Tag - investments

 
Menu
Search
 
July 06, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

INVESTMENTS

Kumamon, the official mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture, poses in front of a sign of Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., at TSMC's then new factory in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, in February 2024.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 3, 2025
In chip renaissance, Japan is learning from past mistakes
In the 1980s, Japan dominated semiconductor production. Fast-forward to today and the country is trying to recapture its past glory, this time with a more outward-looking strategy.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida concludes a news conference at the company's headquarters in Yokohama in February.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2025
Nissan management shake-up plans reported as sharks circle  
Nissan is considering a change in leadership following poor results and the failure of a proposed merger with Honda, according to a report citing unnamed sources.
Japan has already seen 24 takeover bids so far in 2025. If that pace is sustained, they may exceed 100 this year for the first time ever.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 27, 2025
Stock investors in Japan hunt for takeover targets with new fund
Japan has already seen 24 takeover bids so far in 2025.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at a news conference following the Group of 20 foreign ministers' meeting in Johannesburg on Feb. 20
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 26, 2025
Japan's soft power may hold key to African development as U.S. cuts aid
Businesses linked to Japanese food and anime, for example, may play an important role in investments to Africa from Japan.
Warren Buffett's plans to increase holdings in Japanese trading houses are seen as a stamp of approval for the undervalued sector.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 25, 2025
Buffett’s fervor for Japan trading firms sparks share rally
Buffett praised Japan’s trading firms for increasing dividends when appropriate and for being less aggressive in their executive pay than U.S. counterparts.
In all, global investors plowed around $315 million into eFishery’s preferred shares over five funding rounds.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 24, 2025
SoftBank among eFishery investors facing near wipeout
Investors in the startup, which deploys feeders to fish and shrimp farmers in Indonesia, are likely to get back less than 10 cents for every dollar they invested.
Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., says he is looking to increase ownership in Japan’s five largest trading houses.
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2025
Berkshire set to gradually raise stakes in Japan trading houses
The shares of the five — Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Itochu, Sumitomo and Marubeni — have benefited over the longer term from Buffett’s interest.
Japanese investors are estimated to have increased holdings of Chinese bonds by 53% last year, the most among the markets that make up the World Government Bond Index, according to Bloomberg analysis of Japanese balance-of-payments data.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 22, 2025
Tokyo fund buys China bonds for first time on Japanification bet
"Our long-term view is that it’s inevitable for China to follow the path of Japan,” said Hikaru Tanaka, fund manager at Asset Management One.
Nissan in recent weeks has been searching for a strategic partner in the tech industry, with some board members suggesting Tesla and Apple as ideal targets, the Financial Times reported.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 21, 2025
Japan seeks Tesla investment in Nissan as Foxconn approaches Honda
Taiwan's Foxconn has reportedly proposed forming a partnership with Honda, aiming for a framework that would also include Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors.
Rail wagons loaded with iron ore move along a rail track at Rio Tinto's rail yard operations in Karratha, Western Australia.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2025
Mitsui to buy stake in Australian iron ore mine for $5.3 billion
The move is a bet that the global steel industry will need high-quality raw materials to support its push to go green.
Sony Group looks set to become the latest flagship name to tap Japan's corporate bond market.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 18, 2025
Japan’s historic rate shift is turbo-charging the credit market
Japanese companies have sold ¥14.7 trillion ($96.8 billion) of local-currency bonds in the current fiscal year, a record for the period.
Japan’s robo-adviser market, estimated to be worth around ¥3 trillion, has massive room for growth, says the CEO of robo-adviser Folio Holdings.
BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2025
SBI-backed Japan robo-adviser Folio targets swing to profit and IPO
Japan’s robo-adviser market is estimated to be worth around $19.8 billion.
Nissan Chief Executive Officer Makoto Uchida during a news conference at the company’s global headquarters in Yokohama on Thursday
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 14, 2025
Honda and Nissan parting leaves both with unresolved problems
One needs scale to compete on the global stage, the other a lifeline to stay afloat.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said that Nippon Steel has agreed to make a big investment in the U.S. company instead of acquiring it, and has voiced his intention to meet with the leader of Nippon Steel as early as this week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 13, 2025
Nippon Steel exec heads to U.S. to prepare for talks with Trump
Nippon Steel may be forced to significantly revise its plans as Trump has said that the Japanese company will not take a majority stake in U.S. Steel.
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki addresses a meeting of the Legislative Council held at the ministry on Monday.
BUSINESS
Feb 12, 2025
Japan eyes measures to empower firms with details of de facto shareholders
Shareholder lists compiled by companies currently display only the names of trust banks and other nominal shareholders, making it difficult to identify de facto shareholders.
Volatility in the Vision Fund’s quarterly performance consistently dogs SoftBank, which has embarked on a project with OpenAI to invest $500 billion on artificial intelligence infrastructure.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 12, 2025
SoftBank swings to a loss ahead of big Stargate AI bet
The Tokyo-based company reported a net loss of ¥369.2 billion ($2.4 billion) for the fiscal third quarter amid volatility in its Vision Fund unit.
Employees assemble D-Max trucks on an assembly line at Isuzu's Samrong Plant in Samut Prakan Province, Thailand, in March.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 12, 2025
Isuzu to build car plant in South Carolina as Trump tariffs loom
Isuzu plans to have the site up and running by 2027, aiming to employ more than 700 workers there by 2028 and produce 50,000 vehicles annually by 2030.
SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son announces the Stargate Project, an artificial intelligence venture with OpenAI, during a news conference in Tokyo on Feb. 3.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 11, 2025
SoftBank eyes debt-heavy financing for $500 billion AI push
SoftBank and OpenAI’s push to build out tens of gigawatts of datacenter capacity has the potential to be the biggest rollout of computing power ever.
Fuji Media's headquarters in Tokyo's Minato Ward
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 10, 2025
Fuji Media shares rise to 17-year high on Rheos’ 5% stake
Rheos, which manages a popular fund called Hifumi, holds 5.12% of Fuji Media shares after building its stake from Jan. 20 to Thursday.
Japan's current account surplus grew 29.5% year on year in 2024, the Finance Ministry said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 10, 2025
Japan's current account surplus hits record high in 2024
The surplus grew 29.5% from 2023 to ¥29.26 trillion ($193 billion) last year, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after
Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER