Search - 2005

 
 
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2003

Policy package turns out to be a collection of vague promises

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi hopes to realize a primary budget balance in the early 2010s and create more than 5 million jobs, according to his long-awaited policy package released Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2003

Japan to issue biometric passports by '05

Japan has decided to introduce biometric passports by fiscal 2005 to meet tightened U.S. immigration controls following the September 2001 terror attacks, government officials said on Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / AFTER 2 1/2 YEARS
Sep 4, 2003

Koizumi half way toward reforming public firms

Can Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi live up to his pledge to save the nation's ailing economy by reforming monstrous public corporations?
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2003

KHI gets Taipei subway-car order

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. said Tuesday it has received an order from the Taipei city government for 321 subway cars, worth 53 billion yen, to be delivered between 2005 and 2009.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2003

U.S. might deploy Aegis warship at Japan base

The United States may deploy a ship equipped with the advanced Aegis defense system and interceptor missiles at a U.S. naval base in Japan by next year, according to Japanese government sources.
JAPAN / AFTER 2 1/2 YEARS
Sep 3, 2003

Was 'reform without sanctuaries' an empty pledge?

When Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took office in April 2001, he told the public that pain was a necessary evil in the process of rehabilitating the corporate sector and achieving financial stability.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2003

Ogi questions validity of IRCJ revival plan for bus firm

Transport chief Chikage Ogi expressed reservations Friday about an industry revival plan announced the day before by the government's Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2003

BTM to launch revival task force for borrowers

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi will launch a special task force in September to deal exclusively with corporate rehabilitation for some 3,000 troubled borrowers.
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2003

2004 budget requests 5 trillion yen more than this year

Spending requests from government ministries and agencies for fiscal 2004 will total 86.46 trillion yen, up 4.67 trillion yen from the initial budget for the current fiscal year, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Aug 27, 2003

Hiranuma calls WTO proposal unambitious

Trade minister Takeo Hiranuma expressed dissatisfaction Tuesday with a fresh World Trade Organization proposal to be adopted at a Sept. 10-14 ministerial meeting.
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2003

Digital cameras claim ever bigger chunk of market

Yet another tidal wave of digitization has swept Japan's camera sector, forcing makers of conventional products to compete for a share of the burgeoning new market.
BUSINESS
Aug 20, 2003

IC card use expected to grow quickly

More than 66 million integrated circuit cards are expected to be in circulation in Japan by the end of this fiscal year, up 91 percent from a year earlier, Yano Research Institute said Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2003

Online games offer users chance to communicate, slay dragons

In the medieval kingdom of Aden, thousands of princes, princesses, knights, elves and wizards hunt monsters and dragons and battle to take over each other's fortresses.
EDITORIALS
Aug 7, 2003

Renewing the nonnuclear vow

Wednesday marked the 58th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Three days later, on Aug. 9, 1945, a second atomic bomb exploded over Nagasaki. This is the time for all of us to remember the tragedy and renew our vow to establish world peace and eliminate nuclear weapons.
EDITORIALS
Aug 6, 2003

Detours on the Mideast 'road map'

The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has been inching forward. There has been some progress as Palestinian officials continue to try to crack down on terrorists, and Israel dismantles some Jewish settlements in occupied territories. Predictably, each action generates its own reaction. Palestinian militants...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 6, 2003

Flash memory card formats vie for prominence

Not quite a VHS vs. Betamax sequel. But again, two consumer electronics giants find themselves in opposing camps in a format battle as they crank up production of removable flash memory cards.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2003

War notes for the leaders in Pyongyang

WASHINGTON -- In recent weeks, as the heavy global workload and overcommitment of the U.S. armed forces has become apparent, some have asked if the United States could handle a major crisis or a war in Korea these days.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2003

Questions raised as Japan steams ahead on China bullet train

The race to win the contract for the high-speed rail link between the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai has entered the home stretch, with Japan ready to pull out all the stops to beat its German and French rivals.
EDITORIALS
Jul 30, 2003

Wanted: clear view of Japan Highway

In recent weeks, Japan Highway Public Corp. has come under intense scrutiny because of its financial status. The pivotal question is whether the corporation, set to go private in 2005, is solvent or not. The answer remains unclear. Two different sets of financial statements -- one "official," the other...
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2003

Crystals for lasers to be made in space

In a move that could lead to the realization of "space factories," Japan's space agency said Saturday it will make the world's first attempt to manufacture in space photonic crystals to be used in commercial laser equipment.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2003

Hiranuma stresses import of WTO meeting

An upcoming informal World Trade Organization ministerial talk in Montreal is important for the success of a full ministerial meeting to be held in Cancun, Mexico, in September, trade minister Takeo Hiranuma said Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2003

Palestinian Authority to get aid

The government said Thursday it will provide $300,000 in communications equipment and technical assistance to the security institutions of the Palestinian Authority.
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2003

MMC plans Aussie R&D project

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and its Australian subsidiary, Mitsubishi Motors Australia Ltd., said Thursday they will spend 230 million Australian dollars for a new automotive research and development project.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2003

Japan Highway on the road to ruin; 617.477 billion yen in debt: document

A set of secret documents allegedly compiled by Japan Highway Public Corp. suggest that the semigovernmental corporation is in a state of capital deficit.
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2003

METI pushes more robust framework on greenhouse gases

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released an interim report Friday on global warming, calling for a new framework that covers the majority of ozone-depleting greenhouse gas emissions.
BUSINESS
Jul 15, 2003

Longer home-loan tax breaks sought

The land ministry plans to seek an extension of tax breaks for housing loans in light of weak economic activity, a senior ministry official said.

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