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April 01, 2025
 

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Kazuaki Nagata

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Kazuaki Nagata
Results of spring wage negotiations are written on a board at an office of the Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 13, 2024
Major Japanese firms offering solid pay hikes for second year running
Several companies met or even exceeded labor union demands, raising the possibility the Bank of Japan will adjust monetary policy soon.
A man looks at electronic boards displaying stock prices of companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on Monday. The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei average has surged at an unexpected pace of about 20% this year
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 8, 2024
A stock rally but sluggish growth: What’s the deal with Japan’s economy?
The Nikkei is benefiting from companies' strong earnings, but wider economic indicators are much less positive.
AI Medical Service's artificial intelligence-based endoscopic diagnostic support system is designed to help detect stomach cancer at an early stage.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 7, 2024
Tokyo startup looks to AI to boost gastrointestinal cancer detection
AI Medical Service thinks it can use Japan’s strengths in endoscopy to boost diagnosis of a condition responsible for 1 in 3 cancer deaths globally.
Solar panels on display at PV Expo in Tokyo on Wednesday. Japan's "transition bonds" will cover cutting-edge solar cells, as well as more controversial projects.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Mar 3, 2024
Japan wants cash for its green transition. But what are investors actually backing?
"Transition bonds" are intended to fund a wide variety of net-zero projects, but it's not clear all of them will actually help with decarbonization.
Immersive Fort Tokyo holds a ceremony on Thursday ahead of its Friday opening in Tokyo's Odaiba area.
BUSINESS
Feb 29, 2024
Immersive Fort Tokyo seeks to update theme park experience
The park could become a new landmark in the Odaiba district by the Tokyo Bay as it seeks to update the typical theme park experience.
People take photos of electronic screens showing the Nikkei average surging to its highest level ever, outside a brokerage in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
Feb 22, 2024
Nikkei tops late '80s peak, but is a bubble forming?
Market watchers say gains experienced by Japanese equities are well backed by earnings this time.
An advertisement for the Nippon Individual Savings Account (NISA) at a Mizuho Bank branch, a unit of Mizuho Financial Group, in Tokyo on Jan. 31.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Feb 19, 2024
Turning the tide? Japan warms up to becoming an asset management hub.
The beefing-up of the NISA program alongside a new policy plan by the government shows its commitment toward getting households to invest.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 16, 2024
Nikkei stock index nears all-time high
The index closed at 38,487.24, up by 329.30 points and near the all-time high of 38,915 recorded in December 1989.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2024
KDDI to raise stake in Lawson to jointly run convenience chain
Japan's second-largest mobile carrier currently holds 2.1% of shares but will invest about ¥500 billion to increase its stake through a tender offer.
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda speaks during a news conference in Nagoya on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2024
World No. 1 but mired in scandal: Toyota sees mixed start to 2024
Despite the steady performance of its business, the carmaker has been shaken by wrongdoing at group firms, leading to an apology from the chairman.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 29, 2024
Pay hikes at small firms in focus at Japan’s spring wage negotiations
The decisions of such companies will play a big role in determining whether Japan can achieve a healthy wage-price cycle.
The market cap of Japan’s largest automaker reached ¥48.79 trillion ($330 billion) at the end of Tokyo stock trading on Tuesday, with Toyota shares having closed ¥9 higher at ¥2,991 after briefly reaching an all-time high of ¥3,034.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 24, 2024
Toyota’s market cap hits record high for a Japanese firm
Market participants are keeping a close eye on Japan’s top automaker amid expectations that it will post strong earnings.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2024
BOJ stands pat on policy as quake's economic impact remains unclear
Observers are watching for when the BOJ will start exiting negative rates, amid growing expectations it will likely seek normalization this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2024
Japanese flying bike startup A.L.I. Technologies files for bankruptcy
The Tokyo-based startup had aimed to play a key role in an expected “air mobility society.”
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 11, 2024
Nikkei breaches 35,000 for the first time in 34 years
Wall Street's tech-driven gains and a weakening of the yen give Japanese stocks a boost for third day in a row.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 10, 2024
Japan should aim to maintain population of 80 million by 2100: panel
A group comprising academics and business leaders say a higher target than the projected 63 million is needed to maintain economic growth.
JAPAN
Jan 2, 2024
Five dead after Japan Airlines jet collides with coast guard plane at Haneda Airport
All 379 people on board the JAL plane exited safely but five of the six people on the coast guard plane died, with the captain sustaining serious injuries.
The entrance lobby of Accor's Mercure Tokyo Hibiya, which recently opened in the capital
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 2, 2024
Backed by tourism potential, hotels keen to cultivate Japanese market
Because Japan was slow to reopen its borders, there appears to be robust, pent-up demand to visit the country.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son speaks at the SoftBank World 2023 corporate conference in Tokyo on Oct. 4.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 31, 2023
Will generative AI speed up Japan's digital transformation?
An initially cautious attitude has given way to wider acceptance in the public and private sectors, providing a boost to digitalization efforts.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda gives a news conference after a policy meeting at BOJ headquarters in Tokyo on Dec. 19.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 31, 2023
BOJ likely to finally seek normalization 2024
A turn in Japan's economic tide is in view as the Bank of Japan signals readiness to wind down its aggressive monetary stimulus.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
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.
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.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

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