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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2003

From Myanmar to Mae Sot

MAE SOT, Thailand F rom a distance, the textile factories near Mae Sot, Thailand, loom like fortified castles. The main buildings resemble fully encased airplane hangers. Cement walls enclose the compounds, though sometimes these, in a decorative touch, are plastered with white stucco. Entrance is via...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 13, 2003

Off-the-wall fiction feeds weird ideas about Japan

If you review novels set in Asia, as this writer does, it follows that you read a lot of books. To call some of them "terrible" may be putting it kindly.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 11, 2003

Koreans make good moves

THE KOREAN DIASPORA IN THE WORLD ECONOMY, edited by C. Fred Bergsten and Inbom Choi. Washington D.C.: Institute for International Economics, Special Report 15, January 2003, 180 pp., $25 (paper) In recent years, increasing attention has been given to the social and economic role of diasporas -- communities...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 11, 2003

Changes in consumer concerns

CONSUMER POLITICS IN POSTWAR JAPAN: The Institutional Boundaries of Citizen Activism, by Patricia Maclachlan. Columbia University Press, New York, 2002, 270 pp., $18.50 (cloth) This excellent study richly evokes the struggle and frustrations of Japanese consumer organizations in the post-World War II...
BUSINESS
May 10, 2003

ANA to give up some airport space

All Nippon Airways Co. plans to return part of its rented office space at Kansai International Airport to the airport operator by the end of October, according to informed sources.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2003

Malfunction sends Japan Net Bank offline

A computer malfunction shut down Japan Net Bank's online deals for 22 hours through Friday afternoon, the company said.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2003

Sorting out the recent fuss over pension funds, share prices

Thought Tokyo stock prices could fall no further? Think again. Corporate pension managers are poised to sell between 2 trillion yen and 3 trillion yen worth of stocks in the coming months -- and think tanks estimate that figure could double.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2003

Nippon Steel posts 51.7 billion yen loss

Nippon Steel Corp.'s group net loss widened to 51.69 billion yen in the 2002 business year, up from 28.40 billion yen the previous year, due to restructuring-related losses and appraisal losses on land and stockholdings.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2003

Disney operator's profit up 48.8%

Oriental Land Co., operator of Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, said Thursday its group net profit for fiscal 2002 rose 48.8 percent to 18.93 billion yen.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2003

Aiful posts 70.9% rise in net profit

Consumer loan company Aiful Corp. said Thursday its group net profit jumped to 59.91 billion yen in fiscal 2002, up 70.9 percent from the previous year as a result of efforts to become a more diversified financial group.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 9, 2003

Gaming industry revolution falls through

A potential revolution within the gaming industry fell apart Thursday, with Sega Corp. announcing it has scrapped integration talks with Sammy Corp. and video game maker Namco Ltd. saying it has dropped a merger proposal submitted to Sega.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2003

Kokuyo swings back into black

Office supplies maker Kokuyo Co. said Thursday it swung back into the black in fiscal 2002, posting a group net profit of 231 million yen against a loss of 1.42 billion yen the previous year.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2003

Yamaha Motor triples its net profit

Yamaha Motor Co. scored a record group net profit of 25.56 billion yen for the year through March, up roughly threefold from the previous year, the company said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2003

Shiseido shoots back to black, record earnings

Shiseido Co. not only returned to profitability for the first time in three years in fiscal 2002 but also logged record earnings thanks to strong overseas sales and cost-cutting efforts, the company said Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
May 8, 2003

More breathing space in the classroom

Last month, just before the new school year started in Japan, I ran into a neighbor at the supermarket. She's a bit high-strung and gets worked up over school matters, so I try to avoid her. But she collared me by the cabbages and dropped her voice to a dramatic whisper. "Have you heard? The Suzukis...
BUSINESS
May 7, 2003

U.S. court dismisses Furukawa suit

A U.S. federal district court has dismissed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Furukawa Electric Co. because the case was outside its jurisdiction, the company said Tuesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 5, 2003

Ham proves to be tougher than Buffalo

Michihiro Ogasawara and Tomochika Tsuboi had three hits each and combined for eight RBIs as the Nippon Ham Fighters trounced the Kintetsu Buffaloes 11-3 at Osaka Dome on Sunday.
COMMENTARY
May 5, 2003

Unity needed on nuclear issue

North Korea's statement that it already has nuclear weapons is most likely an exercise in diplomatic brinkmanship aimed at drawing the United States into direct dialogue. But if the statement is true, the security environment surrounding Japan and Northeast Asia will undergo fundamental change.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 4, 2003

New skipper Lee hopes to change fortunes of BlueWave

It was obvious some big news was coming when the Orix BlueWave indicated during their April 23 "nighter" against the Seibu Lions at Sapporo Dome there would be a press conference after that game. It came as little surprise when manager Hiromichi Ishige was fired, and a lot of eyes were opened when Californian...
BUSINESS
May 3, 2003

Debt-saddled Daiwa seeks protection

Daiwa Construction Co. said Friday it has filed with the Tokyo District Court for protection from creditors under the fast-track corporate rehabilitation law.
BUSINESS
May 2, 2003

Namco sets deadline for Sega answer on merger

Video game maker Namco Ltd. said Thursday that rival Sega Corp. has until May 9 to make a decision on a merger proposal submitted by Namco.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 2, 2003

Van Nistelrooy should be Premiership's main man

LONDON -- In the autumn of 1998 a few English journalists were in Holland and had dinner with Sir Bobby Robson, who had recently taken over at PSV Eindhoven.
EDITORIALS
May 2, 2003

Reviewing Mr. Koizumi's record

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, now just one week into his third year in office, sounds as upbeat as he did when he took office two years ago, even as the gulf between his words and deeds continues to widen. He says he is still firmly committed to his banner slogan: "structural reform with no sacred...
BUSINESS
May 1, 2003

Monthly wages dwindle by 2.1%

The average monthly wage fell 2.1 percent to 343,125 yen in fiscal 2002, the biggest drop in 11 years, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2003

Industrial output rose 2.6% in '02; first time in two years

Japan's industrial production rose 2.6 percent in fiscal 2002, the first increase in two years, on robust output of automobiles and electronic devices, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 1, 2003

Reform is key to keeping Asia on top

MANILA -- Asia's future is bright, but it is not preordained. Policy reforms that augment investment, lead to the adoption of new technologies and enhance productivity must be pursued to increase the growth potential of developing economies in Asia. The urgency of these reforms is accentuated by the...
EDITORIALS
Apr 30, 2003

Uncertainties in the global economy

The global economy is on shaky grounds, reports the World Trade Organization in its most recent assessment of the international outlook. Uncertainty created by geopolitics and the effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, has reinforced vulnerabilities that result from imbalances in the...
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2003

Combined wholesale, retail sales down 2.2% last year

Combined wholesale and retail sales fell 2.2 percent in fiscal 2002 from the previous year to 581.37 trillion yen, logging a second consecutive year of decline and underscoring the continued deflationary trend, the government said Monday.

Longform

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