Search - 2002

 
 
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2003

Nissan poised to report record operating profit

Nissan Motor Co. said Thursday it expects to report a record consolidated operating profit of 401.1 billion yen for the first half of fiscal 2003, up 15.2 percent from the same period last year.
BUSINESS
Oct 16, 2003

Manufacturers cut 117,600 jobs

The nation's leading manufacturers eliminated 117,600 workers in fiscal 2002, a credit-research agency said Wednesday, citing the results of a survey.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2003

Returnees frustrated over kin-reunion impasse

Japanese nationals who were abducted by North Korea but returned to their homeland last year voiced frustration Tuesday over the government's lack of progress in effecting a reunion with the children they left behind in Pyongyang.
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2003

Tokyo, banks settle tax row out of court

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and 15 major banks said Wednesday they have settled their dispute over Tokyo's bank tax.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2003

Regional economies earn upgrade

The Finance Ministry on Wednesday upgraded its quarterly assessment of regional economies for the first time in a year, noting sporadic signs of recovery in production backed by exports of digital gadgets and cars.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2003

Tanaka delays declaring, disappointing supporters

Former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, despite the strong urging of her supporters, stopped short Sunday of officially announcing her candidacy in a general election to be held in November.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2003

Soga reveals depth of sadness over her divided family

Hitomi Soga, who returned to Japan last year for the first time since being abducted by North Korean agents in 1978, has revealed her loneliness in a letter sent to Kyodo News.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2003

SDP's scandal-hit Tsujimoto rules out run for old Diet seat

Kiyomi Tsujimoto, an outspoken former opposition lawmaker indicted on charges of defrauding the state, indicated Saturday that she will not stand in the House of Representatives election expected to be called next month.
JAPAN
Oct 3, 2003

LDP cowed by specter of Tanaka comeback

Cleared of misappropriation allegations, Makiko Tanaka, one of the nation's most popular politicians, is on the verge of a comeback.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2003

Few know but many fear where the U.S. 'road map' leads

BEIRUT -- By the summer of 2002, U.S. President George Bush had firmly set his new course: "regime change" and reform in the Muslim and Arab worlds, and, where necessary, American military intervention to achieve it.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 1, 2003

Tigers' pennant forced Giants skipper to fall on his sword

That was a shocker. Talking here about the resignation of Yomiuri Giants manager Tatsunori Hara on Sept. 26. Sure, it had been rumored for days, but I for one did not expect it would really happen.
BUSINESS
Sep 23, 2003

Takenaka to keep pushing banks on loans

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's controversial reappointment Monday of Heizo Takenaka as financial services minister means banks will still be under pressure to clean up their bad loans.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2003

Mizuho, nine others cut back projections

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. and nine other banks responded to business-improvement orders Friday by cutting their projected fiscal 2003 earnings.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2003

Panel calls for reinterpretation of the antiwar Constitution

In light of the nuclear threat posed by North Korea, the government should alter its interpretation of the Constitution and allow Japan to exercise the right of collective defense, according to a report compiled Thursday by an advisory panel to Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Sep 18, 2003

"Ruby Holler," "The Robodog Superhero"

"Ruby Holler," Sharon Creech, Bloomsbury; 2002, 310 pp. How do you reform a pair of 13-year-old twins who spend every spare moment breaking, spilling, throwing or dropping things -- and cursing loudly when they're caught?
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2003

Tokyo cuts deal over bank tax

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government cut a deal Wednesday with major banks to reduce a local tax rate on their gross operating profits, lawyers for the banks said.
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2003

Hospital malpractice rises four-fold in '02

University hospitals across Japan reported 39 malpractice cases to the government in fiscal 2002, more than four times the number in the previous year, according to documents obtained by Kyodo News.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 14, 2003

Standing up to the loan sharks

On the morning of Aug. 13, a 70-year-old Yokohama man hanged himself in his home -- driven over the edge by debt. In total, he owed 17 million yen to banks, consumer-loan companies and even his children and relatives. In addition, 1,120,000 yen of his debt was to eight yamikinyu (loan sharks).
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2003

Inadequate teachers on the rise

Some 289 teachers at public elementary and junior high schools have been judged by local education boards to be lacking in leadership skills, according to an education ministry report released Friday.
BUSINESS
Sep 9, 2003

Workers on the front lines more positive

Sentiment on the current state of the economy among people who deal directly with consumers improved in August to a 16-month high, according to a government survey released Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2003

Using the right words in Kosovo

When it comes to media access, Kosovo's population is spoiled for choices. No apartment block is complete without its symmetrical rows of white satellite dishes scanning the heavens for news and entertainment. One estimate has it that 75 percent of the population has media access. BBC and MTV are just...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Sep 4, 2003

On the book trail

A Single Shard, by LINDA SUE PARK, Clarion Books; 2002; 160 pp. If recent children's books are any indication, we might be led to believe that boy-wizards who fight evil and that children lucky enough to embark on wild adventures exist only in Britain or the United States. In fact, why does almost every...
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2003

IRCJ opts to bail out ailing Mitsui Mining

The Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan announced Monday that it has decided to bail out Mitsui Mining Co. under its resuscitation program.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FRONT-RUNNERS
Sep 2, 2003

Matsushita hopes to pad DVD lead with new Diga recorder

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. on Monday released the latest in its Diga series of DVD recorders, hoping to consolidate its position as the nation's No. 1 shareholder in the rapidly expanding market.
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2003

Pet market worth almost 1 trillion yen

Pet-related businesses, ranging from pet sellers to condominiums that allow tenants to keep animals, are expected to form a market worth 992.9 billion yen this year, up 2.7 percent from fiscal 2002, a market research firm said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2003

Environment panel calls for carbon tax in 2005

A government advisory panel tasked with studying environmental taxes adopted a proposal Wednesday for the introduction of a carbon levy by as early as 2005.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2003

Toyota declares most income for the fourth straight year

Toyota Motor Corp. has retained its spot as the biggest declared income earner in Japan for the fourth straight year, a private research firm said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 19, 2003

The importance of Hambali's capture

The arrest of Mr. Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin, better known to the world as Hambali, is an important victory in the war against terrorism. Hambali is allegedly not only a high-ranking terrorist functionary, tied to most of the recent attacks in Southeast Asia and around the globe -- he is also a key link...

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