author

 
 

Meta

Yuki Hagiwara
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 14, 2020
Grab deal just the start of MUFG's focus on technology investment, says CEO
Hironori Kamezawa, 58, say the digital shift has picked up pace in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 8, 2020
Banks with ‘shattered’ business models warned by Japan to adapt
Concerns are mounting that some banks are too weak to withstand the coronavirus-fueled recession and may eventually need to be rescued or delisted.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2020
Mizuho to deploy billions in riskier funding to help Japan's firms with virus fallout
The bank is in talks with corporate clients to provide financing via subordinated loans and purchases of preferred shares totaling more than u00a5100 billion.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 27, 2020
Bailouts and delistings loom for Japan’s beleaguered regional banks
Coronavirus crisis expected to cause bad loans to climb and investment income to evaporate
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 10, 2020
Japanese asset manager awaits flood of money from regional banks
Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings Inc. anticipates a flood of money from yield-starved regional banks that need help reinvesting cash after redeeming government bonds.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 27, 2020
Japanese banks' fortress mentality puts them on trailing edge of fintech revolution
Japan's effort to nudge its more than 100 struggling regional lenders into the digital age is floundering.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2020
MUFG taps math expert as CEO to lead digital transformation amid Japan's negative rates
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. named Hironori Kamezawa as chief executive officer on Friday, turning to a math expert to help Japan's biggest bank forge a path in the digital era.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 8, 2019
Japan regional bank Concordia targets comeback abroad with Southeast Asia foray
One of Japan's biggest regional banks is resuming an expansion overseas, 20 years after the country's financial crisis forced it to retreat.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 27, 2019
Negative rates see Japan's regional banks move into structured finance sector
The nation's regional banks have long been relegated to the sidelines in one of the most lucrative corners of the lending market while regular loans got gradually less profitable.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 10, 2019
Happy hour is over: MUFJ bank executive takes aim at Japan's 'nominication' drinking culture
It's time to stop drinking with the boss after work.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 1, 2019
Bank of Japan should avoid pushing rates further below zero, head of lenders' association says
The new head of the nation's main banking lobby is warning the Bank of Japan against deepening negative interest rates, signaling that such a move could spur risky investment and put further pressure on lenders' profits.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 6, 2019
Mizuho's surprise $6.1 billion charge exemplifies risks for Japan banks seeking returns abroad
Mizuho Financial Group Inc. announced another round of losses Wednesday on its foreign-bond holdings as part of a surprise writedown that will severely curtail full-year profit, as Japanese banks' quest to secure yield by investing overseas continues to create turbulence.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 1, 2019
Japan's MUFG agrees to buy German lender DZ Bank's aviation finance arm for ¥710 billion
The unit acquired from Germany's second-largest bank will be one of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group's biggest acquisitions since it was created in 2005.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Dec 5, 2018
How could Carlos Ghosn possibly have hidden billions of yen from Nissan?
How could one of the world's most visible employees go about hiding billions of yen worth of salary and benefits paid to him by one of the world's biggest companies, without the company knowing it?
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 19, 2018
In Japan, the growing number of dementia sufferers hold a vast pool of idle wealth
The country's growing ranks of dementia sufferers are sitting on a mountain of frozen assets, creating personal dilemmas for loved ones fretting over how to handle that money and a drag on the nation's economic prospects as the vast pool of wealth lays idle.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 6, 2018
Mizuho Financial Group looks to attract creative thinkers in new hiring strategy
One of Japan's biggest banks is throwing away the cookie cutter when it comes to hiring fresh graduates.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 27, 2018
Mizuho's trust banking sector sets sights on $11 trillion held by Japan's well-heeled elderly
Mizuho Financial Group Inc.'s trust banking arm has its sights set on exactly where the wealth is in Japan: the $11 trillion held by the nation's elderly.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 15, 2018
Regional banks fight for inheritance to ensure their survival
Where there's a will, there's a way. That's what banks across Japan are counting on as they try to keep hold of the ¥50 trillion in wealth left by their customers each year when they die.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2018
Banks rush to turn Japan cashless before legal change attracts tech giants
Japanese banks, long content to foster the nation's love for cash, are now diving into digital payments thanks to a regulatory change that threatens to usher in new rivals.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 27, 2018
Japan's financial regulation shake-up seen as a game changer for banks
The Financial Services Agency is laying the groundwork for a regulatory overhaul that could lead to a shake-up in Japan's ¥1 quadrillion banking industry.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan