Search - 2000

 
 
JAPAN / STAGING A COMEBACK
Mar 9, 2001

Lifetime employment myth fades amid jobless realities

At the age of 40, Yoshiro Kamimura worked in sales at a chemical company, with a wife and two preschool children to support.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 9, 2001

Japan Energy claims JBL title

Forward Ryoko Yano scored a game-high 21 points Wednesday as the Japan Energy Sunflowers sealed their first Japan Basketball League crown in 11 seasons with a 95-78 win over the Chanson V-Magic in Game 4 of the championship series at Yoyogi National Gymnasium Annex in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2001

Marubeni to invest in China IT firm

Marubeni Corp. said Thursday it has obtained Beijing's approval to take a 10 percent stake in Shanghai Dragon Head Zhangjiang Business & Network, an information technology firm that operates an Internet portal site for textile companies.
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2001

MSDF lieutenant sentenced to 10-month term for spying

A former Maritime Self-Defense Force officer was sentenced Wednesday to 10 months in prison for passing two classified defense documents to a Russian Military attache in June.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 8, 2001

Genetically modified corn slips into human food chain

The safety of the nation's food has recently been called into question following the discovery of StarLink corn in a shipment of corn imported from the United States.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2001

Changes to attorney law allow lawyers to establish legal firms

The government approved a bill Tuesday to amend the attorney law, enabling lawyers to establish law firms.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2001

Domestic violence bill on Diet agenda

The increasing problem of domestic violence is being addressed by a nonpartisan group of female lawmakers who plan to submit a bill to the Diet next month aimed at protecting victims.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2001

Japan bans European pork over foot-and-mouth disease

Japan has banned imports of pork and pork products from France, Belgium and Northern Ireland following suspected outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease there, farm ministry officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2001

Moscow confirms summit with Mori

Japan and Russia agreed Monday to hold a bilateral summit meeting in Russia's Irkutsk on March 25 as planned, regardless of mounting calls in Japan for Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to step down.
BUSINESS
Mar 6, 2001

Matsushita to boost overseas output

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Monday it plans to produce 3.4 trillion yen worth of products at its overseas plants in fiscal 2003, a 1.7-fold increase over fiscal 2000 ending March 31.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 6, 2001

Carefully controlled exoticism

THE ORIENT STRIKES BACK: A Global View of Cultural Display, by Joy Hendry. Oxford: Berg Publishers, 2000, 256 pp., 40 illustrations (16 color). 42.99 British pounds (cloth), 14.99 British pounds (paper). A century ago, the West used to entertain and educate itself with random views of the East. World's...
BUSINESS
Mar 4, 2001

Firms searched over fumigation cartel

The Fair Trade Commission has searched the offices of four companies on suspicion they formed a cartel to control prices for fumigating plants imported through Narita airport, sources close to the case said Saturday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 4, 2001

Readers write about Monday night ball

In my column of Feb. 18 about the Pacific League's plan to play lots of games on Monday night during the coming season, I asked readers to send in their comments and ideas regarding the MPL (Monday Pacific League) format. Following are two e-mails I received and my response to each:
BUSINESS
Mar 4, 2001

DoCoMo to raise discounts, reduce rates in price war

NTT DoCoMo Inc. plans to raise its family phone discount rate to 20 percent from the current 15 percent and to reduce call rates for its mobile phone service, although the size of the cut has not yet been decided, in response to competition from other carriers, company officials said Saturday.
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2001

Japan, South Korea firms see bigger benefits in forging more alliances

Kyodo News Relations between Japanese and South Korean business enterprises have deepened in the past two or three years with increases in business alliances and joint ventures as well as full-scale sales offensives in the Japanese market by firms such as Hyundai Motor Co.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2001

Official claims innocence in HIV scandal

A former high-ranking Health and Welfare Ministry official repeated a not guilty plea Friday to the charge of professional negligence in an HIV infection scandal involving the deaths of more than 500 hemophiliacs as his lawyers made final arguments in the Tokyo District Court.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2001

Budget wins approval

The House of Representatives on Friday approved the 82.65 trillion yen state budget for fiscal 2001, a move guaranteeing its enactment in time for the April 1 start of the fiscal year.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2001

Japanese textile firms request duties

Five major Japanese textile makers have asked the Finance Ministry to impose antidumping duties on polyester staple fiber allegedly being imported from South Korea and Taiwan at unfairly low prices.
JAPAN
Mar 2, 2001

Yen boost to Koseki project tied to Kamei

The government boosted subsidies to the Institute of Technologists by 2 billion yen after Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Shizuka Kamei demanded the increase, sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 2, 2001

Deep-sea water targeted for next big health fad

Salt water deep in the sea and beyond the reach of sunlight is attracting the attention of local government officials, fishermen and businesspeople who see seawater products as a promising new business.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 2, 2001

Marathon champion set to profit

Kyodo News Sydney Olympic gold medalist Naoko Takahashi appears set to join the ranks of other prominent figures who have attained fame and fortune after becoming champions in major sporting events.
JAPAN
Mar 2, 2001

GEOS affiliates fined for hiding 280 million yen

Around 20 companies affiliated with English-language school operator GEOS Corp. failed to declare some 280 million yen in income in the five years to March 2000, industry sources said Thursday.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 2, 2001

Ex-OL, self-described everyman take Naoki prize

The winners of the Naoki literary prize for the second half of 2000 have been announced. This time, both winners -- "Planaria" by Yamamoto Fumio and "Vitamin F" by Shigematsu Kiyoshi -- are short-story collections, as were three of the other four short-listed works.
EDITORIALS
Mar 1, 2001

Truth of scandal remains buried

There is always something very frustrating about Diet questioning of legislators involved in corruption scandals. So it was with Monday's inquiry of Mr. Fukushiro Nukaga, former economics minister, at a Lower House Council on Political Ethics. As expected, Mr. Nukaga, a Liberal Democrat, denied allegations...
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2001

Yamamoto receives 18 months for fraud

The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday sentenced former Lower House lawmaker Joji Yamamoto to 11/2 years in prison for defrauding the state out of more than 25 million yen.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2001

Nikkei hits 29-month low

The Nikkei Stock Average plummeted to a 29-month closing low Wednesday as tumbling U.S. technology stocks and bleak data on Japan's economy dealt a double blow to the Tokyo equity market.
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2001

Sega bets on silver lining in Dreamcast's demise

Sony Corp. emerged as the victor in the battle of the video game consoles in Japan, but the loser may prove to be the sweetheart among consumers.

Longform

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