Search - 2003

 
 
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2001

Steel giants NKK, Kawasaki to join

NKK Corp., Japan's second-largest steelmaker, and Kawasaki Steel Corp., No. 3 in the field, announced Friday that they have agreed to integrate their operations in October 2002 under a joint holding company.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2001

Postal Agency, union negotiating staff cuts

The Postal Services Agency has begun negotiating with its labor union to trim the 140,000-strong workforce at post offices and rebuild its loss-making operations, according to the chief of the agency.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2001

Digital legend aims to fill technology gap with $100 computer

Digital technology is evolving at stunning speed, slashing the prices of all sorts of digital gadgets and linking numerous countries through the ever-growing World Wide Web. But these developments fail to satisfy Kazuhiko Nishi, who wants tools created to tear down the technological and language barriers...
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2001

Ishihara to review bus sales from environmental angle

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara said Friday that he will review the metropolis' practice of selling its old buses to countryside operators from an environmental viewpoint, following a report last week that criticized the transaction.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2001

Japan Inc. moves toward true accounting of books

The true standing of Japanese firms in relation to their foreign rivals is slowly becoming clear.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2001

10% of seniors need external care

About 10 percent of all seniors have been recognized as in great need of external assistance under the public nursing-care insurance system a year after its launch, according to the Health Ministry.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2001

Spy satellite office set up by Cabinet

The government is gearing up to launch multipurpose information satellites as early as next year, setting up a new office Monday to push the long-awaited plan.
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2001

Matsushita outlines plan to streamline sales

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. on Friday unveiled a major reorganization aimed at streamlining sales, distribution and other related operations for consumer and household markets in Japan.
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2001

GlaxoSmithKline aims for top 10

GlaxoSmithKline K.K., formerly known as Glaxo Wellcome K.K., aims to be one of Japan's top 10 pharmaceutical makers by 2003 after its merger Sunday with SmithKline Beecham Seiyaku K.K., a company executive said Friday.
BUSINESS
Mar 30, 2001

State closes in on NTT monopoly

A state panel on information technology agreed Thursday to a review of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. to allow for fair competition in the telecom sector, while using IT to promote public welfare and regain economic competitiveness.
BUSINESS
Mar 30, 2001

Mitsui Construction gets 142 billion yen debt waiver

Mitsui Construction Co. said Thursday its nine main creditors have agreed to waive 141.97 billion yen in claims on outstanding loans to the financially troubled construction company.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2001

Bill on data protection approved by Cabinet

The Cabinet approved Tuesday a privacy protection bill designed to set a legal framework to regulate the acquisition and dissemination of personal information for commercial use.
BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2001

Asahi Bank faces 10 billion yen loss

Asahi Bank announced Friday that its efforts to write off 50 percent more of its nonperforming loans than initially targeted will result in a consolidated net loss of 10 billion yen for the business year ending March 31.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2001

Japanese bankers jump ship for foreign investment firms

Last year, a steady stream of executives, traders and analysts poured out of Japan's banking system to join foreign investment banks.
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2001

DoCoMo to let other ISPs into i-mode

NTT DoCoMo Inc. plans to let i-mode customers dial up Internet service providers other than NTT by spring 2003, company sources said Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 23, 2001

'Little' Matsui sets sights on quadruple crown

Now that seven-time Pacific League batting champion Ichiro Suzuki has left the Orix BlueWave for the Seattle Mariners, this year's PL hitting title will be up for grabs.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 22, 2001

J. League plans to change to European-style soccer schedule

The J. League has decided to shift its regular season from the current spring-to-autumn format to an autumn-to-spring style beginning in 2006.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 18, 2001

This way to youthful adventure

For a few wine-toasted moments, it almost felt like a New York City art night. Sure, Tokyo is half a world away, but there were three new shows up in a big old warehouse, critics and collectors floating about, photographers snapping the smiles on the faces of the beautiful people and, most of all, the...
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2001

EPDC to invest in Thai power firm

Electric Power Development Co., a semipublic Japanese company, said Thursday it will invest 620 million yen in a Thai power company to help pay for the construction of a combined cycle gas plant.
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2001

Atento Pasona sets up call center

Atento Pasona Inc. started operations Thursday at its first call center in Tokyo's Toshima Ward to promote its Web-based customer relationship management services in Japan.
EDITORIALS
Mar 13, 2001

China's misplaced priorities

China's new defense budget, released last week, provides penetrating insight into the mind-set and priorities of the Beijing leadership at the dawn of the 21st century. It is not a particularly encouraging picture. The double-digit increases in defense spending indicate that the Chinese government sees...
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2001

Troubled Mycal may ax two stores

OSAKA -- The ailing Mycal Corp. supermarket chain may close the Ofuna Saty store in Yokohama and Shinsaibashi Vivre store in Osaka as part of its three-year restructuring plan, sources said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2001

Travel firms prepare for merger

Nippon Travel Agency Co. and Kinki Nippon Tourist Co. announced Wednesday they have set up a company to prepare for their planned merger in 2003.
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2001

Four Tokyo 'shinkin' banks to unite

banks said Wednesday they will merge on an equal footing, possibly in January, to create the nation's eighth-largest shinkin bank in terms of deposits. The combined deposits of Asahi Shinkin Bank, Edogawa Shinkin Bank, Kyoseki Shinkin Bank and Bunkyo Shinkin Bank were 1.637 trillion yen as of Jan. 31,...
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2001

Eyes in the sky to combat illegal dumping

UTSUNOMIYA, Tochigi Pref. -- Searching for garbage from space -- it sounds like a science fiction plot of questionable quality.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go