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Kazuaki Nagata

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Kazuaki Nagata
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 15, 2012
Smartphone toys come to the fore
The International Tokyo Toy Show kicked off Thursday with an unmistakable message that toy makers don't want to miss out on the smartphone boom.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 13, 2012
Toy sector saw sales rise 3.4% in '11
The domestic toy market logged ¥692.1 billion in sales in fiscal 2011, up 3.4 percent from the previous year for the second straight annual rise despite the sluggish economy, the Japan Toy Association said Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2012
Translating smartphone is boon for DoCoMo
Smartphones are getting smarter. Maybe nearly as smart as a multilingual interpreter.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2012
Public to Tepco: Don't hike rates
Citizens attending the first public hearing Thursday on Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s request to increase electricity rates for households voiced opposition to the plan and urged the utility to cut costs instead.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2012
Domestic output at high risk: Toyoda
Unless competitive barriers such as the strong yen and high corporate tax are eased as soon as possible, the nation's automakers may not be able to keep building cars in Japan, newly appointed Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association Chairman Akio Toyoda said Monday.
JAPAN
May 31, 2012
Alleged plan to pull No. 1 plant workers returns to haunt Tepco
A Diet panel investigating the causes of the nuclear crisis recently interviewed key politicians who responded to the early stage of the emergency, bringing a long-unanswered question back into the spotlight: Did Tokyo Electric Power Co. really want to pull all of its workers out of the Fukushima No....
JAPAN
May 29, 2012
Kan tells nuke probe: 3/11 overwhelmed us
Former Prime Minister Naoto Kan admitted Monday that the triple whammy that doomed the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in March 2011 — the megaquake, tsunami and the meltdowns they unleashed — was beyond the scope of the national crisis-management system.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 28, 2012
Edano alleges Tepco planned No. 1 pullout
Trade minister Yukio Edano, the government's top spokesman during the March 11 disasters, testified Sunday at the Diet that Tokyo Electric Power Co. considered withdrawing all its workers and abandoning the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant amid the meltdown crisis.
JAPAN
May 22, 2012
Rare eclipse delivers spectacle despite cloudy weather
Monday's rare annular eclipse wowed millions nationwide as they looked up in the morning sky to witness the astronomical event.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 17, 2012
DoCoMo expands offerings for handsets
NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Wednesday it will expand smartphone services, including offering unlimited access to "anime" and music as well as a text translation service.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2012
Tepco pays dearly for disastrous year
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday it posted a ¥781.6 billion group net loss for fiscal 2011 after incurring massive costs from the meltdown disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, compensation for the victims and fuel costs for reverting to thermal power.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 15, 2012
Exporting culture via 'Cool Japan'
The auto and electronics industries have served as the economy's main locomotives for decades, but now they are being eclipsed by heavier global competition, particularly from their aggressive Asian rivals.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2012
Tepco asks for permission to hike household rates 10.3% from July 1
Tepco submitted an application Friday to the industry ministry to hike household electricity rates by an average of 10.28 percent from July in its Kanto service area, the first such move in 32 years.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
May 11, 2012
Tepco survival plan depends on restarts
Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s special 10-year turnaround plan has been officially endorsed by the government, but industry observers are skeptical it will work.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2012
Convenience store chains go with flow, grow
The nation's top three convenience store chains last month posted record annual operating profits for the 2011 business year despite the sluggish, disaster-stricken domestic economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 6, 2012
Nuclear power role still said critical
Despite the seriousness of the Fukushima disaster, Japan should continue using nuclear power because there isn't another energy source that can replace it and because the nation has a responsibility to further its global development using the lessons learned from the crisis, says energy expert Kenji...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 6, 2012
New push should be for renewables
With the nation's last operating commercial reactor ceasing operations Saturday, The Japan Times interviewed two energy experts to explore the future of nuclear power in Japan.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2012
It's what Oi reactor tests don't cover that worries
After having undergone major safety checks that were mandated because of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant crisis that started last year, the government is moving to restart reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi facility in Fukui Prefecture.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2012
Sharp unveils largest TV on domestic market
Sharp Corp. on Wednesday unveiled a new line of large televisions for the domestic market that feature liquid crystal display panels.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2012
Newly consolidated safety criteria for reactor restarts finalized
The government on Friday finalized a hastily drafted set of additional safety criteria for reactor restarts that it says reflects the lessons of the Fukushima disaster.
U.S. tourist arrested after bringing a handgun into Japan
Hyogo police believe the handgun a U.S. tourist inadvertently brought into Japan slipped through security procedures at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture.
3D printer used to construct train station building in Japan
A train station building (front) is assembled from parts printed using 3D printer technology, in Arida, Wakayama Prefecture, on Wednesday.
Japan’s leader didn’t read the job description
Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba is facing a political funding scandal that has damaged his reputation and sparked speculation that internal efforts to remove him are underway.
Japan promises 'bold and speedy' response to Trump’s surprise 24% tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump unveils new U.S. tariffs at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
Tokyo’s KK Line to close for decadelong overhaul as public greenway
People enjoy running and yoga on Tokyo Expressway’s KK Line, a 2-kilometer elevated expressway cutting through the capital’s commercial Ginza district, when it was opened as a pedestrian space in May last year.
Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
Nintendo to launch the Switch 2 on June 5
The controllers for the Switch 2 will attach to the console magnetically rather than sliding on rails as with the original device.
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.

Podcast

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

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
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