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Yuki Furukawa
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 27, 2018
Nintendo bets on new cast of characters in first built-from-scratch mobile game
Nintendo Co.'s two-year old experiment in mobile gaming is heading for uncharted territory with Dragalia Lost, its first smartphone title featuring original characters rather than its established stars.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 25, 2018
Maverick Harvard MBA shakes up a century of Panasonic's corporate culture
Panasonic Corp. has carefully cultivated a culture befitting its 100-year history, with many employees starting the day doing calisthenics and singing the corporate anthem. Now, Yasuyuki Higuchi is supposed to shake up those traditions.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 27, 2018
Rakuten details carrier plan to reposition against Amazon and SoftBank
E-commerce giant Rakuten Inc. is offering a glimpse into its ambitious plan to build a cutting-edge wireless network to take on Masayoshi Son's SoftBank Group Corp., stay in the lead in mobile payments and win back market share from Amazon.com Inc.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 26, 2018
'Super Mario' creator says gaming industry should put steady subscriptions ahead of in-game charges
The legendary video game designer who created "Super Mario" and "Donkey Kong" has a word of advice for today's industry: Stop nickel-and-diming users.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 15, 2018
Sony's catch-up plan to break into pro camera market
Eight seconds — that's how long a cowboy needs to stay on a bucking bronco to qualify for a rodeo score. For photographers, that's barely enough time to take just a few blurry, often unusable pictures.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jun 20, 2018
Construction app offers fix for Japan's supertight labor market
One of Yosuke Kobayashi's biggest headaches has been finding enough workers to build hotels, restaurants and bath houses for his construction company.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 17, 2018
Sharp's lens unit CEO sees path to defying smartphone slowdown
The mobile phone industry may be in a midst of a slump, but a unit of Sharp Corp. is forecasting growth thanks to the race by smartphone makers to wow customers with high-quality photos.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 27, 2018
Nintendo hands over Switch to 46-year-old president who grew up playing the Famicom
Shuntaro Furukawa grew up playing the Family Computer, eventually realizing every teenager's dream of joining the company that made the genre-defining console. Now, as the next president of Nintendo Co., he has the chance to build a new franchise atop a hit product — the Switch.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 22, 2018
Pawnshop Sou launches IPO to tap Japan's luxury item boom
The resale of Hermes bags, brand-name jewelry and other luxury items is a thriving industry in Japan, with one critical bottleneck: Building inventory is tough.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 19, 2018
Driverless drift: Robotics firms are developing virtual 'Fast and Furious'-style sims to boost safety
Self-driving cars will rarely have to deal with a pack of drivers who think they are in a "Fast and Furious" movie, but training them to do so might just be what it takes to reach true autonomy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2018
After Daifuku's 1,200% stock surge, departing Japan chip CEO aims for more
Masaki Hojo, who built Daifuku Co. into the world's largest maker of machines for handling chip materials, is once again challenging market expectations even as he prepares to make his exit from the company.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 9, 2018
Japanese 26-year-old who doesn't code creates Asia's hottest game with 'Tabi Kaeru'
Japanese frogs are proliferating across Asia. The good news is, they're not an invasive species, nor are they real.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 9, 2018
At last, Japan gives nod to gaming as a profession
A skinny chain smoker with pale skin, Yota Kachi doesn't look much like a professional athlete. But this weekend, the 31-year-old will get a chance to become one by playing video games.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 10, 2018
Office-sharing firm WeWork looks to offer child- and pet-friendly working spaces in Japan
In Japan, where pets outnumber children, WeWork Cos. is adapting to the lay of the land.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 6, 2017
Nintendo opens games to rival console for first time with China-only Nvidia tie-up
For the first time ever, Nintendo Co.'s games will be playable on gaming hardware that wasn't made by the Kyoto-based company.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 13, 2017
Infostellar to improve satellite access with global antenna-sharing platform
Telling satellites what to do is expensive, complicated, and can only be done a few times a day.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 9, 2017
Budding inventors find encouragement in Sony's Seed Accelerator Program
Sony Corp., which is emerging from five years of brutal restructuring that gutted its workforce and product lineup, wants to show off a few new things.

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