Livedoor denies allegations about group firm's conduct
January 18, 2006Livedoor Co. said Thursday that it has found no wrongdoing during its internal investigation into ongoing allegations about its group firm's conduct in connection with a 2004 takeover of a publisher. Livedoor released a statement shortly before the market opened for the day, saying the group firm, ValueClick Japan Inc., which now is called Livedoor Marketing Co., did not need to announce the fact that shares of the publisher, Money Life, had been held by an investment fund when it announced the takeover of the publisher on Oct. 25, 2004.
Taiwan's Chen agrees to make official visit to Libya
January 18, 2006Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian said Wednesday he has accepted an invitation from Libyan President Muammar Qaddafi to visit Libya to cultivate bilateral ties, a move expected to anger China, which has diplomatic relations with Libya. Chen made the statement during a meeting in Taipei with Qaddafi's second son Seif al-Islam Qaddafi, who heads the nongovernmental Gaddafi International Foundation of Charity Associations and is widely considered to succeed his father.
TSE to delay start of afternoon trading by 30 minutes from Thursday
January 18, 2006The Tokyo Stock Exchange said Wednesday it will delay the start of afternoon trading by 30 minutes to 1 p.m. from Thursday ''for the time being.'' The emergency step follows the TSE's suspension of trading in all listed stocks Wednesday afternoon as the number of deals rose close to its computer system's deal-making capacity amid a plunge in stocks on a Livedoor Co. scandal.
Hill hints at possible meeting with N. Korean counterpart
January 18, 2006The chief U.S. delegate to the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions on Wednesday refrained from confirming a meeting with his North Korean counterpart in Beijing, but also left open the possibility that there was a three-way meeting joined by the Chinese. ''We had a meeting hosted by the Chinese,'' Hill, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs, said at Beijing's international airport, as reporters asked him how his meeting with the North Koreans went.
Securities industry leader raps Livedoor for alleged accounting fraud
January 18, 2006The chairman of the Japanese Securities Dealers Association, Hiroshi Koshida, blasted Livedoor Co. on Wednesday for its suspected accounting fraud. Livedoor executives should be ''painfully aware'' of their responsibility for ruining market trust in corporate accounting ''now that the flow of funds is shifting to investments from savings,'' Koshida said at a press conference.
Family of late reporter sues over Nagano helicopter accident
January 18, 2006The family of a 26-year-old TV reporter who was killed in a helicopter accident in Nagano Prefecture in 2004 filed a damages suit Wednesday at the Tokyo District Court against the state, the reporter's employer and other parties, claiming they had failed to take preventive measures against the crash. Shina Miyoshi, a reporter with Shin-Etsu Broadcasting Co., died on March 7, 2004, when the chartered helicopter got caught in a power line while covering a car accident and crashed. Three other people on board, including the pilot, were also killed.
Ministers agree to promote Japanese firms' investment in India
January 18, 2006Japan and India agreed Wednesday that the two countries will strive to expand bilateral economic ties by encouraging Japanese companies to invest more in India, a Japanese official said. Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshihiro Nikai met with Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram and shared the view that a lack of necessary information currently hinders Japanese companies' investment in India, he said.
Baseball: Ex-Met Ishii likely to return to Yakult
January 18, 2006Japanese left-hander Kazuhisa Ishii is likely to return to the Yakult Swallows after spending four seasons in the major leagues, according to baseball sources. A Yakult executive said Wednesday the Central League club will have talks with Ishii on Friday for the second time this off-season, while Nippon Ham Fighters General Manager Shigeru Takada said Ishii has declined the Pacific League club's offer, a day after the Rakuten Eagles had a similar revelation.
Japan, N. Korea three-track talks to be delayed to early Feb.
January 18, 2006Japan and North Korea will delay their three-track negotiations to separately address diplomatic normalization, the abduction issue and North Korea's nuclear and missile programs from their agreed timetable in late January to early February, sources close to the bilateral talks said Wednesday. The Japanese and North Korean governments are coordinating meetings to likely occur from the week of Feb. 5, when the Lunar New Year holidays end in Beijing, which is to host the talks, the sources said.
REFILING Livedoor suspected of cooking financial report in '04 to hide red
January 18, 2006Livedoor Co. is suspected of falsifying its financial report for the year through September 2004 to make it appear that it had a profit of 1.4 billion yen -- when it was in fact in the red with a 1 billion yen loss, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The earnings manipulation is believed to have been carried out by transferring part of Livedoor affiliated companies' profits to the parent company, the sources said, adding that instructions on what to do to realize this accounting gimmick were coming from executives of the fast-growing Net services firm via e-mails.
Livedoor suspected of cooking financial report in '04 to hide red
January 18, 2006Livedoor Co. is suspected of falsifying its financial report for the year through September 2004 to make it appear that it had a profit of 1.4 billion yen -- when it was in fact in the red with a 1 billion yen loss, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The earnings manipulation is believed to have been carried out by transferring part of Livedoor affiliated companies' profits to the parent company, the sources said, adding that instructions on what to do to realize this accounting gimmick were coming from executives of the fast-growing Net services firm via e-mails.