author

 
 

Meta

Keiko Ujikane
For Keiko Ujikane's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan’s latest growth figures are set to confirm it slipped to become the world's fourth-largest economy last year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 13, 2024
Japan GDP set to confirm slip to world’s fourth-largest economy
Figures for the calendar year are almost certain to show the value of output falling behind Germany’s in dollar terms.
Japan's core consumer prices rose 2.5% in November from a year earlier, marking the slowest pace of increase in over a year in a sign of easing cost-push pressures in the world's third-largest economy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 22, 2023
Japan’s cooling inflation also offers encouraging signs for BOJ
Consumer prices excluding fresh food items rose 2.5% from a year earlier as falls in energy costs deepened and gains in processed food prices eased.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 6, 2023
Weak Japan wage results offer little for Kishida or BOJ
Real cash earnings for Japan’s workers dropped 3.0% from a year earlier in April, slipping for the 13th month as overtime pay showed weakness.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 14, 2023
Japan deepens diversity lag with no women among BOJ nominees
The nominations came amid heightened expectations that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was looking to choose the first female deputy governor in the Bank of Japan’s 140-year history.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2023
Japan to lag again on diversity if women shut out of BOJ race
Not a single woman’s name is doing the rounds as a potential replacement for Haruhiko Kuroda as central bank governor in the world’s third-largest economy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 25, 2022
Fueled by weak yen, Tokyo inflation hits fastest pace since 1982
The continued acceleration in core inflation challenges Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kurodau2019s view that the current cost-push inflation is only temporary.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2022
Tumbling yen spells inflation opportunity for Bank of Japan
The cost-push inflation the weaker yen is amplifying likely offers Japan its best chance to secure stable inflation in years.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 29, 2021
Japan's GPIF, world’s top pension fund, won’t invest in China’s sovereign debt
As Chinese debt is being added to the FTSE Russell global bond index, the Japanese fund will instead use a version of the World Government Bond Index that excludes Chinese government bonds.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 25, 2019
Fear of retirement poverty drives Japanese to private pensions
Japanese households are rushing to private retirement products after a government report fueled fears that the national pension system won't be enough to support them during old age.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2019
House-flipper takes advantage of Japan's 8 million-plus empty homes
More than 8 million homes lie abandoned across Japan, a symptom of the declining population and people's migration to major cities.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2019
Hundreds of firms may be demoted in Tokyo Stock Exchange shake-up
As part of an effort to streamline markets and attract more investors, the Tokyo Stock Exchange may demote about a third of its largest listed companies and cut down the bourses it operates to three from four, according to media reports.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 31, 2018
Goldman Sachs to failed manga artist to startup queen: Akiko Naka's unique path to success
By the age of 34, Akiko Naka has already experienced more career-wise than most people do in a lifetime.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 22, 2018
Japan's shogi champ makes all the right moves as AI startup hits stratosphere
Takahiro Hayashi won his first nationwide title in shogi while still in high school and by the age of 22 he was the world amateur champion. His coaches were urging him to turn pro.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2018
Confused by the stock market? Japanese cosmetics firm suggests analyzing eyebrows
With Japan's stock market having slipped away from strategists' targets set at the start of the year, investors seeking alternative analysis could consider studying eyebrows.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 28, 2017
As dark pool action grows in Japan, top exchange lobbies for action
The Tokyo Stock Exchange is worried about Japan going dark.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 1, 2017
Japan's biggest IPO of the year may deliver almost 30% gain within a year
Shares in SG Holdings — operator of Japan's second-largest parcel delivery company by volume, Sagawa Express — could rise in value by as much as 27 percent within a year after its debut this month, as investors bet on solid earnings helped by logistics services at home and abroad.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 27, 2017
As Abe pushes for structural reform, old Japan Inc. culture fights back
While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's vaunted third arrow — structural reforms — has generally been rated as unsuccessful, his administration has received high praise from Japan analysts for shaking up the country's corporate management system.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 20, 2017
Volatility returns to Tokyo markets
Bryan Goh says there's no clear reason why Japanese stocks suddenly started falling after a turbocharged rally sent them to their highest in a quarter century.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 29, 2017
Foreign investors bet big on Japan stocks right before Abe's snap election call
In the two weeks before Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called a snap election, foreign investors using the futures market — which are often hedge funds — suddenly turned hugely positive on Japanese shares.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Aug 22, 2017
Prime time in worker-scarce Japan for investing in service robots
Faced with their worst labor shortage in decades, Japanese service companies are finally turning to labor-saving technology, an investment that could lift the sector's woeful level of productivity and allow them to raise wages.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world