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Taiga Uranaka

BUSINESS

Jan 23, 2004

Market rally lines pockets of online brokerages

Online brokerages continued to enjoy steep earnings growth thanks to the recent market rally, with Matsui Securities Co. reporting Thursday its net profit during the October-December period jumped more than 3 1/2-fold from a year earlier.

Japan Times

BUSINESS

Jan 20, 2004

Universities seek credit ratings as sign of quality

A small but growing number of universities are obtaining credit ratings from agencies such as Standard & Poor's Corp. as competition intensifies amid a decline in students.

BUSINESS

Jan 17, 2004

Seiyu to slash one-fifth of full-time workforce

Supermarket chain Seiyu Ltd. said Friday it will slash some 1,600 jobs, or about one-fifth of its total full-time workforce, by March 1.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Jan 15, 2004

Bird flu so far hasn't led to consumer panic seen with 2001 BSE outbreak

Consumers responded calmly Wednesday to news of the first outbreak of avian flu in Japan since 1925.

BUSINESS

Jan 10, 2004

Matsushita hopes digital focus ups profit margin

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Friday it aims to lift its profit margin to at least 5 percent in the next three years on sales of 8.2 trillion yen by meeting rising demand for digital consumer electronics products such as DVD recorders and flat TVs.

Japan Times

BUSINESS

Jan 8, 2004

100 yen video games score millions for software entrepreneur

At a time when playing just one game costs 200 yen on many arcade machines, a Tokyo company is bent on offering gamers a staggering value-for-money option via its 100 yen PC game software.

Japan Times

BUSINESS

Jan 8, 2004

Dollar now expected to hit 100 yen

The dollar fell to its lowest point against the yen in more than three years this week, prompting fast, sustained and solitary dollar-buying intervention by the Finance Ministry.

Japan Times

BUSINESS

Jan 6, 2004

Mobile phone giants strive for pre-eminence in 3G market

Anticipating that third-generation services will dominate the mobile phone market within a few years, NTT DoCoMo Inc., KDDI Corp., and Vodafone K.K. are rolling out new handsets with a range of advanced 3G functions.

BUSINESS

Jan 6, 2004

Move afoot for retaining phone numbers

Discussions have finally begun on allowing mobile phone users to keep the same number if they switch carriers, and thus avoid the hassle of having to inform all their contacts about a new number.

Japan Times

BUSINESS

Jan 1, 2004

Founder of Don Quijote empire revels in breaking all the rules

It's a jungle in there: Tacky, handwritten cardboard signs bearing dubious slogans vie for space with garish rolls of toilet paper, sex toys and Louis Vuitton handbags.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Dec 31, 2003

Stock rise in '03 was a pleasant surprise

The year of the sheep lived up to its reputation as a year of perseverance, bringing the first overall gains in four years for the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average.

JAPAN

Dec 31, 2003

Yoshinoya 'gyudon' may vanish over U.S. beef ban

Yoshinoya D&C Co. became one of the first casualties in Japan of the mad cow disease case in the United States, announcing Tuesday it will stop serving its mainstay "gyudon" beef-over-rice at its outlets in early February if there is still an import ban on U.S. beef.

Japan Times

BUSINESS

Dec 27, 2003

No panic over latest BSE scare

Japanese consumers are taking the news of the first case of mad cow disease in the United States with relative calm, with restaurants and supermarkets reporting none of the tumbling sales they experienced two years ago.

JAPAN

Dec 25, 2003

Japan's eateries, stores in shock

Reports of the first case of mad cow disease in the United States dealt a blow Wednesday to Japan's food industry, which is still recovering from the fallout over the September 2001 domestic breakout of the fatal brain-wasting disease.

BUSINESS

Dec 19, 2003

Sky Perfect to acquire Plat One

Sky Perfect Communications Inc., operator of the Sky PerfecTV digital satellite broadcasting service, said Thursday it will acquire smaller rival Plat One Corp. through a share swap on March 1.

BUSINESS

Dec 18, 2003

Firms team up on Net-linked appliances

Four major electronics firms announced Wednesday they have agreed to jointly develop standard specifications for connecting fridges, microwave ovens and laundry machines to the Internet.

BUSINESS

Dec 13, 2003

Top drug wholesaler to buy two of its rivals

Kuraya Sanseido Inc., the country's largest drug wholesaler, said Friday it will acquire two rivals, marking the latest profit-driven realignment within the sector.

BUSINESS

Dec 10, 2003

Nation's blue chip firms said on firm recovery track

The current fiscal year has seen Japan's blue chip companies put themselves on a firm recovery track, absorbing the negative impact of the yen's strength, Nomura Securities Co. said Tuesday.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Dec 9, 2003

Takefuji chairman admits ordering phone tap, resigns

Takefuji Corp. founder Yasuo Takei, under arrest for his alleged role in a wiretapping case, resigned Monday as chairman after admitting he ordered his men to bug a journalist's phone, the major consumer loan company said.

BUSINESS

Dec 9, 2003

Sammy to purchase 22.4% stake in Sega

Pachinko machine maker Sammy Corp. said Monday it will acquire a 22.4 percent stake in Sega Corp., becoming the largest shareholder in the game maker.

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