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December 22, 2024
 

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Eddy Duan
A statue of Konosuke Matsushita in the grounds of the Konosuke Matsushita Museum in Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 28, 2024
‘God of management’ comes back to life as an AI model
Panasonic icon Konosuke Matsushita is one of the most respected by the Japanese business community.
Watami CEO Miki Watanabe (right) during a news conference in Tokyo on Friday
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 25, 2024
Izakaya chain buys Subway Japan in challenge to McDonald’s
The Subway franchise has historically struggled to gain footing in the Japanese market, with just 178 locations compared to nearly 3,000 for McDonald’s.
A standard Chocozap location is small and unmanned, which has made it easy for Rizap to add locations amid a chronic labor shortage.
BUSINESS
Oct 20, 2024
Gyms in Japan offer laundry, karaoke and hair-removal machines
Chocozap's oddball gyms were created as an experiment during the coronavirus pandemic.
Gilles Langourieux, chief executive officer of Virtuos, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 27, 2024
Game developer Virtuos seeks acquisitions and growth in Japan
The Singapore-based company, which has been involved in such major franchises as Call of Duty and Metal Gear Solid, is in active talks with multiple studios in Japan.
Shiseido's sales in China are still sluggish as consumers remain reluctant to buy Japanese products over the discharge of treated water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 8, 2024
Shiseido posts steepest drop since 1987 on anemic China demand
The company reported a January-June operating loss of ¥2.7 billion ($18.4 million), compared with profit of ¥13.6 billion a year earlier.
Fujitsu is seeking to expand its ability to prepare artificial intelligence tools that match clients’ needs, but is having trouble securing enough technology workers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 6, 2024
Fujitsu struggling to secure staff to grow IT consultancy on slim margins
Operating profit margin at Fujitsu’s service solutions segment was 7% last quarter, while the margin at one competitor was 16.4%.
Fast Retailing’s expansion into the U.S. and Europe is paying off, with a strong performance in those markets helping to make up for a sharp deceleration in China.
BUSINESS
Jul 11, 2024
Fast Retailing’s push into western markets softens China slump
The company behind popular brands Uniqlo and GU raised its full-year forecast for operating income to ¥475 billion ($2.9 billion) from ¥450 billion.
As companies lose once-stable investors through the unwinding of cross-shareholdings, they are now hoping that rewarding long-term individual shareholders will help make them more resilient in possible proxy battles.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2024
Japanese firms woo individuals as cross-shareholdings shrink
In a bid to protect themselves from activist investors, firms are trying to build loyalty with long-term individual shareholders by doling out gifts.
Takuya Hirai, head of the Liberal Democratic Party’s digital promotion working group
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2024
Facebook scams demand stricter online rules, Japan lawmaker says
Lawmakers in the Diet are considering summoning Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to testify before them regarding fake ads on Facebook.
The government, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange in particular, have been pushing for better governance among the country’s 3.7 million companies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 25, 2024
Japan’s retail investors care about governance too, poll shows
Investors are increasingly aware of the need to hold corporate boards and executives to high standards.
Port Plus is a training and education facility in Yokohama built by and for general contractor Obayashi, a storied Japanese builder that traces its roots back to 1892.
BUSINESS
Nov 16, 2023
Wooden high-rise in Yokohama grows Japan’s timber ambitions
Port Plus, which was finished last year, is composed mainly of 540 wooden rigid cross-joints.
The Fair Trade Commission has begun a probe on allegations of potential antitrust violations by Google.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 23, 2023
Japan begins probe into Google for alleged antitrust violations
Japan’s antitrust watchdog has begun an investigation into whether Alphabet’s Google abuses its market position to block rival services.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.
With rare Asia carrier deployment, France seeks greater interoperability
The flight deck of the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier during a stop at Changi Naval Base in Singapore in May 2019

Podcast

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

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world
mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

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