Search - 2005

 
 
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2004

Mitsubishi Tokyo plans UFJ fund injection

Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. plans to inject some 300 billion yen in capital into UFJ Holdings Inc. by September to help the UFJ group accelerate disposal of bad loans ahead of their planned merger in the first half of fiscal 2005, according to financial sources.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2004

Chip-making equipment sales lull seen

Domestic sales of equipment for manufacturing semiconductors and liquid-crystal panels are expected to peak in the current fiscal year, an industry association said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 7, 2004

Deregulatory zones inspire outpouring of ideas from cities

A fund designed to make it easier to collect money for festivals is just one of 652 proposals the government has received from municipalities for the soon-to-be-launched special deregulatory zones, Kazuyoshi Kaneko, minister in charge of revitalizing local economies, said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2004

Nissan to expand Egypt operations

Nissan Motor Co. said Monday it will invest about $100 million by 2010 to expand its operations in Egypt and make that country the automaker's industrial base for the Middle East and North African regions.
Japan Times
Features
Jun 20, 2004

Japan's war machine that isn't

In March 1999, when P-3C Orion aircraft from the Maritime Self-Defense Force dropped warning bombs near two suspicious trawlers in the Sea of Japan, it was the first time weapons had been used "in anger" by any SDF unit. The action followed the MSDF receiving its first-ever Cabinet order permitting it...
COMMENTARY
Jun 15, 2004

Strike a balance on defense

As the Self-Defense Forces prepare to greet the 50th anniversary of their founding next month, the prime minister's advisory panel on security and defense is updating Japan's "national defense program outline."
JAPAN
May 25, 2004

Banking giants log black ink as stocks rise, bad loans fall

All but one of the nation's four major banking groups returned to the black in fiscal 2003, according to their financial reports released Monday.
BUSINESS
May 20, 2004

Blueprint to seek nominal growth of 2% in 2006

A draft of the upcoming edition of the economic blueprint suggests that the government wants to achieve nominal economic growth of at least 2 percent beginning in fiscal 2006.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 12, 2004

Lions no lock for Pacific League pennant with playoff system

Letters from Kyushu
JAPAN
May 12, 2004

Honduran leader voices summit goal

Visiting Honduran President Ricardo Maduro Joest voiced hope Tuesday that a Japan-Central America summit will be held here on Aug. 19, 2005, during the 2005 Aichi World Exposition, a Japanese official said.
BUSINESS
May 7, 2004

Numerical bad-loan targets sought for regional banks

The government will ask regional banks to set numerical bad-loan reduction targets and to strengthen their financial bases, according to a draft of fresh government guidelines aimed at bolstering the nation's financial system.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2004

Kimono makes comeback -- in used form

Every once in a while, 27-year-old Junko Nagumo and five companions visit boutiques in upmarket Tokyo districts such as Omotesando and Ginza -- not to buy trendy fashion items but to find inexpensive used kimono.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2004

Ministry to gauge baby boom impact

The welfare ministry plans to launch a large-scale, long-term survey in 2005 to track the health and living conditions of thousands of postwar babyboomers.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2004

Japan Post fetes first anniversary

Japan Post marked its first anniversary with an air of satisfaction Thursday because its biggest management target over the past year -- eliminating a deficit in mail delivery operations -- has probably been met.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2004

New TSE chief hopes to list on TSE

Takuo Tsurushima, who became the new president of Tokyo Stock Exchange Inc. on Thursday, said he will do his utmost to list TSE stock on Japan's largest bourse in fiscal 2005 and bolster its international competitiveness.
JAPAN / SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
Apr 1, 2004

Private universities feel heat from company-run upstarts

Already struggling to keep student numbers up amid an ever-shrinking pool of high school graduates, private universities now face a new threat -- stock exchange-listed companies entering the fray of running institutions of higher learning.
Japan Times
Events
Mar 31, 2004

Journalists cautious on FTA talks

Is Japan ready to become a leader of Asia by opening its market to the rest of the region in ways commensurate with its status?
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2004

Assembly OKs budget for bank

The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly voted Tuesday to pass the fiscal 2004 budget, including an outlay of 100 billion yen for a new bank that the metropolitan government plans to found in 2005.
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2004

Clapton, Ma, Brightman to contribute to Aichi expo

Guitarist Eric Clapton, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and soprano Sara Brightman will be involved in the musical program of the 2005 Aichi World Exposition that begins next March, organizers said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2004

JAL group to slash 4,500 jobs in next three years

Japan Airlines System Corp. will reduce its workforce by about 8 percent, or 4,500 employees, by the end of March 2007, with net losses expected amid sluggish demand.
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2004

Sony to mass produce LCD panels in '05

Sony Corp. said Monday it will start mass producing large liquid crystal display panels in summer 2005 at a joint facility it will launch with Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea.
JAPAN
Mar 2, 2004

Government to own more than a third of road bodies

Nobuteru Ishihara, minister of land, infrastructure and transport, said Monday the government will own more than a third of the privatized entities of four public highway corporations after their privatization in fiscal 2005.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2004

Defense Agency eyes media officers to handle deluge

The Defense Agency will create media officer posts in fiscal 2005 to handle increasing public interest in the agency and the Self-Defense Forces.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2004

Special night classes bridging language gap

Since April, 35-year-old Rika Osada of Malaysia has been studying nightly side by side with four Japanese much older than her at Shinsei Junior High School in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Feb 11, 2004

JR East aims for faster conventional bullet trains

East Japan Railway Co. will build two prototype bullet trains capable of a top speed of 400 kph and test them from 2005 to 2008 in northeastern Japan, the railway operator said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

Panel targets terror via 'e-passports'

An information technology task force proposed Friday that Japan introduce passports featuring a microchip by the end of fiscal 2005.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight