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November 22, 2024
 

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RETAILERS

Ryu Kawane works at the Costco store in Meiwa, Gunma Prefecture. Costco's high pay has triggered wage hikes at other businesses in town.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 6, 2024
Costco's Japan wages provide pathway to firing up nation's low pay and economy
A sustainable rise in wages is a key goal for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the Bank of Japan says it's a crucial factor for normalizing monetary policy.
Toyota President Koji Sato announces the company's earnings results in Tokyo on May 8.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 17, 2024
Japan firms brace for earnings slumps after marking record profits
Companies are concerned over the weak yen, global conflict and inflation hitting personal spending.
A guest room at the Muji Hotel Ginza. Ryohin Keikaku, the brand’s parent company, now has a new business called Muji Stay, which brings under one umbrella the retailer’s existing hotels, homes and camps.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 12, 2024
Japan’s Muji bets minimalist retail will work for homes and hotels
Muji currently has three hotels — one in Ginza, one in Beijing and one in Shenzhen, with rooms often booked out months in advance
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.
Zensho Holdings, the operator of Sukiya and other restaurant chains, will raise salaries of regular employees by 12.2% on average.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 12, 2024
Japan firms across sectors offer pay hikes of up to 12% in spring talks
Early wage deals with unions reflect a recovery in earnings from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a sense of crisis over labor shortages.
A Daiso shop in New York in September 2022. While Daiso originally entered the U.S. in 2005, it has scaled these efforts up over the past few years — the retailer now has about 120 stores across seven states.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 11, 2024
Daiso banks on ‘brand Japan’ for U.S. expansion
The discount store chain plans to open 65 stores in the U.S. in 2024, and over 100 next year.
An earthquake measuring up to shindo 4 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale that hit southern Chiba Prefecture was among several that have shaken the area in recent days.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 5, 2024
Emergency goods sell out as quakes worry Chiba residents
Bottled water and portable toilets are among items that ran out of stock at some stores over the weekend.
On display at the new 7-Eleven store in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, are about 2,000 additional products that aren’t usually carried in 7-Elevens, including fresh fruit, diapers and hair-care products.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 29, 2024
Seven & I Holdings explores market for bigger 7-Elevens
Its new store in Chiba Prefecture will have more than twice the number of products and is almost double the size of regular outlets.
Aeon plans to spend about ¥102.3 billion to acquire a 13.6% additional stake in Tsuruha from Hong Kong-based hedge fund Oasis Management.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 28, 2024
Retailer Aeon to merge with drugstore chains Tsuruha and Welcia
The three companies said they will seek to expand their businesses outside Japan.
An employee at the Apita Kisarazu shopping mall in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture. Pan Pacific International Holdings, the parent company of the firm that operates Apita, abolished its rules on hair color in 2022 following requests by its employees.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 28, 2024
Japan's retailers and restaurants ease dress codes amid labor shortage
More and more companies have abolished in-house rules prohibiting colored hair and piercings to help with hiring and retain staff.
Customers look for Valentine's Day chocolate at Kintetsu Department Store's flagship outlet in the city of Osaka in January.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 8, 2024
Japan’s Valentine’s Day chocolate budget sees 34% rise
About 22% of survey participants said they would purchase chocolates for themselves — 3.4 times more than those buying for a romantic partner.
Aeon is aiming to encourage male workers to take child care leave. While almost all of its female employees currently take child care leave when they have a child, the rate for male employees is only 15%.
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2024
Aeon employees to receive 100% of income during child care leave
The retailer aims to gradually roll out the program from March to some 150 group companies.
A pedestrian walks outside an Aeon store near Kofukuji Matsubara shopping street in Yokohama in April 2022.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2024
Japan's Aeon in exclusive talks to buy Tsuruha stake from Oasis
An increase in Aeon's stake would add to its drugstore business, a key growth driver for the firm.
Foreign tourists at a duty-free counter in a department store in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2024
Duty-free sales at Japan department stores hit record high in 2023
The rise reflected the weak yen, as well as an increase in the number of foreign visitors to Japan.
Seiste's ¥1,650 limited-edition ice cream will be available for eat-in customers throughout the Valentine's Day period at the Matsuya department store in Tokyo's Ginza district.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 25, 2024
Tokyo department stores to offer in-store dining options for Valentine's Day
In recent years, the Feb. 14 celebration has evolved from a day of gifting sweets to a celebration of love for chocolate.
Uniqlo's Round Mini Shoulder Bag on sale at a store in London
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 16, 2024
Uniqlo sues Chinese fast-fashion rival Shein to defend hit bag
Fast Retailing joins rival Hennes & Mauritz in suing Shein for copyright infringement in Hong Kong where litigation has been underway since 2021.
Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo stores, says strong overseas sales drove a 25% rise in first quarter operating profit.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 12, 2024
Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing's Q1 profit soars on strong overseas sales
Profit was ¥146.7 billion ($1.01 billion) in the three months through November compared with ¥117.1 billion a year earlier.
Foreign tourists take pictures in Tokyo's Asakusa district in November.
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2023
Japan’s post-pandemic tourists shift spending to crafts and jewelry
Average spending on traditional handicrafts per visitor was ¥13,338 ($92) in the July-September quarter, up 80% from the same period in 2019.
Pedestrians walk past stores in the Koenji district in Tokyo on Oct. 29.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2023
Personal shopping services in Japan buoyed by weak yen
Shoppers who cannot physically be in Japan are outsourcing their hunt for bargains to remote shopping services.
A JD.com advertisement in Beijing promoting the Singles Day shopping festival
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2023
China’s Singles Day downbeat amid slumping consumer confidence
Shoppers are increasingly seeking value, looking for cheaper brands amid an overall mood of restraint.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

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

Longform

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world
mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

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