Search - 2004

 
 
BUSINESS
Nov 14, 2001

Asahi Mutual hawking sales division to Tokio Marine

Troubled life insurer Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Co. said Tuesday it is in talks to sell off its sales division to a Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. subsidiary in the face of policy-holder flight and dismal market prospects.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2001

Ministry holds first online tender for public works project

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry on Tuesday staged the first online tender for a public works project in the nation's history.
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2001

JAL, JAS to merge to beat aviation slump

Japan Airlines Co. and Japan Air System Co., the nation's No. 1 and No. 3 air carriers, agreed Monday to integrate to create the world's sixth-largest airline in terms of passenger miles.
EDITORIALS
Nov 11, 2001

Space station blues -- again

This month marks a milestone for the International Space Station. As of Nov. 2, there had been a continuous human presence on the orbiting lab-in-progress for exactly one year. Besides the three crews that have successively called it home, 14 spacecraft had visited. Eighteen space walks had been carried...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 9, 2001

Harassed leaders could play Kashmir card

T here is increasing concern that and the ongoing war in Afghanistan may well give India and Pakistan yet another reason to start a new war over Kashmir, a region they both claim as their own. In recent weeks, they have locked themselves deeper in their border conflict. Both countries, which have fought...
BUSINESS
Nov 9, 2001

Sharp, Taiwan firm agree on tieup

OSAKA -- Sharp Corp. said Thursday it has agreed with Taiwanese microchip maker Winbond Electronics Corp. to jointly develop next-generation flash memory chips in a deal aimed at slashing development costs.
JAPAN
Nov 9, 2001

Alternative energy empowering consumers

With increasing demand for cost-efficient and environment-friendly energy, a growing number of hotels, hospitals and major industrial facilities are adopting cogeneration -- a system that makes more efficient use of heat and electricity generated from the same source.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2001

Ministry eyes cutting down sea emissions

The Environment Ministry has decided to set a target for reducing nitrogen and phosphorus emissions into Tokyo Bay, Ise Bay and the Seto Inland Sea to avoid fouling the waters with too many nutrients, ministry officials said.
BUSINESS
Nov 2, 2001

Bank shareholding bill clears hurdle

The House of Representatives approved at a plenary session Thursday a bill aimed at limiting Japanese banks' shareholdings and creating a stock-buying body designed to absorb a portion of such holdings.
BUSINESS
Oct 27, 2001

Toshiba, NEC report losses for first half of business year

Toshiba Corp. and NEC Corp. on Friday reported consolidated net losses for the first half of fiscal 2001, hit by the global slump in information technology and the worldwide economic slowdown.
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2001

Toyota eyes parts plant in Mexico

Toyota Motor Corp. is planning to build a plant in Mexico to produce cargo platforms for small trucks, company sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Oct 24, 2001

NEC slashes white-collar hours

Compiled from wire reports NEC Corp. said Tuesday it will scale back the hours of all 9,000 white-collar workers employed in its domestic semiconductor division.
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2001

State files appeal to keep elevated rail project alive

The government filed an appeal Friday with the Tokyo High Court to overturn an Oct. 3 ruling ordering the cancellation of its permit for a 6.4-km length of elevated railroad in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, the transport ministry said.
BUSINESS
Oct 12, 2001

Canon, Toshiba to tie on SOI wafers

Canon Inc. and Toshiba Corp. said Thursday they will jointly develop new-generation wafers that will produce faster, more energy-efficient semiconductors.
BUSINESS
Oct 11, 2001

Starbucks perks on Nasdaq debut

OSAKA -- Starbucks Coffee Japan Ltd. made a superb debut Wednesday on the Nasdaq Japan stock market as investors scooped up shares of the high-profile firm.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 10, 2001

Something got lost along the way from Istanbul

When stood up beside the glamorous grand old lady of international art fairs, the Venice Biennale, Turkey's roughly concurrent Istanbul Biennale comes across as a country cousin -- a little ragged, to be sure, but not without its own particular charms. Now in its seventh incarnation, the Istanbul Biennale...
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2001

Nation's airlines remaining steadfast in face of aftershocks from terrorism

Declines in passenger loads and increases in insurance premiums after last month's devastating terrorist attacks in the United States are threats to Japanese airlines as they are to other carriers, but reaction in Japan may not be as drastic.
SOCCER / J. League
Sep 30, 2001

Kawaguchi heading to Pompey

YOKOHAMA -- After a seemingly endless period of waiting, Yokohama F. Marinos and Japan goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi finally landed a transfer deal with Portsmouth and will join the English Division One side on Oct. 21 after the two clubs reached a provisional agreement on Saturday morning.
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2001

Full text of Koizumi's policy speech to Diet

Following is a provisional translation of the policy speech delivered by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to an extraordinary Diet session that opened Thursday for a 72-day session.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2001

Laws thwart Japan's resolve to deal with crises

Staff writers The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States awakened Tokyo to the possibility that similar incidents could take place here, prompting lawmakers to review Japan's own emergency contingency preparedness.
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2001

Bill limits banks' shareholdings

The Financial Services Agency drafted a bill Wednesday to limit banks' shareholdings to the net worth of their capital.
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2001

Gas firms face pressure to open lines to new entrants

The government will oblige principle gas suppliers to let new market entrants access their pipelines as part of efforts to liberalize the gas retail market, sources in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2001

Mycal seeks bankruptcy protection after main creditor pulls the plug

Mycal Corp. filed for protection from creditors with the Tokyo District Court on Friday, after Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, its biggest creditor, decided to cut off further financial support to the supermarket chain.
BUSINESS
Sep 14, 2001

Minolta to make parts in Shanghai

Camera maker Minolta Co. said Thursday it has established a joint venture with a local company in Shanghai to manufacture and sell optical components such as lenses and viewfinders for compact cameras.
SOCCER / J. League
Sep 12, 2001

JFA confirms dates of Emperor's Cup

This year's Emperor's Cup knockout soccer tournament will kick off on Nov. 25, the Japan Football Association announced Monday.
BUSINESS
Sep 6, 2001

MHI in Westinghouse reactor accord

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Wednesday it has reached a basic agreement to help Westinghouse Electric Co. of the United States develop a new 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactor.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 5, 2001

Asian Rugby World Cup qualifying slated

South Korea and a third Asian entry will vie for a berth in the 2003 Rugby World Cup in an Asian qualifying tournament next June and July, the Japan Rugby Union said Monday.

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.