Search - 2003

 
 
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.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2000

Ishihara awarded for clean air effort

The Automotive Researchers' and Journalists' Conference of Japan said Monday it has chosen Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara as its Person of the Year.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2000

Municipalities search for new money wells

The failure of a Tokyo ward to introduce a new tax plan appears to indicate that recent moves by municipalities to seek their own sources of revenue with unique tax measures are not without obstacles.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2000

Tokyo bans 'dirty' diesel vehicles

The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on Friday unanimously approved a revised ordinance banning diesel-powered commercial vehicles from the streets of Tokyo unless they meet a limit on emissions of carcinogenic particles.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2000

LDP, partners hope tax relief fires economy

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partners reached a basic agreement Wednesday on a final draft of their annual tax code revisions for fiscal 2001 that features steps to support the nation's fragile economic recovery through tax breaks totaling some 177 billion yen.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2000

Panel urges review of tax relief

The government's Tax Commission on Wednesday proposed reforms for fiscal 2001 that, among other things, seek to facilitate corporate realignment.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2000

Panel eyes PET recycling rate of 50%

A Health and Welfare Ministry panel released a report Wednesday calling for raising the recycling rate of plastic drink bottles to 50 percent by fiscal 2004, ministry officials said.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2000

Olympus plans foray into genetics

Olympus Optical Co. will begin supplying genetic medical support systems and related services in April in the hope of generating 30 billion yen in sales in the new field in 2005, it announced Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2000

Auto-parts makers report improved earnings in first half

Japanese auto-parts makers registered improved earnings in the first half of fiscal 2000 as their sales grew both at home and abroad, the Japan Auto-Parts Industries Association said in a report released Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2000

Monju touts safety campaign in restart bid

TSURUGA, Fukui Pref. -- Five years after a sodium leak and fire shut down the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor here, the battle over whether it should be put back into operation still rages.
EDITORIALS
Dec 8, 2000

Europe's growing pains

European Union leaders are finding that success comes with a price. They meet today in Nice, France, for a critical summit that will modernize the EU and prepare it for new members and new responsibilities. Despite complete agreement that decision-making procedures must be changed, there is no consensus...
BUSINESS
Dec 7, 2000

Retail chains under siege

Conventional Japanese supermarket chains, which are suffering dwindling sales and being cold-shouldered by consumers, will be dealt another blow with the advance of foreign retail giants wielding aggressive business plans into the Japanese market.
BUSINESS
Dec 7, 2000

FTC defends proposal on postal competition

The head of the Fair Trade Commission, the nation's anti-cartel watchdog, on Wednesday defended a proposal by an FTC panel to allow private concerns to compete with the postal service in the letter-delivery business.
BUSINESS
Dec 6, 2000

Japan, Myanmar to work on economic aid report

Japan and Myanmar agreed Tuesday to work on creating a report over the coming two years on Japanese support for economic structural reform in Myanmar, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.

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.