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BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2013

Sony exploring sale of Gracenote audio-recognition service

Sony Corp., looking to shed units to focus on fewer products, hired Frank Quattrone's Qatalyst Partners to explore a sale of its Gracenote audio-recognition software business, two sources said.
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Dec 17, 2013

Looking at 2013's Japanese social-media scene

In the Japanese social-networking scene, Facebook still isn't dominating the way it does in the United States and many other countries. There are several other networks in Japan, both old and new, that occupy unique positions, though 2013 was an unusually quiet year, with no big takeovers among social-networking...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 15, 2013

Infant tablet devices hit by parents, experts

A newborn baby cannot hold or even swipe at an iPad, but Fisher-Price is providing a way to keep infants glued to the device.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2013

Line censoring messages in China

In another example of the dilemmas facing Internet companies operating in China, Japan-based instant messaging app provider Line Corp. has been censoring chats among users there, blocking the transmission of politically sensitive words and phrases.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 27, 2013

Sony seeks patent for high-tech 'SmartWig'

Sony Corp. is seeking a U.S. patent for "SmartWig" hairpieces that could help navigate roads, check blood pressure or flip through slides in a presentation.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 22, 2013

Sharp seeks exit from Foxconn cellphone venture

Sharp Corp. is considering ending a contract with Foxconn Technology Group under which the Taiwanese manufacturer makes Sharp-branded phones for sale in China, according to a source.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 18, 2013

Japan Inc. doubles profit on quick cost-cutting moves

Companies that made tough decisions about exiting businesses, closing factories and revamping management led to a doubling of corporate earnings last quarter, now at the highest level since 2007.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2013

SoftBank taps lucrative game market

Supercell Oy started the year trying to break into the Japanese smartphone game market. By October, it had struck a deal with the nation's second-richest man that valued the maker of "Clash of Clans" at $3 billion.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 2, 2013

Hankyu Hanshin scandal is a by-product of the media's food fetishization

As with every food mislabeling furor, the point in the Hankyu Hanshin scandal isn't necessarily that people are eating bad-tasting or unsafe food, but that their pretensions have been exposed.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2013

JT to cut 1,600 jobs, close four plants

Japan Tobacco Inc. is cutting 1,600 jobs and closing four domestic factories as part of its plan to boost competitiveness at home and profitability.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Oct 11, 2013

Illegal taps on oil pipeline wreaking havoc on Nigeria

The flames roared 20 meters above the Niger delta swamp for 48 hours; 6,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into the creeks and waterways around the village of Bodo and several people died.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 7, 2013

Areva: New reactors to end uranium slump by 2015

Nuclear power plant operators benefited from a slump in uranium prices after the reactor meltdowns in the Fukushima No. 1 plant. Areva SA, the second-biggest producer of the metal, says that's about to end.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 6, 2013

Female novelist says pregnant women should quit work

The plight of Japan's working women is a subject that often pops up in the media. Female politicians and company executives voice the opinion that it would be good to harness the power of women in Japan, and that the garasu no tenjō (ガラスの天井, glass ceiling) needs to be smashed. But meanwhile,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 5, 2013

Trouble is brewing on tracks up north

Last week the Fuji TV variety show "Real Scope" covered Japanese railroads. Most of the celebrities in the studio were densha otaku (train geeks), so it was one big love-in for railways and the people who operate them. However, the entire two-hour program focused on only two systems: the super express...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2013

Japan losing competitive edge due to poor practical training, expert warns

There may be many unemployed young people in Japan, but there are also a lot of companies that can't fill their vacancies due to a shortage of talented applicants, Darryl Green, president of major staffing and workforce solution service company ManpowerGroup, said in a recent interview.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 22, 2013

Vetting firms 'rush' through security clearances

When Ileana Privetera started working for the contractor USIS, the firm that vetted National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden and Washington Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis, it sounded like the perfect job. A mother, she would have flexible hours for her family, and she would be helping the country...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 20, 2013

Sony expects price, content to up PS4 sales

Sony Corp. expects the lower price of the PlayStation 4 and wider variety of entertainment services to drive its forecast to sell 5 million units of the game console by the end of March.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 5, 2013

After Snowden revelations, China worries about cyberdefense

China has been seen as the aggressor in cyberattacks, but many worry its own defenses are woeful.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Sep 2, 2013

Tin Man's throne: the rise and fall of a Roppongi royal

Gilbert Otaigbe is the current owner of Black Horse bar and nightclub in Roppongi. At the height of his success in the mid-2000s, he owned at least seven bars, clubs and restaurants.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2013

Prius to get boost from new battery upgrades

Toyota Motor Corp., whose Prius dominates the market for hybrid vehicles, said its next generation of batteries will be more efficient and improve mileage.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 23, 2013

As promoters follow users, not sites, ads can pop up in distressing ways

Ads for knockoff Louis Vuitton bags pop up on the luxury retailer's official Facebook page. A Toyota advertisement shows up on a news article about a car crash. Or an ad for Dove promoting women's "real beauty" shows up on a Facebook page glorifying domestic violence.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 23, 2013

Yahoo gets more traffic than Google for first time since '11

There is some good news for Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer: Yahoo has topped Google in Web traffic for the first time since May 2011. Research firm comScore reported Yahoo logged 196.6 million unique visitors in July, compared with its rival's 192.3 million.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 23, 2013

The sky becomes less of a limit for cabin attendants (unless you're a man)

All Nippon Airways just announced a new hiring policy for cabin attendants (CA). Starting next year, new CAs will be full-time regular employees of the company. Since 1995, CAs at the company were hired as contract workers who could opt to become regular employees after three years. The reason for the...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Aug 15, 2013

Osaka president Iguchi forced out after three months

Osaka Evessa president Motofumi Iguchi has been forced to resign without ever presiding over a game, The Japan Times has learned.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Aug 12, 2013

So you want to start a business in Japan?

Reader VS writes: "I am a Spanish national interested in getting information about how to start a business in Japan. What is the minimum required to invest for this purpose and how is this linked to obtaining a residence status? Any information — in English — or links where I could get this information...

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