Search - 2005

 
 
COMMENTARY
Dec 21, 2003

Devil of amity lurks in free trade details

SINGAPORE -- The decision at the Japan-ASEAN summit on Dec. 11-12 to create a new "special relationship" between the two may be historic, but the economic free-trade areas that will provide its foundation look like long shots. Japanese efforts are likely to be frustrated by the same political forces...
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2003

Delay investment trust sales by Japan Post, Aso suggests

Posts minister Taro Aso said Friday his ministry should not submit a bill for allowing Japan Post to sell investment trusts before the government compiles a final report on the entity's privatization next fall.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2003

Officials debate details of Futenma move

National and local government officials met Thursday to discuss industrial development and other issues surrounding the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corp's Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2003

High court backs elevated Odakyu line

Tokyo residents seeking to block Odakyu Electric Railway Co.'s construction of a 6.5-km elevated section of track saw the Tokyo High Court on Thursday overturn a lower court ruling that sided with them.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2003

Ministers back Japan Highway splitup

The transport minister and the administrative reform minister agreed Wednesday to carve up the heavily indebted Japan Highway Public Corp. after it is privatized in fiscal 2005, government officials said.
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2003

Resona group nixes Saitama's offer

Banking group Resona Holdings Inc., now undergoing rehabilitation, will turn down Saitama Gov. Kiyoshi Ueda's offer to invest 1 billion yen in taxpayer money into the locally operating Saitama Resona Bank, Chairman Eiji Hosoya said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2003

Coalition says consumption tax hike in 2007 could save pension system

The ruling coalition finalized an annual tax reform package Wednesday that vaguely advocates a consumption tax hike in fiscal 2007 as a means of saving the ailing public pension system.
COMMENTARY
Dec 18, 2003

Conservatives smell an upset

LONDON -- A transformation has taken place on the British political scene, and it is one that could have profound effects on the wider European landscape as well as on trans-Atlantic relations. The nature of this change can be summed up in two words -- Michael Howard. This is the man who has now emerged...
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 17, 2003

Buchwald to Reds

The Urawa Reds said Tuesday they have reached a basic agreement with former German international defender Guido Buchwald to make him the new coach of the J. League first division side beginning Feb. 1, 2004.
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2003

Saitama governments to pump Resona with taxpayer money

The prefectural and municipal governments of Saitama are willing to use roughly 1 billion yen in local taxpayer funds to claim a stake in Saitama Resona Bank, the local arm of Resona Holdings Inc., Saitama Gov. Kiyoshi Ueda said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2003

MMC, Chrysler to team up on pickup

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. announced Tuesday it will jointly develop and manufacture a midsize pickup truck for the North American market with the Chrysler Group of German-American automotive giant DaimlerChrysler AG.
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2003

Tax Commission urges tobacco-tax shift

The government's tax panel suggested Monday transferring tobacco tax revenues from the national government to local governments as a temporary measure in fiscal 2004.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2003

Crime crackdown includes plan to cut illegal foreign residents

In an effort to regain its reputation as a safe nation, Japan aims to halve by 2005 the number of illegal foreign residents from the current estimate of 250,000, according to a government action plan to combat crime obtained by Kyodo News on Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Japan, ASEAN look to future

The summit between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations closed here Friday with leaders signing a "special relationship" declaration.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

LDP task force's expressway plan emphasizes more road construction

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party placed emphasis on more road construction in its plan mapped out Friday for privatizing the nation's expressway operators.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2003

Boards here in need of outsiders: U.S. headhunter

A leading U.S. executive search firm has found that Japan's corporate boards have a smaller number of external directors than any other nation.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Optimism among big manufacturers soars

Bolstered by strong overseas and information technology-related demand, optimism among large manufacturers overcame fears over a rising yen and soared to a 6 1/2 year high, according to a key business survey released Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

Debate on privatizing highway firms nears crunch

Decision time is looming in the battle between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and parties with vested interests in expressway construction.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2003

ASEAN leaders arrive in Tokyo ahead of landmark two-day summit

Southeast Asian leaders arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday to participate in a two-day summit with Japan that will focus on trade and security.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 11, 2003

Guiding U.S. corporations to the greener side

Elizabeth Sturcken could easily have passed for a hotshot IT executive, dressed for the part in a business suit and low heels. Instead, the 37-year-old resident of San Francisco is a major player in the drive for environmental change.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2003

Road panel seeks to limit state interference

A key panel tasked with overseeing the privatization of the nation's four expressway operators urged the government Tuesday to grant privatized entities autonomy with regard to the construction of new expressways.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2003

Panel seeks better treatment for inmates

An advisory panel to the justice minister will call on the government to improve correctional policies, and medical and human rights conditions inside prisons, according to a draft proposal unveiled Monday.
BUSINESS
Dec 9, 2003

Bank lending slipped again in November

The volume of bank lending fell in November to a new low for the second consecutive month, as major banks remain focused on writing off past loans gone bad and large corporations continue to write down debt instead of borrowing new funds.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2003

Space agency gropes to regroup

Japan's Mars probe is in trouble. Its weather satellites are breaking down. And its latest attempt to put a pair of spy satellites into orbit ended last weekend in a 110 billion yen fireball.
EDITORIALS
Dec 4, 2003

Returning a bank to health

The collapse of Ashikaga Bank, a major regional bank in Tochigi Prefecture, shows that Japan's debt-heavy banking system is not yet out of the woods. The government, which has nationalized the bank temporarily, is expected to provide a cash injection of more than 1 trillion yen. The bank will be sold...
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2003

Jittery JT to launch six new products next month

Japan Tobacco Inc. said Monday it will launch six new cigarette products simultaneously early next month in a bid to sustain revenue amid a rapidly shrinking market.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2003

Expressway privatization proposals may defeat the purpose

The land ministry put the ball back in the government's court Friday, delivering three proposals for privatizing four debt-ridden expressway public corporations.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 28, 2003

Sumitomo Mitsui unit seeks another bailout

Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co. said Thursday it will seek yet another bank bailout as it slid into negative net worth of 33 billion yen during the fiscal first half.

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