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July 16, 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.
Japan Times
JAPAN / G8 COUNTDOWN
May 30, 2008
Japan finding itself in hot water
SADO, Niigata Pref. — Kyuichi Sakano, head of Niigata's fixed shore net fishing association, sighed in dismay one day last December as his fishing boats came back yet again without any yellowtail.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 24, 2008
BOJ chief willing to cut rates as economy slows
Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa said Friday he will not rule out lowering the BOJ's benchmark interest rate from the current 0.5 percent amid the slowing economy.
BUSINESS
May 23, 2008
Hilton to open hotel at Niseko resort area
Hilton Hotels Corp. said Thursday it will open a refurbished hotel July 1 in the Hokkaido resort area of Niseko, a location recently popular with skiers from abroad, to make it a year-round resort for families, golfers and skiers.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2008
Nonlife insurers lashed by steep profit hits
Four of Japan's six major nonlife insurance companies saw their group net profits plunge in business 2007 as the U.S. subprime loan crisis and the subsequent fall in global stock prices pushed down profits from their investments, the firms said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
May 21, 2008
Subprime crisis slammed banks in 2007
The U.S. subprime loan crisis and subsequent turbulence in stock markets worldwide pushed down profits at Japan's major banking groups in the business year that ended in March.
BUSINESS
May 17, 2008
Lifenet to offer 30% cheaper insurance online
Lifenet Insurance Co., a newly established online life insurer, said Friday it will start selling polices Sunday via the Internet at rates up to 30 percent cheaper than those offered by major life insurers.
BUSINESS
May 17, 2008
SMBC logs 77.2% plunge in profit to ¥83 billion
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Banking Inc. said Friday that net profit at its banking unit, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., plunged 77.2 percent to ¥83 billion in the business year that ended in March as the U.S. subprime-loan upheaval eroded its profits.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2008
Mizuho profit drops 50%; worst said over
Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Japan's No. 2 banking group by assets, said Thursday its group net profit dropped 49.8 percent to ¥311.2 billion in business 2007 because of losses from the U.S. subprime loan crisis.
JAPAN
May 14, 2008
G8 seeks environmentally friendly workplaces
NIIGATA — Labor representatives of the Group of Eight industrialized nations agreed Tuesday that they must take measures to deal with the impact climate change will have on the labor market.
JAPAN
May 13, 2008
G8 talks take up labor inequalities, green role
NIIGATA — The Group of Eight industrialized nations must place more emphasis on a better work-life balance when drafting employment policies, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe said Monday at a G8 conference on labor.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2008
Toshiba announces plan to double profit
Toshiba Corp. said Thursday it plans to double its group operating profit to ¥500 billion in business 2010 from ¥238 billion it booked in business 2007 by expanding its NAND flash memory and nuclear power plant endeavors.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 3, 2008
Rain or shine, Disney's parade rolls on
Although a cloudy day in April, and a little chilly from the morning drizzle, the temperature seemed a bit higher at Tokyo Disneyland, where many had come to enjoy a new parade, "Jubilation!" created to mark the park's 25th anniversary.
Japan Times
JAPAN / G8 COUNTDOWN
May 1, 2008
EC to G8: Match our ambitious carbon goals
The European Commission will push members of the Group of Eight industrialized countries to equal the European Union's commitment to fighting global warming when the G8 summit opens in July in the hot-spring resort of Toyako, Hokkaido, a senior EC official said.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2008
Subprime woes send Nomura to ¥67.8 billion loss
Nomura Holdings Inc. said Friday it booked a group net loss of ¥67.8 billion in the business year ended in March due to losses related to U.S. subprime mortgage loans and falling stock prices.
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2008
Ailing Hitachi subsidiary spurns U.S. fund's offer
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Inc., a U.S.-based hard-disk drive subsidiary of electronics giant Hitachi Ltd., said Thursday it will rebuild its business on its own, denying rumors it will sell part of its shares to U.S. investment fund Silver Lake Partners.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2008
Radio station to air '55 Osaka hanging
Nippon Cultural Broadcasting Inc. will air an audio recording of an execution carried out at the Osaka Detention House in 1955, a spokesman for the AM radio station said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2008
Insurer looks to online sales to undercut big firms
Daisuke Iwase, 32, immediately felt chemistry when he was introduced to Haruaki Deguchi in Tokyo's Akasaka district two years ago. The chemistry was all business.
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2008
Nomura group to buy into Ashikaga Bank
A consortium led by Nomura Holdings Inc. signed an agreement Friday with Deposit Insurance Corp. of Japan to purchase shares of Ashikaga Bank Ltd., paving the way for the government-owned regional bank to become private again July 1.
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2008
Subprime losses lower Mizuho profit forecast
Mizuho Financial Group Inc. on Friday revised downward its forecast for business 2007 to ¥310 billion in group net profit from its initial ¥480 billion due to losses stemming from the U.S. subprime loan crisis. It was the third downward revision for the business year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 10, 2008
Tough call on rate cut awaits new governor
The past three weeks have been something of a roller coaster ride for Masaaki Shirakawa, the former career central banker who was appointed Bank of Japan governor Wednesday by both chambers of the Diet.
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

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

Longform

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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