Search - 2005

 
 
BUSINESS
Jan 11, 2001

NEC plans to spin off specialized chip unit

NEC Corp. plans to spin off its semiconductor business for high-speed communications networks, as demand is expected to grow in coming years, the company said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2001

For freedom to work, we need fairness

Globalization is breaking down frontiers around the world. For the first time in centuries, freedom is a reality for most people in most countries. But freedom -- both political and economic -- can only serve all citizens when exercised responsibly and fairly. Disappearing borders for business, in an...
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2001

Five-year, muscle-pumping defense plan passed easily

The Cabinet approval last month of the 25-trillion yen medium-term defense buildup program came without heated debate among lawmakers or the public, to the apparent surprise of some Defense Agency officials.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2001

Foreign workforce movin' on up

For a long time, workers coming to Japan from the Third World have been associated with the cheap blue-collar labor that supports industrial societies at the lower strata.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2001

Open network at core of Japan's IT strategy

How should Japan promote its information technology revolution?
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2000

Mitsui sets five-year reconstruction plan

Mitsui Construction Co. announced a five-year restructuring plan Friday under which the ailing general contractor will ask about 10 creditor financial institutions, including Sakura Bank, to forgive debts totaling 163 billion yen.
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2000

State oil firm to help drill Azadegan

Japan National Oil Corp. said Thursday it has decided it will participate in a project to develop Iran's largest oil field, the Azadegan field, situated near the Iraqi border.
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2000

Tech firms plan Bluetooth venture

Toshiba Corp., Taiyo Yuden Co. and IBM Japan Ltd. said Tuesday they will form a joint venture that will authorize the use of a trademark for the new Bluetooth wireless technology.
COMMENTARY
Dec 22, 2000

The EU gets ready to grow

LONDON -- The recent European Union summit at Nice seems to have been bad tempered and acrimonious. Yet it eventually, even if only after days of wrangling, ended in an agreement of sorts and the way is now open to the admission of new members from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean, leading in due...
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2000

Ministry proposes record-high defense budget

The Finance Ministry on Wednesday proposed a record-high defense budget of 4.955 trillion yen for fiscal 2001, which is a 0.4 percent rise over the initial budget for fiscal 2000, a ministry official said.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2000

Lighthouses to be powered by wind and sun

The Japan Coast Guard has decided to combine solar energy and wind power to generate electricity for four lighthouses across Japan, Coast Guard officials said.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2000

25 trillion yen budgeted for SDF expenditures

The government's Security Council on Friday approved a new five-year procurement plan for the Self-Defense Forces totaling 25.16 trillion yen.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2000

SDF to get four aircraft for midair refueling

Japan will introduce four airborne refueling planes to help extend the flight range of Self-Defense Forces aircraft in its midterm defense buildup plan for the five years from fiscal 2001, coalition sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2000

NEC sells British arm in streamlining effort

NEC Corp. said Thursday it has sold its British operation for manufacturing mobile phones to a Canadian electronics firm as part of its effort to streamline production.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2000

NEC, Toshiba to tackle space market together

NEC Corp. and Toshiba Corp. announced Wednesday that they have agreed to integrate their space business operations by establishing a joint venture in April in an effort to boost their presence in the global aerospace market.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2000

Olympus plans foray into genetics

Olympus Optical Co. will begin supplying genetic medical support systems and related services in April in the hope of generating 30 billion yen in sales in the new field in 2005, it announced Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 13, 2000

The EU makes nice in Nice

At its make-or-break summit last weekend in Nice, the European Union bent. Faced with the need to reform to accommodate new members and new responsibilities, European heads of state produced the inevitable compromises and fudges. Some choices were made; others, predictably, were put off. Still, the ground...
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2000

Consortium seals deal for Taiwan shinkansen

A consortium of seven Japanese companies formally signed a contract worth about 330 billion yen Tuesday afternoon in Tokyo with Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. to build a bullet train line in Taiwan, THSRC said.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2000

Gender equality measures urged

An advisory panel to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori submitted a report Monday recommending broad measures to promote gender equality in Japan.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2000

Katayama wants municipalities to amalgamate

Japan's 2,600 towns and villages should be amalgamated to reduce the number of municipalities to around 1,000 to tie in with the planned decentralization of administrative power, according to the new chief of the Home Affairs Ministry.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 10, 2000

U.S. presidential elections should go global

LOS ANGELES -- Americans watching events play out in Florida since Nov. 7 may feel a surreal sense of powerlessness; their president is being chosen by a handful of Palm Beach residents, it seems. In short, Americans have now gotten a taste of the way the rest of the world feels with each presidential...
BUSINESS
Dec 7, 2000

Retail chains under siege

Conventional Japanese supermarket chains, which are suffering dwindling sales and being cold-shouldered by consumers, will be dealt another blow with the advance of foreign retail giants wielding aggressive business plans into the Japanese market.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Dec 6, 2000

Ready for takeoff

The pipes are clogging. There are 377.65 million people online worldwide, and some analysts warn that figure could increase by as much as 25 percent annually for a few years to come. Traffic could reach 10 times the current level in a few short years, and demand for bandwidth might reach as high as 200...
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2000

Public-sector efficiency plan OK'd

The Cabinet on Friday approved an action plan to streamline and increase efficiency in the public sector and promote deregulation for implementation through 2005 following the reorganization in January of central government ministries and agencies, officials said.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2000

Reform touted in new five-year action program

The government compiled a five-year action program to promote structural reform and achieve economic progress while continuing to reflect the IT revolution and environmental concerns, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry announced Thursday.

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