from September 25 Nikkei

トヨタ、残業制限を撤廃　若手指導の時間確保　人材育成で競争力　営業・管理　国内２万人対象

Toyota Corporation has recently abolished its rule of ban on overtime work having been applied to almost all the workplace of management and clerical departments like sales and accounting ones.

This is done because a certain recovery of its business has come to be seen.Another,but more basic,reason for the comapny's change of policy is that Toyota has come to understand nurturing human resources and enhancing its potential is very vital for keping its competence.

The number of employees targeted by the policy is about 20,000 at home.Through this change, from now on,vetrean and middle-standing employees will be able to find enough time to teach young employees in the workplace.

from today's Nikkei

日本独自のネット新規格　総務省実証実験　NTTなどと　２０年実用化へ　通信を効率選択　高速・大容量に

It has been learned recently that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has a plan to establish a new protocol of Japan's own idea for the Internet communication, which is dubbed "New Generation Network." Along with private companies such as Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation and NEC Corporation,the ministry will start the field reresarch in fiscal 2011 with the investment of some 30 billion yen.In the new protocol, the communication speed is expected to be far faster,at least more than ten times the present. As other features,security and efficiency will be also greatly enhanced, because an optimal communication route is selected automatically for each usage. By fiscal 2020 the ministry hope it will have been realized.

from September 19 Nikkei

光ケーブル　住友電工、中国で一環生産　中核材料量産　首位の米社に先行　フジクラも
１２月から


According to sources, Sumitomo Electric Industries, the world's second largest producer of optical fiber cables, will start production of optical fiber cables from start to final in China. There Sumitomo is going to mass-produce glass preforms, core materials for optical fibers, the production for which needs a very high quality of technology. In China there is almost a half demand in the world for the optical fibers and also a possibility the demand is further expanding. Major optical fiber manufactures of the U.S. and Japan have refrained from daring to manufacture the products in China due to the concern for the technological expertise leakage. So the deal by Sumitomo forestalls U.S. rivals. Another Japanese company which is advancing there is Fujikura, which is to start the production of glass preforms in December.

from September 20 Nikkei

国民保険料　上限上げ　零年度　２～４万円　中所得層は負担減　厚労省方針　制度間の格差是正も

According to sources, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has decided to revise the nationla public pension's premium from next fiscal year.At present,the national public pensions are managed and operated by each municipalitiy of city, town or village, whose membership consists of the self-employed or others.The ministry's plan says that the ceiling of the premium burden for the high income earners should be raised and,on the other hand, the burden for the people of the middle income class should be decreased.Specifically,the ceiling of the annual premium burden should be raised by 20,000 to 40,000 yen a year for the rich people, including the nursing care insurance premium, so that the annual ceiling comes to be up to 770,000 yen, while the premium for the middle class people is decreased.The revision is also aimed at narrowing the gap between the pension systems including the private company employees' penshion system, whose annual ceiling of the burden of the premium for a person is 1.08 miilion yen.

from today's Nikkei

株式売買　日米欧で低迷　２年で代金３割減　デフレ懸念背景

It has become increasingly conspicuous that the stock trading in the markets of advanced economies has been declining gradually. The acuumulated value of stock trading in August this year in the major markets of Japan, the U.S. and Europe was less than 3 triilion dollars, about more than 30% less than that in August,2008,when was just before the so-cakked Lehman Shock.This is becuase investors are keeping away from investing in stocks due to a slim expectation of stock price increasing against the backdrop of long lasting concern for deflation.