News On Japan

KDDI may invest more in WiMax venture

Reuters — 2009-07-04 00:52:47

KDDI Corp, Japan's No.2 wireless operator, could invest more in a new WiMax venture as it hunts for market share in data services, its president said on Friday. The company, which competes with sector leader NTT DoCoMo Inc and No.3 Softbank Corp in a saturated market, hopes demand for high-speed Internet downloads and uploads on the run will help expand its revenue streams over the long term. (Reuters)

JAL to retire oldest 747s by August

Yomiuri — 2009-07-04 00:59:33

All seven Boeing 747-300 jumbo jets flown by Japan Airlines will be retired from service at the end of this month, the airline said. Currently, JAL is the country's only airline still using the earliest-generation Boeing 747, whose model numbers range from 100 to 300. (Yomiuri)

GM hybrids to use Hitachi lithium-ion batteries from '10

Japan Times — 2009-07-02 23:15:08

Electronics maker Hitachi Ltd. said Thursday it will supply lithium-ion batteries for hybrid vehicles to General Motors Corp. in 2010 and sharply raise production capacity to meet surging demand for gas-electric cars. (Japan Times)

GM pullout leaves Toyota with dilemma

Yomiuri — 2009-07-02 23:22:18

Toyota Motor Corp. now faces a dilemma following General Motors Corp.'s decision to withdraw from the two firms' joint venture in California. Will Toyota continue to run the business of New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) single-handedly, or shut down the operation? Akio Toyoda, who has recently assumed the presidency, is being urged to quickly choose between the two options. (Yomiuri)

JAL to seek 30 pct rise in international cargo charges

Reuters — 2009-07-02 23:38:47

Japan Airlines Corp (9205.T), Asia's biggest carrier by revenue, will seek a 30 percent jump in international freight rates from the middle of July as part of measures to bolster such operations, the Nikkei business daily said without citing any sources. (Reuters)

Japanese love hotels boom in the recession

huffingtonpost.com — 2009-07-03 06:14:12

In Japan, where the global financial meltdown has especially taken its toll, not all industries are languishing. In fact, one of the most notably resilient industries seems to be 'love hotels' (the kind where one may pay by the hour, rather than by the night), according to CNN. One such establishment, the Bonita Hotel in Isawa, currently enjoys a 257 percent occupancy rate. And the industry as a whole is estimated to take in $40 billion per year. (huffingtonpost.com)

Pinching Japan's noodle makers

Reuters — 2009-07-03 13:19:26

The squeeze is on for Japan's food companies. Already relatively thin, their profit margins could be chipped away by the simultaneous rise in costs and drop in consumer prices that's now underway. This pinch is turning up elsewhere. In the latest tankan survey of corporate sentiment, Japanese companies large and small reported the squeeze as an emerging problem, the Bank of Japan said this week. Predictably, it's a bigger concern among small companies with the least bargaining power on either end. (Reuters)

Japan may add noise to quiet hybrid cars for safety

AFP — 2009-07-03 13:31:44

Japan's near-silent hybrid cars have been called dangerous by the vision-impaired and some users, prompting a government review on whether to add a noise-making device, according to an official. The petrol-electric vehicles, which in recent months have become the country's top-selling autos, hum along almost soundlessly when they are switched from fuel to battery mode. (AFP)

Nomura to purchase NikkoCiti for 19 billion yen

Japan Times — 2009-07-02 02:57:45

Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's largest brokerage, said Wednesday it agreed to acquire Citigroup Inc.'s local trust banking unit for 19 billion yen to boost its asset administration business. (Japan Times)

Shinsei, Aozora to merge in 2010

Japan Times — 2009-07-02 02:57:45

Shinsei Bank and Aozora Bank said Wednesday they have reached an agreement to merge in October next year to create Japan's sixth-largest banking group with total assets of over 18 trillion yen. (Japan Times)

Kansai leads the way in 'green energy' business

Japan Times — 2009-07-02 02:57:45

An increasing number of companies in the Kansai region are taking on the challenge of developing new businesses using their own energy-saving technologies. (Japan Times)

Credit Suisse Japan Private Bank Wants 'Several Hundred' Hires

Bloomberg — 2009-07-02 03:21:38

Credit Suisse Group AG, Switzerland's biggest bank by market value, may hire hundreds of employees for its Japanese private banking business as it seeks to tap into $14.8 trillion in assets held by the nation's households. (Bloomberg)

JAL inks emergency loan accord

Japan Times — 2009-07-01 00:26:42

Japan Airlines Corp. said Tuesday it has signed a loan agreement with two government-backed lenders and three major banks in a bid to return to profitability. The five lenders are the Development Bank of Japan, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Mizuho Corporate Bank. (Japan Times)

Expwy tolls to be cut before, during Bon

Yomiuri — 2009-07-01 00:35:33

The Construction and Transport Ministry plans to extend expressway toll discounts currently implemented only on weekends and national holidays to Thursdays and Fridays before and during the weeklong Bon Festival holiday period in mid-August, the ministry said Monday. (Yomiuri)

Nissan says to begin production in Vietnam

AFP — 2009-07-01 00:44:47

Japanese automaker Nissan said Tuesday it sees "tremendous opportunities" in Vietnam and will begin local production next year, despite the effects of the financial crisis on the industry elsewhere. Nissan Vietnam Co Ltd will launch its first model assembled in the country by 2010, the automaker said in a statement. (AFP)

Bicycles strong enough to carry 2 kids hit market

AP — 2009-07-01 04:18:03

Bicycle manufacturers launched models strong enough to be ridden by an adult plus two small children Wednesday as the ban on riding bikes with two kids was lifted in almost all prefectures across Japan. The move resulted from strong objections to the ban from mostly mothers, prompting the National Police Agency to issue safety standards for bicycles suitable for being ridden with two children earlier this year. The agency had previously attempted to fully enforce the ban. (AP)

Ferry service now links Japan, South Korea, Russia

Asahi — 2009-07-01 04:21:46

The cargo-passenger ferry Eastern Dream arrives in Sakai port in Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, on Tuesday, inaugurating a new service with calls in Japan, South Korea and Russia. The 14,000-ton ferry, operated by South Korea's DBS Cruise Ferry Co., will start regular service on July 7, linking the ports of Vladivostok, Donghae (South Korea) and Sakaiminato. (Asahi)

NTT to take over Germany's Integralis

Reuters — 2009-07-01 06:55:00

A unit of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (9432.T), Japan's largest phone company, said it would buy German IT security services provider Integralis (AAGGn.DE) for about 75 million euros ($106 million) in cash. (Reuters)

Sony struggling as Walkman hits 30th anniversary

Las Vegas Sun — 2009-07-01 10:26:13

When the Sony Walkman went on sale 30 years ago, it was shown off by a skateboarder to illustrate how the portable cassette-tape player delivered music on-the-go _ a totally innovative idea back in 1979. Today, Sony Corp. is struggling to reinvent itself and win back its reputation as a pioneer of razzle-dazzle gadgetry once exemplified in the Walkman, which Wednesday had its 30th anniversary marked with a special display at Sony's corporate archives. (Las Vegas Sun)

Japan's top retailers tap into 'near-beer' market

Reuters — 2009-07-01 00:41:22

Japan's two largest retailers, Seven & I Holdings (3382.T) and Aeon Co Ltd (8267.T), are launching their own beer-substitute brands in a bid to tickle drinkers' palates while saving them money. Japanese retailers have been expanding in-house brands for everything from detergent to soft drinks in the face of the country's worst recession since World War II. But until now they have not made a full-fledged push into beer. (Reuters)

Aeon, Seven & I enter beer market

Japan Times — 2009-06-29 23:56:57

Supermarket chain operator Aeon Co. said Monday it has codeveloped with brewer Suntory Liquors Ltd. a "third-category" beerlike drink and will begin selling it for ¥100 in late July. Rival retailer Seven & I Holdings Co. said it will introduce at around the same time a similar private brand product with Suntory priced at ¥600 for a pack of six 350-ml cans. (Japan Times)

GM to halt joint venture project with Toyota in Calif.

AP — 2009-06-30 00:17:33

Bankrupt General Motors Corp. said Monday it will discontinue its joint venture project with Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. to produce the Pontiac Vibe small car in California. Toyota expressed regret about the decision. (AP)

For 1st time, firms vie for highway work

Asahi — 2009-06-30 04:25:27

For the first time in Japan's corruption-tainted, money-wasting highway industry, competition has arisen over an expressway construction and management project. Three expressway operators--East Nippon Expressway Co., Central Nippon Expressway Co. and Metropolitan Expressway Co.--have applied to the land ministry to oversee the whole project from construction to operation of a new section of the Tokyo Gaikan Expressway. (Asahi)

Japan edition of Marie Claire magazine to be suspended

AP — 2009-06-30 07:11:25

The Japanese edition of women's monthly Marie Claire will suspend publication after the September issue goes on sale on July 28, due in part to the economic doldrums, the publisher said Tuesday. Debuting in 1982, the Japanese-language edition of the magazine conceived in France and distributed worldwide in local editions had won reader support for featuring not only fashion but also novels and cinema. (AP)

Fun and fashionable rubber boots help shake off rainy season gloom

Japan Times — 2009-06-28 23:38:40

Rainy days can be a downer, especially for women who want to look fashionable but don't want to get wet in soggy and gloomy weather. Answering this dilemma, colorful and stylish water-resistant boots have grown increasingly popular in urban areas, especially in the last year. (Japan Times)