Search - 2005

 
 
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2002

MHI may close machine tool plant

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. is considering closing its large-scale machine tool manufacturing plant in Hiroshima as early as 2003 due to slack demand, company officials said Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Jan 17, 2002

Group seeks to close digital gender divide

The old stereotype of the "computer geek" -- taped Coke-bottle glasses, pens and protractors in breast pocket -- has gotten a series of upgrades over the last decade. The geek has morphed into the "techno-wizard," complete with a huge salary, power, influence and sometimes even new glasses.
BUSINESS
Jan 12, 2002

Ailing Daiei looks to unload baseball team, dome

Troubled Daiei Inc. is planning to sell a majority of its shares in the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks baseball team and its ballpark, the Fukuoka Dome, as part of efforts to reduce its massive interest-bearing debts, according to company sources.
BUSINESS
Jan 11, 2002

Kansai Electric to slash jobs, investment

OSAKA -- Kansai Electric Power Co. said it will slash 3,000 jobs -- more than 10 percent of its workforce -- by the end of fiscal 2004.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2002

Yamanote adds English and standing room

Come April, Tokyo's Yamanote Line will be kinder to English-speaking foreign passengers.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2002

Nation's birthrate in 2001 expected to hit record low: survey

The nation's birthrate in 2001 is expected to hit a record low of 9.3 births per 1,000 people, according to a government survey released Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2001

2001 a banner year for Beijing

The year 2001 has been a good one for China. It won the right to host the 2008 Olympics, which should raise the country's status in the world. After 15 arduous years of negotiations, it finally joined the World Trade Organization, which will provide momentum for additional economic reforms. And despite...
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2001

Hitachi, NRI tie on in-house portals

Hitachi Ltd. and the Nomura Research Institute said Wednesday that they have tied up in the in-house portal site service.
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2001

Nidec plans parts venture in China

Major precision motor manufacturer Nidec Corp. said Tuesday it will set up a joint venture March 1 with five of its group companies in China to manufacture components for computer systems.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2001

Cabinet OKs civil-servant merit system

The government agreed Tuesday on a civil service reform framework that includes a merit-based salary system and rules governing the employment of retired civil servants in the private sector.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2001

Argentina has no choice but to default

NEW YORK -- Argentina is now experiencing one of its most severe economic and social crises in recent history. Riots are spreading through the country and the government seems increasingly unable to control the situation. The declaration of a state of siege for 30 days, although a necessary measure to...
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2001

NKK and Kawasaki Steel to team up as JFE Group

NKK Corp. and Kawasaki Steel Corp. plan to rename themselves JFE Group when they merge under a joint holding company in October, the firms announced Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Dec 19, 2001

Foreign retailers relying on adaptability to survive

When French retailer Carrefour and U.S.-based Costco Wholesale Corp. opened their outlets in Makuhari, Chiba Prefecture, a year ago, many saw the foreign stores as a threat to domestic supermarkets.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2001

Sri Lanka's chance of ending conflict is bigger than ever

Ranil Wickremesinghe, the newly installed Sri Lankan prime minister, has been in a tense struggle to form a government of national consensus.
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2001

Diet passes bill to help middle-aged, elderly find work

The House of Councilors passed a bill Friday to help middle-aged and elderly workers who lose their jobs to secure new employment via initiatives such as employer subsidies.
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2001

Years of pain seen before any growth

The potential growth rate of the economy will be limited to around 1 percent during the period of structural reform in the coming two to three years, but it could rise to 2 percent or more in the decade after that, the government said in an annual report released Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

Ohta angered by calls for Kansai airport delay

OSAKA -- Kansai officials were angered Wednesday upon hearing that the central government wants to delay completion of the second phase of Kansai International Airport, which was initially scheduled to be built in 2007.
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2001

Takeda Chemical lab to bear fruits of DNA research

OSAKA -- Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd. said Wednesday it will build a new laboratory in Osaka devoted to developing innovative drugs based on its research into the human genome.
BUSINESS
Nov 25, 2001

Fuji Bank's Maeda to take charge at Mizuho

Mizuho Holdings Inc., the holding company for the world's largest banking group, the Mizuho Financial Group, is planning to reshuffle its top management next April and will name Terunobu Maeda as its new president, banking industry sources said Saturday.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2001

Japan, Thailand to explore free trade

Visiting Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra came up with a new approach Tuesday to get his country and Japan on the road toward a free-trade agreement.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2001

JR East and JR Tokai doing OK

East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) and Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) fared relatively well, but West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) registered weak earnings for the first half of fiscal 2001, according to their midterm earnings reports released by Monday.
EDITORIALS
Nov 19, 2001

Argentina's last chance

Argentina is once again faced with the prospect of default. A series of quick fixes has only postponed the day of reckoning for Latin America's third-largest economy. Now, domestic political spats between the central government and the provinces look set to torpedo the "zero-deficit plan" that President...
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2001

White paper draft suggests tax hike

A soon-to-be-released government white paper says raising the 5 percent consumption tax to 8 percent and cutting social security benefits for each generation by 20 percent beginning in 2005 should be considered as ways to alleviate the financial burden on future generations, according to the final draft....
JAPAN / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Nov 15, 2001

Automakers steering toward financial markets

As the nation's banking sector continues to struggle with bad debts and falling stock prices, major automakers from Japan, Europe and the United States are seeking to expand the scale and scope of their financial businesses here.
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2001

Bill adopted to help older job-seekers

The government adopted a bill Friday to help people 45 and older find jobs under an emergency package of employment measures to cushion joblessness linked to the ongoing economic slump and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's economic reform programs.
BUSINESS
Nov 3, 2001

Tobishima cuts earnings forecast

General contractor Tobishima Corp. said Friday it has revised downward its group earnings forecast for the first half and the full year of fiscal 2001, due largely to deteriorating profit margins in private-sector construction jobs.
BUSINESS
Nov 3, 2001

Tobishima cuts earnings forecast

General contractor Tobishima Corp. said Friday it has revised downward its group earnings forecast for the first half and the full year of fiscal 2001, due largely to deteriorating profit margins in private-sector construction jobs.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 24, 2001

TIFF take 14

Japan has one of the largest film markets in the world. Accordingly, every year the Tokyo International Film Festival serves up world cinema on a grand scale, screening more than 140 films over the course of a week.
BUSINESS
Oct 24, 2001

GM to advise ailing Isuzu

General Motors Corp. will help the financially struggling Isuzu Motors Ltd. manage its operations, but it does not intend to increase its stake in the truck maker, Richard Wagoner, president and chief executive officer of GM, said Tuesday.

Longform

Members of the Wajima City Morning Market Association pose for a group photograph on the site where the market once stood.
In the wake of disaster, the revival of Wajima's market brings hope