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EDITORIALS
Nov 20, 2003

Debate needed on pension reform

Japan's underfunded public pension system -- which was a major issue in the Nov. 9 general election -- is in need of urgent reform. As expected, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry's plan for 2004, unveiled Monday, calls for drastic changes that would impose a greater burden on both the younger and...
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Nov 20, 2003

Empty school buildings: reuse or recycle?

Not far from where I live, there's an elementary school with just 36 students. It's not a private school. It doesn't have a special curriculum. It's a regular public school designed to serve several hundred students. But the neighborhood has changed into a business district, and the few residents who...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2003

Worlds apart: a tale of two Asian cities

LONDON -- I have spent most of the last two months traveling in the poor areas of western China (the mountain areas in south Ningxia, Qinghai and Gansu) and in Uzbekistan. What a contrast! You could describe the development process in western China as two steps forward and one step back, while in Uzbekistan...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2003

Shiatsu to soothe the nervous Chihuahua?

Dog owners will readily say that just being around their pets helps ease their stress. But beyond petting and feeding, how can owners return the compliment and relieve their animals' tension? Or else just pamper them to the max?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2003

Security key factor in future Japan-ASEAN tieup

Although the relationship between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has largely been an economic affair until now, it will cover political and security concerns in the years to come, according to ASEAN Secretary General Ong Keng Yong.
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Nov 19, 2003

A helping handyman

Watching Didier Courbot at work, you would probably think he was a nut.
BUSINESS
Nov 19, 2003

Japan Telecom Holdings sees red

Japan Telecom Holdings Co. sank into the red in the fiscal first half of 2003 due to share evaluation losses related to the sale of its land-line telephone service unit Japan Telecom Co.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2003

A weak dollar for a strong economy?

GUATEMALA -- Since mid-March, the dollar's value measured by a trade-weighted index against a basket of currencies has declined by 6 percent and by 9.6 percent for the entire year. Some economists, businessmen and politicians in America believe that a weaker dollar will be "good" for the U.S. economy....
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Nov 17, 2003

A proper accounting due for IASB's ways

Established in 2001, the International Accounting Standards Board is a body that is trying to develop a single set of high-quality global accounting standards, the ultimate goal being to have the world's other existing standards converge with it.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 16, 2003

A world of fashion in the family

Japan's recession, the pundits say, is dragging on. More unemployment, less yen in the government's coffers, and people from Hokkaido to Okinawa tightening their belts another notch.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2003

SARS, Iraq war bludgeon JAL earnings

Japan Airlines System Corp. said Friday it incurred a 57.59 billion yen net loss in the first half of fiscal 2003 due to the SARS epidemic and the Iraq war.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2003

Graduates enjoy starting salary hike

The average starting salary for male and female university graduates rose 1.5 percent in 2003 from a year before to 198,100 yen, the biggest increase on record, the labor ministry said Friday.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2003

Ishihara eyes bank purchase

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is in talks with Paribas International SA over the purchase of the French financial group's Japanese trust bank, Gov. Shintaro Ishihara announced Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2003

Takefuji exec, four others arrested in wiretapping case

Tokyo police arrested five people Friday, including a former senior managing director of the consumer loan firm Takefuji Corp., over the alleged wiretapping of a journalist.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2003

Economy grew 0.6% in second quarter

Japan's economy grew a real 0.6 percent in the July-September period, logging a seventh straight quarterly expansion, backed by strong exports and corporate capital investment, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2003

Postal insurance policy sale to go ahead

The posts ministry on Friday approved a new postal insurance product being opposed by other countries' trade watchdogs and domestic private-sector insurers.
BUSINESS
Nov 14, 2003

Mitsubishi profit soars in first half

Mitsubishi Corp., the nation's largest trading house, said Thursday its first-half net profit jumped 39 percent to 60.56 billion yen, thanks to brisk auto trade in Asia.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2003

Koizumi makes choice on Japan Highway chief

The government decided informally Thursday to appoint a House of Councilors member and former businessman as president of Japan Highway Public Corp.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2003

Aozora poaches executive from Sumitomo Trust

In a departure from Japanese banking practice, Aozora Bank announced Wednesday its next president is coming from rival Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co.
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2003

JR Tokai posts record sales, profit

Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) on Wednesday reported record group sales and pretax profit for the first half.
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2003

MMC eyes North American strategy

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will release a strategic review of its North American operations early next year.
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2003

Takara's net profit takes a dive

Takara Co.'s group net profit for the fiscal first half of 2003 fell 28.6 percent from a record high a year earlier to 1.58 billion yen.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2003

East Tokyo welcomes artists in bid to revitalize historic district

When woodblock print master Ando Hiroshige created his famed "One Hundred Views of Edo," the eastern part of the capital was a bustling commercial and cultural hub.
BUSINESS
Nov 12, 2003

Economy watchers index tops 50

Business sentiment among taxi drivers, restaurant owners, department store clerks and others improved in October, with their index hitting positive territory for the first time in 39 months, according to a government survey released Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2003

Tokyo pauses briefly to fete 400th year

From his 14th floor office window, Tsunenari Tokugawa can almost see the exact spot where his ancestors settled four centuries ago. It's just a few blocks away -- but it might as well be in another universe.
BUSINESS
Nov 12, 2003

MMC posts major losses in first half

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. on Tuesday reported hefty losses for the fiscal first half that ended Sept. 30 due to sluggish sales in North America.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat