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BUSINESS
Jan 12, 2006

Okamoto debuts spermicide condoms

Top condom maker Okamoto Industries Inc. announced Wednesday it will start selling the country's first spermicide-coated condom Feb. 1, hoping to stimulate the flagging domestic prophylactics market.
BUSINESS
Jan 12, 2006

Newly merged megabank starts out with blunders

The newly merged Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ said Wednesday it has erroneously entered the names of up to 3,495 companies and their account numbers into documents it mailed or handed out to 585 unrelated firms.
BUSINESS
Jan 11, 2006

Privee takes top Hankyu stake

Privee Zurich Turnaround Group Co. has become the largest stockholder in Hankyu Holdings Inc. through an acquisition of 5.01 percent of the firm's outstanding shares, according to a report filed with financial authorities Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2006

Medical question-and-answer Web site proving popular

An Internet bulletin board that answers medical questions from the public has gathered a strong following since it opened in December, according to the operator of the Web site.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2006

Nikko Citigroup employee makes trading blunder

A Nikko Citigroup Ltd. employee, investing for private purposes, mistakenly placed a buy order on the Tokyo Stock Exchange for 2,000 shares of Nippon Paper Group Inc. instead of two, the investment firm said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2006

Big firms predict uptrend to set record

More than 80 major domestic firms out of 100 expect economic expansion to continue at least until the second half of 2006, according to a Kyodo News survey released Tuesday.
JAPAN / FRAMING THE FUTURE
Jan 4, 2006

Crime fight goes high-tech to protect kids, assets

Not long ago most people in Japan felt this was one of the most crime-free nations in the world, but recent high-profile, violent crimes have shattered that sense of security.
JAPAN / FRAMING THE FUTURE
Jan 3, 2006

Japan's quake-preparedness quest never-ending

Amid the scores of shoddily built high-rises connected to disgraced architect Hidetsugu Aneha, the fraud scandal may have had one positive outcome -- reawakening society's sense of urgency to prepare for a major earthquake.
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2005

Japanese banks follow manufacturers into China

With the promise of large profits overwhelming any concerns about the political tension between Tokyo and Beijing, Japanese companies continue to expand in China. And following behind them are Japanese banks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2005

Dazed Meiji Yasuda seeks outside help

For scandal-hit Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co., the biggest task ahead is how to reflect outsiders' voices in management decisions, newly appointed President Kenji Matsuo said.
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2005

Ground floor of a scandal

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the Chiba and Kanagawa prefectural police launched a joint investigation Dec. 20 into Japan's building-design scandal, raiding more than 100 locations in Tokyo and five prefectures -- Chiba, Saitama, Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Miyazaki.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2005

Itoham gets 30 million yen fine

The Tokyo District Court ordered major meat processor Itoham Foods Inc. on Thursday to pay 30 million yen over its involvement in a meat importer's evasion of customs duties on imported pork, imposing a fine three times the amount that prosecutors had demanded.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Dec 23, 2005

Plenty of ways to howl in the new year

Once again, it is time to make that all-important decision about where to spend the magic midnight moment when the calendar starts anew. According to the Chinese zodiac, the cock will pass his hat on to the dog. And, as usual, there are several options for parties where, this year, you can let out a...
BUSINESS
Dec 23, 2005

Nojima to acquire Tower's Wave

Nojima Corp. said Thursday it will acquire a 100 percent stake in music store chain Wave Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tower Records Japan Inc., as early as January.
BUSINESS
Dec 23, 2005

KDDI to tie up with Qualcomm

KDDI Corp. will tie up with Qualcomm Inc., a U.S. wireless communication technology company, to start a broadcasting business for cell phones, sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2005

Fitch raises ratings on steelmakers

Fitch Ratings said Tuesday it has upgraded its ratings on Nippon Steel Corp. and JFE Holdings Inc., the country's top two steel manufacturers, because of their improved financial standing and strong business performance.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2005

UFJ, Japan Post to take China cards

UFJ Bank and Japan Post plan to accept Chinese bank cards at their automated teller machines, according to informed sources.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2005

JH execs Uchida, Kaneko plead not guilty

A former vice president and a former board member of Japan Highway Public Corp. pleaded not guilty Friday to charges they were involved in rigging bids for steel bridge projects undertaken by the now-defunct government highway builder-operator.
EDITORIALS
Dec 17, 2005

The unthinkable at the TSE

The recent chaos at the Tokyo Stock Exchange stemming from an erroneous sell order involving J-Com Co. stock underscored poor crisis management on the part of the bourse, a key component of Japan's capitalist economic activities. The TSE needs to do its utmost to strengthen its computerized stock trading...
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2005

Condo, hotel bring toll in Aneha safety scandal to 73

The number of buildings designed on falsified quake-resistance data drawn up by disgraced architect Hidetsugu Aneha has risen to 73 in 17 prefectures, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

It was cut corners or Kimura axed contract: Aneha to Diet

Disgraced architect Hidetsugu Aneha told a Diet committee Wednesday that Akira Shinozuka, Tokyo branch manager for Kimura Construction Co., specified exactly how much he should reduce the reinforcing steel in the building plans he falsified.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

'Tankan' finds broad improvement in business confidence

Companies turned more optimistic in December amid improved exports and firm domestic consumption, demonstrating that the economy is continuing its gradual upswing, according to the Bank of Japan's "tankan" quarterly business survey released Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2005

LDP moves to hike tax on 'third-category' beer

The Liberal Democratic Party's tax panel decided Tuesday to raise the tax on beerlike drinks not classified as beer or low-malt "happoshu" in the latest clash between the revenue-hungry government and the beer industry.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2005

Current account surplus up 2.6%

The current account surplus grew 2.6 percent in October from a year earlier to a preliminary 1.377 trillion yen, the Finance Ministry said Monday.
BUSINESS
Dec 10, 2005

Matsushita to cut 1,400 jobs from foreign cell phone units

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Friday it will downsize its struggling overseas mobile phone operations and trim as many as 1,400 jobs.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2005

Diet will ask Aneha to testify next week

, Moriyoshi Kimura, president of Kimura Construction, and Akira Shinozuka, the Tokyo branch manager of the now-bankrupt contractor. The land ministry tried Thursday to formally notify Aneha that he was stripped of his first-class architect license Wednesday, but he was not at his home in Ichikawa, Chiba...
BUSINESS
Dec 9, 2005

Murakami loses Japan Radio bid to Nisshinbo

Nisshinbo Industries Inc. is expected to beat out the Murakami Fund in a takeover bid for New Japan Radio Co. as the firm's parent decided Thursday to sell its dominant shareholdings in the electric parts maker to Nisshinbo.

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