Search - 2004

 
 
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2003

Consumption tax may be raised

The government will consider raising the consumption tax to secure revenues, even though its priority remains the elimination of unnecessary spending, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2003

No plan for snap election, Koizumi says

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Monday he has no plan to dissolve the House of Representatives and call a snap election this year, and pledged to employ all possible measures to fight deflation.
BUSINESS
Jan 7, 2003

Matsushita eyes new pay system

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. plans to introduce a new pay system in which division managers conduct wage talks with their respective workers rather than the company doing it as a whole, company sources said Monday.
COMMENTARY
Jan 4, 2003

Pluses and minuses of 2002

LONDON -- "It could have been worse!" say the pundits. There was no repeat of Sept. 11, and there has not been a major conflict. Nor has there been a world-shaking financial crisis. But 2002 was not a good year for many people, and 2003 may not be any better. The balance sheet is not easy to calculate,...
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2003

Business chiefs gloomy on future

More than 90 out of 100 business leaders polled by Kyodo News in December are gloomy about the nation's future, saying the economy has either stalled or is deteriorating.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2003

LDP eyes age limit in quest for new blood

Older lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party may be feeling particularly jittery as speculation of an early dissolution of the Lower House for a snap election circulates in Nagata-cho.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2003

Okuda offers economic solution: substantially raise sales tax

Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), thinks he has a cure for the sick economy, but consumers aren't likely to enjoy his bitter medicine.
COMMENTARY
Dec 30, 2002

Missiles challenge diplomac

Defense chief Shigeru Ishiba's rash remarks regarding a joint Japan-U.S. missile defense project deviate from Tokyo's official defense policy and could give the impression that Japan is advancing the bilateral initiative beyond research to the development stage.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 27, 2002

New league to start in September

A new Japan rugby league featuring 12 corporate teams will kick off in September next year, Japan Rugby Football Union officials said Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 24, 2002

Afghan revival depends on security

Sunday marked the first anniversary of the establishment of an interim government in Afghanistan following the collapse of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime. Earlier this month, Mr. Hamid Karzai, head of the transitional government that took over from an interim administration in June, noted...
COMMENTARY
Dec 16, 2002

Highways amid the shambles

In its final report submitted Dec. 6, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's advisory commission for privatizing four road-related public corporations called for a halt to runaway highway construction. The report warns against the "triangle of collusion" among "road tribe" legislators, related bureaucrats...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2002

No surprise tourism suffers

LOS ANGELES -- The government plan to privatize Narita airport in 2004 is welcome news to international travelers who know what good travel service is. The plan, which also includes a halt to building new airports, upgrading existing airports and improving customer service, could go a long way toward...
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 8, 2002

Man United director Charlton has no complaints

England and Manchester United legend, Sir Bobby Charlton, is confident that his English Premiership club is back on track after last year's trophyless season despite its problems so far this season.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 5, 2002

Pierce, Walker can forget about Athens

NEW YORK -- Like teammate Paul Pierce (and Baron Davis), Antoine Walker has no chance of being asked to play on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team. Taunting Larry Brown last season, among other coaches, has come back to haunt him.
EDITORIALS
Dec 4, 2002

IOC stumbles but moves forward

The International Olympic Committee, at a general meeting in Mexico last week, discussed a proposal to drop three sports -- baseball, softball and the modern pentathlon -- from the 2008 Beijing Games, but in the end decided to postpone a decision until after the 2004 Games take place in Athens. IOC members...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 1, 2002

Tapping into the future of wireless communication

In late 2001, domestic heavyweight NTT DoCoMo, flying high on the popularity of its i-mode mobile Web service, launched the world's first ultrahigh-speed, "third-generation" wireless network.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2002

Law education bills enacted by Diet

The Diet on Friday enacted into law two bills aimed at improving the system for educating legal professionals.
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2002

Ministry to prop up sinking Kansai airport

To save debt-ridden Kansai International Airport Co., the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry has drawn up a bailout plan to provide the semipublic airport operator with about 9 billion yen in subsidies a year and offer government guarantees on short-term bonds to be issued by the company.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 27, 2002

Business chief proposes hike in consumption tax

Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), on Tuesday proposed hiking the rate of the consumption tax 1 percentage point per year beginning fiscal 2004 until it reaches 16 percent in 2014 to stabilize Japan's finances.
EDITORIALS
Nov 27, 2002

Not the time to celebrate profits

At first glance, corporate earnings reports for the first half of fiscal 2002 seem too good to be true, given the continuing economic slump. On average, pretax profit surged nearly 40 percent in April through September from the same period a year earlier -- a dramatic reversal from the 40 percent decline...
EDITORIALS
Nov 25, 2002

Birth of a new NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was reborn last week. The alliance has added seven new members, all former Eastern bloc countries, extending NATO's territory to Russia's borders in the Baltic and to the Black Sea. Yet unlike the last round, this time Moscow accepted the expansion without protest....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 23, 2002

Marketing Cardiff as cultural capital of Europe

This is quite a month for Bet (Elizabeth) Davies. On Nov. 28, she will receive an award from the Japanese ambassador in London on behalf of the government for services rendered to to the Japanese community in Wales, and her work in bridging Japan and the U.K. in general.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2002

Osaka to sell resort, apartments

OSAKA -- The financially strapped Osaka Prefectural Government will sell off all of its 1,185 employee housing units and its seaside resort in a bid to raise cash and narrow its gaping budget deficit, sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2002

Two-year goal eyed for entity's bad-loan buys

An entity being created to salvage companies unable to repay their bank loans but deemed potentially viable will complete its purchases of nonperforming loans within two years to achieve its purpose as soon as possible, the government said Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 20, 2002

Giants land Petagine

The Yomiuri Giants have landed Venezuelan slugger Roberto Petagine with a two-year deal carrying an annual salary of $6 million, officials of the Central League club said Tuesday.

Longform

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