Search - 2000

 
 
BUSINESS
Nov 6, 2001

Cheap fiber row leads to probes abroad

The government plans to conduct on-the-spot investigations of South Korean and Taiwanese companies that are exporting polyester staple fiber to Japan at low prices, government officials said Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2001

Labels eyed to track cows' history

The farm ministry has begun developing a system to numerically label every package of beef to show consumers the birthplace of the cow it is from and the farms where it was raised, ministry sources said Sunday.
BUSINESS
Nov 4, 2001

Sogo's Mizushima to plead not guilty to hiding cash

Former Sogo Co. Chairman Hiroo Mizushima will plead not guilty to accusations that he attempted to hide some 150 million yen in assets from creditors as the major department store operator appeared destined for failure, sources close to the case said Saturday.
COMMENTARY
Nov 4, 2001

Attacks now an excuse to barbecue pork

WASHINGTON -- Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel, it has been said, and never was it more obvious in the United States than in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Rescuers were still searching for bodies from the smoldering rubble when lobbyists descended upon Washington, D.C....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 4, 2001

Isabella Bird's letters from Japan

UNBEATEN TRACKS IN JAPAN: An Account of Travels in the Interior Including Visits to the Aborigines of Yezo and the Shrines of Nikko, by Isabella L. Bird. New York: ICG Muse, 2000, 1,700 yen, 342 pp. (paper) "Unbeaten Tracks in Japan" documents the journeys of Isabella Bird, an extraordinary woman for...
JAPAN / JOB JITTERS
Nov 3, 2001

Retirement not always time to relax

The red, blue and green flags of labor unions fluttered in front of the towering headquarters of a major bank in Tokyo's Marunouchi business district in early September as about 200 workers shouted, "The bank ought to carry out its social responsibility" and "We don't forgive the bank for dismissing...
JAPAN / JOB JITTERS
Nov 3, 2001

Retirement not always time to relax

The red, blue and green flags of labor unions fluttered in front of the towering headquarters of a major bank in Tokyo's Marunouchi business district in early September as about 200 workers shouted, "The bank ought to carry out its social responsibility" and "We don't forgive the bank for dismissing...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 3, 2001

Howling Loochie Bros. R&B to benefit Amnesty

It took as long to read Robin (Loochie) Suchy's name card as it took him to lock up his bike outside Ben's Cafe in Tokyo's Takadanobaba. Following "Singer * Song Writer * Vocal Recordings * Narrations * Actor * Vocal Coach * Producer" were two contact addresses, in Naka Ochiai and British Columbia. Not...
BUSINESS
Nov 2, 2001

Metro government panel set to assess banks' management

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will set up a third-party panel to scrutinize the management of banks that hold local government funds, metro government officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2001

Young adults avoid JICA in wake of Sept. 11 attacks

Applications for Japan's version of the Peace Corps are running at extremely low levels due to security concerns raised by the Sept. 11 terror attacks, according to the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2001

Eight insurers to pay out over quake-related fire

OSAKA -- The Osaka High Court on Wednesday ordered seven nonlife insurance companies and an insurance group to pay a total of 12.15 million yen to 19 people whose homes were damaged in a fire caused by the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 1, 2001

Constituents mattered most to Soichiro Ito

BERKELEY, California -- For the people of Miyagi Prefecture's 4th district, the generational shift in Japanese politics has just arrived. On Oct. 28, Shintaro Ito was elected to represent Miyagi's 4th district in a special by-election to replace his father, Soichiro, who passed away on Sept. 4.
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2001

No conclusions drawn on farm import data

The government has found that domestic farmers suffered a financial loss around the same time that imports of three agricultural products currently subject to emergency import curbs surged, but it has refrained from assessing whether the two factors are linked, government officials said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 31, 2001

Major electronics makers suffer first-half losses

Five electronics makers swung into losses in the first half of the 2001 business year, plagued by the global slump in the information technology industry, according to interim earnings reports released Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2001

Teijin, Enron begin study on electricity sales

Major textile maker Teijin Ltd. said Monday it has begun a feasibility study with the Enron group of the United States to improve the output of Teijin's private power generator and sell the excess to other corporate users.
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2001

Kuwaiti Cabinet endorses new contracts for Arabian Oil

The Kuwaiti Cabinet has given the green light to its plan to map out new contracts that will allow Tokyo-based Arabian Oil Co. to continue operations in the country's Khafji oil field, Arabian Oil said Monday.
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2001

Mitsubishi upgrades profit forecast

Mitsubishi Corp. said Monday it will log net profits of 42 billion yen in its consolidated earnings report for the April-September first half, up from the 30 billion yen it cited in its initial forecast in May.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2001

Adult smoking rate drops for sixth consecutive year

The smoking rate among Japanese adults dropped to a record low of 32.7 percent in May, down 0.2 percentage point from a year earlier for a sixth consecutive year of decline, according to a recent report by Japan Tobacco Inc.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2001

School loans soar to kids orphaned by fathers

The number of youths receiving student loans for their high school studies because their fathers committed suicide has increased rapidly in recent years amid the economic downturn, a Tokyo-based private scholarship group said.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2001

Mori leaves for India to rally antiterror support

Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori departed Sunday morning for a three-day trip to India to discuss antiterrorism efforts as a special envoy of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2001

Postal unit fined for not declaring income

An affiliate of the Postal Services Agency failed to declare about 120 million yen in income over a three-year period up to March this year, informed sources said.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 28, 2001

Engagement or isolation?

KOREAN SECURITY DYNAMICS IN TRANSITION, edited by Park Kyung-Ae and Kim Dalchoon. New York, Hampshire: Palgrave, 2001, 209 pp., $45.00 (cloth) The euphoria that followed the historic inter-Korean summit in June 2000 has worn off. North Korea's peek-a-boo diplomacy -- now you see us, now you don't --...
BUSINESS
Oct 27, 2001

Effect of mad cow scare shows in latest consumer price index

The key gauge of Tokyo consumer prices shed 0.1 percent in October from the month before, including a drop in beef prices stemming from the nation's first case of mad cow disease, the government said Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2001

Beef eateries feel mad cow cold shoulder

Amid mounting public fears over mad cow disease, otherwise popular "yakiniku" barbecued-beef restaurants are being dealt a serious blow.

Longform

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