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November 22, 2024
 

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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
Sep 17, 2008
Collapse echoes through Japan
Monday's bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the fourth-biggest financial institution in the United States, sent shock waves through the global financial industry, and Japan was no exception.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 12, 2008
Coach builds brand of affordable luxury goods
Twenty years ago, at the height of the bubble economy, Coach Inc. started out small in Japan, selling its products at the Mitsukoshi department store in Yokohama.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 2, 2008
Against high odds, masses chase luck
What would you do if you won ¥400 million? Would you buy a convertible, a new house, start a business? All of the above?
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2008
Debt-servicing costs swell next year's budget
Ballooning debt-servicing costs will raise next year's general account budget to ¥86.13 trillion on a request basis, a 3.7 percent rise from this year, Finance Ministry officials said Thursday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2008
Travelers turning to highway buses to save on fares
At a time when food prices are on the rise and income levels remain flat, it's not easy finding the money for shinkansen tickets, which cost ¥13,240 per person for a nonreserved seat from Tokyo to Osaka.
BUSINESS
Aug 20, 2008
Economy 'sluggish,' BOJ says
Growth has turned "sluggish," the Bank of Japan declared Tuesday, revising downward its assessment of the economy for the second straight month.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2008
Traditional nuptials revived to up tourism
Some 2,500 tourists were on hand to watch as 22-year-old bride Noriko Kageyama and groom Takanori Nakazawa paraded through the streets of Inawashiro town in Fukushima Prefecture one Saturday in June.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2008
Cash still flows for weddings
Consumers are being forced to tighten their belts by soaring food and oil prices and the expanding economic slowdown triggered last year by the subprime-loan crisis in the United States.
BUSINESS
Aug 14, 2008
2.4% decline in GDP spells recession
The economy shrank at an annualized pace of 2.4 percent in the second quarter, the government said Wednesday, posting Japan's first negative growth in a year and signaling the approach of a recession linked to rising oil prices and a slowdown in the United States.
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2008
Cabinet Office report points to recession
With the word "weakening," the Cabinet Office on Thursday effectively called an end to the longest expansion of the postwar period.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Aug 7, 2008
Clarify rules to attract foreign investment, Motegi says
Japan must make clear its criteria for restricting foreign direct investment if it hopes to attract capital from abroad, financial services minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Aug 5, 2008
Detail goals before raising taxes: Ibuki
Before initiating any hike in the 5 percent consumption tax, the ruling bloc must clearly articulate to voters what policies it will pursue and its priorities in line with a higher levy, new Finance Minister Bunmei Ibuki said Monday.
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2008
Downturn doesn't spell 'R' word: Mitarai
Although the economy is suffering a downturn because of the slowdown in the U.S., Japan is unlikely to experience a recession in the foreseeable future, Fujio Mitarai, chairman of the nation's biggest business lobby, said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 30, 2008
Sony profit fell 47.4% in quarter; forecast pared
Sony Corp. said Tuesday its group net profit plunged 47.4 percent to ¥35 billion in the April-June quarter from a year ago amid fierce competition in the consumer electronics sector, including compact digital cameras and computers.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2008
India's Subbarao urges more direct investment
Visiting Indian Finance Secretary Duvvuri Subbarao called on Japanese firms Friday to boost investment in India, especially in the field of infrastructure, where the nation plans to spend $500 billion in the next five years.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2008
Kids get a chance to play banker for a day
Tokyo Star Bank Ltd. staff looked on in amusement as Noritake Toshi, 6, tried to run off with ¥100 million of the bank's money — all part of the bank's Kids' Day event Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2008
Top 12 banks struggling to profit from core operations: BOJ review
The fiscal 2007 earnings reports for Japan's 12 major banks show they are having little success at boosting their core businesses, according to a Bank of Japan review released Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / G8 SUMMIT 2008
Jul 10, 2008
Nuke plant makers cast eye abroad
The voice of Atsutoshi Nishida, president of Toshiba Corp., rose an octave as he talked about the electronic giant's quest to build atomic power plants.
BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2008
Power utilities under pressure to clean up their act
In March, a report compiled by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on greenhouse gas emissions of about 9,000 companies rocked the electric power industry.
JAPAN / G8 SUMMIT 2008
Jul 9, 2008
Developing nations skewer G8 proposal
TOYAKO, Hokkaido — Five of the top developing nations on Tuesday denounced the Group of Eight's qualified proposal to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, saying the industrialized powers should slash their own emissions by up to 95 percent below 1990 levels.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Russia launched intercontinental ballistic missile during attack on Ukraine, Kyiv says
A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile is launched during a test from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in Northern Arkhangelsk region of Russia, in this still image captured from video released on Oct. 29.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

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

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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