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April 23, 2024
 

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Ritsuko Shimizu
For Ritsuko Shimizu's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Akihiro Fukutome, head of the Japanese Bankers Association, said new takeover guidelines from the industry ministry last year have helped lower psychological hurdles associated with unsolicited bids.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 1, 2024
Japan's banks less hesitant with hostile takeovers, lobby chief says
His comments offer evidence of a sea change in Japan — which once shunned hostile bids — that has helped bring it closer to Western-style dealmaking.
Tadashi Imai, who became Nippon Steel's new president on Monday
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 1, 2024
Nippon Steel emphasizes its roots in the U.S. as it pursues deal
The Japanese firm has agreed to buy U.S. Steel for roughly $15 billion but the deal faces an uphill battle to approval in a U.S. election year.
Nippon Steel Executive Vice President Takahiro Mori, who is set to meet the United Steelworkers (USW) union chief this month, says the Japanese steel producer plans to uphold all of the current agreements between the union and U.S. Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 5, 2024
Nippon Steel exec to meet USW head to seek support for U.S. Steel deal
Winning the union's backing is a priority for the Japanese steel producer because then the acquisition will be "no longer a political issue."
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group CEO Hironori Kamezawa
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 22, 2023
Japan banks scramble to beef up asset management businesses
Asset management has emerged as an area of focus for the banks this year amid signs decades of deflation is ending.
Big Japanese banks are now training a generation of professional front-line staff who have little experience with rising interest rates.
BUSINESS
Dec 5, 2023
Staff at Japan's banks scramble to adjust to rising interest rates
Many younger employees have no expertise in dealing with the vagaries of a traditional inflationary environment.
Kei Umeda, CEO of Mizuho Trust & Banking, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Nov. 27.
BUSINESS
Dec 5, 2023
Mizuho sees firms scrambling to meet TSE's capital efficiency call
In January the Tokyo bourse will start publishing a list of companies that have disclosed action plans in line with its call to improve use of capital.
More companies are using employee share incentives as a tool to retain talent and comply with a request by the regulator to pay more attention to share price performance.
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2023
Japanese companies warm up to employee stock incentives
More companies are using employee share incentives as a tool to retain talent.
Kenya Koshimizu, senior executive at Mizuho Financial Group, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 22, 2023
Mizuho deferring JGB purchases as BOJ mulls policy exit: official
Banks face a looming inflection point as Japan's economy approaches policy normalization after years of little growth, weak spending and massive easing.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 5, 2023
7-Eleven spinoff would jeopardize growth, CEO says, pushing back at ValueAct
Ryuichi Isaka said 7-Eleven is reliant on staff and know-how from Seven & I's supermarket businesses in developing products for its Seven Premium private brand.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 1, 2023
Japan activist group hails stock exchange reform as remedy for undervalued stocks
Investors say the move is a testament to the fact that firms can no longer brush aside stock underperformance and must end the practice of asset-hoarding.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 4, 2023
Family office of Nintendo heirs says patience is a superpower
The investment firm is willing to play a long game when it comes to portfolio companies and can wait more than a decade to see a turnaround, a top executive said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 9, 2023
JIP-led group has secured loans worth ¥1.4 trillion for Toshiba buyout, sources say
Toshiba named the consortium as its preferred bidder last October, but the group was unable to meet a requirement to provide commitment letters from banks by Nov. 7.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 5, 2023
BOJ's policy tweak hasn't led to lending windfall, Mizuho head says
Comments from the president and CEO of Mizuho Financial Group highlight the challenges Japanese banks still face.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 5, 2023
Japan's SMFG to extend Jefferies alliance beyond U.S., CEO says
'We will cooperate anywhere we can,' leveraging Jefferies' investment banking expertise and SMFG's huge balance sheet, Jun Ohta said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 11, 2022
Japan looks to top up LNG reserves as possible Russian gas cutoff looms
Utilities are scrambling for already stretched energy sources as resource-poor Japan joins the West in punishing Russia for its actions in Ukraine.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2022
As Fukushima memory fades, Japan's nuclear power proponents hope for reset
The growing calls from business leaders and lawmakers come amid persistent public opposition to nuclear power, muddying the outlook for energy policy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2021
Tokyo ready to back Western Digital-Kioxia deal if key tech stays in Japan, sources say
The tie-up could give Japan greater leverage in geopolitical rivalries increasingly dominated by technology, including over shortages of chips.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 14, 2020
Paris accord under threat if virus trumps climate change, Koizumi says
Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi warned Monday that the Paris climate accord could face "death" if steps to fight global warming are put on the back burner to facilitate the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 27, 2017
Convenience stores are part of Japan's 'social infrastructure,' but labor crunch threatening that role
Japan's growing labor shortage threatens the nation's ubiquitous convenience stores, whose business model relies on an army of part-timers packing bento boxed lunches, manning cash registers and delivering goods 24/7.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 16, 2015
SABMiller, AB InBev merger may reignite Japanese brewers' foreign ambitions
The planned $100 billion merger of Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller will be a wake-up call to the overseas ambitions of Japanese brewers, which are struggling to grow at home in a saturated market with a shrinking population.
Japan’s cannabis market growing rapidly amid regulatory shift
The legality of products that contain cannabinoids, a group of substances derived from the cannabis plant, has been somewhat murky in Japan.
Philippines wants U.S. and Japan to take over rail deal eyed by China
Delfin Lorenzana
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
At least one dead, seven missing after two MSDF helicopters crash off Izu Islands
Contact was lost with the two SH-60K helicopters, each carrying four crew, in an area east of Torishima in the Izu Island chain during anti-submarine warfare training Saturday night.
Tokyo Rainbow Pride lights up capital as organizers celebrate 30 years
Rainbow flags were flown through the capital's busy Shibuya and Harajuku areas for Tokyo Rainbow Pride events this weekend as organizers hailed 30 years of one of Asia's largest LGBTQ celebrations.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
A craft beer crawl through Tokyo’s top bars, brewpubs and dives
If all you drink is Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin, you're depriving yourself of some of the best craft beer Tokyo has to offer — and there sure is a lot of it out there.
Tsukiji 2030s: A stadium, culinary center and transportation hub
A computer-generated image shows redevelopment plans for the former site of the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo.
Hearing the impact of climate change in Okinawa, one bird call at a time
Toshihiro Kinjo (center), a research support technician at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, inspects an audio recording device in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on April 3 as Masako Ogasawara, a research support specialist at OIST, looks on.
Japan’s cannabis market growing rapidly amid regulatory shift
The legality of products that contain cannabinoids, a group of substances derived from the cannabis plant, has been somewhat murky in Japan.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability
Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability

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