author

 
Menu
Search
 
November 22, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Shinichi Terada
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2007
Homes, firms hit by oil spike to get relief
The government announced a relief package Tuesday for small firms and low-income households to help them cope with high oil prices.
BUSINESS
Dec 5, 2007
Housing slump forecast to continue hurting economy
Despite recent signs of recovery, the housing slump caused by stricter regulations for obtaining building permits will continue to hurt the economy for some time to come, analysts say.
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2007
Corporate capital spending off
Capital investment by companies excluding the financial and insurance sectors fell 1.2 percent in the July-September period from a year ago, the Finance Ministry said Monday, adding to concerns over the impact of the U.S. housing loan mess.
BUSINESS
Nov 28, 2007
Loan guarantees slated for more small builders
The government has expanded loan guarantees for vulnerable small and medium-size firms in the construction and related industries as part of efforts to counter the recent plunge in housing starts that threatens economic growth, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2007
LDP body pushes for sales tax hike next decade
To finance swelling social security costs, the 5 percent consumption tax needs to be raised to around 10 percent in the middle of the next decade as more baby boomers become pensioners, according to an interim proposal by the Liberal Democratic Party's financial reform study group.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2007
Discuss consumption tax hike now: panel
A hike in the consumption tax from the current 5 percent must be considered to finance the swelling social security costs stemming from the rapidly aging population, the governmental Tax Commission said in a proposal released Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2007
Finance panel urges more belt-tightening
An advisory panel to the finance minister urged the government Monday to stick to its belt-tightening policy to restore the government's debt-ridden finances as it compiles the budget for fiscal 2008.
BUSINESS
Nov 16, 2007
Consumption tax hike certain: Mitarai
Hiking the consumption tax to finance social security is "unavoidable" because the government is scheduled to raise its portion of the funding in fiscal 2009, Fujio Mitarai, head the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), said Thursday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2007
Toto ads take aim at America's great unwashed
In the summer, sanitary ware manufacturer Toto Ltd., best known for its Washlet bidet toilets, launched an aggressive advertising blitz in the United States to woo Americans who have long shied away from such a product as strange, unnecessary — and a little bit embarrassing.
BUSINESS
Nov 14, 2007
GDP logs surprise increase of 2.6%
The economy expanded at a faster pace than expected in the July-September period, thanks to strong exports to other parts of Asia and an unexpected increase in consumer spending, the government said in a preliminary report released Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2007
Current account surplus up 34.1% in April-September
The current account surplus expanded 34.1 percent in the April-September period compared with a year earlier to hit a record high ¥12.42 trillion, reflecting Japanese investors' sizable gains from overseas investments and growing trade with countries in Europe and Asia, the Finance Ministry said on...
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2007
Softbank profits triple as mobile users mount
Softbank Corp. said Tuesday its net profit more than tripled to ¥46.46 billion in the six months that ended Sept. 30 from ¥14.4 billion a year earlier after winning more mobile phone subscribers than bigger rivals NTT DoCoMo Inc. and KDDI Corp.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / TAKING A CHANCE
Nov 1, 2007
Retiree starts anew with Kidzania career theme park
It was in May 2004 that retired restaurant manager Einosuke Sumitani first visited a career theme park called Kidzania in Mexico and saw children cheerfully engaged in jobs there.
BUSINESS
Oct 27, 2007
DoCoMo profits plunge 21% in half year as users defect to rivals
NTT DoCoMo Inc. reported a 21 percent drop in operating profit for the April-September period Friday, reflecting its loss of customers to rivals KDDI Corp. and Softbank Corp.
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2007
Sharp tax hikes mulled to fund pension system
The 5 percent consumption tax would have to be doubled to fully finance the state pension program with levies, the private-sector members of the government's top economic panel said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2007
Japanese businesses setting up virtual shop in Second Life
For a year, blue-chip corporations in the West have been setting up shop on Second Life, the online, 3-D alternate reality that is redefining Internet communication.
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2007
Consultancy exec to take Livedoor helm in December
Livedoor Holdings Co. President Kozo Hiramatsu will step down in December and be replaced by Hironori Ishizaka, a 34-year-old consulting company executive, the firm said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2007
Don't start spending: Cabinet Office
Japan would need ¥6.6 trillion more in tax revenue to achieve a primary balance surplus in fiscal 2011 should economic growth stall and the pace of spending cuts slow, the Cabinet Office said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 12, 2007
Mobile phone carriers apply for WiMAX service licenses
Groups led by Japan's three mobile phone carriers — Softbank Corp., KDDI Corp. and NTT DoCoMo Inc. — applied Thursday for licenses to provide next-generation, high-speed WiMAX wireless telecommunications services.
BUSINESS
Oct 5, 2007
KDDI unveils new price plans
KDDI Corp. announced new mobile phone subscription packages Thursday that will slash calling fees, raise handset prices and possibly alter the alliances among handset manufacturers.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’
SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER