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BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2002

Australia seeking to boost economic ties with Japan

Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile on Monday said he is seeking an expanded economic relationship that would activate economic interactions between Japan and Australia, a Foreign Ministry official in Tokyo said.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 14, 2002

Britain and the euro: victory for the brave

BRUSSELS -- The introduction of the euro in 12 of the 15 member states of the European Union has been an unqualified success. The changeover had none of the hitches and glitches that many -- including myself -- thought would mar its early days.
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2002

Fukuda airs possibility of pushing early tax cuts

The government may introduce early tax cuts as part of additional antideflation measures, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Apr 10, 2002

Another casualty of money politics

The resignation from the Diet of Mr. Koichi Kato, former secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, is yet another reminder that corruption is deeply embedded in the nation's political system. He made the decision, rightly, to take "social, political and moral responsibility" for the tax evasion...
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2002

Nuclear Safety Commission urges MOX fuel use

The Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan made assurances Tuesday over the safety of using plutonium-uranium mixed oxide, or MOX, fuel at nuclear plants.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2002

Lower House approves Kato's resignation

The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved the resignation of scandal-tainted Koichi Kato.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 10, 2002

Mizuho president apologizes to Diet

Terunobu Maeda, president of Mizuho Holdings Inc., told the Diet on Tuesday that the banking group acknowledges its grave responsibility for computer glitches that have led to depositors being double billed and ATMs malfunctioning.
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2002

Machinery orders grow 10.8%

Core private-sector machinery orders grew a seasonally adjusted 10.8 percent in February, marking the first month-on-month rise in three months, the Cabinet Office said Monday.
COMMENTARY
Apr 8, 2002

A system to match the times

In 1998, then-Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi launched the Economic Strategy Council as his advisory group. The council, headed by Hirotaro Higuchi, honorary chairman of Asahi Breweries Ltd., came up with a package of policy proposals in its February 1999 final report. The report deserves praise for the...
COMMENTARY
Apr 7, 2002

Gloom looms before Koizumi

The outlook for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administration, which previously enjoyed high approval ratings and looked set for continued success, has taken a dramatic turn for the worse.
BUSINESS
Apr 6, 2002

Upper House approves new BOJ board appointees

The House of Councilors on Friday approved the government's decision to appoint two new members of the Bank of Japan Policy Board: Toshikatsu Fukuma, vice chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, and Hidehiko Haru, executive vice president of Tokyo Electric Power Co.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2002

Computer glitches cripple transactions at Mizuho

Mizuho Financial Group, the world's largest banking group, confirmed Friday that it has a backlog of at least 2.5 million incomplete transactions due to computer system glitches.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2002

Tokyo, Seoul poised to sign landmark extradition treaty

Japan and South Korea will sign an extradition treaty Monday that they plan to put into force ahead of the World Cup soccer finals, which are to be jointly hosted by the two countries between late May and late June, government officials said Friday.
COMMENTARY
Apr 5, 2002

Another failure in the making?

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who will complete his first year in office April 26, finds himself in a precarious position as his reform initiative faces mounting resistance from the ruling coalition, particularly his own Liberal Democratic Party.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 25, 2002

Sinking investment signals need to embrace deflation

Two sets of key government statistics on economic conditions released earlier this month -- the October-December data on corporate activities issued March 6 and the quarterly 2001 annual gross domestic product released March 8 -- both highlighted the lackluster state of capital investment by Japanese...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 22, 2002

Invest in the world's future

In rural areas of Bangladesh, most girls marry at a very young age -- not because they wish to, but because their families cannot afford to send them to school.
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2002

February surplus plummets 11.3%

The nation's customs-cleared trade surplus plunged 11.3 percent to 776.8 billion yen in February from the previous year mainly due to slack shipments of information technology goods, according to a preliminary report released by the Finance Ministry on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2002

Ministries urged to reduce red tape in deregulation effort

The Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry on Friday urged seven government ministries and agencies to simplify approval procedures for private businesses in a total of 79 areas as part of deregulation efforts.
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2002

Banks told not to lower efforts

Banks should not become lax in their efforts to dispose of nonperforming loans, despite speculation that the risk of a financial crisis occurring this month has receded, Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa said Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 11, 2002

Time to fasten the seat belt

The Lower House passage of the fiscal 2002 government budget on Wednesday represents a sort of victory for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administration. The vote ensures, by virtue of a constitutional provision giving priority to Lower House budget decisions, that the 81-trillion yen package clears...
COMMENTARY
Mar 11, 2002

Keeping politicians on leash

In a report published March 4, the Foreign Ministry acknowledged that Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Muneo Suzuki exerted exceptional influence over ministry affairs. The report, based on an in-house probe and released by Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, confirmed allegations that Suzuki intervened...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2002

Halos, signposts show Korean impasse

HONG KONG -- Flower shows, snowdrifts and clouds over Mount Paektu may help explain the continued absence of peace on the Korean Peninsula.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Mar 7, 2002

Yen's rebound may be short-lived affair

The yen has regained some of its recent losses against the dollar, but the upturn could soon run out of steam.
BUSINESS
Mar 5, 2002

Nikkei soars above 11,000

Tokyo stocks surged Monday, lifting the 225-issue Nikkei average to its highest closing since Aug. 16 on Friday's jump in U.S. stocks and the failure of midsize contractor Sato Kogyo Co., which spurred hope banks are seriously tackling their bad loans.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 4, 2002

Beating the U.N. endgame in Cambodia

CANBERRA -- The U.N. Secretariat's Feb. 8 announcement ending further cooperation with Cambodia on jointly run Khmer Rouge trials has set off a round of international commentary, mostly unfavorable to Cambodia. Here is an attempt to set the record straight, based on reliable public sources.
COMMENTARY
Mar 4, 2002

Research needs cutting edge

Since Japan has already decided to reorganize national universities into public corporations in fiscal 2004, it would be useless now to discuss the pros and cons of the plan. I happen to feel the plan will do neither harm nor good.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2002

Minister hints CJD settlement near

The government will do its utmost to settle a lawsuit by one Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease victim and 19 families of deceased victims who are seeking a total of 1.16 billion yen in compensation from the state and companies involved, the health minister said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2002

Free-lancers, Web 'media' under bill

A human rights bill being prepared to, in part, protect individuals from excessive media coverage will apply to freelance reporters working in all media -- including the Internet -- as well as reporters employed by news organizations, the government said Tuesday.
BUSINESS / TAKING STOCK
Feb 26, 2002

Banks to need public funds

The question now is whether the government should inject public funds into banks anew to stabilize the financial system.

Longform

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