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COMMENTARY
May 24, 2004

Blowing smoke on tobacco

The government has begun belated efforts to restrict smoking in Japan, which has long been a smokers' haven. In May 2003, the government enacted the Health Promotion Law to reduce exposure to passive smoking. In March it signed the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control --...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 22, 2004

Queen of Orlane turns 70 (but who'd know it)

In 1960, Reiko B. Lyster answered a "help wanted" classified ad placed in this paper by Max Factor. She had no particular interest in working for a cosmetics company, but (having helped Marlon Brando on a film set just the year previously) the job as a translator appealed.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2004

NTT logs record profit; outlook seems less rosy

NTT Corp. said Friday its net profit jumped 2.8-fold to a record 643.86 billion yen for the year through March, helped by strong earnings at its mobile phone unit, NTT DoCoMo Inc.
JAPAN
May 13, 2004

Obituary: Masami Tashiro

Masami Tashiro, managing director of Keizai Koho Center, the public relations arm of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), died of liver cancer Wednesday. He was 55.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2004

Japan to seek better tax deals with Asia

Japan will propose revising tax pacts with other Asian economies at a meeting this weekend, hoping that lower levies will boost cross-border business and investment, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 11, 2004

Struggling Daiei adapts stores to suit local shoppers' needs

Debt-ridden Daiei Inc. has begun adapting its stores to suit the needs of local shoppers.
EDITORIALS
May 4, 2004

Google-eyed on Wall Street

The announcement that Google, the company that created the No. 1 Internet search engine, is about to go public has investors the world over in a lather. While the fever recalls the heady days of the Internet bubble, the clamor surrounding the offering speaks to a deeper hunger: a desire for markets to...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 26, 2004

Antimonopoly Law must be reformed to fit 21st century

The Fair Trade Commission is contemplating making a revision to the Antimonopoly Law in hopes of being able to submit a bill to the Diet, which is now in session. However, the contents of the revision are still up in the air.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 24, 2004

The Catch in publishing posters, cards, calendars

Meeting Frances Koston in May 2003 after a gap of years, she presented me with a clutch of postcards bearing beautifully printed images of early hand-tinted Japanese photographs. Just last month she came up with a collection of greeting cards of century-old textile prints, again originating in Japan....
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2004

Repercussions for MMC could be terminal: analysts

The sudden decision by DaimlerChrysler AG to halt further financial support to ailing Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has forced the Japanese automaker to drastically reconsider its restructuring program, analysts said.
JAPAN / TALKING SHOP
Apr 19, 2004

Samsung exec taps Japan insights to cut through the verbiage

Kim Jong Shin learned Japanese while hauling fish to market part time, stewing in hot springs and touring 350 historical sites in all 47 prefectures.
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2004

Ito-Yokado trumped by Aeon

Ito-Yokado Co. lost its position as Japan's No. 1 retailer to Aeon Co. in terms of group sales in the year that ended Feb. 29.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 6, 2004

Otaku proud of it

I wouldn't be offended if someone called me an otaku," says Koichi Nakayasu, ". . . because I am."
EDITORIALS
Apr 3, 2004

Nurturing the sprouts of recovery

Japan's economic recovery, supported chiefly by large, export-oriented manufacturers, is spreading to other sectors, according to the Bank of Japan's quarterly survey on business sentiment. However, it is premature to conclude that the economy is headed for a self-sustaining recovery led by domestic...
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2004

Casio, Hitachi launch belated mobile venture

Casio Computer Co. and Hitachi Ltd. launched a mobile-phone joint venture Thursday in another marriage between high-tech heavyweights pursuing cost effectiveness in a cutthroat market.
JAPAN / SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
Apr 1, 2004

Private universities feel heat from company-run upstarts

Already struggling to keep student numbers up amid an ever-shrinking pool of high school graduates, private universities now face a new threat -- stock exchange-listed companies entering the fray of running institutions of higher learning.
Events
Mar 31, 2004

South Korean economy bedeviled by serious woes: writers

While Japan's economy may finally be bidding farewell to the "lost decade" of the stagnant 1990s, growth in South Korea, once noted for its rapid recovery after the 1997 Asian crisis, is slowing down amid serious problems like mounting household debts.
JAPAN / TALKING SHOP
Mar 22, 2004

When words fail, American logistics expert talks bottom line

How do you break the news to a warehouse manager or a trucking company boss that they are about to lose their biggest client?
EDITORIALS
Mar 18, 2004

Burden of the Kanebo bailout

Following weeks of tortuous bailout talks that put the notion of corporate governance to shame, the government's Industrial Revitalization Corp., or IRC, last week unveiled a huge rescue package for Kanebo Ltd., the troubled cosmetics firm that has looked like a rudderless ship all the while. What lies...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Mar 18, 2004

Professional bowling coming to an alley near you

When first approached to interview Steve Miller, President and CEO of the Pro Bowling Association Tour (PBA), I was reluctant to put it politely. Bowling for me was always something of a last resort if a date was going badly, a sport in which my average closely resembled what it takes me to get around...
Japan Times
Features
Mar 14, 2004

Roots

Have you ever considered making your family tree?
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2004

Nikkei BP forms China alliance

Nikkei Business Publications Inc. (Nikkei BP) said Thursday it has formed an alliance with International Data Group to integrate their electronics magazines published in China.
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2004

JAL group to slash 4,500 jobs in next three years

Japan Airlines System Corp. will reduce its workforce by about 8 percent, or 4,500 employees, by the end of March 2007, with net losses expected amid sluggish demand.
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2004

IRCJ commits to 366 billion yen bailout of Kanebo

The state-backed Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan said Wednesday it has decided to bail out the country's No. 2 cosmetics maker, Kanebo Ltd., using 366 billion yen in public money.
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2004

Kumamoto Family Bank threatened with fresh rebuke from government

The government may issue a second business improvement order to the ailing Kumamoto Family Bank, Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka indicated Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2004

Railways venture down new income track

In a bid to expand their revenue sources, major railways are rushing to open a diverse range of shops and restaurants inside urban stations.

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