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April 21, 2025
 

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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
Dec 4, 2006
BMW's hydrogen statement
It was a sunny day in Berlin in November when this reporter anxiously got into BMW's newest car for a test drive. Which was appropriate, as the fuel inside the star was basically the same one running the car.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2006
Console name no laughing matter
When it comes to product names, Japanese companies sometimes come up with ideas that draw snickers from English speakers.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2006
Nintendo's Wii game console debuts to long lines nationwide
Enthusiastic fans formed long lines outside electronics stores nationwide early Saturday to be the first in Japan to get their hands on Nintendo Co.'s new Wii video game console.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2006
Nintendo's Wii game console debuts to long lines nationwide
Enthusiastic fans formed long lines outside electronics stores nationwide early Saturday to be the first in Japan to get their hands on Nintendo Co.'s new Wii video game console.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2006
German potter carries on raku tradition
BERLIN -- Despite a tradition of more than 400 years, raku ceramics are now not well-known in Japan beyond the tea ceremony.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2006
Big banks see high profits in first half
Most major banks posted big profits in the April-September first half as brighter business activities led to a reduction in bad loans, allowing them to shift money from loan-loss reserves to the profit section.
BUSINESS
Nov 16, 2006
Nissin's Myojo tender may stir instant-ramen bidding battle
Nissin Food Products Co. announced Wednesday it will launch a public tender offer for Myojo Foods Co. to help the rival instant-noodle maker stop a hostile takeover by a U.S. investment fund.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2006
Aozora lists on Tokyo Stock Exchange
The formerly government-controlled Aozora Bank went public Tuesday -- eight years after its predecessor, Nippon Credit Bank, was delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange -- fetching an initial quote of 495 yen, or 13 percent less than its public offering price of 570 yen.
BUSINESS
Nov 3, 2006
FSA soliciting bids for Ashikaga bank
The Financial Services Agency began soliciting bids Thursday for the sale of state-owned Ashikaga Bank Ltd., publishing the conditions that buyers must satisfy to purchase the Tochigi Prefecture-based bank.
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2006
Matsushita scores huge in flat-panel TV market
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., maker of the Panasonic brand, said Friday that its group net profit jumped 78.7 percent to 115.1 billion yen in the April-September period, thanks to brisk sales of its flat-panel plasma televisions and air conditioners.
BUSINESS
Oct 27, 2006
Sony profit dives 94% in quarter
Sony Corp.'s group net profit for the July-September quarter took a 94.1 percent nosedive from the previous year due the massive global recalls of its defective lithium-ion batteries and sluggish sales in its gaming division, the company announced Thursday.
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2006
Sony apologizes for defective batteries
Sony Corp. Vice President Yutaka Nakagawa apologized Tuesday for causing concern among customers over problems with its lithium-ion batteries that have led to a massive worldwide recall.
BUSINESS
Oct 21, 2006
Daiei operating profit up, net profit down
Daiei Inc. said Friday its operating profit for its March-August half was 25.45 billion yen, up 41.9 percent from the previous year, on sales of 672.1 billion yen, due to strong sales in its credit card subsidiary OMC Card Inc.
BUSINESS
Oct 19, 2006
Inpex to drill for Indonesian gas
Inpex Holdings Inc. said Wednesday it plans to develop a gas field in southern Indonesia to produce about 3 million tons annually beginning as early as 2014 in a bid to ensure Japan has a steady supply of liquefied natural gas.
BUSINESS
Oct 14, 2006
Nuke test casts cloud over markets: Fukui
The nuclear test North Korea claimed it conducted Monday will negatively effect Japan's economy, Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui said Friday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 12, 2006
Sony's battery fiasco a symptom of bigger woes at legendary firm
It was a fine day at Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 16 when a passenger's ThinkPad laptop, containing a Sony Corp. battery already recalled by other companies, was suddenly wreathed in smoke and started emitting sparks.
BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2006
Business sentiment hits two-year high
Business confidence at large manufacturers rose to a two-year high in the three months through September, according to the Bank of Japan's latest "tankan" survey, despite forecasts by economists it would either remain flat or slightly decline.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Oct 3, 2006
Transport minister wants road taxes to be spent on more than just roads
Gas and vehicle taxes should not be spent only on road construction but also on protecting the environment, including maintaining the nation's forests, according to the new minister of land, infrastructure and transport.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 30, 2006
Single rate cap needs five years, FSA chief says
A transition period of about five years in introducing a lowered, single interest-rate ceiling for consumer loans is necessary to meet potential demands from customers who want to borrow money for a short period, Financial Services Agency chief Yuji Yamamoto reckons.
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2006
Nissan to sell off stake in truck maker to Volvo
AB Volvo said Monday it will acquire 34.5 billion yen of Nissan Diesel Motor Co.'s preferred stock and purchase 6 percent of Nissan Diesel's outstanding shares from Nissan Motor Co. -- a move that will push Volvo's stake in the truck manufacturer closer to 50 percent by April 2014.
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.
Magnitude 5.0 earthquake jolts Nagano
A map showing the location of an earthquake that hit Nagano Prefecture on Friday evening, with the numbers indicating the seismic intensity on the shindo scale to 7.
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.
Shohei Ohtani announces birth of daughter
Shohei Ohtani and his wife Mamiko Tanaka attend a Lakers game in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2024.
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.
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.
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.
Tokyo hotel operators face possible warnings over suspected price cartel
Foreign tourists gather on a platform at Kyoto Station on Wednesday.

Podcast

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

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