Search - 2000

 
 
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2002

Bank loans decline for fifth year in row

The average daily lending balance by the nation's banks in 2001 fell 3.9 percent from the year before to 447.05 trillion yen for the fifth straight year of decline, the Bank of Japan said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2002

More to laser surgery than meets the eye

Corneal laser surgery may be a sight for sore eyes for people suffering from nearsightedness or those just tired of wearing glasses, but experts warn that people considering the increasingly popular operation need to be well-informed about the procedure and its possible results before going under the...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 3, 2002

Death of domestic coal leaves legacy for future

Four decades of protection for the domestic coal mining industry are nearly at an end as the government moves to procure stable and more economical supplies from abroad.
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2001

Japan not head over heals for Cuba

Will Japan ever fall for Cuba?
ENVIRONMENT
Dec 9, 2001

Waste disposal: Not just a load of rubbish

If extreme global warming is the headline-making environmental disaster on the world's horizon, then waste disposal is its ugly domestic step-sister that's already here.
COMMENTARY
Dec 6, 2001

Taiwan's Lee 'flexes strength'

TAIPEI -- "The KMT is still the biggest opposition party in the legislature." With these words, Kuomintang party chairman Lien Chan tried, unconvincingly, to put a positive spin on the former ruling party's disastrous showing in last weekend's legislative elections in Taiwan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2001

Tokyo government office raided in bribery probe

Police on Monday searched the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building in Shinjuku Ward over the arrests the previous day of an official and a construction company executive on bribery charges related to repairs on Miyake Island.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2001

Ex-Sogo chief denies hiding assets

Hiroo Mizushima, former chairman of failed department store chain Sogo Co., pleaded not guilty Wednesday before the Tokyo District Court to charges of concealing assets to avoid their seizure by creditors.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2001

Toll road losses rise

Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority, which manages three unprofitable toll roads linking the mainland and Shikoku, said Friday its accumulated losses for fiscal 2000 totaled 999 billion yen, up 75.8 billion yen from a year earlier.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2001

Domestic violence shelters to see rise in number of counselors

The government plans to provide better support for victims of domestic violence by dispatching psychotherapists to shelters and women's centers across the country from April, according to health ministry sources.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2001

Broadband to grow 81% per year: IDC

Domestic subscribers of broadband Internet services will continue to rapidly grow at a compound annual growth rate of 81 percent from 635,000 in 2000 to 12.42 million in 2005, a high-tech research company predicted Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2001

Legitimized foreigners urge more amnesty

A 15-year-old Iranian girl's first trip to her home country in 10 years last July began with a surprise welcome at Tehran airport by some 100 relatives.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2001

Suicides abate, but still over 30,000

The number of suicides in Japan in 2000 fell 3.3 percent to 31,957 for the first annual drop in six years but stayed above 30,000 for the third straight year, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2001

Cleaning up roadside litter cost state 328 million yen in '00

The government spent 328 million yen in fiscal 2000 to remove garbage that was either dumped deliberately or had fallen from moving vehicles from beside national highways, according to a Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry report.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 20, 2001

Dragons' Gomez back where he belongs

Leo Gomez is happy to be back where he belongs, playing third base and batting cleanup for the Chunichi Dragons.
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2001

Teachers brave frontline of national IT offensive

SHIKI, Saitama Pref. — Sitting in pairs behind computer screens, 30 fifth-graders at Muneoka No. 3 Elementary School here try to catch an English word spoken by computer and select the corresponding picture by mouse.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 13, 2001

Sculpture for speed freaks

A scant six months since it opened and Tokyo's Rice Gallery is looking less like a contemporary art space and more like a fantasy car showroom.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2001

Listed firms' sales rose in fiscal '00

Listed companies' combined sales grew 2.1 percent on a parent-company basis in fiscal 2000 over the previous year, the first increase in four years, the Tokyo Stock Exchange said Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2001

Does Bush's Spanish presage a bilingual America?

In his efforts to reach out to the American Hispanic community, former Republican leader Newt Gingrich sent out a greeting in Spanish to mark Cinco de Mayo, Mexico's Independence Day. The message came from "El Hablador de la Casa," which Gingrich's staff thought meant "Speaker of the House," but in fact...
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2001

Major life insurers feel pinch

Low interest rates, a sluggish stock market and a steady stream of policy terminations continued to squeeze major life insurers, according to results for the 2000 business year released Monday.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2001

Survey finds kids nod off later now than in the past

The number of children age 5 to 6 who go to bed at 10 p.m. or later has quadrupled over the past 20 years, according to a recent survey by an association on child health.
BUSINESS
Jun 1, 2001

Major banks' dud loans soar 1.7 trillion yen

The combined balance of the 16 major banks' bad loans, classified as requiring "special attention" for recovery, soared by 1.73 trillion yen in fiscal 2000 to 6.3 trillion yen, according to a Financial Services Agency report released Thursday.
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 24, 2001

Tobishima reports return to profit

Construction firm Tobishima Corp. said Wednesday its group net balance returned to the black in fiscal 2000, mainly due to sales of securities holdings.
JAPAN / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
May 24, 2001

Foreign managers bring change to corporate life

Takashi Sato of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. fears he may be transferred because of his poor command of English -- a potentiality that was unthinkable until last year.
JAPAN
May 23, 2001

Mental maladies at work on rise

The number of workers certified by the government as being eligible for compensation for mental disease increased to 36 in fiscal 2000 from the previous year's 14, according to a government survey made available Tuesday.
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.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?