■ Economy
Omi thinks deflation over
Japanese Finance Minister Koji Omi said yesterday that the Japanese economy has finally beaten deflation, breaking from the government's previously stated view that mild price falls continued. "Looking at the economy in general, we can declare an end to deflation," Omi said. "It is unnatural for us not to announce the end to deflation at this moment," he told a press conference. The government has so far been cautious about publicly declaring an end to almost eight years of falling consumer prices. Omi said his remarks were personal and not the official view.
■ Telecoms
Screaming phone launched
A service launched on Monday is designed to deter mobile phone theft by equipping telephones with an ear-piercing scream. The screaming won't stop unless the battery is removed. Even if the thief replaces the phone's SIM card, the handset will not work. All customers' information is centrally stored, so contacts, ringtones, pictures, texts and other data can be retrieved when a new handset is purchased. The service costs about £10 (US$18) a month. The goal of the service is to make mobile phones useless to anyone but the rightful owner, said Mark Whiteman, the managing director of Remote XT. "We'll see the market for stolen handsets stamped out once and for all," he said.
■ Automobiles
Nissan to hold to deadline
A senior Nissan Motor Co executive said yesterday that his company will conclude talks on a possible tie-up with General Motors Corp and Renault SA by the middle of next month, as planned. Nissan chief operating officer Toshiyuki Shiga declined to comment on a remark by GM chief executive Richard Wagoner that the three parties could extend their talks over a potential alliance. Wagoner said last Thursday that GM could continue to study a potential alliance with Renault and Nissan beyond the initial Oct. 15 deadline for their talks. Shiga said the GM chief and Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive officer of both Nissan and Renault, won't meet before that date.
■ Breweries
Sapporo extends bid offer
Japanese brewer Sapporo extended until Oct. 17 a public offer to purchase Sleeman, Canada's third-largest brewer, the company said in a statement on Monday. Last month Japan's third-ranked Sapporo Breweries Ltd offered C$17.50 (US$15.70) per share, leading to a price tag of C$400 million including assumed debt to wholly own Ontario-based Sleeman. The two breweries already have built business relations, as Sleeman -- whose brands include Sleeman Cream Ale and Honey Brown Lager -- manufacturers products for Sapporo USA Inc.
■ Television
Hitachi to open new plant
Hitachi Ltd said it will open its first European flat-panel television plant in the Czech Republic to meet robust demand in the region, with an investment of ¥8 billion (US$68 million). The plant, which is due to start operations in the middle of next year, will initially make up to 80,000 plasma and liquid-crystal-display TVs and 100,000 plasma panel modules a month, the firm said in a statement late on Monday. Hitachi said it aims to boost its monthly production to 200,000 flat panel TVs and 140,000 plasma panel modules within the next few years at the plant, which will employ about 1,500 people in the Usti region.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)