BUSINESS Aiming to embarrass companies into better behavior, the labor ministry plans to publish the names of those that withdrew job offers made to graduating students in an attempt to discourage unilateral cancellations, sources said. [ASAHI]

BUSINESS Nippon Oil Corp., the largest oil distributor in Japan, and major distributor Nippon Mining Holdings Inc., will integrate their business by establishing a holding company, possibly in the fall of 2009, sources familiar with the plan said Thursday. [KYODO]

BUSINESS Lawrence Lindsey, a former economic policy adviser to U.S. President George W. Bush, told Japanese lawmakers in Tokyo on Wednesday the U.S. dollar could slip below 90 yen, the lawmakers said. (1) [KYODO]

BUSINESS The government is drafting a new employment stimulus package under which it will grant a subsidy of up to 1 million yen per person to companies hiring non-student part-timers as full-time employees, informed sources said Tuesday. [KYODO]

POLLS In an extraordinary monetary policy meeting Tuesday, the Bank of Japan said it would help companies get operating funds toward the yearend by accepting lower-rated corporate debt from banks as collateral for loans. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

BUSINESS With the new citizen judge system just months away, companies are trying to figure out ways to cope with possible interruptions to their business caused by staff forced to take leave. [ASAHI]

BUSINESS About 30,000 nonregular workers have lost or are set to lose their jobs in the six months through March, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Friday. [YOMIURI]

BUSINESS Business sentiment among small and midsize companies has deteriorated to the worst level on record, with falls in exports of automobiles and home appliances hitting subcontractors, according to recent surveys by two government-affiliated financial institutions. [KYODO]

BUSINESS The British beer maker Diageo plc said Wednesday that it will end its sales and distribution contract with Sapporo Breweries Ltd. in May next year. [ASAHI]

BUSINESS The world’s leading mobile phone maker Nokia said on Thursday it would stop selling and marketing its mobile devices in Japan because its market share there remained below expectations. [AFP]

BUSINESS The ordinary Diet session that came to a close Saturday was characterized by a number of unprecedented events. [YOMIURI]

BUSINESS Nearly 40 percent of local business leaders believe their regional economies are slowing down or deteriorating because of soaring prices of crude oil and raw materials, according to a recent Asahi Shimbun survey. [ASAHI]

BUSINESS Japan’s government may signal it will consider cutting corporate taxes in an effort to encourage more foreign investment into an economy expected to grow at the slowest pace in five years this year. [BLOOMBERG]

BUSINESS Representatives from labor organizations, employers and the government have reached a broad agreement to raise minimum hourly wages to a national average of about 755 yen, up 68 yen from the current 687 yen, over the next five years. [YOMIURI]

BUSINESS The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission on Thursday urged the Financial Services Agency to slap an administrative fine of about 1.6 billion yen on heavy machinery maker IHI Corp. for submitting false financial statements. [ASAHI]

BUSINESS Citigroup Inc. offered 1,350 employees at its consumer finance unit in Japan early retirement with two months’ pay as the company withdraws from the business, a proposal the workers’ union called unacceptable. [BLOOMBERG]

BUSINESS Japan cut its overall economic assessment for the first time in three months on Monday, saying that exports, output and corporate profits are all weakening. [MAINICHI]

BUSINESS Domestic auto manufacturers are gearing up to produce passenger vehicles powered by environmentally friendly diesel engines. [YOMIURI]

BOOKS/MANGA A budget panel of the Tokyo metropolitan assembly on Wednesday approved a controversial plan to invest an additional 40 billion yen for Shinginko Tokyo on condition that the metropolitan government strengthens its surveillance of the heavily indebted bank and spends no more taxpayers’ money on it. [KYODO]

BUSINESS Business confidence among Japanese companies plummeted in the January-March quarter from the previous quarter, mainly on concerns of higher oil prices and the sluggish U.S. economy, a government survey showed Monday. [ASAHI]