[TODAY'S TOP STORIES] from [The Japan Times]
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Trade conflicts loom amid protectionist steps
(Kyodo News) Japan must be ready for possible trade conflicts over such policies as China's plan to force some foreign-made information technology products to pass the country's certification and the controversial "Buy American" provision by the United States, a government report said Wednesday.
The annual report, released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, stresses that the world has become inclined to protectionism amid the current economic slump, with some countries taking actions that contradict the principle of trade liberalization under the World Trade Organization.
The report cites a total of 118 policies and measures taken by other countries and regions. The number is up from 113 in last year's report.
China says it plans to introduce a compulsory certification program in May next year for the public procurement of computer software that installs fire walls as well as some other IT security products.
The Chinese government says the policy is for its own national security and designed to prevent cyber terrorism through such means as computer viruses.
However, major economies including Japan, the United States and the European Union fear the program would enable Beijing to obtain otherwise secret information about those technology products.
Japan is likely to press China to drop the plan when economic ministers from the two countries hold a regular high-level meeting next month.
Protests have been also increasing toward the "Buy American" measures with U.S. President Barack Obama facing mounting pressure to retract them.
The measures came as part of the recent U.S. economic stimulus package, requiring any project funded by stimulus money to use only U.S.-made steel, iron and other products.
Facing criticism from its trading partners, the U.S. says the measures do not contravene existing U.S. trade agreements.
METI's report says the government "will seek to address those issues through the WTO's multilateral negotiation framework or in bilateral talks" with the countries concerned.
It identifies 15 priority issues, including Russia's higher tariffs on auto imports and the European Union's tariffs on some IT products that Japan believes should be tax-free. The number grew from nine in the 2008 report.
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Toyota resumes overtime work as Prius demand climbs
NAGOYA (Kyodo) Toyota Motor Corp. employees at two Aichi Prefecture factories will put in some overtime next month for the first time in six months thanks to strong demand for the Prius hybrid, company officials said Wednesday.
Toyota will boost production of the Prius by about 20 percent from its initial plan of 42,000 to 43,000 per month, to around 50,000 units, they said.
To meet the increase, the company will ask employees at two factories producing the Prius — one in the city of Toyota and another run by Toyota Auto Body Co., a major affiliated parts maker, in the city of Kariya — to work overtime.
Because the subcontractor's capacity to supply parts is limited, each employee is expected to work only 15 minutes extra for now.
In line with the global economic downturn, Toyota has cut production to adjust inventory. As a result, its factory workers have been given more days off while some production lines remain idle.
The new Prius hybrid has changed the situation at the two Aichi factories since it debuted May 18.
Despite its better fuel rating, it carries a price tag of \2.05 million, \280,000 lower than the previous version. The price is aimed directly at Honda Motor Co.'s Insight hybrid, whose basic model is available for \1.89 million.
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Thursday, May 28, 2009
102 parts firms may lose if GM files
(Kyodo News) There are 102 parts suppliers and other Japanese companies who may not be able to recover accounts receivable from General Motors Corp. if the automotive giant files for bankruptcy, a leading credit research agency said Wednesday.
Although many of the firms filed applications requesting that the U.S. government guarantee the receivables with a $5 billion Treasury Department program, not all of them qualified for the federal assistance, Teikoku Databank said.
"The potential risk of a bankruptcy filing triggering turbulence (among corporate creditors) is in place," the research agency warned.
A total of 133 Japanese companies, including Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Aisin Seiki Co. and Bridgestone Corp., have business ties with GM. Of them, 31 sell GM products or provide maintenance services in Japan.
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Thursday, May 28, 2009
J-Power in talks to buy three U.S. plants as domestic demand slows
(Bloomberg) J-Power is in talks to acquire three plants in the United States this year to help more than double its generation capacity in the world's biggest energy market as demand slows at home, according to one of the company's senior executives.
The utility, officially known as Electric Power Development Co., may sign agreements to buy part or all of three natural gas-fired stations on the U.S. East Coast, said Masayoshi Kitamura, J-Power's executive vice president who is due to replace Yoshihiko Nakagaki as president next month.
He declined to name the plants as negotiations are still under way.
Utilities including Tokyo Electric Power Co. are expanding overseas as a shrinking population and energy-saving measures curb power use in Japan.
J-Power, the country's largest electricity wholesaler, will spend as much as \10 billion a year through March 2013 on plant acquisitions in the U.S. and also plans to add assets in China, Thailand and Indonesia, the 62-year-old Kitamura said.
"J-Power and other Japanese utilities may be compelled to take one of two courses — tap overseas markets or drastically diversify their core businesses at home," said Hirofumi Kawachi, a senior analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. "Local electricity demand will probably grow at a slower annual pace of about 1 percent in the next decade, and it may ride a downward trend in the following decade."
The three plants would add as much as 1,500 megawatts to the combined 1,300-megawatt capacity of the seven stations in the U.S. in which J-Power already holds stakes, Kitamura said.
J-Power has formed a 50-50 joint venture with John Hancock Life Insurance Co. to look for suitable acquisitions. The venture, J-Power U.S.A. Generation L.P., signed agreements in December to buy three gas-fired plants in New York and Virginia.
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Thursday, May 28, 2009
DoCoMo to enable money transfers
(Kyodo News) Mobile phone service giant NTT DoCoMo Inc. is planning to tie up with Mizuho Bank to enable mobile phone subscribers to wire money to another subscriber without having to know the payee's bank account number, industry sources said Wednesday.
DoCoMo customers will only be required to put the cell phone number of the payee into their mobile phone and the payee will be required to specify bank accounts to which Mizuho Bank will transfer the money, the sources said.
Money wired in this way will be billed along with phone charges.
DoCoMo may launch the service as early as this summer, if the Financial Services Agency gives approval in time, they said.
KDDI Corp. offers a similar remittance service but requires customers to open accounts with a designated bank.
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Trade conflicts loom amid protectionist steps
(Kyodo News) Japan must be ready for possible trade conflicts over such policies as China's plan to force some foreign-made information technology products to pass the country's certification and the controversial "Buy American" provision by the United States, a government report said Wednesday.
The annual report, released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, stresses that the world has become inclined to protectionism amid the current economic slump, with some countries taking actions that contradict the principle of trade liberalization under the World Trade Organization.
The report cites a total of 118 policies and measures taken by other countries and regions. The number is up from 113 in last year's report.
China says it plans to introduce a compulsory certification program in May next year for the public procurement of computer software that installs fire walls as well as some other IT security products.
The Chinese government says the policy is for its own national security and designed to prevent cyber terrorism through such means as computer viruses.
However, major economies including Japan, the United States and the European Union fear the program would enable Beijing to obtain otherwise secret information about those technology products.
Japan is likely to press China to drop the plan when economic ministers from the two countries hold a regular high-level meeting next month.
Protests have been also increasing toward the "Buy American" measures with U.S. President Barack Obama facing mounting pressure to retract them.
The measures came as part of the recent U.S. economic stimulus package, requiring any project funded by stimulus money to use only U.S.-made steel, iron and other products.
Facing criticism from its trading partners, the U.S. says the measures do not contravene existing U.S. trade agreements.
METI's report says the government "will seek to address those issues through the WTO's multilateral negotiation framework or in bilateral talks" with the countries concerned.
It identifies 15 priority issues, including Russia's higher tariffs on auto imports and the European Union's tariffs on some IT products that Japan believes should be tax-free. The number grew from nine in the 2008 report.
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Toyota resumes overtime work as Prius demand climbs
NAGOYA (Kyodo) Toyota Motor Corp. employees at two Aichi Prefecture factories will put in some overtime next month for the first time in six months thanks to strong demand for the Prius hybrid, company officials said Wednesday.
Toyota will boost production of the Prius by about 20 percent from its initial plan of 42,000 to 43,000 per month, to around 50,000 units, they said.
To meet the increase, the company will ask employees at two factories producing the Prius — one in the city of Toyota and another run by Toyota Auto Body Co., a major affiliated parts maker, in the city of Kariya — to work overtime.
Because the subcontractor's capacity to supply parts is limited, each employee is expected to work only 15 minutes extra for now.
In line with the global economic downturn, Toyota has cut production to adjust inventory. As a result, its factory workers have been given more days off while some production lines remain idle.
The new Prius hybrid has changed the situation at the two Aichi factories since it debuted May 18.
Despite its better fuel rating, it carries a price tag of \2.05 million, \280,000 lower than the previous version. The price is aimed directly at Honda Motor Co.'s Insight hybrid, whose basic model is available for \1.89 million.
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Thursday, May 28, 2009
102 parts firms may lose if GM files
(Kyodo News) There are 102 parts suppliers and other Japanese companies who may not be able to recover accounts receivable from General Motors Corp. if the automotive giant files for bankruptcy, a leading credit research agency said Wednesday.
Although many of the firms filed applications requesting that the U.S. government guarantee the receivables with a $5 billion Treasury Department program, not all of them qualified for the federal assistance, Teikoku Databank said.
"The potential risk of a bankruptcy filing triggering turbulence (among corporate creditors) is in place," the research agency warned.
A total of 133 Japanese companies, including Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Aisin Seiki Co. and Bridgestone Corp., have business ties with GM. Of them, 31 sell GM products or provide maintenance services in Japan.
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Thursday, May 28, 2009
J-Power in talks to buy three U.S. plants as domestic demand slows
(Bloomberg) J-Power is in talks to acquire three plants in the United States this year to help more than double its generation capacity in the world's biggest energy market as demand slows at home, according to one of the company's senior executives.
The utility, officially known as Electric Power Development Co., may sign agreements to buy part or all of three natural gas-fired stations on the U.S. East Coast, said Masayoshi Kitamura, J-Power's executive vice president who is due to replace Yoshihiko Nakagaki as president next month.
He declined to name the plants as negotiations are still under way.
Utilities including Tokyo Electric Power Co. are expanding overseas as a shrinking population and energy-saving measures curb power use in Japan.
J-Power, the country's largest electricity wholesaler, will spend as much as \10 billion a year through March 2013 on plant acquisitions in the U.S. and also plans to add assets in China, Thailand and Indonesia, the 62-year-old Kitamura said.
"J-Power and other Japanese utilities may be compelled to take one of two courses — tap overseas markets or drastically diversify their core businesses at home," said Hirofumi Kawachi, a senior analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. "Local electricity demand will probably grow at a slower annual pace of about 1 percent in the next decade, and it may ride a downward trend in the following decade."
The three plants would add as much as 1,500 megawatts to the combined 1,300-megawatt capacity of the seven stations in the U.S. in which J-Power already holds stakes, Kitamura said.
J-Power has formed a 50-50 joint venture with John Hancock Life Insurance Co. to look for suitable acquisitions. The venture, J-Power U.S.A. Generation L.P., signed agreements in December to buy three gas-fired plants in New York and Virginia.
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Thursday, May 28, 2009
DoCoMo to enable money transfers
(Kyodo News) Mobile phone service giant NTT DoCoMo Inc. is planning to tie up with Mizuho Bank to enable mobile phone subscribers to wire money to another subscriber without having to know the payee's bank account number, industry sources said Wednesday.
DoCoMo customers will only be required to put the cell phone number of the payee into their mobile phone and the payee will be required to specify bank accounts to which Mizuho Bank will transfer the money, the sources said.
Money wired in this way will be billed along with phone charges.
DoCoMo may launch the service as early as this summer, if the Financial Services Agency gives approval in time, they said.
KDDI Corp. offers a similar remittance service but requires customers to open accounts with a designated bank.
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