Mine Circuit Japan to Close
YAMAGUCHI, Japan, Jan. 13_(Kyodo) _ Toy maker Takara Co. said Friday it will close an auto racing circuit Feb. 28 in Mine, Yamaguchi Prefecture, to withdraw from unprofitable businesses toward a planned merger with Tomy Co. in March.
Takara is negotiating with some companies to sell the Mine Circuit, one of the circuits used for the Formula Nippon auto race, President Nobuyuki Okude said during a news conference in Yamaguchi.
The planned Formula Nippon race at the circuit in July will have to be cancelled, he said.
Takara has managed the Mine Circuit since one of its units acquired the circuit in October 2003. The circuit, which opened in 1971, is estimated to have incurred a loss of some 50 million yen in 2005 as the number of visitors declined to 120,000 from 200,000 in 2001.
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