from the September 22 Nikkei

アマゾン、薬ネット販売　４０００品目を即日配送　来月にも　価格競争に拍車

It was learned that Amazon Japan K.K., based in Meguro, Tokyo, a domestic leading firm for the Internet mail order services, was going to begin to sell nonprescription drugs in October. Acording to the company's plan, they will likely deal with more than as many as 4,000 items. In some areas people can get their orders delived on the same day. It is said that about 50 million people a month make use of the firm's services. With the firm's services having got such popularity among people, it has so far made a leading role in price-cutting competition in various fields. In the pharamaceutical marketing area also, the move will surely accelerate the price-cutting war.

from the September 24 Nikkei

景気「増税後も改善」４割　消費税８％　設備投資けん引　現状は「拡大」が９割

The Nikkeishimbun had carried out the survey of the so-called " One Hundred Presidents Questionnaire",asking how they would think of the economy a year ahead,on the assumption that cunsumption tax rate would be raised to 8 % next April, and made public its compiled result. According to the data, 41.1 percent of the respondents said that the economy would more pick up than the present. Many of them said that the capital investment would increase and the consumer spending would be stable,too.
As to the present economy, 93.8 percent said the economy was expanding steadily.

from the September 15 Nikkei

シリア化学兵器　廃棄合意　米ロ、来年前半までに　軍事介入見送り

On Saturday in Geneva, aSwitzerland, Jon Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, and his Russain counterpart Segey Lavrov, the Foreign Minister of Russia, agreed on the farmework urging the Syrian regime to abondon its chemical weapons. The agreement's pillar is that the Assad Administration should accept the inspection by the UN and abolish all the weapons it posesses now within the first half of 2014. Some say there is still uncertainty that this might not be realized. But,anyway,at least for the time being, this deal made the U.S. refrain from implementing its military action in Syria.

from the Spetember 25 Nikkei

半導体装置で日米統合　再編が加速　３位東京エレク　首位アプライド

On Tuesday Tokyo Electron Ltd. and Appleied Materials, Inc. announce a plan that they would integtare their businesses in the latter half of 2014. Tokyo electron and Applied Materials are ranked third and first,respectively,in the semiconductor-manufacturing equipment market in the world. According to the current their scheme, they are planing to set up a holding company, which will control the two firms. This means an integration in the high-technology field of U.S. and Japanese leading companies, and creation of the world's biggest firm in the field.
And this move will surely accelerate the alignment of the semiconductor industry in the world from now, as advancement of semiconductor business is progressing, with the device of smartphones spread among people.

from today's Nikkei

夫婦年収３６０万円メド　介護保険　２割負担に上げ　厚生省案　高齢者５人に１人対象

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced a plan on Wednesday to revise the the current nursing insurance system. At present,people are in a uniform way to pay 10 % of the total necessary cost. However, the minisytry intends to raise the percentage of people's burden up to 20 %, if their anual incomes are more than a ceratin amount. A draft idea concerning the threshhold annual incomes of the couple is about 3.6 million yen including their pension benifits. One of five aged people are expected to be included in the new category, if the current draft reviosn is realized.