Search - 2003

 
 
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2001

Sharp in wireless deal with U.S. firm

OSAKA -- Sharp Corp. said Tuesday it will tie up with Soma Networks Inc. of the United States to develop next-generation high-speed wireless data communications systems and devices for households.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 17, 2001

Defining Style

In the 10,000 years since the Arctic icecap receded sufficiently to enable human inhabitation of the land we now know as Sweden, the curiously creative nation has gifted the world with the likes of Beowulf, Strindberg, Bergman and, well, Abba.
Events
Oct 16, 2001

Forum eyes water management scenarios

KYOTO -- By 2025, it is predicted that nearly 5 billion people worldwide will face a severe shortage of water. A resource people take for granted may become as precious as diamonds or gold, according to a panel of experts who took part in a symposium last week in Kyoto.
BUSINESS
Oct 13, 2001

Chinese tariffs to cost Japan's car firms 420 billion yen

Carmakers are likely to miss out on 420 billion yen in earnings in 2002 if China retains its retaliatory import tariffs on Japanese vehicles, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association Inc. said Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2001

Kurosawa museum signs U.S. directors

U.S. film directors Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Martin Scorsese have agreed to chip in on a project to build a museum in Imari, Saga Prefecture, for the legendary moviemaker Akira Kurosawa.
BUSINESS
Oct 13, 2001

Legal definition of post firm's role urged

Private-sector representatives urged the government Friday to define the role of a new public corporation scheduled to take over the state-run postal service system in fiscal 2003.
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2001

Kenya given terms to continue dam project

The government laid out conditions this week to Kenya for the continuation of a Japanese-funded project to expand the African country's capacity to generate electricity, Japanese officials said.
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2001

Interministerial team to target cyberterrorism

Japan will set up an interministerial team to prevent cyberterrorism and protect its planned "cybergovernment" from attack, government officials said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2001

Nation's airlines remaining steadfast in face of aftershocks from terrorism

Declines in passenger loads and increases in insurance premiums after last month's devastating terrorist attacks in the United States are threats to Japanese airlines as they are to other carriers, but reaction in Japan may not be as drastic.
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2001

Securities tax revisions finalized

The tax panel of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday finalized a package of securities tax revisions it drafted the previous day in a bid to revitalize the flagging stock market.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2001

Survey on nursing-fee reductions planned

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will survey municipalities that are reducing or waiving premiums for nursing-care insurance for low-income senior citizens, ministry officials said.
BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2001

Komatsu to trim 10% of workforce

Komatsu Ltd. said Tuesday it will cut 2,200 jobs, or about 10 percent of its group domestic workforce, by March 2004.
BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2001

METI to open talks on liberalizing electricity market

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will discuss further liberalization of the electricity retail market, the minister said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2001

Stock market measures win LDP sanction

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party approved a set of proposals Tuesday to rev up the stock market, including one to exempt from taxation the capital gains made on shares bought in 2002 and held for two or more years, LDP officials said.
BUSINESS
Oct 2, 2001

MHI establishes power company

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Monday it has established a wholly owned company it will use to enter the wholesale electricity market next October.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2001

Koizumi, Mbeki talk of expanded cooperation for Africa

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and visiting South African President Thabo Mbeki agreed Monday to step up cooperation on Africa's development and also pledged to cooperate with global efforts against terrorism.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2001

Koizumi, Mbeki plan science pact

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and South African President Thabo Mbeki will agree at a meeting in Tokyo this week to start negotiations on a science and technology cooperation pact, government sources said Saturday.
BUSINESS
Sep 29, 2001

Sony revises down earnings on IT slump, U.S. attacks

Sony Corp. on Friday revised downward its earnings projections for fiscal 2001, reflecting the global economic slowdown led by a slumping information technology sector and the recent attacks in the United States.
BUSINESS
Sep 28, 2001

Hasty death of capital gains tax exaggerated

The Liberal Democratic Party's tax panel has agreed not to accelerate the schedule for abolishing the withholding tax option for capital gains, the head of the panel said Thursday.
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2001

Government clears the way to begin digital radio trials

The Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry issued a license Wednesday allowing a consortium of 38 companies to begin trial broadcasts of digital radio. The Tokyo-based consortium plans to begin broadcasting news and educational programs to around 8.55 million households...
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2001

Health insurance costs face hike

Compiled from wire services The health ministry on Tuesday mapped out a medical reform plan that would increase the burden on employed workers and the elderly. The ministry submitted the plan to the tripartite ruling bloc Tuesday afternoon and hopes to implement it in October 2002. But the plan is expected...
BUSINESS
Sep 22, 2001

Asahi and Daiwa formally announce tieup plans

Asahi Bank and Daiwa Bank announced Friday that they have reached a basic agreement to join forces under a single holding company in a bid to survive as stock price tumbles eat away at their capital.
BUSINESS
Sep 22, 2001

End withholding tax, Shiokawa urges

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa urged the ruling coalition parties Friday to quickly abolish the withholding tax on stock capital gains.
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2001

Panel pushes early abolition of capital gains tax option

The Tax Commission on Tuesday drafted a basic position paper on securities tax reform, including a plan to abolish the withholding tax option on capital gains.
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2001

Arabian Oil given ray of hope

Tokyo-based Arabian Oil Co. has agreed with the Kuwaiti government to the principles of operation regarding its continued drilling in the Kuwait-controlled portion of the Khafji oil field, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2001

Gas firms face pressure to open lines to new entrants

The government will oblige principle gas suppliers to let new market entrants access their pipelines as part of efforts to liberalize the gas retail market, sources in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2001

Government aims to cut its elderly medical bill

The government may raise the age at which people can receive elderly medical care to 75 from 70 within five years, according to health ministry sources.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2001

Japan prompted to drop test-ban pact deadline

The government is expected to omit the 2003 deadline for ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty when it submits a new resolution to the U.N. General Assembly this year, well-placed sources said.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.