Search - sales

 
 
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2001

Mycal to unveil revised restructuring program

OSAKA -- Ailing supermarket-chain operator Mycal Corp. will announce a revised restructuring plan by the end of the week aimed at slashing its debts, company officials said Monday.
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2001

'Third sector' bankruptcies surge

The number of "third sector" bankruptcies has reached 17 this year, surpassing the annual record of eight set the previous year, a private credit research agency said Monday.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2001

TSE downbeat despite promise of reforms

The Tokyo stock market remains caught between crosscurrents stemming from expectations of the positive effects of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reform initiative and fears of further deterioration in the prospects for economic and corporate earnings.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2001

Telecom startup plans PHS service

Japan Communications Inc., an independent telecommunications company, said Wednesday it will launch low-cost PHS communications services for corporate subscribers Oct. 1 by using a PHS network leased from DDI Pocket Inc.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2001

Fuji Heavy, GM release new vehicle

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. released a new seven-seat passenger vehicle Wednesday produced by alliance partner General Motors Corp.
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2001

Misfortunes in tough times spur new breed of insurance plans

In May, Yamagata University disclosed that it had bungled its entrance exam grading, irretrievably altering the course of applicants' lives.
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2001

Fujitsu to cut 16,400 jobs worldwide

Fujitsu Ltd. announced Monday it will cut its global workforce by 9 percent, or 16,400 jobs, by the end of the fiscal year amid a global slump in the semiconductor market.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 19, 2001

Uniformly stylish Japanese

WEARING IDEOLOGY: State, Schooling and Self-Preservation in Japan, by Brian J. McVeigh. Berg, Oxford, 2000, 231 pages, $19.50 The Japanese are some of the most fashion-conscious dressers in the world. They spend large amounts of their discretionary income on clothes, have a strong preference for designer-made...
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Aug 19, 2001

The little brewery that wouldn't die

Since time immemorial sake has been brewed only in the winter. But in the last 40 years or so a handful of the nation's breweries pioneered shiki jozo (year-round brewing), cranking out sake in large, climate-controlled factories. For various reasons, only the largest breweries can pull this off. The...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2001

U.S. mortgaging wealth before recession

NEW DELHI -- It's becoming increasingly clear that the U.S. economy, despite a sharp slowdown, is holding the world against a global recession. Americans are borrowing globally and using the money to consume the goods of the world. Alas! This can continue only as long as U.S. assets exceed liabilities....
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2001

Ministry adds 71 items to consumer price index

To better reflect today's cost of living, the Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry is adding 71 new items to the basket of goods it tracks in its monthly index on consumer prices.
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2001

DoCoMo's 3G service disappoints users in trial

At the end of May, Kazunori Hagiwara was thrilled to be chosen to try out NTT DoCoMo's next-generation cellphone system.
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2001

Stores battle loss of foreign tenants

With Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Hermes and other famed foreign fashion brands launching their own shops in Tokyo, department store chains are seeking ways to attract customers other than depending on foreign names.
BUSINESS
Aug 15, 2001

Bankruptcies dropped in July for first time in four months

The number of corporate bankruptcies fell 3.1 percent in July from a year earlier to 1,567, the first fall in four months, a private research institute said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 14, 2001

An 'A' for Failure

By Mark McCormack A visit to an Ivy League college to attend the graduation of his son bore an unexpected dividend for one of our agents. He was so taken by one of the speakers, a mathematics professor, that he approached him afterward about doing a book. It was an excellent example of maximizing the...
COMMUNITY
Aug 12, 2001

If the shoe fits . . .

Good shoes are no good if they aren't a good fit. Everyone knows that, of course, but most people have at least once bought a fine pair of footwear only to consign it to a cupboard because wearing the shoes was just too painful.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 12, 2001

Feet first!

Somewhere in the march of progress, we lost sight of our feet. Though there are cutting-edge running shoes incorporating space technology for maximum performance, many of us gladly choose low-tech gear in the name of style. We are willing fashion victims, but the damage can be more serious than many...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 11, 2001

Playing chicken with telecommunication big boys

To some he is a hero. To others an anathema. For this writer, who lives in trepidation of meeting with Japanese CEOs because (sorry guys) they tend to be so predictable, Sachio Semmoto is a breath of fresh air.
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2001

Economy deteriorating further

The government believes the economy is "further deteriorating" due chiefly to larger falls in exports and output plus a dip in investment.
COMMENTARY
Aug 10, 2001

Noblesse oblige in short supply

The immediate task for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is to wrap up a specific reform package. While his slogans — "Structural reform with no sacred cows" and "No economic recovery without structural reform" — are basically supported here and abroad, stock prices have continued to fall.
BUSINESS
Aug 10, 2001

Machinery orders fell 6.6% in June

Core private-sector machinery orders fell a seasonally adjusted 6.6 percent in June from the previous month to 946.5 billion yen, marking the second consecutive month of decline, the Cabinet Office said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2001

3,000 at Matsushita units want early retirement

OSAKA -- More than 3,000 employees applied for early retirement programs offered by about 30 domestic subsidiaries of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., exceeding initial expectations, company officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN / STAGING A COMEBACK
Aug 7, 2001

Businesses bustle to board biotech bandwagon

With the mapping of the human genome opening the door to new possibilities for curing diseases and developing medicine, many Japanese companies are running to catch the bandwagon for the emerging biotech business.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2001

Aging craftsman proves human eye has edge over machines

UTSUNOMIYA, Tochigi Pref. -- The delicate hands and intuitive judgment of Yoshimasa Katori enable him do what no precision machine has ever accomplished -- polish glass into perfectly curved lenses.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2001

Seoul fashion moves into Osaka

OSAKA -- A total of 126 vendors from the Tongdaemun apparel market in Seoul, said to be Asia's largest fashion mart, started operations Saturday at the Asia and Pacific Trade Center (ATC) in Osaka's Suminoe Ward.

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