author

 
 
 Kazuaki Nagata

Meta

Twitter

@kzinagata

Kazuaki Nagata
Japanese households are struggling to keep up with price increases as salary growth lags.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 7, 2025
Real wages fall for fifth straight month in May
The 2.9% decline was the biggest fall in inflation-adjusted pay in Japan in almost two years.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange wants more exchange-traded funds and a wider variety of such offerings.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 4, 2025
Forming an ETF just got easier in Japan with new white-label service
Japan Asset Management Platform handles many of the formalities and much of the necessary operations for fund managers.
Opposition parties are proposing a consumption tax cut as inflation, especially food inflation, remains high.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jul 2, 2025
Consumption tax cut enters political conversation ahead of Upper House election
The Liberal Democratic Party opposes a reduction in the tax, but opposition parties are in favor of a cut.
The Bank of Japan's latest <i>tankan</i> survey beat consensus forecasts as the economy held up better than expected.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 1, 2025
Large Japanese companies surprisingly optimistic as U.S. tariffs bite 
In the tankan survey, automakers and smaller companies were relatively pessimistic.
Pat Gelsinger (left), former Intel CEO and general partner at Playground Global, and Peter Barrett, co-founder and general partner of Playground, in Tokyo on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2025
Former Intel CEO Gelsinger has some advice for Japan's Rapidus
He encourages the chipmaker to distinguish itself in some way from TSMC.
Bentos are popular with a wide range of people in Japan for convenience and price.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2025
Bento shop bankruptcies could hit a record in 2025
Inflation, weak economic growth and work-at-home arrangements are leading to a decline in sales, lower profits and losses.
A checkout system equipped with a display showing a 3D avatar enables a Lawson employee to remotely help customers at an experimental Lawson store that opened Monday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2025
Lawson beta tests futuristic convenience store with KDDI
Real x Tech Lawson utilizes a range of technologies, including robotics, digital signage and artificial intelligence.
About three-quarters of Japanese imported crude oil travels through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has threatened to close.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jun 20, 2025
Japan’s economy is particularly vulnerable amid Middle East conflict
The yen is not trading like a safe-haven asset following Israel's efforts to knock out Iran's nuclear program.
Shibuya’s iconic scramble crossing has helped put the district on the map globally.
BUSINESS
Jun 18, 2025
Shibuya, Tokyo's coolest ward, offers startups a leg up in Japan
It's offering international entrepreneurs free space, a good address and a wide range of support services.
The Bank of Japan is shifting its strategy on bond purchasing to help stabilize yields on longer-dated securities.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 17, 2025
Bank of Japan holds rates steady and signals shift in bond purchases
The central bank is leaning dovish as U.S. tariffs threaten economic growth.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet has approved this year's <i>honebuto no hōshin</i>, a document that sets economic and fiscal management guidelines for the government.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 13, 2025
Wage growth a focus of this year's honebuto no hōshin
The government's guidelines for economic and fiscal management outline the target of raising the average minimum hourly wage to ¥1,500 by 2030.
University of Tokyo President Teruo Fujii (left) and Y.J. Mii, a TSMC executive vice president, at a news conference Thursday. The school and the company have been working together since 2019.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 12, 2025
TSMC and Tokyo University team up to establish a chip lab
The chip giant and university will work together on chip-related technologies and supporting educational and research and development opportunities.
Online brokerage accounts are being taken over through the use of malware, phishing and other techniques.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 9, 2025
Online brokerage account hijackings continue in Japan
In May, over 2,000 unauthorized transactions were logged by the Financial Services Agency.
Wages in Japan are falling on a real basis, in part because of rising food prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 5, 2025
Real wages in Japan fell 1.8% year on year in April
Inflation-adjusted pay has now fallen for four straight months.
The number of "zombie companies" in Japan, which do not make enough to cover their interest payments, was estimated to have grown some 228,000 in fiscal 2023, one of the highest in a decade.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jun 3, 2025
'Zombie company' apocalypse might be the point of Japan's minimum wage push
Government efforts to accelerate the pace of pay increases could lead to poorly performing companies going out of business.
Takanori Nishiyama, Japan manager of Keeper Security. Password managers can help thwart phishing attacks.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
May 30, 2025
Online brokerage account hijacks in Japan highlight need for login vigilance
Portfolios are being commandeered to manipulate the market for the benefit of the hacker.
Seven & I hopes to focus more on its 7-Eleven convenience stores.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
May 28, 2025
Seven & I’s move away from banking leaves market wondering
7-Eleven's ATMs are an important part of the convenience store operator's business.
A lot at a Nissan plant in Mexico. The company may have overextended itself during the Ghosn era.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
May 20, 2025
Nissan’s troubles might go all the way back to Ghosn 
Some analysts argue that aggressive expansion by the iconoclastic executive left the company overextended.
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2025
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
No matter what happens, they expect the new levies to cost them a lot.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Nihonbashi. The exchange wants companies to lower the entry cost of investing in their shares.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 14, 2025
Tokyo Stock Exchange wants stocks to be affordable for the average investor
Attracting more small investors could help reduce volatility due to the introduction of a wider range of investment strategies.

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