Search - 2003

 
 
BUSINESS
Apr 3, 2004

Summer bonuses set to rise 0.5%

Employees at Japanese corporations are likely to see their summer bonuses rise 0.5 percent this year from 2003 levels, Mizuho Securities Co. said Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2004

Nintendo trims earnings estimate

Nintendo Co. said Thursday it has revised downward its fiscal 2003 earnings estimates because it suffered a larger-than-expected 68 billion yen exchange loss due to the yen's appreciation against the dollar.
Events
Mar 31, 2004

South Korean economy bedeviled by serious woes: writers

While Japan's economy may finally be bidding farewell to the "lost decade" of the stagnant 1990s, growth in South Korea, once noted for its rapid recovery after the 1997 Asian crisis, is slowing down amid serious problems like mounting household debts.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 28, 2004

History behind a rocky democracy

INDONESIAN DESTINIES, by Theodore Friend. Cambridge: Belknap/Harvard University Press, 2003, 628 pp., $35 (cloth). INDONESIA: People and Histories, by Jean Gelman Taylor. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003, 420 pp., $39.95 (cloth). These two books complement each other nicely and contribute greatly...
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2004

Deflation maintained grip on Tokyo in fiscal '03

A key gauge of consumer prices in Tokyo edged down 0.3 percent in fiscal 2003 for the fifth straight annual decline.
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2004

Land prices off for 13th year but pace of decline is easing

Average land prices fell in the 2003 calendar year for the 13th straight year.
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2004

Mitsubishi Fuso's recall likely to include city buses

The imminent recall of large vehicles by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. is likely to include city buses excluded from its initial recall plan.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2004

Ex-governor's daughter handed suspended term

The Tokyo District Court handed a suspended prison term Wednesday to the daughter of a former Saitama governor for violating the Political Funds Control Law.
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2004

Personal financial assets up 1.6%

The outstanding balance of Japan's personal financial assets rose in 2003, marking its first gain in three years, the Bank of Japan said Monday.
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2004

Mitsubishi Fuso admits defect may send truck wheels flying

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. acknowledged Thursday that some of its large vehicles have design flaws that could cause the wheels to come off, as in an accident that killed a woman in 2002.
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2004

Chinese being frozen out of student visa process

Things are looking pretty grim for Chinese students who have their sights set on pursuing their Japanese language studies here.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2004

Illegal access of computers last year hit record level

Police in 2003 investigated a record 145 suspected violations of a law banning illegal access to computer networks, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 5, 2004

Opportunity for mutual prosperity

In the not so distant future, China probably will eclipse the United States as Japan's largest trading partner. That could happen before 2008 when Beijing hosts the Summer Olympics. Setting the pace of China's economic growth is investment in infrastructure, whose momentum is expected to increase in...
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 27, 2004

Marinos striker Kubo honored

Yokohama F. Marinos and Japan striker Tatsuhiko Kubo on Thursday was named 2003 Footballer of the Year in a poll of Japanese soccer writers.
BUSINESS
Feb 24, 2004

Brisk Chinese demand spurring Japan's economy

Brisk demand for Japanese goods in China is becoming a major driving force for Japan's economy, helping the nation as it struggles to shake off more than a decade of stagnation.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2004

Digital subscriber lines top for access

The greatest number of respondents to a government survey released Friday accessed the Internet in 2003 using digital subscriber line services, such as asymmetrical digital subscriber line services.
EDITORIALS
Feb 20, 2004

GDP growth belies strong recovery

Japan's economy expanded at an annualized rate of 7 percent in the last quarter of 2003, with export-oriented large manufacturers providing the main thrust of growth. Whether this will lead to a broad and enduring recovery remains to be seen, however. The export boom will fizzle out if overseas demand...
BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2004

Struggling Seiyu blames 7 billion yen loss on cold weather

Supermarket operator Seiyu Ltd. said Tuesday its group net loss for the 10 months ending in December came to 7 billion yen, blaming the red ink on the unseasonably cold summer.
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2004

Cell phone shipments top 50 million

Some 52.2 million mobile phone handsets were shipped domestically in 2003, up 27 percent from a year earlier.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2004

Supplies from China's Daqing oil field halted

The supply of crude oil to Japan from China's huge Daqing oil field has been halted since January and is unlikely to resume due to increasing demand for energy in China.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2004

Serious crimes linked to online dating up 37%

Serious crimes, including murder, robbery and rape, linked to online dating sites rose 37 percent in 2003 from the year before to 137 cases, the National Police Agency said in a report Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2004

Electronic toll system users on rise

The Electronic Toll Collection system, introduced in 2001 to collect highway fees without drivers having to stop, is gaining in popularity due to discounts for installing the system and reduced fees for users.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2004

Tokyo CPI continues slide into record 52nd month

The key gauge of consumer prices in Tokyo in January slipped 0.3 percent from a year earlier for a record 52nd consecutive month of decline.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2004

7.15 trillion yen spent on intervention this month

Japan spent 7.15 trillion yen on currency-market intervention in January, marking a new single-month record, Finance Ministry data showed Friday.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2004

Industrial output posts first rise in three years

Industrial production rose 3.2 percent in 2003 for the first increase in three years, due partly to steady demand for mobile phones and other digital home appliances, the government said Thursday.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight