Search - 2013

 
 
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2011

Investors driving up JGB yields at hasty pace amid downgrade worries

Investors are driving up Japanese government bond yields at the fastest pace in almost 11 months, and the move may continue before two auctions this week amid concern the nation may face a credit-ratings downgrade.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 26, 2011

Row, pedal or paddle, Briton bent on circling her way back to London

There are people for whom traveling means reading a guidebook on the couch in their home, or lounging by a swimming pool in a posh sea resort. Then there are those who, like Sarah Outen, can't wait to go out there and see the world, challenging themselves in the process.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2011

Mizuho, Mitsubishi UFJ to finance $1.6 billion Oman power plant project

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. are among five Japanese lenders hired to arrange a loan for Marubeni Corp.'s $1.6 billion power plant project in Oman.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2011

Gree, KDDI sue archrival DeNA

Gree Inc. and KDDI Corp. are suing DeNA Co. for ¥1.05 billion in damages for allegedly instructing game developers not to offer their titles to Gree's social-networking platform.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2011

DoCoMo to spend on networks

NTT DoCoMo Inc., the nation's biggest mobile-phone carrier by subscribers, aims to keep boosting operating profit by curbing overall spending as two smaller rivals add more customers by offering Apple Inc.'s iPhone.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2011

Ex-finance minister warns of debt crisis

Japan risks falling into a similar sovereign debt crisis as Europe if it doesn't get the world's "worst" public debt situation in order, a former finance minister said.
COMMENTARY
Nov 21, 2011

As the Egyptian military takes off its mask

The killing under torture in a maximum security prison in Cairo of Essam Ali Atta Ali, a 24-year-old Egyptian, raises concern on the role of the Egyptian military in the "New Egypt." His death was likened to that of Khalid Said, who was beaten to death by the police in Alexandria last year.
EDITORIALS
Nov 19, 2011

Diet action for reconstruction

The Lower House on Nov. 10 passed the supplementary budget for fiscal 2011 to finance reconstruction from the March 11 disasters. This week the Upper House has started deliberations on it. Both the extra budget and related bills are expected to be enacted by the end of the month. But more than eight...
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2011

Tepco employees' shares in firm rise

Among Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s biggest shareholders, only one has increased its holdings since the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant: Its employees.
EDITORIALS
Nov 16, 2011

Goodbye, Mr. Berlusconi

It was an ignominious end to Mr. Silvio Berlusconi's term as Italy's prime minister. The besieged leader slipped out a back door of his office to jeers and cries of "buffoon," as Handel's Hallelujah chorus was sung and thousands of others popped sparkling wine, dancing in a conga line shouting "we're...
BUSINESS
Nov 16, 2011

Morgan Stanley gain lifts MUFG profit target

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. raised its full-year profit target by 50 percent as a gain from a conversion of shares in Morgan Stanley offset a lending slump.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 16, 2011

Honda expanding Alabama plant to lift light truck, engine output

Honda Motor Co. will spend $84 million and hire 100 more workers to expand production of light trucks and engines at its assembly plant in Alabama.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 11, 2011

Back to business as usual for condominium developers?

High-rise condominiums are set to make a comeback.
COMMENTARY
Nov 10, 2011

Open markets key to growth

The lengthy communique issued at the end of the recent Group of 20 summit in Cannes has been largely overlooked in the media, which have understandably focused on the financial crisis facing the eurozone. It is probable that many leaders did not even read the full text that had been prepared in advance...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Nov 9, 2011

Mao needs victory at NHK Trophy to regain confidence

Just over one year ago, Mao Asada entered the NHK Trophy coming off her second world title and a silver medal at the Vancouver Olympics. The stage was set for a triumphant return at the Grand Prix event in her hometown of Nagoya.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 9, 2011

Strong yen aids Aeon push abroad

Retailer Aeon Co. is opening overseas stores faster than initially planned as the yen's climb to postwar highs boosts its purchasing power.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2011

The domestic logic behind Iran's foreign policy plots

The history of the Islamic Republic is filled with cases of factions exploiting foreign policy to gain power against their domestic rivals. It is common for competing groups to sacrifice national interests — such as Iran's international credibility — to achieve their own goals.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 5, 2011

Micro-hydro power set to light up cherry tree

The city of Motosu in Gifu Prefecture is planning to light up its famous Usuzumi Zakura cherry tree, said to be more than 1,500 years old, during the "hanami" season using electricity from a small hydroelectric generator.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Nov 1, 2011

Japan's 'new towns' are finally getting too old

In September, real estate developer Tokyo Tatemono started to demolish the Suwa Ni-chome apartments in the western Tokyo region of Tama. The Suwa danchi (housing development) was an integral part of Tama New Town, which opened in 1971. Of the various "new towns" built in the late 1960s and '70s by the...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Oct 31, 2011

Deciphering eurozone: financial stability quest a study in surrealism

EFSF stands for European Financial Stability Facility. Or so they say. I can only see it as standing for European Financial Science Fiction. How can it be anything else given the nature of the arrangement?
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2011

BOJ ups asset purchase program by ¥5 trillion

The Bank of Japan on Thursday eased its monetary policy, boosting the size of its asset purchase program by another ¥5 trillion, raising its total funds to ¥55 trillion, citing the current instability in global financial markets and economies, as well as the yen's relentless rise.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?