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Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 5, 2022

SoftBank talent drain worsens, adding pressure on Masayoshi Son to deliver

Two more managing partners at the company's Vision Fund are leaving, bringing the number of top level departures from the world's largest investment fund to at least 10 since March of 2020.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 11, 2022

Musk’s about-face on Twitter shifts takeover saga to Delaware

The billionaire co-founder of Tesla will need to make his case before a judge in Delaware that Twitter failed to uphold its side of a merger deal reached in April.
SoftBank Group shares surged for a third day in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 13, 2024

SoftBank shares climb again with Arm’s explosive AI rally

Arm Holdings has almost doubled in value since making the case last week for how it will benefit from the artificial intelligence boom.
Rakuten Group has incurred a net loss for the fifth straight year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 15, 2024

Rakuten logs second-largest annual net loss

The firm will skip a dividend payment for the first time in 23 years to prioritize its financial stability.
An in-house design by Yamagiwa, the Sui drop-shaped light uses traditional Japanese chōchin lantern techniques and is made with Mino washi paper.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Feb 17, 2024

Japan-made standouts from one of Paris' biggest design fairs

Maison & Objet is now such a popular event that it is often nicknamed the Paris Fashion Week of the interior design industry.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group, speaks during the SoftBank World event in Tokyo in October.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 17, 2024

Masayoshi Son aims to launch a $100 billion AI chip venture

The SoftBank Group founder is looking to create a chip venture to compete with Nvidia and supply semiconductors essential for AI.
China's C919 — the country's first domestically developed large, narrow-body passenger aircraft, is displayed at the Singapore Air Show on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Feb 20, 2024

China debuts C919 aircraft in Singapore, but can it challenge Boeing and Airbus?

The Asian powerhouse hopes the country's first domestically developed large, narrow-body passenger aircraft will help it break into new markets.
The volume of mergers and acquisitions linked to Japan has grown 43% so far this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 22, 2024

Japan sees dealmaking boom as mergers and acquisitions rise 43%

A strong stock market is giving companies more scope for acquisitions at a time when the government and investors are pressuring firms to bolster growth.
Nippon Steel's Kashima plant seen from a park in Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture. Scrutiny over Nippon Steel’s China holdings threatens to add another complication to its politically contentious deal to acquire United States Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 23, 2024

Nippon Steel’s China assets could derail United States Steel deal

Regulators may look unfavorably on whether the acquisition of U.S. Steel could allow more access to U.S. markets for Chinese-sourced steel.
Sean Bailey, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, at his office in Burbank, California
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2024

Disney reshuffles leadership at troubled namesake movie division

New President David Greenbaum oversaw the release of Oscar nominated "Poor Things" and previous winners such as "The Shape of Water" and "Nomadland."
Yakitori chain Torikizoku will open outlets in Taiwan and Hong Kong as part of its planned expansion into the Asian market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2024

Restaurant chain Torikizoku to open branches in Taiwan and Hong Kong

Specific details regarding the number of restaurants and finalized opening dates in Hong Kong and Taiwan are yet to be determined.
SMBC Nikko Securities has set up an alumni organization for former employees to interact and share their experiences.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Mar 4, 2024

As more move midcareer, Japan firms tap former hires with alumni networks

As well as seeking business opportunities, companies also recognize the value of rehiring individuals with expertise and skills gained elsewhere.
The EU hit Apple with a €1.8 billion fine ($1.9 billion) on Monday for violating the bloc's laws by preventing music streaming services from informing users about subscription options outside of its App Store.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 5, 2024

EU fines Apple €1.8 billion over curbs on music streaming services

The European Union found Apple had violated law by preventing music streaming services from telling users about subscription options outside its App Store.
An unmanned robot navigates across a street during a demonstration of Uber Eats' robot delivery service in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 6, 2024

Uber Eats Japan begins deliveries with self-driving robots

The company has rolled out the service in Tokyo's Nihonbashi area and plans to introduce it in other places as well.
Japan’s stock market is breaking records right when the government has launched an expanded tax-free investing account. But due to government regulations, stocks still remain out of reach for many starting investors. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 6, 2024

Everyone’s buying Japan shares. I only want to buy one.

An expanded tax-free investment account program that launched to much fanfare at the start of the year has come at a perfect time.
Phytochemical Products CEO Makiko Kato (second from right) and Chief Technology Officer and professor Naomi Kitakawa (right) at the startup's laboratory in Sendai
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Mar 18, 2024

Tohoku University startup opens path to waste oil recycling

Its proprietary technology allows it to extract useful compounds from waste oil to produce biofuel and other products.
Supporters of TikTok gather outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 14, 2024

U.S. House passes bill to force ByteDance to divest TikTok or face ban

The fate of TikTok, used by about 170 million Americans, has become a major issue in Washington.
Masaaki Okawara (center) and other plaintiffs celebrate in December after the Tokyo District Court ruled that police and prosecutors had falsely accused them of illegally exporting spray dryers. But the civil suit continues as both sides have appealed the ruling.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Mar 19, 2024

Japan's 'hostage justice system' faces renewed scrutiny

The long-criticized system has come under the spotlight as executives wrongly accused of a crime continue their legal battle.
Police escort Do Kwon from court in Podgorica, Montenegro, on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 26, 2024

Terraform goes on trial as Do Kwon awaits extradition in Montenegro

The trial is the latest in a series of high-profile legal confrontations in which U.S. regulators seek to assert greater control over the crypto industry.
Jacky Im, Elizabeth Chan and Kate Maco are the founders of Neptune Robotics, a firm building robots that remove debris from the hulls of ships to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 27, 2024

Underwater robots offering practical route to greener shipping

Technology that removes the algae, barnacles and debris that accumulate on ships' hulls can reduce drag and improve fuel efficiency.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's Osaka manufacturing facility in the city of Osaka on Wednesday
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Mar 28, 2024

What we know so far about Kobayashi Pharma's supplement deaths

The Osaka-based drugmaker is finding itself under further scrutiny as the search to pinpoint the cause of the deaths continues.
Speculation has been swirling for months over the fate of Ito-Yokado, which was Seven & I's original retail franchise before it bought 7-Eleven and turned it into a large, successful business.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 10, 2024

Seven & I set to split 7-Eleven from original Ito-Yokado stores

Ito-Yokado was the company’s original franchise before it bought 7-Eleven and turned it into a successful business.
A Boeing 787 Dreamliner lifts off at Paine Field in Everett, Washington.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 10, 2024

Boeing takes further blow after whistleblower alleges 787 ‘shortcuts’

Incorrect treatment of gaps between joined airframe segments could lead to "significant fatigue,” according to the former quality engineer.
The assembly line at the Volkswagen factory in Zwickau, Germany, on March 14. The factory stopped producing gasoline-powered Golfs and switched to electric vehicles, illuminating the risks and opportunities for factory towns and cities.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 11, 2024

What happened when a German car factory went all electric?

The city of Zwickau, where more than 10,000 people work for Volkswagen and tens of thousands more for suppliers, seems to have avoided dire consequences.
Since launching in 1961, the iconic Salone del Mobile furniture fair has firmly established Milan’s status as a leading force in the global design world
LIFE / Style & Design
Apr 18, 2024

Salone del Mobile’s Maria Porro: ‘Italy and Japan share many things’

Maria Porro became the leading global design fair's first female and youngest-ever president when she was named to the position in 2021.
Ukrainian service members fire a multiple launch rocket system toward Russian troops. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago, arms manufacturers have experienced something of a reversal of fortune.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 20, 2024

Defense companies are luring Germany’s struggling autoworkers

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago, arms manufacturers have experienced something of a reversal of fortune.
Many U.S. lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic parties and the Biden administration say TikTok poses national security risks because China could compel the company to share the data of its 170 million U.S. users.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 22, 2024

TikTok braces for U.S. divest-or-ban law — and a fresh legal fight

The legislation has been fast-tracked and tied to a crucial aid package for Ukraine and Israel, which the Senate is set to vote on in the coming days.
TikTok accounts for a small share of ByteDance's total revenues and daily active users, so the parent would rather have the app shut down in the U.S. in a worst-case scenario than sell it to a potential American buyer, sources said.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 26, 2024

ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, sources say

A shutdown would have limited impact on its business, and it would not have to give up its "secret sauce" — the algorithm that pushes videos to users.
Specializing in gastronomy-themed tours, Arigato Travel, founded and directed by Anne Kyle, was once a one-woman operation. Today, it counts more than 100 employees.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Apr 26, 2024

Anne Kyle: 'People want to know what life actually is like here’

The founder and CEO of Arigato Travel grew her business from a one-woman operation to a national outfit of more than 100 employees in a matter of years.
Health ministry officials enter Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's factory in the city of Osaka on March 30.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 26, 2024

Kobayashi Pharma to cover bills of people who got ill after taking supplements

The Osaka company’s board has also set up a third-party panel to probe the company’s handling of the issue.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?