday.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami