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BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2001

Nation's airlines remaining steadfast in face of aftershocks from terrorism

Declines in passenger loads and increases in insurance premiums after last month's devastating terrorist attacks in the United States are threats to Japanese airlines as they are to other carriers, but reaction in Japan may not be as drastic.
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2001

METI to ease loan rules for entrepreneurs

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to foster venture firms nationwide by overhauling the rules under which entrepreneurs can receive loans without providing collateral or a guarantor, METI officials said.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 7, 2001

Soaking up history

In a quiet residential area of Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, half hidden by a large maple tree, stands an impressive, castlelike wooden structure that is like a portal to another time. With old-fashioned kawara tiles on its pagoda-style roof, and its curliculed surrounding stone wall, the building is evocative...
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2001

South Africa forum touts cooperation

Japanese and South African business leaders agreed at a forum in Tokyo on Wednesday that they will further cooperate to promote investment and trade in the natural resource, automobile and information technology industries.
BUSINESS
Sep 21, 2001

Vodafone unit to launch Japan Telecom takeover

British cellular operator Vodafone Group PLC will today launch an agreed takeover bid over Japan Telecom Co. through a wholly owned subsidiary and take full control of the nation's third-largest operator with up to a 66.7 percent stake, Vodafone announced Thursday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2001

NTT likely to take 550 billion yen loss over Verio

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. may book a latent loss of up to 550 billion yen this business year due to the depreciated value of Verio Inc., its U.S. Internet wholesale service subsidiary, NTT sources said Monday.
BUSINESS
Sep 14, 2001

Japan could be key to Asia recovery

Asian countries should cooperate in tackling a looming global recession, and Japan can play a key role in doing so, according to an executive of an international business organization.
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2001

Matsushita says it will postpone issue of IT-linked stock

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Works Ltd. said Thursday it will postpone its plan to issue special stocks linked to the performance of electronics-related business divisions due to the ongoing slump in the information technology sector.
BUSINESS
Sep 5, 2001

Uniqlo to open first U.K. stores

Uniqlo casual clothing will open four of its first overseas stores in and around London on Sept. 28, the operator of the chain said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2001

Arroyo to visit Japan next week

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will visit Japan for four days starting Sept. 12 to meet government officials and attend a business conference, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Monday.
JAPAN / 50 YEARS SINCE SAN FRANCISCO
Aug 28, 2001

Carmakers had shaky start until oil shock hit market

Staff writer In 1957, Toyota Motor Corp. shipped two samples of its Toyopet Crown sedan to the United States as the first Japanese cars exported to that market. Nissan Motor Co. followed with Datsun compacts in 1958.
EDITORIALS
Aug 23, 2001

Don't count on a U.S. recovery

The U.S. economy continues to stumble. More ominously, there are few positive signs elsewhere in the world that could give the global economy the boost it needs. The U.S. Federal Reserve did what it could on Tuesday, but that will not be enough to lift the United States out of the doldrums. Slow growth...
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2001

Jusco sets massive sales target in effort to break world top 10

Supermarket chain operator Jusco Co. revealed Thursday it has set its group sales target for fiscal 2010 at 7 trillion yen.
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Aug 12, 2001

Copying Kyoto is way to revitalize Japan, fashion critic says

KYOTO -- If Japan wants to revitalize the sluggish economy and turn its prospects around, there are plenty of indications that Kyoto's way of life as well as its way of doing business are the answer, according to Hiromi Ichida, a fashion critic who has lived in the ancient capital for more than half...
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2001

Tobacco lobby keeps lid on state health plans

Staff writerSusumu Motojima, head of Japan Tobacco Inc.'s Kyoto branch, recently said smoking is a "pastime or habit an adult has the right to choose."
Events
Aug 7, 2001

Toxic island may be turned into foreign enclave

OSAKA -- What do you do with an island far from the center of town on which no one wants to live because methane gas leaks from landfill boasting high dioxin levels?
BUSINESS
Aug 3, 2001

Nikkeiren calls on government to implement jobless aid fund

FUJIYOSHIDA, Yamanashi Pref. -- The Japan Federation of Employers' Associations (Nikkeiren) called on the central government Thursday to implement a 1 trillion yen emergency employment scheme to help cope with rising unemployment.
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2001

Major Indian software services firm turns gaze toward Japan

The economic slowdown in the United States is pushing a major Indian software services company to diversify into the Japanese market, said Vivek Paul, president of Wipro Technologies.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 5, 2001

Life improving for Russian residents of the disputed Northern Territories

KURILSK, Russia -- After a time of neglect, the federal and local government are investing more in the economy of the Southern Kurils -- a group of disputed islands governed by Russia but also claimed by Japan. As the life of the islanders is gradually improving, they are less likely to agree to transferring...
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2001

Insurance-yield cuts put forward in plan

A government panel presented a plan Tuesday that would enable life insurers to reduce yields promised to policyholders as a way to help weak insurers restructure.
COMMUNITY
Jun 3, 2001

A new lease on life

Prosperous economies produce waste. Throw in rampant consumerism and a laissez-faire attitude toward the environment, and you've got the makings of a serious problem. Welcome to Japan. A host of treasures awaits you . . .
BUSINESS
May 25, 2001

MTFG, Sumitomo Mitsui put different spin on bad loans

Two major banking groups that announced their earnings results for fiscal 2000 Thursday showed diverging strategies as they strove to balance mounting bad loans with immediate earnings.
BUSINESS
May 23, 2001

Fast may shake up food distribution

Fast Retailing Co., operator of the Uniqlo casual clothing chain, will consider entering the grocery store business under a 10-year business plan, President Tadashi Yanai said Tuesday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 20, 2001

The importance of being Osakan

"Osaka? You think Osaka is the same as Tokyo?"
COMMUNITY
May 20, 2001

Kansai dialect survives on CD

OSAKA -- The distinctions are clear, a Kansai native might tell you. To express, for example, "she's not coming" ("kanojo konai" in standard Japanese), Osaka people would say "kanojo kehen," Kyoto people "kanojo kihen" and Kobe people "kanojo kohen."
BUSINESS
May 17, 2001

Promise chief invited to share wisdom at Harvard University

Harvard Business School last month invited Hiroki Jinnai, president of major Japanese consumer moneylender Promise Co., to field student questions in a forum on the firm's growth strategy.
JAPAN
May 17, 2001

Toyota's 972 billion yen profit sets Japan corporate record

Toyota Motor Corp. on Wednesday reported a 22 percent rise in group pretax profit to 972.2 billion yen for the business period that ended in March, the highest ever posted by a Japanese company.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2001

Sanyo, IBM develop Net-connectable chip

OSAKA -- Sanyo Electric Co. and IBM have developed a new semiconductor for home appliances that can be connected to the Internet, Sanyo officials said Monday.
JAPAN
May 13, 2001

Bureaucrat turns his back on elite job of the past for IT career of the future

Last July, elite bureaucrat Shin Yasunobe sent shock waves throughout government offices in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district by announcing his resignation from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

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