Search - 2003

 
 
JAPAN / STAGING A COMEBACK
Feb 7, 2001

LDP still kowtows to vested interests at the economy's expense

Pop into a convenience store and you may still find inconvenience: They don't sell medicine and you may not find cigarettes or alcohol at some shops.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2001

NKK, Sumitomo Heavy, Hitachi Zosen agree to unite steel businesses

NKK Corp., Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. and Hitachi Zosen Corp. said Tuesday they have agreed on a broad business tieup with an eye toward integrating steel plant and engineering operations by the end of March 2003.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2001

Mazda directors' pay cut by 10%

Mazda Motor Corp. said Tuesday it will implement a uniform 10 percent pay cut for all its 25 directors on the board for one year from March.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2001

Mazda directors' pay cut by 10%

Mazda Motor Corp. said Tuesday it will implement a uniform 10 percent pay cut for all its 25 directors on the board for one year from March.
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2001

Crucial oil negotiations drawing near

Japan and Kuwait are expected to open crucial negotiations as early as this spring on extending Arabian Oil Co.'s drilling rights in the Kuwait-controlled portion of the Khafji oil field.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2001

Snow Brand closes Osaka factory

OSAKA -- Snow Brand Milk Products Co. on Wednesday closed down its plant in Osaka following last summer's food-poisoning outbreak caused by low-fat milk and yogurt manufactured there, company officials said.
BUSINESS
Feb 1, 2001

New French plant aims to build up Toyota's Europe presence

VALENCIENNES, France -- Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's largest automaker, started manufacturing the Yaris compact model at its first plant in France here on Wednesday, part of the company's efforts to increase its presence in Europe.
BUSINESS
Feb 1, 2001

New French plant aims to build up Toyota's Europe presence

VALENCIENNES, France -- Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's largest automaker, started manufacturing the Yaris compact model at its first plant in France here on Wednesday, part of the company's efforts to increase its presence in Europe.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2001

Mori highlights reform, recovery, IT

Introduction At the opening of the 151st session of the Diet, as the prime minister of Japan charged with the affairs of state as we mark the turn of the century, I would like to state my views as I once again brace myself to bear forward the burden of responsibility in this historical era.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2001

Mori highlights reform, recovery, IT

Introduction At the opening of the 151st session of the Diet, as the prime minister of Japan charged with the affairs of state as we mark the turn of the century, I would like to state my views as I once again brace myself to bear forward the burden of responsibility in this historical era.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2001

Matsushita Electric unit announces share buyback

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Works Ltd. announced Tuesday that it will buy back 50 million of its shares for cancellation over the next three years.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2001

Nissan aiming to turn profit in Europe in 2001

Nissan Motor Co. aims to bring its European operations back to profitability in fiscal 2001, provided foreign exchange rates remain stable, Nissan President Carlos Ghosn said Tuesday.
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.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.