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April 30, 2024
 

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Jochen Legewie
For Jochen Legewie's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
May 5, 2008
Japan lags European peers on female empowerment
The latest EU-Japan summit wrapped up on April 23, with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda holding talks with European Council President Janez Jansa (the Slovenian prime minister) and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. The meeting came at a time when both Europe and Japan are facing an enormous combination of difficult issues, including rising oil and food prices, climate change, and the Tibet question.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Apr 7, 2008
Economic dependency makes Japan a silent ally of China
On March 5, Cui Tiankai, China's ambassador to Japan, was invited to speak to members of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai) for the first time in the organization's history.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Mar 10, 2008
Isolationist tendencies threatening to turn Japan into a 'subprime state'
Although the word "subprime" may have been understood only by a few industry insiders a few months ago, it is certainly entering the global lexicon with some force these days. Governments around the world have been deploring the state of their economies, usually invoking the dreaded problem as a key factor.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Feb 4, 2008
For Russia and Japan, bad blood not as thick as it seems
The great industrialist Henry Ford once proclaimed "history is bunk." But when it comes to international business, this wisdom does not always prevail.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Jan 14, 2008
Business scandals teach lesson few in Japan learn
Without a doubt, 2007 will go down as an "annus horribilis" for many industries in Japan, particularly the food industry. The list of scandals and crises last year was long indeed, and began right in January with the discovery that crowd-pleasing confectioner Fujiya had been mislabeling products for years.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Dec 17, 2007
'Green IT' trend set to heat up, but will it cool the world down?
There are few pieces of office equipment as ubiquitous or as necessary as the personal computer. While the number of PCs in use worldwide is nearly impossible to estimate, their prevalence as a basic tool may be obscuring their role as energy consuming devices.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Nov 5, 2007
Can new stock market keep startups in Tokyo?
Last week, the Tokyo Stock Exchange announced it was tying up with the London Stock Exchange to establish a new type of market in Japan.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Oct 8, 2007
Japan's huge ad market still slowing foreign firms
It's no secret that Japan's advertising market is one of the world's largest. Indeed, the world's biggest advertising firm is a Japanese one.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Sep 3, 2007
Merkel to Japan: Leading G8 not only about environment
Last week's visit to Japan by German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a sobering lesson in G8 politics. Germany currently holds the G8 presidency but will pass the baton to Japan in January.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Jul 30, 2007
Foreign competition begins to overshadow Japan's solar industry
Japan is often seen as the motherland of the photovoltaic industry. Back in 1993, the government started its New Sunshine Project, a massive subsid program that helped to equip 300,000 Japanese houses with solar panels over the following decade. During that time Japan became the undisputed world market leader for the production of photovoltaic systems. Still in 2006, three of the world's largest five firms were Japanese ones: Sharp, Kyocera and Sanyo. Their combined production capacity of solar cells amounted to 922 megawatts, clearly outweighing No. 2 Germany with 508 MW.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Jul 2, 2007
'Cool Earth' efforts with Merkel could help Abe change climate in Japan
You don't have to read gossip columns to know that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have been seeing a lot of each other lately.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
May 28, 2007
Russian car boom catches eye of Japan, Germany
Look at any atlas, and it is plain to see that what is separating Germany from Japan is the world's largest country, Russia. As a land mass, it is indeed a behemoth, spanning over 10,000 km and eleven time zones.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Apr 23, 2007
Japan and Germany: partners in labor pain
Although the word "arbeit," meaning work, is commonly used in Germany and Japan, which adopted the word, recent debates on labor in these countries show that their attitudes toward work are markedly different.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Mar 26, 2007
From steel and coal deal to integration: EU fetes 50 years of history
On Sunday, Europe marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, the historic agreement that established such bodies as the European Parliament and the Court of Justice.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Feb 19, 2007
Idle talk of 'unbundling' highlights EU's energy dependency woes
The EU Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council met in Brussels Feb. 15, and the chief item on the agenda was the "unbundling" of power networks.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Jan 22, 2007
Demographics, wisdom push Japan's overseas M&A deals
Last month Japan Tobacco, perhaps as a kind of Christmas present to itself, announced it was going to buy Gallaher Plc of the United Kingdom. The quoted figure for the deal was 2.25 trillion yen (14.5 billion euro), making it the largest-ever foreign takeover by a Japanese company.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Dec 4, 2006
Toyota, Isuzu and the sudden interest in diesel
Early in November, Toyota announced it was entering into a capital tieup with Isuzu Motors, a move that surprised many.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Oct 30, 2006
Will private equity boom in Japan? It did in Europe
After booming in the United States and Europe, private equity finally seems to have set its sights on Japan. Two of the world's top three private equity firms -- Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Texas Pacific Group -- have each opened offices in Japan or expanded their existing Japan operations over the last few months. Smaller firms including Japanese companies are likewise boosting their presence in the market.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Oct 2, 2006
Lobbying the potent EU, whose influence is borderless
Companies doing business in Europe are well aware of the European Union. But what some might yet not be so aware of is how important the EU institutions in Brussels and elsewhere can become for their business. What you don't know can hurt you a lot indeed. Consider the following:
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2006
Japan must act amid trade talk rubble
The World Cup of soccer wrapped up last month on an uncertain note. The unfortunate incident between French star Zinedine Zidane and Italian Marco Materazzi left an unsavory taste in the mouths of spectators worldwide.
When will Japan intervene to support the yen?
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki has reiterated the government's readiness to take an appropriate action as the yen continues to slide against the U.S. dollar.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Raising kids in Japan as a single parent? It takes a village.
Making things work as a foreign, single mother in Japan isn't easy, but these tips and tricks can help you through the hardest parts.
Yen rebounds strongly after first slide past ¥160 since 1990
The yen dropped to ¥160.245 per dollar on Monday before heading into the other direction to ¥155.01 amid speculation of an intervention by Japanese currency authorities.
Man, 28, arrested in Okinawa over burned bodies found in Tochigi
Hikaru Sasaki enters the Metropolitan Police Department's Osaki police station in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward on Monday after being arrested on suspicion of disposing of two bodies found in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, earlier this month.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.

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

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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