Arakawa to head Bridgestone
January 12, 2006Tire manufacturer Bridgestone Corp. said Thursday that Vice President Shoshi Arakawa will be named president on March 30 to replace Shigeo Watanabe who will become director-consultant. The leadership replacement comes as Bridgestone hopes to improve its corporate image and earnings that dwindled due to its recall of tires in the United States in 2000, industry sources said.
Auto union group to demand pay hikes for 1st time in 4 years
January 12, 2006The Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers' Unions will demand pay hikes this year for the first time in four years, the chairman of the 680,000-strong labor group said Thursday. ''We hope to see workers at as many as 1,000 unions gain wage increases,'' Yuji Kato said.