Search - 2000

 
 
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2001

Recession looms as GDP shrinks 0.2%

Japan's economy shrank during the last three months of fiscal 2000, according to government data released Monday, confirming fears that the world's second-largest economy is on the brink of another recession.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 10, 2001

Publishing still in a slump; DaVinci stays popular with young

Last month, the National Tax agency made its annual announcement of those paying more than 10 million yen in income tax and, as always, the list reflected major trends of the times.
COMMENTARY
Jun 10, 2001

Restarting Korean peace talks

Stop blowing up the balloons. Put away the ribbons and confetti. There is unlikely to be any major celebrations as we mark the first anniversary of the historic June 13-15, 2000 summit meeting in Pyongyang between South Korean President Kim Dae Jung and North Korean chairman Kim Jong Il.
BUSINESS
Jun 9, 2001

Economy to be rated down for fifth month

The government will downgrade its assessment of the economy for the fifth straight month in its report for June, Heizo Takenaka, minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, indicated Friday.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2001

Japan-Chile free-trade deal urged

Chile and the government-affiliated Japan External Trade Organization called for forming a comprehensive free-trade agreement between the two countries as soon as possible in their joint studies released Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jun 7, 2001

Banks need strong medicine to recover ratings, S&P says

Standard & Poor's Corp. said Wednesday that the slide in Japanese bank ratings is not irreversible, but that strong measures will be needed to regain credit strength because of the tough operating environment.
COMMENTARY / World / GUEST FORUM
Jun 7, 2001

Japan's efforts to responsibly manage southern bluefin tuna resources bear fruit

HONOLULU-- Australia, New Zealand, and Japan recently agreed to jointly launch an experimental fishing program for southern bluefin tuna. Quotas for southern bluefin tuna, along with Japan's unilateral experimental fishing programs, have been sources of diplomatic contention among the three countries....
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2001

New Zealand offering Japan 'soft trade' alternative: envoy

New Zealand is better-placed than other English-speaking nations to help Japan's goal of internationalizing its citizens, according to Ambassador Phillip Gibson.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 3, 2001

Past obscures Korea's nuclear future

SOLVING THE NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR PUZZLE, edited by David Albright and Kevin O'Neill. Washington, D.C.: ISIS Press, 2000, 333 pp., $29.95 (paper). We may never know how close the world came to war in 1994, but most accounts suggest the margin was slim. Suspicions about North Korea's nuclear program...
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2001

General contractors reduce workforces

Eight major general contractors, all financially ailing, cut their workforces by a combined 2,898 during fiscal 2000 as part of their rehabilitation programs, according to their employment data released Friday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jun 2, 2001

Glen S. Fukushima

"To me, the U.S. and Japan are fascinating, as they stand at polar extremes in the way their societies are organized. Philosophy, culture, history set Japan apart from other industrialized countries, especially the U.S. Having spent many years in both the U.S. and Japan, I enjoy assisting the two peoples...
BUSINESS
Jun 1, 2001

Former Nippon Credit Bank returns to black after three years

Aozora Bank, the reincarnation of Nippon Credit Bank, returned to profitability in fiscal 2000 for the first time in three years with group pretax profits of 99.1 billion yen -- a sharp upturn from the 112.6 billion yen loss the previous year.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2001

Court rejects Mizushima's claim

The Tokyo District Court on Thursday rejected a demand by former Sogo Co. Chairman Hiroo Mizushima that Sogo and its creditor, Industrial Bank of Japan, return shares of stock he voluntarily gave to the firm free of charge.
JAPAN
May 31, 2001

DoCoMo launches trial of high-speed service

NTT DoCoMo Inc. on Wednesday launched a trial run of its third-generation mobile phone service that promises to eventually allow users to watch video transmissions on their handsets.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2001

More Gucci stores, brands coming

Italian fashion giant Gucci Group N.V. will open more stores in Japan and introduce new brands this year, Gucci Group President Domenico De Sole said Wednesday at a news conference in Tokyo.
JAPAN
May 30, 2001

3,708 fewer visa violators deported

There were 51,459 foreigners deported for violation of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law in 2000, down 3,708 from the previous year, Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 29, 2001

Petrochemical firms will have to disband price cartel

The Fair Trade Commission will order seven major petrochemical firms to scrap a polypropylene price cartel and pay billions of yen in penalties, sources familiar with the case said Monday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 27, 2001

Sip your way to a green, healthy state of mind

URESHINO, Saga Pref.-- Green tea is back.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2001

Youth favors new Fuji chief

Kyoji Takenaka, the incoming president of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., is determined to make the company a full-fledged global player with "premium brand" vehicles.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2001

Two major banking groups suffer losses

Bad loans continued to make a dent in major banks' profits in fiscal 2000, even as the heat intensified to get to the bottom of the problem, according to fiscal earnings reports announced by Friday.
BUSINESS
May 25, 2001

Domestic sales rise at Toyota, Nissan, Honda

Three of Japan's five major automakers registered domestic sales expansions in April thanks to new models, according to data released Thursday.
JAPAN
May 23, 2001

Loan firms linked to rise in personal bankruptcies

With colorful billboards at train stations, TV commercials showing Brazilian soccer legend Zico or a carefree, successful young woman, major consumer loan firms seem to have shed the shady images that previously haunted them.
CULTURE / Art
May 23, 2001

Bright horizon seen from Odaiba

Reflecting the energy and vibrancy of the surrounding Odaiba district on Tokyo Bay, the "New York Philip Morris Art Award: 24 Winners from 1996 to 2000" exhibition is housed in the Fuji Television Forum, on the 22nd floor of the landmark Fuji Television Headquarters Office Tower.
JAPAN
May 22, 2001

Matsushita, Hitachi mull tieup

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Hitachi Ltd. are in the final stage of negotiating a cooperation pact that would allow them to streamline their home appliance units and compete more efficiently with foreign manufacturers.
BUSINESS
May 19, 2001

MHI posts group net loss for second year in a row

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. reported Friday a consolidated net loss of 20.35 billion yen for the 2000 business year, falling into the red for the second consecutive year.
BUSINESS
May 19, 2001

Snow Brand to abolish 1,000 jobs

Due to a sharp decline in sales after a massive outbreak of food-poisoning last summer, Snow Brand Milk Products Co. said Friday that it will cut 1,000 jobs by the end of September and close an additional three factories by the end of March.
BUSINESS
May 19, 2001

Meager gains in premiums precede mergers of insurers

Increased competition saw premium revenue rise only incrementally at Japan's largest property insurance companies, according to fiscal 2000 earnings reports released Friday.
JAPAN
May 18, 2001

'Elderly households' hit record 6.2 million

Households comprising only elderly residents or only elderly residents and children have topped 6 million for the first time, according to a survey released Thursday by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
JAPAN
May 17, 2001

Toyota's 972 billion yen profit sets Japan corporate record

Toyota Motor Corp. on Wednesday reported a 22 percent rise in group pretax profit to 972.2 billion yen for the business period that ended in March, the highest ever posted by a Japanese company.

Longform

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