The Nikkei HoshiShinichi Literary Award is named afterHoshiShinichi, aJapanesesciencefictionauthor whose books include "The WhimsicalRobot" and "GreetingsfromOuterSpace.
The company assumed it would have to offer a rate 0.3-0.5 percentage point higher than government bonds when it went to the market last month, said Masatoshi Hoshi, its head of treasury and accounting.