Search - 2000

 
 
JAPAN
May 17, 2001

Softbank chief No. 3 taxpayer

Softbank Corp. President Masayoshi Son ranked as Japan's third-largest individual taxpayer in 2000, up from 16th in 1999, the National Tax Administration said Wednesday in an annual report listing the top 100 taxpayers.
COMMUNITY
May 6, 2001

Think you're safe? Think again

Japan has long enjoyed a reputation for being one of the safest countries in the world. It's said that you can trust your neighbors here. That there's little need to be constantly worried about your belongings. That you can walk the streets safely at night.
BUSINESS
Apr 27, 2001

Aiwa posts huge net loss in fiscal '00

Ailing audio and video equipment maker Aiwa Co. said Thursday its group net loss more than tripled in fiscal 2000 due to sluggish personal consumption in Japan and unfavorable overseas factors, including the rapid slowdown in the U.S. economy.
JAPAN / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Apr 19, 2001

Top foreign fashion brands take direct approach

As consumer spending woes continue to weigh on Japan's sluggish economy, foreign apparel makers have expanded their business by taking a more direct approach.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2001

Mori-Putin summit expectations low

After failing to meet the end-of-2000 target for resolving a territorial dispute and signing a peace treaty, Japan and Russia will hold their first summit this year in Russia's Irkutsk on Sunday, during which Japan hopes to set a future direction for resolving the decades-old row.
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2001

Straining under their weight, bank behemoths strive to survive

All-out competition will break out among Japan's four major banking groups next month in an arena that will host some of the world's largest banks in terms of aggregate assets.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 17, 2001

Taking the Watanabe optional tour

Few of us can understand why the Taliban in Afghanistan is destroying the awe-inspiring giant Buddhist statues at Bamiyan instead of turning them into profitable tourist sites generating millions of dollars in T-shirt and other souvenir sales. Someone who might, however, is Satoshi Watanabe, whose own...
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2001

LDP policy chief calls for extra budget

Shizuka Kamei, policy chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Tuesday that a supplementary budget should be compiled to boost the economy.
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2001

JR firms see stagnant sales growth

The seven Japan Railway companies on Friday unveiled their business management plans for fiscal 2001, with four of them projecting sales of almost the same level as that of the current fiscal year.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2001

First trade deficit since '97 registered

Japan posted a global merchandise trade deficit of 95.3 billion yen in January, the first time its trade balance has plunged into the red since January 1997, according to a preliminary report released Wednesday by the Finance Ministry.
BUSINESS
Feb 10, 2001

December machinery orders rose but outlook is gloomy

Japan's core private-sector machinery orders rose a seasonally adjusted 3.8 percent to 1.096 trillion yen in December from the previous month, after a 2.9 percent drop in November, the Cabinet Office said Friday.
BUSINESS
Feb 9, 2001

Nippon Steel reclaims output crown from Pohang

Nippon Steel Corp. snatched back its title of the world's top steelmaker in terms of crude steel output in 2000 after being second to South Korea's Pohang Iron & Steel Co. for the past two years, Nippon Steel officials announced Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Feb 6, 2001

Why can't Russia be more reasonable?

I am fed up with Russia's unreasonable attitude on the reversion to Japan of the four Russian-occupied northern islands and on the conclusion of a Russo-Japanese peace treaty.
BUSINESS
Feb 1, 2001

2001 budget awaits nod from Diet

The government on Wednesday submitted an 82.65 trillion yen budget for fiscal 2001 to the Diet that features a record 48.66 trillion yen outlay meant to bolster the teetering economy.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2001

Trade surplus drops for a second year

Japan's merchandise trade surplus in 2000 shrank 12.5 percent from the previous year to 10.74 trillion yen, the second consecutive yearly decline, according to a preliminary report released Wednesday by the Finance Ministry.
CULTURE / Books / POETRY MIGNETTE
Jan 21, 2001

A little home for poetry in Shinagawa

Keiyudoh is a book store specializing in rare art books, with a small gallery in the back. Currently the gallery features an exhibition of calligraphy by Sueo Akiyama, a self-taught artist, whose works have received cultural awards in Poland and France recently. Keiyudoh also publishes the journal Le...
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2000

Mitsui sets five-year reconstruction plan

Mitsui Construction Co. announced a five-year restructuring plan Friday under which the ailing general contractor will ask about 10 creditor financial institutions, including Sakura Bank, to forgive debts totaling 163 billion yen.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2000

Cabinet approves 2001 budget

The Cabinet on Sunday approved an 82.65 trillion yen general-account budget for fiscal 2001 that is aimed at ensuring the nation's recovery from the prolonged economic slump.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 24, 2000

Shinjo: Can he live up to media hype in New York?

played up the coverage of the signing of free agent Tsuyoshi Shinjo by the New York Mets last week. "He'll be the opening day starting center fielder," said one paper about the former Hanshin Tigers star. "He'll bat sixth in the lineup," read another. While it's nice to know they have high hopes for...
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2000

83 trillion yen budgeted for 2001

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa on Wednesday unveiled a draft general-account budget for fiscal 2001 that is smaller than its predecessor for the first time in three years but will nevertheless leave Japan 666 trillion yen in debt.
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2000

Outline of 82.7 trillion yen budget for 2001 unveiled by Miyazawa

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa on Tuesday unveiled the outline of the ministry's 82.65 trillion yen draft general-account budget proposal for fiscal 2001.
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2000

Kumagai Gumi to restructure

Kumagai Gumi Co. unveiled a restructuring plan Monday under which the debt-ridden construction firm will ask 15 creditors to forgive debts totaling 450 billion yen.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2000

Striving for a healthier, wealthier Asia

Institutions and concepts cause poverty and environmental degradation.
OLYMPICS
Jul 5, 2000

Sydney Games shaping up despite flak: minister

Australian Minister for Sport and Tourism Jackie Kelly predicted Tuesday that September's Sydney Olympics will be a success, despite the scandals that have plagued preparations.
BUSINESS
Jul 5, 2000

Upbeat 'tankan' may lead to rate hike

Business sentiment among the nation's corporations improved over the past three months, underscoring a recent recovery trend, according to the Bank of Japan's "tankan" business sentiment survey for June.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 10, 2000

Aborigines raise their cause's profile

SYDNEY -- On its way from Greece to the Sydney Olympics 2000, the Olympic flame this week passed by Uluru, a huge rock rearing up out of the vast emptiness of the "dead heart" of Australia. Watching it were Aborigines, this country's inhabitants for the past 50,000 years, to whom Uluru is sacred.
BUSINESS
May 25, 2000

NTT DoCoMo logs 19.3% sales increase

Boosted by the soaring number of mobile phone users, cellular operator NTT DoCoMo Inc. announced Wednesday that it posted consolidated sales of 3.72 trillion yen for fiscal 1999, which ended in March, up 19.3 percent from the previous year.
BUSINESS
May 5, 2000

Bluetooth wants bite of mobile market

Portable computers' claim to fame is that they allow you to access and send information anytime and anywhere. But what if you leave a cable at home or bring the wrong one on a business trip?
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2000

Major Red Army incidents

The following is a chronology of major incidents involving members of the Japanese Red Army:

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan