DoCoMo eyes 3% stake in Fuji TV for cellphone broadcast tie-up
December 20, 2005NTT DoCoMo Inc. is in final talks with Fuji Television Network Inc. to take a 3 percent equity stake in the broadcaster and on forming an extensive partnership in digital broadcasting for cellular phones, industry sources said Wednesday. Fuji Television released a statement confirming the negotiations with the nation's largest mobile phone service provider. It would be the first capital investment in Japan by a telecom firm in a terrestrial broadcasting station.
Seibu Railway shareholders OK plan to reorganize group operations
December 20, 2005Shareholders of Seibu Railway Co. endorsed a plan on Wednesday to reorganize the company's group operations under a holding firm, a move that will end control of the railway and resort conglomerate by Kokudo Corp. and business tycoon Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, who has received a suspended prison term for insider trading and falsifying statements. NW Corp., the holding company which was established Nov. 29, will have a railroad company and a hotel and leisure facility operator under its wing.
Auto unions to demand pay hike in talks with management next spring
December 20, 2005The Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers' Unions decided Tuesday to demand a wage increase in pay negotiations with management next spring for the first time in four years, union officials said. The JAW thus joined other key labor unions under the Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions, such as the Japanese Electrical, Electronic & Information Union, that have already decided to demand pay hikes in the coming negotiations.
Condo supply in 2006 likely to top 80,000 for 8th straight year
December 20, 2005The number of condominiums put up for sale in the Tokyo metropolitan area in 2006 is expected to stay high at around 85,000 units, a research institute forecast Tuesday, dismissing concern over the impact of a high-profile building data fabrication scandal. It would mark the eighth consecutive year that the supply eclipses 80,000 units, according to the Real Estate Economic Institute.
Toyota aims to sell 8.85 million cars globally in 2006
December 20, 2005Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it has boosted its earlier target for the group's combined global vehicle sales for 2006 to 8.85 million units, up 9 percent from the previous year. Global vehicle production by Toyota and two affiliates -- Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd. -- came close to the world's top automaker General Motors Corp.'s sales of 8.99 million units in 2004.