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Takako Taniguchi
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2019
Japanese investor has $1 billion to plow into shaky regional banks
Yoshitaka Kitao wants to build a financial empire in an area shunned by investors: the downtrodden ranks of Japan's regional banks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2019
Nomura Holdings CEO Koji Nagai vows to cut costs and keep struggling brokerage independent
Nomura Holdings Inc.'s chief executive vowed to keep Japan's biggest brokerage independent and quickly implement his latest turnaround plan as a slumping share price puts the question of a potential merger in focus.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Aug 27, 2018
Japan's star businessman who ignores his investors to make them rich
When Akira Matsumoto speaks, investors hang on his every word. And here's what he tells them: You're less important than everyone else.
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 / Companies
Feb 27, 2018
Oasis hedge fund boss bets on Japan's professional gaming scene
Competitive gaming in Japan has found a champion: hedge fund boss Seth Fischer.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 12, 2018
Bain says the record year for Japan private equity is no one-off
Japan's banner year for buyouts is just the start of a bigger boom in the market, says the fund responsible for more than four-fifths of private equity deals in the country by value in 2017.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Dec 19, 2017
Tokyo Stock Exchange is an 'irresponsible' market referee, fund head says
The Tokyo Stock Exchange is failing in its duty as a market referee, according to the chairman of a prominent Japanese investment fund.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 27, 2017
As Abe pushes for structural reform, old Japan Inc. culture fights back
While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's vaunted third arrow — structural reforms — has generally been rated as unsuccessful, his administration has received high praise from Japan analysts for shaking up the country's corporate management system.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 27, 2017
Small Japanese credit union outperforms mega-banks by lending to geisha and local startups
Kikuno Kashima, a Tokyo geisha, couldn't get a bank loan to open a club for her patrons and select guests until a tiny credit union agreed to lend her the money. Now she's part of a lending model that's doling out cash to startup companies and yielding surprisingly high profits in the process.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2017
If not for yakuza laws, Japan could be cleaning up in e-sports ring
Spectators packed a Seattle arena and 5 million more went online to watch a video game tournament this summer in which winners each earned $2.2 million, about as much as tennis pro Rafael Nadal won at this year's French Open. Players came from all over the world but, as usual at these events, none was...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2017
Japan Post Bank poised to plow ¥100 billion into stocks
Japan Post Bank Co. plans to spend an initial ¥100 billion directly buying stocks — when it finds the right opportunities.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 15, 2017
Cool Japan bets $10 million on U.S. fund to attract more foreign venture capital
Japan, eclipsed by China in startup activity, is boosting efforts to get foreign venture capital firms more involved with its entrepreneurs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 6, 2017
Japan notches $18 billion in soured deals amid M&A boom
Japanese businesses that have been snapping up everything from drugmakers to beer brands in their biggest overseas acquisition spree on record are beginning to feel the pain from some of the soured deals of the past.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2017
Toshiba warns Western Digital to stop impeding chip unit sale
Toshiba Corp. has told partner Western Digital Corp. to stop interfering in plans to sell its memory chip business, warning it may take legal action to prevent the U.S. company from derailing the sale.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 24, 2017
Ahead of next iPhone, Idemitsu Kosan leads way after developing OLED screen
The iPhone's success has transformed the fortunes of dozens of suppliers, from glass manufacturers to the maker of robots that cut metal cases.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 21, 2017
Western Digital makes case for taking over Toshiba chip unit
Western Digital Corp. is making a forceful case for its bid to take control of Toshiba Corp.'s memory-chip business amid a fierce bidding war.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 13, 2017
Economy seen hurting as thousands of Japan's 'zombie' firms legally dodge bankruptcy
The owner of a car repair business in northwest Tokyo has been digging into his retirement fund to keep his shop going. He's in his mid-60s, he's not making money and he knows he'll eventually have to close down.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 10, 2017
Airbnb gets Cabinet OK as Japan sets rules on home-sharing businesses
The Cabinet approved rules limiting home-sharing by private citizens to 180 days a year, according to the final draft of the legislation headed for the Diet.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 3, 2016
Fujifilm's new chief aims to make drug operations profitable
Fujifilm Holdings Corp.'s new president, Kenji Sukeno, aims to make its pharmaceutical operations profitable and said the company will consider acquisitions to bolster growth in sectors where it has an existing presence.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2016
'Womenomics' has to wait in line as tenure obstructs Abe's goal
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has sought to have women hold 30 percent of supervisory positions in all fields by the time Tokyo hosts the Olympics in 2020. But as of now, his own government is at least 15 years behind schedule.

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