Search - 2004

 
 
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2001

Ministry looks into growing suicide problem

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has begun compiling measures to stem the growing number of suicides in Japan, according to ministry officials.
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2001

Mycal falls short on debt cuts

OSAKA -- Mycal Corp.'s interest-bearing debts at the end of this month will come to around 1.05 trillion yen on a consolidated basis, the company said Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2001

Toshiba to eliminate 17,000 jobs

Toshiba Corp. announced Monday it will slash 17,000 jobs in Japan -- 12 percent of its domestic workforce -- by the end of March 2004 amid the worldwide slump in the information technology sector.
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2001

Mycal to unveil revised restructuring program

OSAKA -- Ailing supermarket-chain operator Mycal Corp. will announce a revised restructuring plan by the end of the week aimed at slashing its debts, company officials said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2001

Toshiba to slash 20,000 jobs worldwide amid IT slump

Toshiba Corp. will slash 20,000 jobs from its group workforce of 190,000 to cope with deteriorating earnings in its semiconductor business amid the worldwide slump in the information technology sector, company officials said Saturday.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2001

Ministry to boost child-care support for working moms

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry plans to earmark 700 billion yen for measures to boost child-care support for working parents within its fiscal 2002 budget request, according to ministry officials.
EDITORIALS
Aug 22, 2001

An 'unstrategic' strategic meeting

The meeting last week in Moscow between U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov -- the first time top U.S. and Russian defense officials have discussed strategic issues -- ended unsuccessfully. That should come as no surprise given the perception gap that exists...
BUSINESS
Aug 20, 2001

Fujitsu to slash 10,000 jobs in North America, Asia

Leading computer maker Fujitsu Ltd. plans to slash about 10 percent of its group workforce, or more than 10,000 jobs, at home and abroad as the main part of a restructuring plan designed to counter a slowdown in the information technology market, company officials said Sunday.
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2001

Daiei to sell off Printemps Ginza

Supermarket chain operator Daiei Inc. announced Tuesday it will sell its full stake in subsidiary department store Printemps Ginza SA to reduce its own debt.
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2001

YGK to launch originally designed sports car model

YGK Co. will launch an originally designed sports car in Japan and overseas in November 2002, the Yamagata-based company said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

Debt-hit Daiei to unload healthy Printemps store

Daiei Inc. is considering selling its shares in subsidiary department store Printemps Ginza S.A. to reduce its debt, Daiei sources said Monday.
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2001

Mycal revised restructuring plan expected next week

OSAKA -- Ailing retailer Mycal Corp. is expected to unveil a revised restructuring plan as early as next week in a bid to accelerate efforts to pare down its massive debts, company sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2001

NEC to eliminate 4,000 jobs amid global IT shrinkage

NEC Corp. announced Tuesday it will cut 4,000 personnel in Japan and abroad by April and withdraw from DRAM chip operations in 2004 amid a global shrinkage in information-technology markets.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2001

Mahathir digs deep into old roots

KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad took two hours to deliver a 21-page address at the opening ceremony of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) assembly on June 21. During the assembly's closing session two days later, he took another two hours to elaborate on the key...
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2001

'Koizumi effect' credited for LDP's big Tokyo win

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed hope Monday that his Liberal Democratic Party's strong showing in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election would lead to another victory in the Upper House election next month.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 23, 2001

Learning the lessons hidden in victory

It was a stunning night for Labour June 7. British political geography has been permanently transformed. Yet learning the lessons of defeat is comparatively easy. British Conservatives are already starting to learn those lessons.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Jun 23, 2001

U.S. Democrats take control

Despite the confusion surrounding the changing of power in the Senate, things are still getting done in Washington. The Senate recently passed the education bill, a major item from the agenda of President George W. Bush, and sent it on to conference with the House of Representatives that had already...
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2001

Cooperation critical to reform of legal system, Yasuoka says

The key to successfully overhauling the nation's legal system lies in the extent to which the nation's top judicial circles can work with each other toward that goal, according to former Justice Minister Okiharu Yasuoka.
BUSINESS
Jun 21, 2001

Diet paves way for public entities reform

The Diet on Wednesday enacted a law aimed at reforming public corporations and government-authorized nonprofit bodies.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2001

Upper House passes stiffer driving rules

The House of Councilors on Wednesday approved amendments to the Road Traffic Law that include heavier penalties and an extension of the validity of driver's licenses to five years from the current three.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2001

Glass-maker Hoya aiding nuclear arms facility, U.S. scientist says

A U.S. scientist and former employee of a U.S. Energy Department institute, to which Japanese glass maker Hoya Corp. ships materials, says the institute is conducting nuclear weapons research.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2001

'Miyadaiku' carpenter laments loss of traditional knowledge

HOFU, Yamaguchi Pref. — Shoji Matsuura communicates with the dead.
JAPAN
May 31, 2001

Time ripe for collective defense: panelists

Panelists at a symposium on Japan-U.S. relations held in Tokyo this week agreed that Japan should lift its ban on engaging in collective defense as both nations seek to strengthen security ties.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2001

Tokio Marine's group pretax profit surges 58.9%

Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. said Tuesday its group pretax profit for the 2000 business year surged 58.9 percent to 85.45 billion yen.
BUSINESS
May 29, 2001

Asahi Mutual plans out refinancing

Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Co. plans to refinance some 50 billion yen in loans from several financial institutions, including Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, to keep its foundation fund unchanged at 100 billion yen, company officials said Monday.
BUSINESS
May 28, 2001

Isuzu plans to cut 9,000 jobs by 2004

Isuzu Motors Ltd. plans to cut costs by slashing 9,000 jobs over the next three years, reducing its 38,000-strong group workforce by 25 percent, company sources 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.