Search - 2004

 
 
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 4, 2002

Nagashima to manage Japan squad in Athens

Former Yomiuri Giants skipper Shigeo Nagashima was named manager of the Japanese national baseball team on Monday in the run-up to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2002

BOJ starts buying commercial banks' shareholdings

The Bank of Japan began buying shares held by banks Friday, taking on increased risk in a bid to help banks unwind cross-held shareholdings with borrowers.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Nov 22, 2002

Reduce friendly matches, not Champions League games

LONDON -- Tord Grip, the assistant to England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, once sat next to a supporter on a plane bound for a game in Germany. The fan remarked to the Swede who watches at least three games each week at home and abroad: "You must have lots of air miles."
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 6, 2002

Hillman takes Fighters' helm

Anyone hoping the Nippon Ham Fighters' new American manager will shake things up may be in for a disappointment.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2002

EU needs a common purpose

LONDON -- Since the original European Common Market was founded in the mid-1950s, the Continent sought a common economic role, to be followed by growing political integration. Now, there is general agreement on the first count that a new institutional framework is needed to give the community more political...
EDITORIALS
Aug 17, 2002

Indonesia's new order?

Indonesia has just concluded its annual legislative session by adopting reforms that could transform the nation's politics. During its two-week session, the People's Consultative Assembly agreed to ease the military out of politics and to let voters directly elect the president. These are potentially...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 6, 2002

Tussling over a stolen treasure

ATHENS -- In 1801, Thomas Bruce, the seventh Earl of Elgin and British ambassador to Constantinople, hit upon what he considered a splendid idea.
EDITORIALS
Jul 28, 2002

End to Europe's 'last red terrorists'?

A botched bomb attack appears to have unraveled one of the most mysterious terrorist organizations in Europe. The Nov. 17 group had operated with impunity in Greece for 27 years; it seemed impenetrable and untraceable. But the premature detonation of a bomb last month gave police the leads they needed...
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2002

Diet enacts bills to liquidate JNOC, scale back state's hand in oil business

The Diet enacted legislation Friday to dissolve the debt-ridden Japan National Oil Corp. in 2005 and reshuffle the nation's oil-exploration and petroleum-stockpiling policies.
BUSINESS
Jul 4, 2002

Major life insurers stress soundness of their finances

Four of the nation's leading life insurance companies emphasized Wednesday the soundness of their finances during annual meetings of their representative policyholders.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Jun 10, 2002

Tariff decisions proving costly for Bush

WASHINGTON -- I cannot help but remind everyone that I thought President George W. Bush made a bonehead decision when he imposed the quotas on imported steel a couple of months ago. I said it was a mistake for him politically, both domestically and internationally. I said it would destroy his hopes of...
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2002

Upper House OKs laws in support of Kyoto pact

The House of Councilors on Friday approved statutes designed to put Japan on the path to meet its legally binding international obligations under the Kyoto Protocol, also given the legislative stamp of approval the same day.
JAPAN
May 19, 2002

Japan rethinks plan for permanent U.N. Security Council seat

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, Japan has been forced to review its diplomatic strategy for gaining a long-coveted permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2002

Mitsubishi Pharma profits up 229%

Mitsubishi Pharma Corp. said Monday that its group net profit soared 229.4 percent to 8.99 billion yen in fiscal 2001 due to cost-cutting and the U.S. government's authorization of a resumption of shipments from a U.S. plant.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2002

Cabinet approves final bills on deregulating post services

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet on Tuesday endorsed the remaining two bills of a set of four on postal services deregulation and plans to submit both to the Diet.
BUSINESS
Apr 20, 2002

NTT plan includes 17,000 job cuts

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. formally announced a new three-year business plan that entails 17,000 job cuts, a 400 billion yen capital investment reduction and a shift in focus regarding Internet protocol-based services.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 18, 2002

JRFU to start new national tourney

Japan Rugby Football Union went a long way to improving rugby in Japan both on the domestic and international front with the news last week that it was abandoning the traditional company championship for a new nationwide 12-team tournament starting in September 2004.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 17, 2002

Fighters' proposed move to Sapporo makes sense

Quite a controversy brewing over the proposed relocation of the Nippon Ham Fighters from Tokyo to Sapporo for the 2004 season. The Pacific League club wants to shift its franchise base from the Tokyo Dome to the Sapporo Dome, but the Seibu Lions are trying to block the move, because that team wants to...
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2002

Nissan plans full lineup for customers in China

Nissan Motor Co. plans to launch almost its entire lineup of passenger cars in China, expecting the country to grow into a huge auto market, according to Nissan President Carlos Ghosn.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2002

Sumitomo, Mitsui Chemicals unite to weather tough times

As a global wave of consolidation sweeps through the chemicals industry, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Japan's second-largest chemicals maker, is trying to get a jump on its domestic rivals by merging with industry No. 3 Mitsui Chemicals Inc.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2002

Toshiba, Mitsubishi in new 3G deal

Toshiba Corp. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. announced Wednesday they will jointly develop a third generation dual-mode mobile phone platform that will allow users of rival technology to use their handsets around the world.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2002

TSE aiming to be listed in 2005

The Tokyo Stock Exchange aims to list itself in the 2005 business year by improving its profitability during a midterm management program from 2002 to 2004.
BUSINESS
Feb 15, 2002

Asahi Mutual Life to deepen cuts

Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Co. will deepen planned pay and staff cuts because a business integration scheme with Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. had to be scrapped in January, company sources said.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2002

Life, nonlife insurers scrap tieup

Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. and Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Co. have decided to scrap their plans to integrate under a single holding company by March 2003 due to the cautious stance of the nonlife insurer, sources from the two companies said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2002

Nissho Iwai to eliminate 5,000 jobs in restructuring

Major trading house Nissho Iwai Corp. on Tuesday announced a three-year restructuring plan featuring a cut of 5,000 jobs from its current consolidated workforce of 19,000.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2002

Meiji Life to merge with Yasuda Mutual

Meiji Life Insurance Co. and Yasuda Mutual Life Insurance Co. announced plans Thursday to merge by April 2004, putting the heat on other life insurers to follow suit in a bid to survive share price plunges, cutthroat competition and a decline in policyholders.
BUSINESS
Jan 11, 2002

Kansai Electric to slash jobs, investment

OSAKA -- Kansai Electric Power Co. said it will slash 3,000 jobs -- more than 10 percent of its workforce -- by the end of fiscal 2004.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Dec 26, 2001

At last, Congress tackles election reform

WASHINGTON -- It was just a year ago last week that the Supreme Court elected George W. Bush our 43rd president. The mess of the elections in 2000, from the faulty voting machines in Florida to the long counts in western states (remember it took almost a month to declare a winner in the Senate election...
BUSINESS
Dec 6, 2001

Not all auto industry restructuring drives get same mileage

As Japanese companies in almost all sectors carry out large-scale restructuring, the auto industry can offer them a number of case studies that reflect varying measures of success.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji