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Winnie Hsu
A report by MSCI ESG Research showed that just one-tenth of MSCI Japan Index firms have reached the 30% female board member threshold that the government is seeking for top-listed businesses.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2023
Japan boards may struggle amid pressure for diversity, MSCI says
Just one-tenth of MSCI Japan Index firms have reached the 30% female board member threshold that the government is seeking for top-listed businesses.
Shiseido shares tumbled the most in 36 years on Monday after it slashed full-year profit forecasts on sluggish China demand.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 16, 2023
China slowdown adds to boycott woes for Japanese beauty stocks
Cosmetics firms are finding that reliance on the world's second-biggest economy to drive sales is a double-edged sword.
Japan Exchange Group only has a female board ratio of 13%, a level that’s less than half the average of global peers.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2023
Japan stock exchange’s board diversity is among worst in world
Japan Exchange Group’s female board ratio remains far below global peers and its own listing rule goal.
Hiromi Yamaji, chief executive officer of Japan Exchange Group, says the yen is too weak and its benefits for Japanese stocks are diminishing.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 24, 2023
Yen’s too weak and benefits are waning, Japan bourse chief says
The yen has slipped below the levels where Japanese officials intervened last September to rein in the weakness in the currency.
More investors in the Tokyo stock market are beginning to see higher pay as a useful barometer of a company’s strength.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 18, 2023
Stock pickers cheer for wage hikes in post-deflationary Japan
A group of companies that raised wages higher than many of their peers has outperformed the Topix index by 5 percentage points so far this quarter.
Naomi Koshi, CEO of OnBoard K.K., says pressure from foreign investors is pushing Japanese companies to seek out more female board members.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 8, 2023
Foreign investor pressure spurs Japanese boards to appoint women
The scramble came after institutional investors set rules to vote against firms with few or no female board members.
Warabeya Nichiyo Holdings has apologized after a video went viral that showed one of its rice ball products appearing to contain a cockroach at a Seven Eleven convenience store.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2023
Cockroach contamination sends rice-ball supplier’s stock reeling
The company said it is recalling all relevant goods from the factory in Omiya where the food was produced.
A stock board at an intersection in Shanghai in October
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 6, 2023
China is losing out as global funds chase returns in Japan stocks
Foreign buying of Japanese equities has exceeded that of Chinese peers for the first time since 2017, according to a Goldman Sachs Group report.
Hitachi CEO Keiji Kojima. The company’s metamorphosis belies the argument that the bastions of Japan Inc. are set forever in their ways.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 4, 2023
Hitachi reinvents itself in sign of hope for Japan
The old-school conglomerate revamped its governance, shrank its empire to focus on growth and evolved into a more global enterprise.
Nikko Asset Management is ditching its bearish view on the yen, and now has a ¥135 target against the dollar by year-end.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 20, 2023
Nikko Asset shifts to bullish yen slant as Ueda bides his time
The shift in his view highlights potential upside for the yen, where inflation-adjusted interest rates have exacerbated its decline to multidecade lows.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 19, 2023
Japan's retailers see earnings windfall as consumers tolerate inflation
Profits and rising share prices in the sector, undiminished by customer hesitancy, are adding to speculation the Bank of Japan may upgrade its inflation forecast next week.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 7, 2023
Rakuten’s ¥1.8 trillion debt fuels concern despite funding
The e-commerce giant has racked up four years of losses as its mobile-phone business drains cash.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 4, 2023
Top-ranked fund trims Japan chip stocks for makers of soap and noodles
The Alma Eikoh Japan Large Cap Equity fund has cut its position in Renesas Electronics by almost a third over the past month as the stock more than doubled in value to date.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 26, 2023
Japan unveils ¥904 billion deal to buy out chip linchpin JSR
The government-backed Japan Investment Corp. plans to offer shareholders ¥4,350 a share in a tender offer around December.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 22, 2023
Japanese startups are catching up to broader market rally
An upcoming rush of initial public offerings has lifted sentiment toward startups, with more than 10 new stocks expected to start trading in Tokyo between now and the end of June.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 13, 2023
Japan’s sticky inflation is key to a long-lasting bull market
Investors are hoping that under inflation, companies will be able to raise prices without encountering too much pushback from customers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2023
Japan workers are shifting from lifetime employment, LinkedIn's country head says
Firms also need to adapt to changing attitudes among workers who value family life and flexibility more than they did in the past, the company's first female country chief has said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
May 20, 2023
A $518 billion rally shows Japanese stocks are all the rage in 2023
Some of the world’s most famed investors are voicing a near consensus that Japan’s stock market is the place to be as its larger peers grapple with rising economic headwinds.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
May 19, 2023
Japan stocks extend rally as Nikkei 225 hovers at 1990 high
The Nikkei stock index advanced as much as 1.2% to 30,924.57, putting the blue-chip gauge at the highest intraday level since August 1990.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 20, 2023
Man Group shares Warren Buffett’s renewed optimism for Japanese stocks
Stocks in Japan are primed to outpace global peers this year as improving corporate-governance standards and the central bank’s potential policy normalization burnish the nation’s appeal.

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