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December 04, 2024
 

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Hideyuki Sano
Dai Nippon Printing said that Elliott Investment Management looks to have substantially reduced its position in the company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 25, 2024
Dai Nippon Printing says Elliott has sold most of its stake
Elliott has been active in Japan this year, investing in Tokyo Gas, Sumitomo, SoftBank Group and Mitsui Fudosan.
Nissan Motor slashed its earnings outlook earlier this month and said it would cut 9,000 jobs and a fifth of its manufacturing capacity.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2024
Hedge fund Effissimo stirs speculation with its stake in Nissan Motor
News of the investment sent Nissan’s shares soaring 13% on Nov. 12.
A screen showing the yen's exchange rate against the U.S. dollar in July
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 5, 2024
Yen is the first of many Japanese assets set to pivot on U.S. election
Given the size and liquidity of its markets, Japan will be in particular focus during the U.S. election.
Government Pension Investment Fund saw a loss of 3.6% in the three months through September, with assets totaling ¥248.2 trillion ($1.6 trillion), it said Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 1, 2024
GPIF has worst loss since 2020 as yen strength hits assets
GPIF, one of the world’s largest state pension funds, incurred losses in three of four major asset classes.
A monitor shows Tokyo Metro's opening price on Wednesday morning in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 23, 2024
Tokyo Metro shares surge in trading debut after strong IPO
Proceeds from the IPO will redeem reconstruction bonds issued after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in northeastern Japan that killed 18,000 people.
An electronic ticker at the Tokyo Stock Exchange
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2024
More stocks trade below book value in Japan despite reforms
About 38% of Topix 500 companies were trading below book value as of the end of September.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo. Japanese companies with directors that sit on multiple boards are facing the equity market’s displeasure as the bourse steps up pressure to improve corporate governance.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 27, 2024
‘Moonlighting’ directors are problem for company boards in Japan
The Tokyo bourse has demanded that firms in its blue-chip Prime section get at least a third of their board members externally.
The government has been encouraging people to shift some of the roughly ¥1 quadrillion held in bank accounts to the stock market, but leading candidates to be the next prime minister have avoided investing in stocks.
BUSINESS
Sep 24, 2024
LDP presidential candidates avoid investing in Japanese stocks
Two of the top candidates, Shinjiro Koizumi and Sanae Takaichi, report owning no shares.
Global investors are expecting the yen may rise further since the Bank of Japan raised interest rates in July.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 10, 2024
Yen rally prompts an unwind of hedges in Japanese stocks but investors wary of earnings hit
Expectations that the yen may strengthen further have prompted strategists to recommend unwinding currency hedges on Japanese shares that have outperformed peers.
Government Pension Investment Fund in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 4, 2024
GPIF watchers say $1.75 trillion fund may buy more Japan stocks
GPIF is likely to have reclaimed its position as the world’s largest pension fund, thanks to the yen’s rebound after a brief slip earlier this year.
The yen's rebound is clouding an outlook for Japanese firms' earnings that have enjoyed a boost from the weak yen.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 22, 2024
Yen’s rebound threatens earnings growth in Japan
Weak demand in China and the risk of a slowing U.S. economy are fueling worries about how sustainable their earnings growth will be.
An electronic ticker at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo earlier this month
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2024
Sticky money stays in Japan while short-term players dump stocks
Foreign investors sold $5.28 billion in Japanese equities, cash and futures combined in the first week of August.
Bears think the best days for bank shares may be over, but for investors who are worried the yen may have further room to gain, bank shares have the additional benefit of having limited exposure to foreign-exchange fluctuations.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 7, 2024
Massive losses set stage for big rebound in Japan’s bank stocks
In the first three days of August, the Topix Banks index lost 26.5%, more than the 20.3% fall in the broader Topix index.
Shares faced historic sell-offs at the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Monday, but some retail investors see them as an opportunity to buy the dip, betting that the downturn is temporary.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 6, 2024
Japan’s retail investors show resiliency despite market turmoil
Some small investors chose the opportunity to buy the dip, betting that the market downturn was temporary.
Tsuyoshi Maruki, president of Strategic Capital, speaks online on Thursday after three of six candidates proposed by the firm for Daidoh's board positions secured a seat.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 28, 2024
Activist fund in Japan wins Daidoh board seats in rare victory
Daidoh's stock has more than tripled since activist fund Strategic Capital built a stake in the firm in November 2022.
Shareholders queue to enter a venue for SoftBank Group's annual general meeting in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2024
Activist investing booms in Japan amid corporate governance reforms
International hedge funds and home-grown investors have turned the country into the world’s second-largest market for activists.
JPX CEO Hiromi Yamaji says the number of companies in the Topix index will be reduced to about 1,200 in the next review of the index, in 2028.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 20, 2024
Japan’s Topix to include broader range of companies, but fewer of them
The Topix index currently includes more than 2,000 stocks, with at least ¥83 trillion ($526 billion) of assets were linked to the gauge as of last year.
Since Koji Sato, 54, became Toyota CEO in April last year, the automaker has announced its biggest share buyback on record.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2024
Influx of new CEOs in Japan brings shift in generational mindset
Many of the new crop of leaders were in junior roles as the nation’s economic miracle unraveled, and they’re now seeking out new ways of doing things.
More than 2,100 companies, or about 98% of listed firms whose financial year ends in March, are due to hold their AGMs during the coming two weeks, according to the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 18, 2024
Activists’ proposals hit record high for Japan’s AGM season
A total of 45 companies received proposals as of June 7, according to data compiled by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.
Japanese companies are raising payouts to shareholders as the Tokyo Stock Exchange pressures firms to improve capital efficiency and valuations.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 15, 2024
Japan firms boost dividends and buybacks, aiding Topix amid TSE pressure
The moves come as the Tokyo Stock Exchange pressures companies to improve capital efficiency and valuations, and have spurred a rebound in the Topix index.
Japan’s 2024 buzzword of the year urges a reevaluation of past norms
Sadao Abe, who played the role of a time-traveling Showa Era teacher transported to present day in a popular TV drama, receives the 2024 buzzword of the year award for the word "futehodo," the nickname of the series.
Princess Aiko, only child of emperor, turns 23
Princess Aiko on Nov. 22 ahead of her 23rd birthday on Sunday at the Imperial Palace
Ishiba questioned on political reform, social issues and the economy
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in the Lower House in Tokyo on Monday.
Nearly 90% in Japan and China have negative views of other
Chinese people's sentiment toward Japan is believed to be impacted by their use of social media platforms such as Weibo and Douyin, as well as whether they have visited Japan.
Bear that attacked Akita supermarket employee captured
A brown bear in Hokkaido. In the city of Akita, a bear that attacked a supermarket employee over the weekend was captured in a box trap on Monday morning.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Europe eyes 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine as possible peace deal option
A serviceman with the Ukrainian Army's 24th mechanized brigade fires a machine gun during an exercise, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the country's Donetsk region on Friday.
Seven strangers and an algorithm: Can this new dinner app help you make friends?
Timeleft uses an algorithm to match its users with five or six strangers in an effort to prompt “human connection” over dinner at a restaurant. It determines the attendees with the help of a simple personality quiz available when you sign up for the service. 
Don’t worry, you can still use your Japan health insurance card — for now
A My Number card reader at a pediatric clinic in Tokyo. While the government will stop issuing new health insurance cards on Monday, most people will remain unaffected by the move in the short term as existing health insurance cards can still be used for another year.
The Geisha bean is the leading lady of Tokyo's coffee scene
Discovered in the 1930s, the Geisha coffee plant came to worldwide fame in the early 2000s and now represents some of the best coffee on the planet — Tokyo's top cafes included.

Podcast

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

Longform

The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
By Tomoko Otake

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