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BUSINESS
Aug 12, 2008

Shares up as Hoya beats estimates

Optical glass maker Hoya Corp. reported that first-quarter operating profit fell less than analysts forecast on higher earnings from lenses.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2008

For DPJ, it's solidarity vs. debate

Whatever other motivations may have been in play, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's recent reshuffle of his Cabinet was surely intended to raise the low support rate for his Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling coalition in anticipation of the next general election.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2008

JAL union agrees to 5% pay cut

Japan Airlines Corp., Asia's largest carrier by sales, said Friday it reached an agreement with its largest union to cut workers' pay by 5 percent from October, helping the airline reduce labor costs as fuel prices soar.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 8, 2008

Taking the Japan Wine Challenge

Despite the countless half- finished bottles of wine that lined the walls, the atmosphere in the plush function room of Tokyo's Sheraton Hotel was decidedly tense rather than tipsy. Japanese and Westerners were sitting around tables deep in concentration, thoughtfully holding a glass up to the light...
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2008

JAL trims losses, plans route cuts, surcharge hikes

Japan Airlines Corp. said Thursday it narrowed its group net loss for the April-June quarter and its operating profit swung back into the black.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2008

LDP election chief cool to near-term campaign

The Liberal Democratic Party needs more time to promote its policies before entertaining any idea of a Lower House election, the chairman of the LDP Election Strategy Council indicated Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 5, 2008

Cosmo Oil raises profit forecast

Cosmo Oil Co., a Japanese refiner partly owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, lifted its first-half profit forecast after record crude prices increased the value of its inventories.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 3, 2008

The obsession over those dumbed down cute mascots

Japan is overrun with cute mascots. They represent everything from chain stores to police departments, and for the past decade or so there has been a marked increase in the popularity of one species of mascot called "yuru-kyara." The second half of this word stands for "character," while "yuru" is from...
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2008

Wage drop in June ups chances of recession

Wages dropped in June for the first time this year, indicating slower consumer spending coupled with falling exports may bring on a recession.
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2008

Daiwa first-quarter profit falls 78%

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. said Wednesday its first-quarter profit fell 78 percent as brokerage commissions, trading profit and fees from underwriting dropped.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / INSIDE ART
Jul 31, 2008

You can always buy your way in

Art changes with the times, so why shouldn't art galleries? Some say that Japan's unique "rental gallery" system, where young artists pay hundreds of thousands of yen per week to show their work, is on its last legs. If so, is it a case of good riddance? Or does this represent the retreat of a perfectly...
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2008

Nissan, Mazda lead uptick in June production

Nissan Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. led a rise in June auto production as revamped, fuel-efficient models boosted exports.
BUSINESS
Jul 30, 2008

Tokyo Gas expects full-year loss

Tokyo Gas Co. forecast a full-year loss Tuesday on increased import costs, reversing its previous profit outlook.
BUSINESS
Jul 30, 2008

Nomura posts unexpected first-quarter loss

Nomura Holdings Inc., the nation's largest brokerage, posted on Tuesday an unexpected first-quarter loss as trading profit slumped and it recorded additional provisions for bond insurers.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 29, 2008

It came, it saw, and it bowled over Japan

It has slurped its way into becoming Japan's favorite food.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2008

Horie's 30-month prison term upheld

The Tokyo High Court rejected Livedoor Co. founder Takafumi Horie's appeal Friday and upheld his 2 1/2-year prison term for falsifying financial statements and violating the Securities and Exchange Law, describing the defendant as "lacking dignity."
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 25, 2008

Alternatives to Iranian oil

SINGAPORE — Talks to defuse the brewing crisis over Iran's nuclear ambitions ended inconclusively last weekend. The discussions in Geneva involving China, Russia, the United States and leading European powers were followed by a warning to Tehran that it had a fortnight to respond positively or face...
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2008

Exports fall for first time since '03 as U.S. slump spreads out

Exports fell for the first time in more than four years as demand for cars and electronics cooled, signaling the U.S. slowdown is spreading to the emerging markets that helped sustain growth.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2008

Top 12 banks struggling to profit from core operations: BOJ review

The fiscal 2007 earnings reports for Japan's 12 major banks show they are having little success at boosting their core businesses, according to a Bank of Japan review released Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2008

Mizuho mulls overseas commodities

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. will become the first of Japan's three largest banks to launch an overseas team dedicated to commodities trading.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past