Search - 2000

 
 
BUSINESS
Aug 26, 2000

New combined ministry seeks 20 trillion yen budget

The General Affairs Ministry, to be created in January, will seek a budget for fiscal 2001 that is 18.3 percent larger than the combined initial budget of its three predecessor organizations for fiscal 2000, government officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2000

Cabinet approves 500 billion yen for public works

The Cabinet on Tuesday endorsed early use of a 500 billion yen reserve fund set aside for public works under the fiscal 2000 budget to help rev up the economy.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jul 23, 2000

Miki Wakamatsu

"The World Dance Alliance has initiated a project to join in celebrating the millennium. It is a time to consider where we have been, where we are and where we are going. Therefore the theme of World Dance 2000 is 'Dance in the Past, Present and Future,' " said Miki Wakamatsu.
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 22, 2000

Inspiring words into action, play staged for world peace

"Respect for life," "Reject violence in all its forms," "Rediscover solidarity." These lofty ideals are the substance of a six-point statement put forward earlier this year by a group of Nobel Peace Prize laureates, when asked to formulate a declaration for the United Nations' International Year for...
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2000

Japan, U.S. formalize cuts to NTT rate

Japan and the United States officially announced Wednesday an agreement that would reduce local connection fees charged by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. by over 20 percent in two years.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 20, 2000

Balancing act for G8 leaders in a land apart

Four years ago, in July 1996, I suggested in an opinion piece for the Sankei Shimbun that the Group of Eight summit in 2000 be held in Okinawa.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 16, 2000

A guide to the music festivals of summer

The recession has reportedly made concert promoters' lives miserable, and yet it doesn't seem to have affected the flood of foreign acts rushing to these shores.
BUSINESS
Jul 14, 2000

Suzuki looking for bigger share of minicar market

While Suzuki Motor Corp.'s domestic sales of minivehicles renewed a record for the first six months of 2000, Masao Toda, Suzuki's new president and chief operating officer, said his most important task is to create more attractive cars to take a bigger share of the competitive auto market.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 9, 2000

Money talks loudly in American politics

After Utah Republicans booted Rep. Merrill Cook in their June primary, Republican Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, declared: "The bad news is a Republican incumbent lost." It's certainly bad news for the American people, who will be stuck paying...
BUSINESS
Jul 7, 2000

Miyazawa urged to lead G7 effort to help poor nations

The nongovernment coalition Jubilee 2000 Japan urged Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa on Thursday to take the initiative at the upcoming meeting of the Group of Seven economic powers to solve the serious debt problems of the world's poorest countries.
BUSINESS
Jun 15, 2000

Miyazawa advocates reserve budget

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said Wednesday that the 500 billion yen reserve budget should be used to shore up the economy soon after the June 25 general election, bolstering the ruling coalition's joint campaign pledge.
JAPAN
May 31, 2000

Report suggests environment tax to combat global warming

The 2000 white paper on the environment released Tuesday called for the introduction of an environment tax so Japan can more vigorously combat global warming and waste dumping, government officials said.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2000

Honda reports decline in pretax profit and sales

Honda Motor Co. on Friday reported the first declines in six years in both pretax profit and sales on a consolidated basis for fiscal 1999, due chiefly to the yen's appreciation and rising costs of research and development.
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
May 12, 2000

Ascendancy of ska-core captured on compilation

With the latest releases by Kemuri, Snailramp and Potshot turning up in the record charts, ska-core has emerged from the underground. Ska-core has thrived through a network of small clubs and indie record labels across Japan much like its musical cousin, mellowcore. (Members of Snailramp run one of the...
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2000

All 47 prefectures in the red in '98 for first time

The financial situation at prefectural and municipal governments continued to worsen in fiscal 1998, according to a government white paper released Friday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 24, 2000

Cubs, Mets set to make history in Japan

Sports history will be made next Wednesday and Thursday when the first official Major League Baseball games ever to be played outside North America will take place right here in Japan. The New York Mets and Chicago Cubs will square off at the Tokyo Dome to open the Year 2000 National League championship...
EDITORIALS
Mar 23, 2000

Scrutinize the 'sympathy budget'

Washington's request that Japan maintain its "sympathy budget," or special host-nation financial support for the U.S. forces stationed here, has drawn a cool reception from the Japanese government and the media. During his visit here last week, U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen repeated that request...
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2000

85 trillion yen debt-laden budget ties record for swift approval

The Diet approved an 84.99 trillion yen state budget for fiscal 2000 in record-equaling time Friday evening.
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2000

Hong Kong still 'gateway to China'

With its accelerating economic recovery and shift toward a balanced budget, Hong Kong will continue to be "the gateway to China" for businesses from Japan and around the world in the coming century, according to the principal representative at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Tokyo.
COMMUNITY
Feb 19, 2000

Fukuoka heats up with Iberoamerican festival

OSAKA -- Fukuoka is the place to be this weekend for those who love all things Latin, as Ianimate 2000, a celebration of Latin American dance, music and art, takes place on Saturday.
COMMENTARY
Feb 11, 2000

Diet imbroglio over at last

The Diet returned to normal Feb. 9, two weeks after the opposition forces started boycotting all proceedings to protest against the ruling bloc's handling of a controversial bill to reduce Diet seats. The turmoil started when the three-party governing coalition passed the bill for cutting Lower House...
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2000

Opposition returns, bashes Obuchi's pork-barrel politics

Opposition lawmakers ended an 11-day Diet boycott Wednesday and bashed Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi for causing parliamentary confusion and compiling an expanded, bond-dependent 85 trillion yen budget for fiscal 2000. During the day's Lower House plenary session, Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the Democratic...
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2000

Obuchi calls for creation of level, not vertical, society

In a speech before a Diet devoid of opposition members, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi called Friday for the creation of a nation in which individuals are not submerged in society but showcase their abilities and help invigorate the country. The opposition decided to boycott the session to protest the...
COMMENTARY
Jan 10, 2000

Samurai values to the rescue

The biggest challenge for Japan as it greets the new millennium is implementing drastic political, economic and educational reforms, comparable to those carried out in the Meiji Restoration and after the end of World War II. Plans must include major fiscal reform, restructuring of the banking system,...
JAPAN
Dec 30, 1999

Japanese consumers opting for riskier, more rewarding investments

Staff writer Are the Japanese changing the way they save money, turning to risky but potentially rewarding financial investments? The rising popularity of investment trusts may provide a clue. Net assets of investment trusts, or mutual funds, amounted to 53.3 trillion yen at the end of November, up...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 1999

In the aftermath of the WTO debacle

WASHINGTON -- In the aftermath of the failed WTO meeting in Seattle last month, the big question is, "What now?"
JAPAN
Dec 15, 1999

Fields takes helm of Mazda

Mazda Motor Corp. announced Wednesday that President James E. Miller has been replaced by his 38-year-old deputy, Mark Fields. Fields, who became vice president only two weeks ago, has stepped up to the top post as the youngest to do so in the firm's history. Miller, 58, resigned from the presidency...
JAPAN
Dec 2, 1999

Y2K poll finds homes wary but unprepared

Roughly two out of three households responding to a recent survey said they were unconcerned about possible computer problems related to the start of 2000 and nearly 50 percent said they would not stock up on food and water as suggested by the government. With less than a month to go before the fated...
JAPAN
Nov 17, 1999

Metropolitan worker unions approve pay cut

After nightlong negotiations with Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government workers' unions agreed Wednesday to a two-year pay cut of 4 percent across the board and to cancel its two-hour strike planned the same day.

Longform

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