Search - 2003

 
 
EDITORIALS
May 15, 2003

Deflation helps generate profits

Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., two of Japan's leading manufacturing companies, chalked up record profits in the business year that ended March 31. Other major firms, including Honda Motor Co., also made their best showings in spite of falling prices. These results indicate that deflation is...
BUSINESS
May 15, 2003

MHI saw profit rise 30% in 2002

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Wednesday that its group net profit jumped 29.8 percent in fiscal 2002 to 34.33 billion yen.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2003

NTT back in the black but sales on the slide

NTT Corp. on Tuesday reported a consolidated net profit of 233.36 billion yen for the business year to March 31, marking a dramatic turnaround from its 834.67 billion yen group net loss in fiscal 2001.
SOCCER / World cup
May 14, 2003

Nigeria pulls out of Kirin Cup due to fears over SARS

Nigeria canceled plans to play in the three-nation Kirin Cup 2003 soccer tournament in June because of concerns about SARS.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2003

World must find peaceful solutions to WMD problem

BRUSSELS -- The international community was deeply divided on how to effectively deal with the potential threat of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Evidence that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein continued to maintain such an arsenal has yet to emerge from the rubble of the recent conflict.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
May 12, 2003

Flush with victory in Iraq, Bush sets his sights on defending the White House in 2004

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush last week became the first American president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to declare victory in a foreign war. FDR named May 8, 1945, V-E Day for victory in Europe, and Aug. 14, 1945, V-J Day for victory over Japan. Bush proclaimed May 1, 2003, V-I Day, in grand...
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...
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.
MORE SPORTS
May 8, 2003

NFL plans Tokyo visit

The Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers will take on the New York Jets on Aug. 2 at Tokyo Dome in the NFL Tokyo 2003, the game's organizers announced Wednesday.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
May 5, 2003

Japanese referees adhere to a different set of laws

There are those that will say that last week's 37-31 win by Waseda University over the touring New Zealand Universities side on April 27 was a sign that there is nothing wrong with the local rugby scene.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 3, 2003

Tuffy cracks game-winning blast in 11th

Tuffy Rhodes belted his second solo homer of the night in the 11th inning to give the Kintetsu Buffaloes a 11-10 "sayonara" victory over the Nippon Fighters on Friday night at Osaka Dome.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
May 3, 2003

Kathleen Gunn

"I very much enjoy working with children and young people," Kathleen Gunn said. In different cities in England and in Japan where she has lived, for many years she has volunteered her time to help organizations for young people. Older people have sought her out too, as she is also interested in welfare...
BUSINESS
May 2, 2003

Moody's places Sony debt rating under review

Moody's Investors Service has placed its Aa3 long-term unsecured senior debt rating of Sony Corp. under review for possible downgrade due to the consumer electronics giant's weak earnings outlook for fiscal 2003.
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...
MORE SPORTS
May 1, 2003

JSF may lose support for NHK Trophy

The Japan Skating Federation, unhappy with the ISU's new judging system, could lose the Grand Prix sanction for its showcase event, the NHK Trophy.
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...
BUSINESS
May 1, 2003

ANA fails to right '01's financial wrongs

All Nippon Airways Co. said Wednesday it failed in the year to March to rebound from the losses it suffered the year before, blaming its sluggish performance on weak consumer spending and stiff competition on prices.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2003

Canon first-quarter profit up 126%

Canon Inc. announced Wednesday that its consolidated net profit for the first quarter of 2003 jumped 126.2 percent from a year before to a quarterly record of 71.6 billion yen, due to brisk sales of digital cameras and cost-cutting measures.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2003

Matsushita logs net loss despite sharp sales rise

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Monday it posted a group net loss of 19.45 billion yen for fiscal 2002, the second straight year its ink has run red.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2003

Toshiba returns to profitability

Toshiba Corp. said Friday it returned to profitability in fiscal 2002, buoyed by a strong recovery in its semiconductor business and by cost-cutting measures.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2003

Youth unemployment rockets to record 13.2%

The unemployment rate hovered at a near-record 5.4 percent in March, as joblessness among the young peaked at its highest levels in half a century, the government said Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2003

Electoral vows Koizumi has kept -- and the rest

Following is a summary of the campaign promises that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has kept -- and those he has not:
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2003

Mazda reports near threefold profit surge

Mazda Motor Corp.'s group net profit for the year through March nearly tripled from the previous year to 24.1 billion yen, due to large reductions in operating costs and the appreciation of the euro against the yen, the company announced Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2003

Death demanded for Asahara

Exactly seven years after the trial began, prosecutors Thursday demanded the death penalty for Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara, accused of masterminding two sarin attacks in the mid-1990s as well as other heinous crimes.
Japan Times
JAPAN / IN WITH THE NEW
Apr 24, 2003

DPJ's Noda intent on pursuing noble cause in Diet

Before Yoshihiko Noda took over as Diet affairs chief of the Democratic Party of Japan in December, his early morning weekday schedule was set in stone.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Apr 23, 2003

Japan Blues Carnival 2003

Every year in late May, between the cherry blossoms and the rainy season, the Japan Blues Carnival packs the Hibiya Outdoor Theater with an afternoon and evening's worth of blues. This year the festival will feature Ike Turner, returning to the stage after a long absence, and Louisiana slide guitarist...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2003

Regulation remains a problem

In his policy speech to the Diet earlier this year, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced that the government would double foreign direct investment in Japan in five years to increase employment.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go