Search - 2002

 
 
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2002

Tokyo to spend 5% less during next fiscal year

Reflecting the deepening economic slump, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's draft fiscal 2002 budget, revealed Thursday, marks a 4.8 percent decrease from the initial budget for the current fiscal year, coming to 5.907 trillion yen.
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2002

Koizumi downplays talk of March economic crisis

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi brushed aside speculation Thursday that Japan may fall into a financial crisis in March, pledging that he would not let that happen.
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2002

Tokyo set to cut the umbilical cord

An aging, even failing, parent still carrying a grown-up child piggyback is about to stave off collapse by finally letting the child walk by itself -- at least for a short distance.
EDITORIALS
Jan 14, 2002

Relief step best left unused

Banks were once regarded as a symbol of financial security. People deposited money with banks, confident that it would be fully protected. Bank failure was simply out of the question. The myth of the "invincible bank" collapsed following the burst of the economic bubble a decade ago. Now depositors know...
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2002

A new framework for stability

The Korean Peninsula remains a potential flash point. The question for 2002 is whether North and South Korea, still technically at war, will be able to promote stability in the region. The answer partly depends on how domestic politics develops in South Korea, which will hold local elections in June...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 9, 2002

Japanese clubs load up on foreign help

A Happy New Year to all readers of The Japan Times and the Baseball Bullet-in.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Jan 9, 2002

Positive TSE start masks long-term gloom

The Tokyo stock market has rung in 2002 on a positive note, stirring hope over the prospects of high-priced activity in the months ahead.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2002

Consumption tax hike ruled out

The secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party ruled out a possible consumption tax hike Sunday, calling it "politically impossible for the time being."
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2002

Flicker of peace in a unipolar world

Uncertainty envelopes the world as it moves into the second year of the 21st century. U.S. President George W. Bush, who launched a "new war" against international terrorism after Sept. 11, is resolved to carry on the campaign in 2002. It is ironic that the end of the Cold War -- which supposedly marked...
EDITORIALS
Jan 3, 2002

Avoid a financial crisis

There appears to be nothing to cheer about in Japan's economy as it enters 2002. Virtually every economic indicator points to further stagnation. Unemployment is at a record 5.5 percent. Corporate earnings continue to decline. Particularly worrisome is the bad-debt problem in the banking sector, which,...
JAPAN / CLOSE NEIGHBORS
Jan 1, 2002

Japan hopes 'people exchanges' will improve ties

This year, Japan cohosts the World Cup soccer finals with South Korea and marks the 30th anniversary of normalizing diplomatic ties with China. In 2001, however, bilateral relations were overshadowed by issues related to Japan's wartime past. This is the first article in an occasional series that will...
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2002

Nikkeiren pushes job-sharing to stabilize unemployment

Employers and employees will eventually agree on wage cuts in the form of work-sharing as they undergo the much expected pains of ongoing structural reforms initiated by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the chief of Japan Federation of Employers Association (Nikkeiren) said.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2002

Nation's birthrate in 2001 expected to hit record low: survey

The nation's birthrate in 2001 is expected to hit a record low of 9.3 births per 1,000 people, according to a government survey released Monday.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2001

Anti-Koizumi LDP faction urges return to old ways

The administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will not last long unless he shifts to a policy of aggressive spending to shore up the economy in the near future, says a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker openly critical of Koizumi's reform initiatives.
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2001

Rengo to pursue job security over pay rises

The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) said it will seek to secure employment rather than boost wages during its spring wage negotiations.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2001

Foreign Ministry to require diplomats use receipts

The Foreign Ministry plans to oblige officials dispatched to diplomatic missions abroad to submit receipts when claiming management expenses at overseas government establishments in the fiscal 2002 budget, ministry officials said.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2001

Locals fear U.K. hooligans will rain on World Cup parade

OSAKA -- Amid nationwide jubilation on Dec. 1 over the birth of a daughter to the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, coffee shop owner Koji Fukushima of Osaka felt he had little to celebrate.
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2001

Koizumi should have tried to cap deflation instead

While the Finance Ministry's draft budget for 2002 features significant structural changes, its central reform pillar of limiting government spending has aggravated concerns about the economy.
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 20, 2001

League dates set

The J. League's executive board met Tuesday and finalized dates for next season's two First Division stages, as well as deciding on a new format for the 2002 Nabisco Cup.
EDITORIALS
Dec 17, 2001

Sporting events require tight security

The 2002 Japan-Korea World Cup will kick off in about six months. As the two countries busy themselves with the final preparations, the people who are becoming most tense are those in charge of security. When one thinks of security at soccer matches, the notorious hooligans in European countries may...
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2001

Government tax panel calls for overhaul of system

The government's tax panel Friday proposed an overhaul of the taxation system to deal with changes in the economy and called for the abolishment of special tax breaks meted out to individuals and corporations to avoid revenue shortfalls.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2001

Japan plans new Chinese import curbs

Japan plans to make legal revisions to impose emergency import curbs that have become possible as a result of China's entry into the World Trade Organization, government officials said.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2001

Kagome to buy control in Heinz unit

Kagome Co., Japan's largest manufacturer of processed tomato foodstuffs, said Thursday it will buy a controlling stake in Heinz Japan Ltd., the Japanese unit of H.J. Heinz Co. of the United States, next February to make it a joint venture with the U.S. food giant.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2001

Sumitomo Metal to bolster Nippon-Kobe steel alliance

Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. said Tuesday it had decided to reinforce its tieup with Nippon Steel Corp., Japan's largest steelmaker, in a move that will divide the Japanese steel industry into two major forces.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2001

State moves to redesign riverbanks

The government has for years been covering riverbanks across the country with concrete in an effort to control the course of the nation's waterways.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Dec 6, 2001

Bush scores high leadership marks

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush continues to enjoy the support of the American people for his prosecution of the war against terrorism. His job rating on the war effort remains just under 90 percent, where it has been since it all began. The military successes in Afghanistan have quelled concerns...
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

Hike in workers' share of medical bills delayed

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and LDP lawmakers reached a compromise Thursday over medical expenses borne by salaried workers, removing the final obstacle to completing a health-care reform program.
EDITORIALS
Nov 29, 2001

Banks come to grips with bad debts

After years of timid attempts to clear mountains of nonperforming loans, Japanese banks appear to be finally coming to grips with the bad-debt crisis. In the half-year business term to September, most of the 14 top lenders took larger-than-expected charges against their dud loans, even dipping into their...
BUSINESS / TAKING STOCK
Nov 27, 2001

Is second bottom coming or now passed?

Tokyo Stocks, as measured by the 225-issue Nikkei average, appear to have hit a second bottom, which is widely considered as a support level.

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