FamilyMart Co. , a major Japanese convenience store chain, plans to set up a beverage production company later this month to secure a stable supply of private-brand products, company officials said Friday. The move comes as retailers across Japan are

Electricity sales to large-lot industrial users by 10 major Japanese power suppliers rose 2.2 pct from a year before to a record 25,976 million kilowatt-hours in June, industry data showed Friday. June marked the 35th straight month of increase, the

Japanese toy maker Tomy Co. plans to strengthen marketing strategies for home-use game software in the United States and Europe, targeting overseas sales of 6 billion yen in fiscal 2010, company officials said Friday. To achieve the target, the company,

Japan Airlines is considering ending its daily round-trip flights connecting Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture with Hakodate, Hokkaido, and Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture, by March 2009, informed sources said Friday. The airline will also scrap the flight service it runs

Stocks gave up their early gains to finish lower on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Friday, as lingering concern about the credit crisis in the United States outweighed the impact of Wall Street's powerful two-day rally. The 225-issue Nikkei average lost

Japan's largest social networking Web site operator Mixi Inc. has established a wholly owned subsidiary in Shanghai to launch services in the Chinese market, company officials said Friday. Mixi plans to launch its social networking services in China as early

Gyudon" beef bowl restaurant operator Yoshinoya Holdings Co. said Friday it will launch a tender offer to take control of major steak restaurant operator Don Co. . Under the tender offer, which will run from Tuesday to Aug. 19, Yoshinoya

A week has passed since Apple Inc.'s iPhone 3G went on sale in Japan to long lines of eagerly waiting gadget fans, and the frenzy continues unabated with many stores running short of supplies. Opinion among industry experts, however, is

Yahoo Japan Corp. Friday disputed media reports that U.S. Internet giant Yahoo Inc. may sold its shareholdings in the Japanese company. The reports are based on misunderstandings about a letter sent by the U.S. company to shareholders, Yahoo Japan said

Tokyo stocks are expected to remain shaky next week amid caution about a series of earnings announcements by major Japanese and U.S. firms. "April-June earnings from Japanese companies are likely to be solid due to factors such as a weaker-than-expected