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COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2005

China showing a knack for taking risks

SINGAPORE -- A China that is willing to take ideological and political risks is emerging not only in affairs involving Hong Kong and Taiwan but also in the increasingly troubled relations with Tokyo and Washington.
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2005

Court agrees to injunction against Nireco poison pill

The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday blocked Nireco Corp. from including a poison pill strategy in the company's measures to defend against hostile takeovers.
BUSINESS
May 20, 2005

Terrestrial digital radio to get early start in 2006

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will allow terrestrial digital radio broadcasting to begin in 2006, five years earlier than originally planned, ministry officials said Thursday.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 16, 2005

Climbing up the down escalator: Inflation still out of Japan's reach

Inflation is not about to return to Japan just yet. According to the Bank of Japan's latest "Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices" released at the end of last month, the BOJ Policy Board members' median forecast for consumer prices in fiscal year 2005 is a 0.1 percent decline over FY 2004. Their...
EDITORIALS
May 3, 2005

Nonproliferation plus disarmament

An international conference to review the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) opens at the United Nations Monday. The 1970 treaty is riddled with inefficacy, as illustrated by North Korea's nuclear-weapons program, Iran's moves to enrich uranium, and the existence of an international black market for nuclear...
COMMENTARY
Mar 21, 2005

A cow walk toward a crisis

The Japan-U.S. row over beef imports looms as a grave problem that could develop into serious bilateral friction. Until recently the two countries had enjoyed what many experts regarded as the best relations yet in the postwar years. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi supported U.S. President George W....
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2005

Nireco to be first to use 'poison pill'

Nireco Corp., a maker of high-tech measuring devices and controllers, has said its board has approved a motion to introduce a "poison pill" scheme to fend off hostile takeovers, becoming Japan's first company to do so.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2005

U.S. has self to blame for weaker dollar

UBUD, Bali -- Earth to China-bashers: Beijing should not be blamed for America's trade deficits or for the weakness of the dollar. Those that believe so are confusing symptoms with causes. Other elements of conventional wisdom have it that there is some choice as to whether the exchange value of the...
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2004

Four Hollywood studios back Toshiba's HD DVD

In what could be a major coup in a fierce format war, Toshiba Corp. and its partners said Monday they have won support from four major Hollywood movie studios for their next-generation DVD.
BUSINESS
Nov 11, 2004

EBC upset over bill to ban prepaid cell phones

The European Business Community in Japan on Wednesday criticized a plan by Japan's governing coalition to present a bill to the Diet, possibly during the current session, to ban the use and sale of prepaid mobile phones on grounds that they are often used in crimes.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2004

Unionization now option for part-timers

Working conditions have been declining at many firms in recent years as the economic slump drags on, and especially hard-hit have been those with "temporary" status, as they face falling wages and shortened contracts.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2004

Jobless rate logs biggest increase in six years

Japan's unemployment rate rose to 4.9 percent in July, up 0.3 percentage point from June, the sharpest rise in six years, the government said Friday.
COMMENTARY
Aug 21, 2004

A lonely stand against the party machine

HONG KONG -- The extraordinary story of a county Communist Party secretary's lonely six-year battle against corruption in coastal Fujian Province, unveiled last week on the Web site of the official People's Daily newspaper, on one level marks a personal crusade.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2004

UFJ says no to tieup with Sumitomo group

The saga over struggling UFJ Holdings Inc. took a new twist Friday when its estranged peer, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Japan's second-biggest banking group, asked it to enter into merger talks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 29, 2004

Automakers get in touch with their feminine side

Automakers used to think cars in pastel colors with floral-patterned seats were key to attracting female buyers.
COMMENTARY
Jul 5, 2004

Genuine educational reform

As part of the government-proposed trilogy of reform, a review will be made of having the national treasury pay the costs of compulsory education. Present plans call for transferring some government revenues generated by the consumption tax and other sources to local autonomies and abolishing various...
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2004

FTC seeks halt to Usen's alleged unfair price-cutting

The Fair Trade Commission sought an emergency court order Wednesday to suspend alleged unfair price-cutting practices by cable broadcast station Usen Corp. within a month.
BUSINESS
Jun 15, 2004

No change in monetary policy expected from BOJ meeting

The Bank of Japan on Monday began a two-day meeting of its policy-setting panel, with analysts expecting no change in monetary policy despite the recent surge in long-term interest rates.
BUSINESS
Jun 9, 2004

Takenaka upbeat over interest rates

Economic and fiscal policy minister Heizo Takenaka said Tuesday that recent surges in long-term interest rates indicate stronger expectations for the economic recovery.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 23, 2004

Foreign markets fail to grasp soul of anime

If, as many people claim, Japanese pop culture is sweeping the globe, then anime is the hand that wields the broom. A number of recent big-budget Japanese animated features, including Mamoru Oishii's "Innocence," currently in competition at Cannes, have attracted funding from Hollywood without the usual...
JAPAN
May 1, 2004

Jobless rate slides to three-year low

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to a three-year low of 4.7 percent in March -- a further indication of Japan's burgeoning economic recovery, the government said Friday.
JAPAN
May 1, 2004

Jobless rate slides to three-year low

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to a three-year low of 4.7 percent in March -- a further indication of Japan's burgeoning economic recovery, the government said Friday.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 28, 2004

Fuji TV's "New New York Love Story" and more

The government is talking about reforming the ailing pension system and cutting benefits. A retired salaryman with a wife who is a full-time homemaker receives on average 230,000 yen a month as social security. Obviously, it is difficult to live on that amount of money without other forms of income....
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2004

Tale of three Asian elections

SINGAPORE -- Taiwan held its landmark presidential election last Saturday, Malaysia organized legislative elections last Sunday, and Indonesian legislative elections are scheduled April 5.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Mar 11, 2004

This Cat falls flat on the mat

Don't look for traces of Dr. Seuss in "Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat" coming out from Vivendi Universal Games for Xbox on March 25. He's not there.
COMMENTARY
Feb 23, 2004

Revise the antimonopoly law

Experts agree that Japan must strengthen its Antimonopoly Act, push deregulation to promote economic reform, reactivate its sluggish economy and protect consumer interests.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2004

Mitsubishi, wholesalers turn up heat on food firms

Mitsubishi Corp. said Friday it and five food wholesalers will establish a joint venture this month to strengthen their bargaining power in dealing with food makers.

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