Search - 2005

 
 
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2004

Municipal merger law to be updated

The Cabinet endorsed three bills Tuesday to update legislation to promote mergers of local administrations.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2004

Cabinet OKs highway privatization plan

The Cabinet endorsed contentious legislation Tuesday aimed at privatizing the nation's four expressway corporations.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2004

LDP to submit bill on constitutional reform

The Liberal Democratic Party plans to submit to the current Diet session a bill aimed at effecting a referendum on constitutional reform, senior LDP lawmakers said Monday.
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2004

Fujitsu-Hitachi venture to boost plasma display output

A joint venture between electronics makers Fujitsu and Hitachi will build a new plant for plasma display panels in southwestern Japan to cope with rising demand for PDPs in flat-panel TVs and public information monitors, the company said Monday.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 8, 2004

Speed key to making most of new tax pact

On Feb. 27, a new Japanese-U.S. treaty on taxation was finally submitted to the Diet for ratification by the legislature. The treaty, if approved, will make dividends and royalties earned by U.S. subsidiaries in which the Japanese parent firm has a stake of more than 50 percent tax-free, doing away with...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 6, 2004

'Tokyo Stories' wittily points up the expat scene

Two years ago, as a balance to researching and writing up projects for financial institutions in the U.S. and preparing reports for fund managers in Japan, Christine Cunanan-Miki began a novel -- a series of interrelated tales about expats in Tokyo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Mar 5, 2004

Doing the business in old Edo style

The 1830s woodblock print by Hasegawa Settan shown here depicts Surugacho, now in the neighborhood of the Mitsukoshi department store one block north of Nihonbashi Bridge in the center of Tokyo. Rendered with excellent visual accuracy, it seems to be humming in praise of the wealth and prosperity of...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 5, 2004

Vocational students stage jobs rally

Some 3,000 students graduating from vocational schools in spring 2005 held a pep rally Thursday in Tokyo to bolster their spirits before setting out to look for jobs amid a dire employment situation.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 5, 2004

Tax barriers coming down

WASHINGTON -- Last November, with little fanfare, the governments of the United States and Japan concluded and signed a treaty for "the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income."
BUSINESS
Mar 4, 2004

Rengo exec to be named member of U.N. agency

An executive of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation will become a member of the executive council of the U.N. labor agency, becoming the seventh person to assume such a post, industry sources said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2004

Three stamps and a can of Coke, please

Soft drink makers will take the unprecedented step of selling their products via uniform vending machines in post offices across the country, industry officials said Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2004

Railways venture down new income track

In a bid to expand their revenue sources, major railways are rushing to open a diverse range of shops and restaurants inside urban stations.
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2004

Softbank offers 500 yen to Yahoo! BB users, confirms data leak on millions

Softbank Corp. said Friday it has confirmed that information on some 4.52 million users of its Yahoo! BB high-speed Internet service had been stolen from its data base.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Feb 28, 2004

Time running out for Houllier's 'plan' at Anfield

LONDON -- It seems a matter of when rather than if Gerard Houllier leaves Liverpool, perhaps only an unlucky 13 Premiership games to go before the manager has gone.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2004

Eight prefectures now have antiterror units

Almost a decade after Aum Shinrikyo members released sarin on Tokyo subway trains, police in eight prefectures now have dedicated antiterrorism units to respond to nuclear, biological and chemical attacks.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2004

Kansai in dire need of airport guidance

OSAKA -- With Kobe airport due to open next year, joining Kansai International Airport and the domestic hub in Itami, Kansai's business and government leaders have formed a committee to figure out how to effectively operate the region's three airports.
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2004

Topix calculation method to change

The Tokyo Stock Exchange said Thursday it will change the method of calculating the Topix index of all first section issues to better track corporate performances.
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2004

Panel adopts 'portable' telephone number plan

A telecommunications ministry study panel adopted a draft proposal Thursday that the ministry introduce a system to enable mobile phone users to retain their numbers when switching from one service provider to another.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

Tokyo judge criticizes plan to set up specialist court

A Tokyo High Court judge on Tuesday criticized the government's plan to create a court that would specialize in intellectual property lawsuits.
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2004

Japan's economic upturn sustainable, Koehler says

Horst Koehler, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said Tuesday he believes Japan's economic recovery is sustainable and commended the nation for its financial system reforms that have seen steady falls in banks' bad loans.
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2004

'Portable' mobile phone numbers to receive boost

A study panel at the telecommunications ministry is set to propose a new system in which mobile phone users can retain their phone numbers when they switch from one provider to another, ministry sources said Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2004

Yamanouchi, Fujisawa to merge

Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co. and Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co. said Tuesday they have agreed to merge in a bid to survive intensifying global competition.
BUSINESS
Feb 24, 2004

Brisk Chinese demand spurring Japan's economy

Brisk demand for Japanese goods in China is becoming a major driving force for Japan's economy, helping the nation as it struggles to shake off more than a decade of stagnation.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2004

War erodes Bush support

HONOLULU -- After the victory of the U.S. over Iraq in 1991, U.S. President George H.W. Bush proclaimed: "The Vietnam syndrome is buried forever in the sands of the Arabian Peninsula."
Japan Times
JAPAN / POLITICS IN FOCUS
Feb 17, 2004

Koizumi, Kan warm to unicameral system

Whenever a Diet session convenes, the Emperor gives a short speech at the House of Councilors' opening ceremony -- a tradition that should demonstrate the chamber's status.
JAPAN / LABOR PAINS
Feb 13, 2004

Medical sector faces hard choice amid aging society

As Japan gropes for solutions to the imminent labor shortage amid the rapidly graying population, the failure of a private-sector project to import nurses is a bitter reminder of the hurdles involved in attracting and keeping foreign professionals here.
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2004

Softbank ups Yahoo! BB subscriber target by 50%

Softbank Corp. said Thursday it has raised the target number of subscribers to its Yahoo! BB high speed Internet connection service by 50 percent.
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2004

Sony, Toshiba ink nanometer plan

Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp. said Thursday they will jointly develop advanced 45-nanometer process and design technologies for next-generation system large-scale integrated circuits.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2004

Bird flu lessons highlight change in Asia

SINGAPORE -- Avian flu has spread across 10 countries in Asia -- from China and Pakistan to Indonesia. A meeting in Bangkok at the end of January highlighted the flu's "regional dimension" as well as the necessity for a regional approach to eradicating it.

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake