Tue, 12/01/2010 - 02:41 by harsheeb
Beijing -- A drop in exports hurt Germany more than China, causing the countries to switch places as the world's No. 1 and No. 2 exporting countries, data from China said.
Chinese exports dropped 16 percent in 2009. China exported $1.2 trillion worth of goods and services last year, putting it slightly ahead of Germany, where the Federation of German Wholesale and Foreign Trade expects figures to show Germany exported $1.17 trillion in goods and services in 2009, The Washington Post said Monday.
But judging exports per capita swing the numbers the other way, as Germany's population is 80 million, while China's is about 1.3 billion, the newspaper said.
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Tue, 12/01/2010 - 02:26 by harsheeb
Tokyo -- The Oneworld airline alliance may lose its largest Asian member, Japan Airlines, in a massive restructuring effort, sources close to the company said.
JAL is on the verge of bankruptcy with more than $14.5 billion in debts and may shed 16,000 jobs in its restructuring plan, The Times of London Online reported Monday.
In the plan under consideration, the airline would also likely end up partnering with Delta Airlines, which is a member of the Sky Team alliance, sources said.
The switch of allegiance would leave Oneworld -- the partnering organization that includes American Airlines and British Airways -- with Cathay Pacific and Qantas as its primary airlines covering Asia.
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Tue, 12/01/2010 - 02:22 by harsheeb
Shiso-- A Japanese man who was born a woman and had his sex legally changed in 2008 said officials told him to register his son as an illegitimate child.
The 27-year-old Shiso man, who successfully applied for a sex change under a law passed to protect those with sexual identity disorder, said his wife gave birth to a son in November using donated semen from his brother.
However, he said officials told him when he attempted to register the child he would have to classify him as illegitimate.
The man, who married one month after legally changing his sex in March 2008, said he has sent a request to the city office for further consideration and is waiting to hear back.
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Sat, 09/01/2010 - 09:06 by harsheeb
Tokyo -- Japan's transportation minister Seiji Maehara said the government would find "the ultimate solution" for Japan Airlines, which appears headed for bankruptcy.
"The problem was long postponed by the Liberal Democratic Party. With a change in government, we will find the ultimate solution," he said of JAL,which has already been bailed out by the government on four occasions, The New York Times reported Friday.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who took office in September, said the government would continue to "make efforts to make sure JAL's operations are not disrupted."
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Fri, 08/01/2010 - 10:27 by Rakhi Kaptiyal
Tokyo -- The Japanese Cabinet met Friday to decide on how the ailing Japan Airlines can be turned around.
The ministers, including newly appointed Finance Minister Naoto Kan and Transport Minister Seiji Maehara, discussed whether to let the carrier be restructured through bankruptcy court proceedings or under an out-of-court plan supported by private creditor banks -- which are concerned a bankruptcy restructuring option would further adversely impact JAL's operations, Kyodo News reported.
The government needs to make its decision as the state-supported Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. announces its bailout package later this month, the report said.
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Fri, 08/01/2010 - 10:20 by Rakhi Kaptiyal
Tokyo -- Japan's key Nikkei 225 stock index was trading higher Friday as the yen weakened on comments by the country's new Finance Minister Naoto Kan.
The U.S. dollar had risen to about 93 yen in early trading in response to Kan's remarks the previous day that he favored a weaker currency. A lower yen helps boost exports, which is critical for Japan's export-dependent economy.
Kan, currently the deputy prime minister, will also hold the finance minister portfolio, succeeding Hirohisa Fujii. In his first public comment after taking over the job Thursday, Kan said many Japanese companies supported a weaker yen, around 95 to the U.S. dollar, the Financial Times reported.
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Mon, 28/12/2009 - 12:57 by Jamie Anderson
Tokyo, December 28 -- Going through the bankruptcy court may well be an option for Japan Airlines Corp (9205.T) if it goes in for a state-backed turnaround fund.
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Sun, 27/12/2009 - 10:17 by Rakhi Kaptiyal
Oamishirasato, Japan -- Hundreds of thousands of dead anchovies have created a nasty stink on the Kujukuri-hama coast of Japan's Chiba Prefecture, officials said.
The fish were buried in the sand Friday by government workers, but the stench lingers, residents told The Japan Times.
The anchovies washed up Wednesday, covering nearly 2,000 feet of beach in the town of Oamishirasato.
Fish sometimes wash up onto beaches when they are chased into shallow water by large schools of fish, said Michio Ishida, a spokesman for Chiba Prefecture.
"It seems lots of (anchovies) are swimming offshore now because we saw many birds flying over the sea," Ishida told the newspaper.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International.
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Thu, 17/12/2009 - 19:14 by Neka Sehgal
Tokyo, December 17 -- Final Fantasy XIII, the eagerly awaited version of the celebrated bloodline series in which heroes save the world in an intricate computerized background, was officially launched across the Japanese territory Thursday.
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Tue, 15/12/2009 - 07:26 by harsheeb
Tokyo -- Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. said it would ready for a large scale release of a plug-in Prius vehicle by 2011.
In the world of alternative-fueled vehicles, the race is on between major companies. General Motors Corp. expects to sell the Chevrolet Volt plug-in at a rate of 60,000 per year by late 2010, The New York Times reported Monday.
Volkswagen, Ford, and Nissan have electric cars in various stages of development.
Toyota did not give a specific number, but said "several tens of thousands," of plug-in Prius hybrids would be in showrooms in 2011.
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Thu, 10/12/2009 - 05:33 by harsheeb
Wolfsburg -- German automaker Volkswagen said Wednesday it would pay $2.5 billion for a 19.9 percent stake in Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp.
The move follows an October agreement for Volkswagen to purchase 49.9 percent of Porsche for about $6 billion and gives the German company an instant vantage point to approach markets of India and southeast Asia, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
Suzuki owns 54 percent of Maruti Suzuki, a partnership with the Indian company that could also allow Volkswagen to approach the European market with small car technology developed in Japan and India.
Volkswagen also said it's goal was to climb to the top in global sales.
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Wed, 09/12/2009 - 12:03 by shalini.bahadur
Tokyo -- Japan's economy, facing declining prices and lower capital spending, grew 1.3 percent in the last quarter against an earlier estimate of 4.8 percent.
The Cabinet office said the sharp downward revision from the previous preliminary figures for the quarter ended September was largely due to weaker capital investment, Kyodo News reported.
While the world's second-largest economy, recovering from its worst post-war recession, showed continued growth, the pace was slower than in the April-June quarter, the government said.
"The latest data showed anew that companies remain reluctant to make fresh capital investment," spokesman Keisuke Tsumura told reporters.
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