Toyota union to demand 1,000-yen monthly wage hike
February 13, 2006The 58,000-worker union of Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday it has decided to demand a monthly 1,000 yen hike in its basic wage scale in the first demand for a hike in the scale in four years. Adding this demand to a wage rise accruing from the automaker's annual seniority-based wage hike system, the union will demand a combined 7,900 yen per worker at this year's spring labor-management wage talks, the union said.
Keidanren to have Livedoor refrain from member activities
February 13, 2006Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, said Monday that Livedoor Co. will refrain from activities as a member of the major business lobby for a while, now that criminal charges have been brought against the company and its former top executives. The group intends to take new disciplinary action against the Internet company, which is being charged with stock manipulation and accounting fraud, after ascertaining the outcome of the ongoing investigations, Okuda also told a press conference.
7 top chipmakers' capital outlays to near 1 tril. yen in FY 2006
February 13, 2006Japan's seven major semiconductor makers are expected to disburse a total of 984 billion yen under their capital investment programs for their current fiscal years ending in March, according to data that had been released by the companies by Monday. They are expanding their facilities to meet robust demand for system chips used in flat-screen TVs and digital home appliances and flash memories employed in portable music players, among others.