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December 22, 2024
 

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Patrick Ryan
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Dec 25, 2018
Sōgō shōsha: Adapting to stay ahead as industries evolve
The sōgō shōsha's longevity, up until this point, can to a certain extent be attributed to their adeptness in being able to rapidly acclimate themselves to the changes in the business and economic environment over the years. By moving quickly and being flexible, the sōgō shōsha have been able to...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Dec 17, 2018
Global challenges lie ahead as sōgō shōsha hunt for growth
While many global companies, including the sōgō shōsha, face similar political, economic, social, technological, managerial and other risks — much too many to cover here — Japan's nearly complete dependence on natural resource and raw material imports from overseas and its shrinking domestic market...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Dec 10, 2018
Diversification, integration and the roles of trader and investor
There are some who have explained, in somewhat academic terms, the sōgō shōsha's upstream-downstream integration process by dividing it into two concepts: "diversification" and "integration."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Dec 3, 2018
Adapting to new industries, bolstering world's infrastructure
The ability of the sōgō shōsha to survive through all the changes and transformations that have taken place over the years can, in many ways, be attributed to their adeptness in recognizing the rise of new industries early on and creating new businesses in the process, or in applying new technologies...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Nov 26, 2018
How the lifelines of the economy feed and fuel Japan
Given Japan's low food self-sufficiency ratio and dearth of energy resources, the sōgō shōsha have acted as a lifeline to Japan's economy through the import of foodstuffs and energy resources.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Nov 19, 2018
Sōgō shōsha: Understanding Japan's super suppliers and distributors
As mentioned before, the sōgō shōsha have two fundamental business models: Their traditional, core business model as trader, supplier, wholesaler and distributor of a vast array of goods and materials upstream and downstream in the supply or value chain, and as an organizer of large-scale infrastructure...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Nov 12, 2018
Tracing Japan's business giants from the late '80s to the 2000s
In the mid-1980s Japan was considered the most dynamic economy in the world and its manufacturers the most dominant. Japan's GDP growth had averaged around 7 percent per annum for the previous 30 years even with a slight downturn following the first oil shock in the 1970s, and was growing at around 4...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Nov 5, 2018
'Sōgō shōsha': Navigating the changing currents of Japan's industries
The Tokyo Olympics in 1964 marked the emergence of Japan as a consumer economy with the population growing, incomes rising and the economy expanding. In fact, the Japanese economy averaged nearly 10 percent annual growth between 1957 and 1972. Sales of TVs, refrigerators, automobiles, and housing boomed....
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Oct 29, 2018
Sōgō shōsha: Thriving through adversity in postwar Japan
This is the fourth part of a new series of reports written by industry specialists. The first 12 articles are about Japanese general trading companies, or sōgō shōsha.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Oct 22, 2018
What are the distinguishing features that define a 'sōgō shōsha'?
This is the third part of a new series of reports written by industry specialists. The first 12 articles are about Japanese general trading companies, or sōgō shōsha.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Oct 16, 2018
Reflecting the nation's history, 'sōgō shōsha' are unique to Japan
The sōgō shōsha's organization and business model is unique to Japan. This is, for the most part, because they are a reflection of Japan's own unique economic development, first during the Meiji Restoration's period of rapid industrialization and commercialization aimed at building a strong military...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Oct 10, 2018
Japan's supertraders — a brand unto themselves
This is the first part of a new series of reports written by industry specialists. The first 12 articles are about Japanese general trading companies, or sōgō shōsha.
Freed anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson arrives in France
U.S.-Canadian anti-whaling environmental activist Paul Watson, who was released from prison in Greenland's capital Nuuk after five months in detention, arrives with Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd France, at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Roissy-en-France, near Paris, on Friday.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

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