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Kanako Takahara

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Kanako Takahara
Kanako Takahara is a staff writer who has covered national politics, diplomacy, business and the economy at The Japan Times. A graduate of Sophia University, she is currently a national news editor.
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2007
Pressure building for transparency in mobile fees
A government panel Tuesday urged mobile phone operators to introduce a new fee system by 2010 that clearly separates communications charges from the cost of handsets so consumers know what they're paying for.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2007
Windsor Hotel prepares for second wind
The Windsor Hotel Toya in western Hokkaido has a lot of things going for it.
BUSINESS
Jun 19, 2007
TBS' Rakuten snub reflects protected world
Hiroshi Inoue, president of Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc., does not hide his displeasure when he talks about online shopping mall operator Rakuten Inc.'s attempt to make the broadcaster its affiliate.
BUSINESS
Jun 16, 2007
Unknowns impeding rate hike: Fukui
The Bank of Japan will raise its benchmark interest rate only after it gains more confidence in its outlook for the Japanese and global economies, BOJ Gov. Toshihiko Fukui said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2007
FSA orders megabank BTMU to improve poor investment trust service
The Financial Services Agency ordered the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ on Monday to improve its business practices after a probe by authorities exposed poor treatment of investment trust services customers.
BUSINESS
Jun 7, 2007
Rakuten seeks disclosure order for TBS deals
Rakuten Inc. made another move to make Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. its affiliate Wednesday when it petitioned the Tokyo District Court to order TBS to disclose its share transaction records.
BUSINESS
Jun 6, 2007
TBS affiliates say no to Rakuten
Local broadcasters affiliated with Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. voiced strong opposition Tuesday to Internet mall operator Rakuten Inc.'s bid to make TBS an affiliate.
BUSINESS
Jun 1, 2007
Resona opens arms to foreign tieups
Foreign firms may be considered for business tieups as the Resona banking group seeks to shore up its banking operations, the newly appointed president of Resona Holdings Inc. said Thursday.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2007
Revenues tumble at major life insurers
Premium revenues for the nation's major life insurers dropped in business 2006, reflecting fallout from revelations of an industrywide failure to properly pay out benefits, according to their earnings reports released Wednesday.
BUSINESS
May 29, 2007
BTMU ties with Disney for online bank service
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Walt Disney Japan launched a new online banking service Monday using Disney characters in its interface to attract female customers and families.
BUSINESS
May 29, 2007
Food prices rise as more crops go into producing biofuels
The increasing demand for biofuel, which is derived from biomass — usually plants — has taken a bite out of supplies of crops and other farm products worldwide. The redirection of crops from mouths to fuel tanks is reflected in the rise of prices of ordinary food items in Japan.
BUSINESS
May 25, 2007
Fujiya descends into 8 billion yen net loss
Fujiya Co. announced Thursday it posted a whopping net loss of 8 billion yen in the 2006 business year, down from a 1.8 billion yen loss the year before, after being hit by a sanitation scandal that forced the famous confectioner to suspend operations in about 890 shops and restaurants nationwide.
BUSINESS
May 24, 2007
Banks riding out consumer-lender woes
The nation's three major banking groups saw profits drop in 2006 because of losses at their consumer-finance affiliates, but analysts are growing optimistic that the banks have recovered enough to roll with the blows.
BUSINESS
May 23, 2007
Mizuho group profit falls 4.4% on Orient's losses
Mizuho Financial Group said Tuesday its group net profit dropped 4.4 percent to 621 billion yen in the business year to March on losses incurred by consumer lender Orient Corp., Mizuho's affiliate known for its Orico card.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2007
SMFG reports 35.7% drop in net profit
The Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, one of Japan's three largest banking groups, reported Monday that group net profit dropped 35.7 percent to 441.4 billion yen in 2006 because of losses from consumer lending affiliate Promise Co. and weak banking operations.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 19, 2007
Farm concession said key to U.S. FTA
Opening up Japan's politically sensitive agriculture market is the key to establishing a free-trade agreement between Japan and the United States, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's vice president for Asia.
BUSINESS
May 18, 2007
Rakuten refuses to limit TBS stake goal to 20%
Rakuten Inc. President Hiroshi Mikitani said Thursday that he won't limit his acquisition goal for shares of Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. to 20 percent.
BUSINESS
May 17, 2007
Sony logs 68% slump in operating profit
Sony Corp. announced Wednesday that its operating profit plunged 68.3 percent to 71.75 billion yen in the 2006 business year because of price cuts on the PlayStation 3 and the cost of recalling lithium-ion batteries.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2007
Shinsei had 61 billion yen loss in '06
Shinsei Bank, the first Japanese lender acquired by foreign investors, said Wednesday it posted a net loss of 61 billion yen for the business year that ended March 31 due to losses incurred by Aplus Co., an affiliated consumer lender.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 10, 2007
Muscling in on the world of showbiz
Some of Japan's top athletes are using their talents to carve out new careers in the theater spotlight — and they have created one of the nation's most successful entertainment exports along the way
Social media helps fuel growing 'sex tourism' in Japan
People walk down a street in the red-light entertainment area of Kabukicho in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on March 31.
Pope Francis, radical leader who broke the papal mold, dies at 88
Pope Francis blesses the faithful during the weekly general audience at the Vatican in August 2023.
Japan mulls reviewing car safety rules to strike deal with Trump
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's Economic Revitalization Minister and top tariff negotiator with the U.S., speaks to the press upon his arrival at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Friday.
Japan tariff negotiator rules out quick U.S. deal despite push by Trump
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's top tariff negotiator with the U.S., speaks to reporters upon his arrival at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Friday, a day after talks in Washington.
Shohei Ohtani announces birth of daughter
Shohei Ohtani and his wife Mamiko Tanaka attend a Lakers game in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2024.
The floor is art: Takuro Tamayama transforms mundanity
Takuro Tamayama’s sculpture “Models (Pair, 6 sets, 12 rings)” comes with a mathematical formation that scales it for different spaces.
Nothing sells like Shohei Ohtani, MLB’s marketing megastar
People walk past an advertisement featuring Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani outside Tokyo Dome on March 18.
Calling all Potterheads: ‘The Goblet of Fire’ comes to Tokyo
The Tokyo version of the globe-trotting exhibition features a Ministry of Magic set, which includes an imposing replica of the Magic Is Might monument representing magical fascism.
Tokyo stock picker advises Trump-proofing portfolios with Godzilla creator Toho
The head of Godzilla, a Japanese monster movie character, is seen on a building of Toho Cinema in Tokyo. Toho is one tariff-defensive stock being recommended by brokers.
LDP and CDP lawmaker groups propose 0% consumption tax on food
A vegetable stand displays prices at a supermarket in Tokyo in 2023. Some lawmakers are proposing lowering the consumption tax on food to 0%, which is expected to result in a loss of up to ¥5 trillion in tax revenue annually.

Podcast

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

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
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