Search - 2002

 
 
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2002

Market awaits followup to policy package

The much-awaited government package of measures to fight deflation has been unveiled, but the market's reaction has been muted as the content settled well within the range of expectations.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2002

State urged to double reform efforts

Private economic experts urged lawmakers during Wednesday's Diet session to double their efforts to make Japan's public finances sound again.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Feb 28, 2002

Bush fiddles figures as the globe warms up

Last June, in the Rose Garden of the White House, President George W. Bush declared the Kyoto Protocol "fatally flawed in fundamental ways," and dubyaed it "unrealistic, arbitrary and not based on science."
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2002

Daiei to get 520 billion yen from its main creditors

Struggling supermarket operator Daiei Inc. announced Wednesday a fresh three-year restructuring program that features 520 billion yen in financial support from its three main creditor banks, up 100 billion yen from an earlier plan.
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2002

Nissan unveils first vehicle codeveloped with Renault

Nissan Motor Co. on Tuesday released the new version of its March compact car, the first vehicle to feature a platform jointly developed with its French partner, Renault S.A.
COMMENTARY
Feb 27, 2002

Beware the axis of hubris

WASHINGTON -- As U.S. President George W. Bush wandered across Northeast Asia, it appeared that he thought it was 1942, not 2002. He seemed to believe that the world was engaged in a twilight struggle between good and evil, and only overwhelming American military involvement everywhere could prevent...
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2002

World Cup coins go on sale today

Orders for commemorative coins for this year's World Cup soccer finals to be cohosted by Japan and South Korea will be accepted from today to March 11, the Finance Ministry said Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2002

LDP awaits report to rule on Suzuki testimony

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party will decide whether party heavyweight Muneo Suzuki should testify as a sworn witness in the Diet after the Foreign Ministry submits a report on its probe into his suspected involvement in various scandals, LDP Secretary General Taku Yamasaki said Sunday.
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 24, 2002

S-Pulse wins Super Cup

If ever there was a cup hero for Shimizu S-Pulse it was Shohei Ikeda. Ikeda scored the winning goal for Shimizu in the Asian Cup Winners Cup two years ago and repeated that feat by slotting home the penalty that clinched the 2002 Xerox Super Cup at Tokyo National Stadium on Saturday.
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2002

Diplomats impress at Japanese speech contest

What most touched the hearts of the audience may not have been their fluency in Japanese and experiences of culture shock, but their insights into daily life summarized in a five-minute speech.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2002

Matsushita looking at losses of 438 billion yen

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Thursday it expects to log consolidated net losses of 438 billion yen in fiscal 2001.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2002

Auto industry head ready to talk to U.S.

A Japanese auto industry leader said Thursday he is ready to talk with his counterparts among the U.S. Big Three automakers, who have asked U.S. President George W. Bush to pressure Japan to refrain from talking down the yen.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2002

Rosy rhetoric can't hide crisis

At the latest Group of Seven meeting in Ottawa, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa sounded rather optimistic about economic prospects.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2002

No hurry over Iran oil deal

Nearly two months after the target date passed quietly for concluding negotiations with Iran on a key oil project, Japanese government officials do not seem to be feeling pressed.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2002

Minister proposes 1.3% discount for doctor visits

Chikara Sakaguchi, minister of health, labor and welfare, on Wednesday formally proposed that doctor consultation fees and the cost of prescription drugs should be reduced by an average of 1.3 percent.
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 21, 2002

JFA takes steps to professionalize referees

The Japan Football Association on Tuesday announced it will introduce a new "Special Referee" system starting this coming season, and has said it has appointed Toru Kamikawa and Masayoshi Okada as the first "SR" refs, in the first step toward professionalizing its referees.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2002

TSE aiming to be listed in 2005

The Tokyo Stock Exchange aims to list itself in the 2005 business year by improving its profitability during a midterm management program from 2002 to 2004.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2002

Matsushita managers to learn sales

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. will send midlevel managers to large-scale household appliance retailers for about a month this spring to give them firsthand experience with sales of the company's product range, company officials said Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Feb 21, 2002

Living under pressure

Life, as we knew it only a few decades ago, needed sunlight and warmth. No one imagined that anything could survive in extreme environments -- in intolerable places such as high-pressure, high-temperature deep-sea vents or under Antarctic ice sheets.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Feb 20, 2002

Nikkei signals spring rebound not in cards

The Nikkei average, which hit an all-time high of 38,915.87 on the final trading day of 1989, has been languishing at around 10,000 in recent months.
BUSINESS
Feb 20, 2002

Tax Commission leader opposes prioritizing cuts

The head of the Tax Commission said Tuesday that the panel will not prioritize tax cuts in discussions on comprehensive tax code reform despite a proposal do so by Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Feb 20, 2002

And that really burns me up

If, like me, you do a lot of your work at home, I imagine you may like to listen to music as you labor through a translation, write a story or put together a PowerPoint presentation. And you probably find it convenient to listen to CDs on your computer.
BUSINESS
Feb 19, 2002

Kyowa Hakko to sell all liquor units to Asahi

Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., a major manufacturer of fermented chemicals, has agreed to sell off its alcoholic beverage operations, which have accounted for roughly a quarter of its consolidated sales, to Asahi Breweries Ltd., the two companies said Monday.
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Feb 17, 2002

The heart of the jungle

While the ink on this page was still drying, several dozen bankers were careening toward the hangover of a lifetime. Of course, a Sunday hangover is nothing unusual for the average salaried employee, but for these chosen few -- these fast-track Masters of the Universe with brain cells aplenty to burn,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Feb 16, 2002

Kanako Hayashi

To launch its upcoming lecture series, the College Women's Association of Japan invited Kanako Hayashi to give an introductory talk. A persuasive speaker, she has a background of 16 years of inside association with the world of film. As it often happens, chance, good timing and luck played major parts...
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2002

Ozawa CD reaches No. 2 on charts

A compact disc featuring the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra led by Japanese maestro Seiji Ozawa has jumped to No. 2 on Japan's album charts, according to figures compiled earlier this week.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Feb 14, 2002

Call for a 'paradigm shift' to eco-economy

As Japan's economy sputters to a halt, the rest of the world looks on incredulously, wondering if this nation is up to the task of an overhaul.

Longform

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