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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2008

AIG Japan unit safe for time being

The U.S. Federal Reserve's emergency $85 billion rescue of the U.S. insurer American International Group eased concerns Wednesday that its Japanese unit will survive, at least for the time being.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2008

Nintendo ups profit forecast 26%

Nintendo raised its business year profit forecast by 26 percent from an earlier figure Friday, citing healthy sales of its Wii home console and DS hand-held game machines.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2008

Japan urged to be creative to stay competitive

In contrast to fast-growing Asian economies like China and India, Japan's slow pace of economic reform coupled with its graying population and shrinking workforce is a concern to Western investors.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2008

Cash still flows for weddings

Consumers are being forced to tighten their belts by soaring food and oil prices and the expanding economic slowdown triggered last year by the subprime-loan crisis in the United States.
BUSINESS
Jun 24, 2008

Manufacturer confidence at four-year low

Confidence among manufacturers for the April-June quarter fell the most in at least four years because of surging commodity costs and waning demand for cars and electronics, a government survey showed Monday.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 27, 2008

Tycoon aims to speed up politics

Business tycoon Hiroshi Okuda is said to be meeting frequently but secretly with leading figures of both the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the No. 1 opposition Democratic Party of Japan, apparently with an eye to reorganizing the political landscape after general elections expected in the not-too-distant...
BUSINESS
May 23, 2008

Leaner Sanyo logs first return to black in four years

Sanyo Electric Co., which has been struggling to turn around its scandal-plagued business, swung back into profit in the business year through March for the first time in four years, the electronics maker said Thursday.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2008

Toyota sales break record; '08 drop seen

Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it made record sales and profits in the business year to March 31 but warned that operating profit may fall by 29.5 percent in the 2008 business year, marking the first decline in nine years.
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2008

Ailing Hitachi subsidiary spurns U.S. fund's offer

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Inc., a U.S.-based hard-disk drive subsidiary of electronics giant Hitachi Ltd., said Thursday it will rebuild its business on its own, denying rumors it will sell part of its shares to U.S. investment fund Silver Lake Partners.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Mar 25, 2008

Snack mama Hiroko Mito

JUDIT KAWAGUCHI Hiroko Mito just celebrated the 10th anniversary of Kyoya, her small Kyoto-style snack and karaoke bar in Shibuya's Sakuragaoka district. Always dressed in a kimono and a freshly pressed kappogi, the white apron that used to be commonly worn by housewives, Hiroko-mama means business....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 22, 2008

Weak yen will trump prints row for tourists

Online letters of protest were filled out. A group of nearly 70 civic organizations from around the world delivered a formal letter of disapproval to Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama. Protesters gathered outside the Justice Ministry and thrust an inflated 3-meter-high yellow hand with an extended forefinger...
COMMENTARY
Nov 17, 2007

Is the democracy image losing its glow?

BALI, Indonesia — There's no guarantee that an intellectual counter-revolution will last any longer than a major monsoon. But there is in the works in this region growing disenchantment with the views of what one might call democracy fundamentalists. These are the people who insist that the democratic...
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2007

Sony profit up fourfold despite PS3 woes

Despite continuing to sustain heavy losses in its game business, Sony Corp.'s group net profit increased fourfold to ¥140.2 billion in the six months through September compared with the same period last year, thanks to vigorous sales of digital cameras and computers.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 16, 2007

No-tell love hotels cash in catering to the carnal

In any town bigger than a hamlet, you are sure to find a patch of gaudy hotels styled after rococo palaces, Grecian temples, even rocket ships. Some sport a miniature Statue of Liberty on the roof, others lurid neon signs.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Q&A
Sep 29, 2007

All eyes on Japan Post as privatization begins

Japan Post will be reorganized Monday, paving the way for it to become a private company for the first time in its more than 130-year history. The following are questions and answers on how the privatization will affect Japan's postal services.
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2007

Softbank to focus on small businesses to beat DoCoMo, KDDI

Softbank Corp. expects to gain market share from NTT DoCoMo Inc. and KDDI Corp. by focusing on small businesses.
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2007

Victor, Kenwood ready for merger

Victor Co. of Japan, a struggling subsidiary of electronics giant Matsushita, said Tuesday it will officially start negotiations as early as next month to merge with Kenwood Corp. in 2008, possibly in the form of creating a joint holding company that will hold all shares of the two firms.
BUSINESS
Jul 3, 2007

'Tankan' shows big makers still optimistic

Business sentiment for big manufacturers remained optimistic in the Bank of Japan's latest "tankan" survey released Monday, fueling market speculation the central bank will raise the interest rate as early as next month.
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2007

Investors slam JAL's surprise '06 share issue

Japan Airlines Corp. shareholders Tuesday slammed the carrier's top executives, saying they had deceived them by issuing new shares last July without consulting them at their 2006 meeting and for failing to restore profitability in the last business year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / TAKING A CHANCE
Jun 23, 2007

Handbag entrepreneur owes success to quality, celebrities

From the start, entrepreneur Kazumasa Terada had his eye on the global market. Using celebrities like the Hilton sisters in 2002 to promote his handbag label, Terada has turned Samantha Thavasa into a household name in Japan, and is on the verge of bigger things abroad.

Longform

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