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BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2001

Matsushita to reduce contracted staff

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. plans to cut half its approximately 16,000 contract workers as part of cost-saving measures, company officials said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

Powder sent to Koizumi's residence

As fears of anthrax letters continued to spread around the globe, the Prime Minister's Official Residence, the Defense Agency and some media organizations on Wednesday received envelopes containing white powder that turned out to be starch.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

Government plans to buy up beef distribution stockpiles

The government plans to buy some 13,000 tons of distributors' beef stocks on a temporary basis in line with a rigorous inspection due to begin today on all cows to be processed for human consumption.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 14, 2001

Time for a quickie and some canoodling

The theme of TV Asahi's new variety show, "Jungle Book" (Tuesday, 7 p.m.) is "making friends with animals all over the world." The producers send "young rangers," who are invariably teenagers, on various "assignments" in foreign countries where they interact on a long-term basis with both domestic and...
BUSINESS
Oct 13, 2001

Chinese tariffs to cost Japan's car firms 420 billion yen

Carmakers are likely to miss out on 420 billion yen in earnings in 2002 if China retains its retaliatory import tariffs on Japanese vehicles, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association Inc. said Friday.
BUSINESS
Oct 12, 2001

Asahi's first-half profit plan turns into 60 billion yen net loss

Asahi Bank said Thursday it will post a group net loss of 60 billion yen for the six months to Sept. 30, after shouldering heavy losses from soured loans and stock market plunges.
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2001

Web gossip sparks corporate anger

Two major life insurers were battered by a swirl of rumors in September as several message boards on a popular Web site began predicting their demise.
BUSINESS
Oct 11, 2001

Starbucks perks on Nasdaq debut

OSAKA -- Starbucks Coffee Japan Ltd. made a superb debut Wednesday on the Nasdaq Japan stock market as investors scooped up shares of the high-profile firm.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2001

Tide may turn for older job-seekers as companies do away with age limits

Although age specifications have long been the bane of middle-aged and elderly job-seekers, the number of businesses moving away from this practice and hiring people on the basis of ability alone is slowly increasing.
BUSINESS
Oct 10, 2001

Economic slump hits new level of severity

The overall state of the economy has reached a new level of severity due to decelerating business activities and increasing unemployment, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday in a report.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 8, 2001

Transnistria: relic of a bygone era

TIRASPOL, Moldova -- Think of the end of the Soviet Union as the Big Bang of recent politics. The successor states are the new planets -- large or small, and subject to varying amounts of gravitational pull from Russia. And then there are the asteroids, in this case composed of breakaway republics, autonomous...
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Oct 7, 2001

From plonk to classics, Shinanoya has got it all

For wine fans, the Daita neighborhood in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward is a worthy destination. This part of town is home to one of Tokyo's most impressive wine stores. Shinanoya Shokuhin Co. has existed for 50 years. By 1998, the wine and spirits department at Shinanoya Supermarket was outgrowing its shelf...
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2001

Key economic health gauge hit zero in August

The key gauge of economic health came to zero in August, remaining well below the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent for the eighth straight month, the government said Friday in a preliminary report.
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2001

Bourse curbs sought to rein in terrorists

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi wants legislation developed to prevent terrorist groups from making profits through futures contracts on Japanese stock markets, government officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2001

Variety TV programs in demand abroad

Japanese TV variety shows, which feature skits full of lampoons, cooking contests or ideas submitted by viewers on videotape, are in growing demand in Europe and the United States.
BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2001

Komatsu to trim 10% of workforce

Komatsu Ltd. said Tuesday it will cut 2,200 jobs, or about 10 percent of its group domestic workforce, by March 2004.
JAPAN
Oct 3, 2001

Eisai fined over undeclared income

Major pharmaceutical company Eisai Co. has paid 400 million yen in penalties and back taxes for failing to properly declare about 1 billion yen in income during the two years to March 1999, industry sources said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2001

Oki revises '01 earnings estimates

Oki Electric Industry Co. said Tuesday it has downwardly revised its net balance forecast for fiscal 2001 to an 8.5 billion yen loss on a group basis. It previously forecasted a 9 billion yen profit.
BUSINESS
Oct 2, 2001

Sumitomo Marine, Mitsui Marine merge into No. 3 nonlife insurer

Sumitomo Marine & Fire Insurance Co. and Mitsui Marine & Fire Insurance Co. merged Monday to create the nation's third-biggest nonlife insurer.
BUSINESS
Sep 29, 2001

State set to answer airlines' SOS

Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Chikage Ogi expressed her readiness Friday to provide financial support for the nation's airlines to help them cope with the added financial burden of compensation payments and increased security.
BUSINESS
Sep 29, 2001

Mycal chief quits after two weeks

The failed supermarket chain Mycal Corp. announced Friday that Kazuo Urano, a director, has taken over the presidency from Kozo Yamashita, who only held the post for two weeks.
BUSINESS
Sep 27, 2001

Will dollar fall from favor?

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan sounded a somewhat optimistic note on the prospects for the U.S. economy last week.
BUSINESS
Sep 27, 2001

Tokyu Land raises profit outlook

Tokyu Land Corp. Wednesday raised its group net profit projection for the first half of the current business year to 2.5 billion yen from 500 million yen.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Sep 26, 2001

Macy Gray: 'The Id'

Webster's defines the id as "the part of the psyche that is the source of instinctual impulses and demands for satisfaction." For Macy Gray, it is simply "what you do before you think. The real you . . . unedited."
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2001

Daimaru to close Australian stores

Department store chain Daimaru Inc. said Tuesday it will close and liquidate its two stores in Australia.
BUSINESS
Sep 25, 2001

State mulls issue of reform-linked bonds

The government is considering issuing bonds that would be repaid solely with money raised from structural reforms, government sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2001

Vivre's demise will leave a gap in Osaka

OSAKA -- The bankruptcy of the Osaka-based Mycal group earlier this month sent shock waves through the business and financial worlds.

Longform

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