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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

Jul 27, 2006

U.S. beef ban on its way to being lifted Thursday; first batch already on ice

A Liberal Democratic Party policy panel gave the go-ahead Wednesday to lift the import ban on U.S. beef, with official government approval expected the following day.

BUSINESS

Jul 26, 2006

Nissan's net profit down 25.7% in first quarter

Nissan Motor Co. said Tuesday its net operating profit fell 25.7 percent to 153.35 billion yen on sales of 2.21 trillion yen, up 3.1 percent, in the April-June quarter as there were no new model launches to boost global sales.

BUSINESS

Jul 22, 2006

Ghosn denies yearning to merge with, rule over GM

Nissan Motor Co. President Carlos Ghosn denied speculation Friday that he intends to become General Motors Corp.'s chief executive officer but did not rule out the possibility of joining its board of directors if and when Nissan, GM and Renault agree to form an alliance.

BUSINESS

Jul 22, 2006

Yahoo has record quarterly profit on strong ad sales

Yahoo Japan Corp. said Friday its group net profit hit a record 13.2 billion yen, up 28.1 percent, on sales of 49.3 billion yen in the April-June quarter thanks to strong advertising sales.

Japan Times

BUSINESS

Jul 21, 2006

Toyota not looking to block GM tieup talks

Toyota Motor Corp. President Katsuaki Watanabe said Thursday his firm has no plan to block alliance talks involving General Motors Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA.

Japan Times

LIFE / WEEK 3

Jul 16, 2006

Up close . . . and virtually personal

When the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan characters fell in love via the virtual world of Web chat in the 1998 movie "You've Got Mail," it seemed a classic case of something that could only happen in the movies, not in the real world.

Japan Times

BUSINESS

Jul 15, 2006

Matchmaker looks to cash in on population woes

For the government, the declining birthrate and delayed marriages are its biggest headaches as the graying of Japan accelerates.

JAPAN

Jul 9, 2006

Skeptics abound that alliance is worth the effort

Japan Times

BUSINESS

Jul 7, 2006

Foreign carmakers cash in as the rich get richer

One Sunday in June, a man in his 30s visited the spacious BMW showroom in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward.

BUSINESS

Jul 6, 2006

Stock market analysts unfazed by missile tests

The benchmark Nikkei stock index fell Wednesday as investors were temporarily spooked by North Korean missile tests over the Sea of Japan earlier in the morning. Stocks closed at 15,523.94, down 114.56 points from Tuesday.

BUSINESS

Jul 1, 2006

TSE chief Nishimuro aims for public share offering by 2009

Tokyo Stock Exchange President Taizo Nishimuro said Friday the bourse hopes to publicly list its own shares in fiscal 2009 in the face of intensifying competition among exchanges around the world.

Japan Times

BUSINESS

Jun 28, 2006

Ghosn asks shareholders to be patient

YOKOHAMA -- Nissan Motor Co. President and CEO Carlos Ghosn asked shareholders for patience Tuesday, promising to overcome "head winds" in the domestic market and produce better results in 2006.

Japan Times

BUSINESS

Jun 27, 2006

Warner Japan taking greater interest in local movie scene

Warner Entertainment Japan Inc., a subsidiary of U.S. media giant Time Warner Inc., plans to acquire more Japanese films and increase local production of movies in response to the growing popularity of domestic films, said William Ireton, who was named president of the company in May.

BUSINESS

Jun 24, 2006

Investors get more vocal on management decisions

Over the past several weeks, company executives have been beating a path to Pension Fund Association's door, trying to get the investment manager to agree with proposals they plan to submit at their shareholder meetings.

BUSINESS

Jun 24, 2006

Son says Vodafone can top rivals with content

Mobile phone carrier Vodafone K.K., which Softbank Corp. acquired in April, can outperform rivals NTT DoCoMo Inc. and KDDI Corp. by funneling content from Softbank subsidiary Yahoo Japan Corp. into its mobile business, Softbank President Masayoshi Son said Friday.

Japan Times

BUSINESS

Jun 21, 2006

Hankyu-Hanshin deal fails to impress analysts

Hankyu Holdings Inc. said Tuesday it will acquire 63.71 percent of Hanshin Electric Railway Co. for nearly 250 billion yen, paving the way for the first postwar merger of major private railways in October.

Japan Times

BUSINESS

Jun 15, 2006

Livedoor execs meet with shareholders

CHIBA -- Livedoor Co. investors finally had their say Wednesday as the scandal-tainted firm held its first shareholders' meeting since its top executives were arrested in January.

BUSINESS

Jun 9, 2006

Skylark to carry out largest MBO in Japan history

Family-style restaurant chain Skylark Co. announced Thursday its management will buy all outstanding company shares to become private, making it the largest management buyout bid in Japanese history.

BUSINESS

Jun 7, 2006

Sony has high hopes for its first digital SLR

Sony Corp. on Tuesday unveiled its first digital single lens reflex camera, the Alpha DSLR-A100, in its first product rollout since acquiring the Konica Minolta Group's digital SLR division earlier this year.

Japan Times

BUSINESS

Jun 6, 2006

Murakami arrested over insider trading

Outspoken investment fund manager Yoshiaki Murakami was arrested Monday for alleged insider trading linked to his investment fund's purchase of Nippon Broadcasting System Inc. shares between late 2004 and early 2005.

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.

Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.

The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'

By Tomoko Otake

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