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Shingo Kawamoto
For Shingo Kawamoto's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 10, 2020
Goldman says Japan stock index may still be too big after re-size
Japan's equity market overhaul may cut the companies in the benchmark gauge by a few hundred, and that won't be enough for investors, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 9, 2020
Japan-run language school that saw stock surge 1,093% last year eyes expansion
A Japan-run language school that saw its stock soar almost 12-fold last year is planning to expand into new business areas as its chief executive officer tries to keep the rally alive.
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 / Tech
Sep 5, 2019
5G stocks among rare winners in Japan's sluggish market
Even with an ongoing trade war between the world's two biggest economies, and a weak domestic market, some Japanese investors suggest going long on next-generation technology stocks.
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
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 / Companies
Aug 12, 2017
In bid to go global, MUFG woos overseas talent
Andrew Mitola had never heard of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. until he met recruiters for the bank during his junior year of college.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 1, 2017
MUFG arms itself with ¥1 trillion war chest for acquisitions
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.'s trust banking arm is seeking acquisitions abroad and has ¥1 trillion to spend as it seeks to become one of the 15 biggest asset managers worldwide.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 12, 2017
Nation's regional banks facing choice of mergers or extinction
Hiroshi Iwama and Mitsunori Watanabe used to joke about merging their banks in central Japan. When the Bank of Japan introduced negative interest rates last year, things got serious.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2017
Japan's mega-banks vie for top role as backers of clean energy
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. are in a neck-and-neck race to be the biggest lead arrangers of lending to the renewable energy industry in the first half of the year, highlighting the more active financing role for Japanese banks in clean energy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 16, 2017
MUFG's drastic staff restructure set to cut 10,000 positions in 10 years
Japan's biggest bank is set to undergo the most dramatic reduction in head count since it was formed after the nation's banking crisis shook the industry almost 20 years ago.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2017
A year later, Japan banks brave negative rates thanks in part to Trump
Japan's biggest banks have navigated through a year of negative interest rates and choppy financial markets with their profits intact, thanks at least in part to Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 11, 2016
Robo-adviser startup eyes Japanese millennials' spare change
Like their peers overseas, Japan's millennials aren't known for squirreling away their money. Kazuhisa Shibayama is trying to change that, one coin at a time.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2016
Apple hopes for e-money growth in cash-carrying Japan
Apple Inc.'s plan to allow Japanese customers to use iPhones to pay for their daily commute underscores the potential for digital payments to grow in a nation where people still prefer to hold cash.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2016
Japan Post to fight negative rates with shift to risk assets
Japan Post Holdings Co. will shift more of its $2.6 trillion investment portfolio to riskier assets to boost profitability as negative interest rates shrink income from government bonds.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 4, 2016
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi eyes U.S. regional banks, new CEO says
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.'s main lending unit is eyeing further acquisitions in the U.S. and Asia as part of its long-standing aspirations to become one of the world's leading commercial banks, the unit's new president said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2016
Margin-starved Japanese banks following carmakers to Mexico
In a quest to reduce their reliance on one of the world's least profitable banking markets, Japanese lenders are setting their sights on a much more lucrative one: Mexico.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 9, 2016
Negative interest rates to hit Japan Post Bank hard as bond yields plunge
Japan Post Bank Co. stands to lose the most from the Bank of Japan's decision to introduce negative interest rates as plummeting bond yields underscore its reliance on the country's debt for income.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 4, 2016
After winning at Japanese chess, this computer may help decide loans
Having defeated a human shogi (Japanese chess) expert, this computer program's next task is to figure out whether you can make the payments on a new mortgage.

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on