Search - 2002

 
 
EDITORIALS
Mar 25, 2002

More needed than festive spirit

This year is a special one for Japan and South Korea. Not only does the World Cup kick off in two months' time, but 2002 has also been designated the "Year of People-to-People Exchange Between Japan and the Republic of Korea." The governments of both countries have high hopes that the successful cohosting...
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2002

Pay-scale freeze may extend to '03

The chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association on Wednesday said if deflationary pressure continues in Japan, no pay-scale increases will be possible, even after 2003.
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2002

JAMA says sales of autos will rise

Fiscal 2002 will see 5.86 million autos sold domestically, up 0.1 percent from the current fiscal year, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Wednesday.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Mar 21, 2002

U.S. rebound ends spiral in Tokyo stocks

Tokyo stocks are in vogue again after being hammered for months.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 20, 2002

JT readers like Giants, Hawks in Japan Series

The Yomiuri Giants will edge the Yakult Swallows in the Central League, and the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks will slip by the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes in the Pacific League, creating a Giants-Hawks matchup in the 2002 Japan Series come October. So says the consensus of predictions of nine readers and yours truly...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Mar 20, 2002

VOCA roundup is a right royal letdown

It's been almost 100 years since Wassily Kandinsky began creating what are generally regarded as the first purely abstract paintings. The Russian's "compositions," as he termed them, freed him from representation and opened up a new world of expressive possibilities. These were fully explored in the...
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2002

Capital outlays to fall nationwide

Private capital investment in all 10 regions of Japan will drop in fiscal 2002 from the previous year for the first time in four years, according to a survey released Monday by the governmental Development Bank of Japan.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 19, 2002

A rendezvous with the master

During a recent interview at his home in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Arthur C. Clarke displayed a youthful enthusiasm that belied his 84 years. Clad in a batik sarong and pastel shirt with a dolphin motif, the wheelchair-bound author of "2001: A Space Odyssey" was short of breath and complained that he was tired...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Feb 28, 2002

Salt Lake City Games spark Gold War

MOSCOW -- Moscow is furious, Russia indignant. President Vladimir Putin frowns, the Russian Parliament wails. The people would be burning American flags in the streets if they could get some. The hotheads are already talking about boycotting McDonald's and "The Lord of the Rings." The nation feels humiliated...
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2002

Fight against deflation like a many-edged sword

The government plans to formalize a comprehensive policy package Wednesday to combat deflation.
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2002

Views from Davos mixed: Tyson

After returning from the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, in early February, Laura d'Andrea Tyson, the new dean of the London Business School, gave the delegates and speakers an overview of the attitudes expressed at the meeting over lunch.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Feb 21, 2002

Silver lining in Enron scandal: campaign finance reform

WASHINGTON -- It may look like Enron Corp. is the only game in town, but that would be far from the truth. A lot is going on these days, although Enron certainly has taken a big chunk of the capital's attention. There are hearings galore and press conferences in between. To what end? Good question. This...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 18, 2002

Hopeful bond sellers should strike while the iron is hot

Long-term interest rates are on an upward trend both in Japan and the United States. The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond has recently been in the 1.5 percent range, while market rates on 10-year U.S. government bonds have been hovering at around 5 percent — the same as at the beginning...
EDITORIALS
Feb 13, 2002

Reading between the lines

According to the financial mandarins of the Group of Seven, the global economy has turned the corner. Despite recession in Japan and the United States, the world's leading economies, and the shock created by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the international outlook has improved. The statement released...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2002

Shiokawa backpedals on 1% growth pledge

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa apparently backtracked Tuesday on his weekend assertion that Japan's economy will grow 1 percent in fiscal 2003.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 6, 2002

This could be Year of the Homer in PL

At first glance, you might think the new Japanese strike zone will benefit pitchers and be a hindrance to batters this coming season. The zone has been raised more than the diameter of one baseball, but I believe it will be the hitters -- not the hurlers -- who will get the most advantage out of the...
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2002

Shiokawa wants quick budget OK

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa on Monday called for swift passage of a 81.23 trillion yen general-account budget for fiscal 2002, designed to accommodate structural reform measures pursued by the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2002

Diet passes 2.5 trillion yen extra budget

The Diet on Friday passed the government-proposed 2.5 trillion yen second supplementary budget for the current fiscal year, securing funds for programs to shore up the economy and prevent it from falling into a deflationary spiral.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2002

Japan unlikely to increase ODA spending in fiscal '03

Japan is unlikely to increase its official development assistance in fiscal 2003 despite growing international calls for more funds, government officials said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Jan 21, 2002

Rule out leadership change

At the beginning of 2002, the political situation in Japan appears relatively stable. Compared with 2001, which witnessed a series of radical changes, the new year is likely to see Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi pushing his reform plans ahead on the back of his huge popularity.
BUSINESS
Jan 19, 2002

End of deflation expected in '03

Japan will see the end of deflation and achieve slight positive growth in fiscal 2003, when the government's structural reform programs and the Bank of Japan's credit-easing steps begin to take effect, a key government panel said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2002

Tokyo to spend 5% less during next fiscal year

Reflecting the deepening economic slump, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's draft fiscal 2002 budget, revealed Thursday, marks a 4.8 percent decrease from the initial budget for the current fiscal year, coming to 5.907 trillion yen.
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2002

Koizumi downplays talk of March economic crisis

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi brushed aside speculation Thursday that Japan may fall into a financial crisis in March, pledging that he would not let that happen.
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2002

Tokyo set to cut the umbilical cord

An aging, even failing, parent still carrying a grown-up child piggyback is about to stave off collapse by finally letting the child walk by itself -- at least for a short distance.
EDITORIALS
Jan 14, 2002

Relief step best left unused

Banks were once regarded as a symbol of financial security. People deposited money with banks, confident that it would be fully protected. Bank failure was simply out of the question. The myth of the "invincible bank" collapsed following the burst of the economic bubble a decade ago. Now depositors know...
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2002

A new framework for stability

The Korean Peninsula remains a potential flash point. The question for 2002 is whether North and South Korea, still technically at war, will be able to promote stability in the region. The answer partly depends on how domestic politics develops in South Korea, which will hold local elections in June...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 9, 2002

Japanese clubs load up on foreign help

A Happy New Year to all readers of The Japan Times and the Baseball Bullet-in.

Longform

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