Search - 2003

 
 
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2001

Idemitsu, Tokuyama link on polypropylene

Major chemical company Idemitsu Petrochemical Co. and second-tier chemical maker Tokuyama Corp. will enter into a broad-based tieup in the field of polypropylene to jointly gear up competitiveness ahead of a planned gradual tariff reduction by 2004, company sources said Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2001

Corruption in China: business as usual?

Hardly a week goes by in China now without some leader being executed or arraigned for corruption. And the level of the officials being charged and convicted (much the same thing in China) is rising.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2001

Automakers zero in on Thailand

BANGKOK -- As Thailand gradually recovers from the financial crisis of 1997, Japanese automakers will likely see whether their effort to cut costs over the past few years has given them the strength to tackle intensifying competition in the market they have dominated for so long.
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2001

Four polyethylene firms plan to merge operations

Mitsubishi Chemical Corp., Showa Denko K.K., Tonen Chemical Corp. and Nippon Petrochemicals Co. plan to merge their polyethylene business, company sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jan 19, 2001

Skynet seeks Tokyo-Miyazaki flights

MIYAZAKI -- Skynet Asia Airways, a small airline based in Miyazaki, plans to apply to the government by September for approval to open a route between Tokyo and Miyazaki, airline officials said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2001

Toyobo shifts focus

Major spinning firm Toyobo Co. will shift the emphasis of its business from traditional mainstay textile products to more profitable nontextile areas such as chemicals and biotechnology-related products, according to company officials.
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2001

Hitachi, Omron tie on automation

Hitachi Ltd. and Omron Corp. said Wednesday they have agreed to join hands in providing information technology-based factory automation systems.
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2001

Cabinet OKs extension for housing loan tax breaks

The Cabinet decided Tuesday to modify and extend the tax break on home loans for 21/2 more years starting in fiscal 2001, a move expected to be worth 941 billion yen to prospective home owners.
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2001

Izumiya to close nine supermarkets running at a loss

OSAKA -- Izumiya Co., a midsize supermarket operator based here, will close down nine of its 20 loss-making stores and eliminate 400 jobs by introducing an early retirement program by the end of February 2003, the company said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2001

First LNG plant set for Hokkaido

Nippon Steel Corp. said Monday it has received an order from Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. (JAPEX) to build Japan's first liquefied natural gas plant, in Hokkaido.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2001

Italian lessons for Japan

Japan's political landscape could change dramatically, depending on the outcome of July's Upper House elections. Mikio Aoki, a Liberal Democratic leader in the Upper House, says the three ruling coalition parties -- the Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito and the New Conservative Party -- must win...
COMMENTARY
Jan 12, 2001

Still waiting for real reform

A slimmed-down national government debuted Jan. 6, when Japan's central bureaucracy was reorganized. The realignment cut the number of ministries and agencies, under the Cabinet Office, to 12 from the previous 22.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2001

IMO targets harmful ballast water

The International Maritime Organization plans to devise a treaty to tackle harmful aquatic organisms found in the ballast water that freighters carry from one part of the world to another, Japanese sources said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 11, 2001

Tobu to lay optical fiber networks

Tokyo-based railway operator Tobu Railway Co. said Wednesday that it will set up broadband optical fiber networks alongside 400 km of its railways in Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama, Tochigi and Gunma prefectures, allowing it to rent out the lines by the end of March.
BUSINESS
Jan 11, 2001

NEC plans to spin off specialized chip unit

NEC Corp. plans to spin off its semiconductor business for high-speed communications networks, as demand is expected to grow in coming years, the company said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 11, 2001

Daiei announces new store strategy

Troubled supermarket chain Daiei Inc. on Wednesday announced a fiscal 2001 business plan that includes realigning its corporate management system and renovating all 243 of its general merchandise and discount stores by the end of fiscal 2003.
BUSINESS
Jan 9, 2001

Cellphone shipments set to hit 420 million

Worldwide shipments of mobile phones will likely reach 420 million units in 2000, far outpacing the 280 million shipped in 1999, the Japanese unit of U.S. high-tech consulting firm GartnerGroup Inc. said Monday.
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2001

Ford to get new batteries from Sanyo

OSAKA -- Sanyo Electric Co. will exclusively supply battery systems for Ford Motor Co.'s first hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), which will appear on roads in 2003, the two firms announced Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2001

For freedom to work, we need fairness

Globalization is breaking down frontiers around the world. For the first time in centuries, freedom is a reality for most people in most countries. But freedom -- both political and economic -- can only serve all citizens when exercised responsibly and fairly. Disappearing borders for business, in an...
BUSINESS
Jan 3, 2001

Virtual marketplace moves next door

Stop by a neighborhood liquor shop a few months from now and chances are it will offer TVs, refrigerators and thousands of other items for either home delivery or later on-the-spot pickup.
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2000

Mitsui sets five-year reconstruction plan

Mitsui Construction Co. announced a five-year restructuring plan Friday under which the ailing general contractor will ask about 10 creditor financial institutions, including Sakura Bank, to forgive debts totaling 163 billion yen.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 30, 2000

Mukai named new Japan rugby coach

Former Toshiba Fuchu manager Shogo Mukai has been named coach of the Japanese national rugby team, taking over from Seiji Hirao who resigned late last month, officials of the Japan Rugby Football Union said Friday.
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Dec 27, 2000

Brewing up a winning formula: Starbucks hits it big in Japan

I admit it: I had a breakdown. It probably happened sometime after Starbucks Store No. 100 opened in the cavernous Tameike-Sanno subway station. My first reaction was: What, another one? How many more of these places, full of smiling, happy crowds, nursing "bold expressions" and munching on brownies...
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2000

OECD set to impose tax on Net distribution

Member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development are likely to impose a value-added tax on software distributors when they import music and images through the Internet, OECD sources in Tokyo said Saturday.
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2000

Mekong region set for ODA

After a few years of near neglect, Japan appears to be again turning its attention to the greater Mekong subregion as a policy frontier for official development assistance.
LIFE / Digital
Dec 20, 2000

Gifts galore for the gadget lover

Japan constantly churns out high-tech gadgets, and Christmas is a great time to buy the best.

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