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May 03, 2024
 

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Komaki Ito
For Komaki Ito's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 16, 2021
Japan’s cult outdoor brand wants you to test its high-end tents
Snow Peak's president acknowledges the company's price point may deter some shoppers, but says it reflects the goods' quality and lifetime warranty.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 22, 2020
WealthNavi gives Tokyo Stock Exchange one of its biggest IPOs of year
The wealth management platform has debuted at a time when amateur investment in Japan is heating up.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 11, 2020
Rags to riches: CEO of ¥100 billion startup comes up from the streets
Taihei Kobayashi's story is among the most remarkable to emerge from a small-cap stock boom that's minting fortunes.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Aug 22, 2018
Bank of Japan's threat to global bonds fizzles as Japanese insurers stay put
For all the frenzy over the Bank of Japan's first policy tweak in almost two years, little seems to have changed for the nation's insurers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2018
Banking veteran slams Japanese banks' fixation on archaic trading methods
Regional banks need to stop their fixation with the old-fashioned buy-and-hold strategy and be more nimble to make the most of their investments, a three-decade industry veteran says.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 15, 2018
Japan's loyalty cards to provide early sneak peek at company profits
When shopping in Japan, a phrase you'll hear all the time is "Do you have a point card?" And the most common is the T-card, which can be used at hundreds of thousands of shops nationwide, from car accessory dealers to convenience stores.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2017
Venture brings freshest fish to cities, more money for fishermen
Ryohei Nomoto wants to put fresher sashimi on your plate, and more money in the wallets of Japan's struggling fishermen.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 20, 2016
Tokyo startup looks to tap satellite images of nighttime neon to forecast GDP
Nowcast Inc., a Japanese financial research and technology startup, has developed a product that estimates economic growth in real time by using satellite images of nighttime lights.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2016
Fintech venture takes on hedge funds with earnings estimates derived from big data
A Japanese startup is entering the equity research business in a bid to challenge the dominance of securities firms by using computers to crunch vast troves of information and predict companies' earnings.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2016
Japanese AI hedge fund paves way for evolution of trading
Yoshinori Nomura felt like weeping. It was the morning of June 24, Brexit day, and markets were moving against him.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 19, 2016
As Japanese bond investors hunt yields, hurricanes may be worth the risk
Japan's bond investors are so desperate for yield that more and more of them are putting money in notes from insurers whose value can be wiped out by unexpectedly strong hurricanes or earthquakes.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 1, 2016
Simplex hedge fund takes investing lesson from Tsukiji fish market
Simplex Asset Management Co. is taking some lessons from Tokyo's iconic wholesale fish market as it starts a fund to invest in companies looking to move their listings to the Topix index.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 22, 2016
Hedge fund's computer says sell Japan debt after 19% gain
For Kyo Yamamoto, leaving investment choices to a computer rather than making his own calls has been the best strategy as unorthodox global monetary policies only worsen market volatility. Right now, the machine says sell Japan government bonds.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2016
Japan Post Insurance to boost foreign debt as JGB yields plunge
Japan Post Insurance Co., the nation's biggest insurer by assets, plans to increase investments in foreign debt to boost returns as the central bank's negative interest rate policy sends government bond yields to unprecedented lows.
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.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 2, 2015
With massive IPO of Japan Post, the nation seeks to shake decades of torpor
As Japan prepares this week for the biggest initial public offering in the world since Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in September 2014, the government hopes that the ¥1.5 trillion privatization of the postal service will help revive the country from its 20-year slump.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2015
Japan restaurant fund mulling Singapore's first Asahi bar
Seiki Takahashi, who has opened and managed more than 50 restaurants around the world, is seeking to raise $10 million from high-net-worth individuals to invest in Japanese eateries expanding abroad.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 12, 2015
Entrepreneur aims to raise ¥1.2 billion to invest in Japanese eateries abroad
Seiki Takahashi, who has opened and managed more than 50 restaurants around the world, is seeking to raise ¥1.2 billion ($10 million) from high-net-worth individuals to invest in Japanese eateries expanding abroad.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2015
Car-pooling shows growth potential over long distances
Stuck in traffic heading out of Tokyo, Kohei Miwa noticed how few of the cars near him on the expressway were carrying passengers.
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2014
Ex-Murakami Fund executive seeks to raise ¥10 billion overseas for activist fund
Strategic Capital Inc., run by a former executive of the Murakami Fund, is seeking to raise more than ¥10 billion from overseas investors within a year for an activist fund that will invest in Japanese companies with excess cash and pressure them to increase shareholder returns.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
Number of vacant homes in Japan hits record high of 9 million
A vacant house in Tokyo is seen demolished in January 2020.
Saudi Arabia steps up Gaza-related arrests as Israel ties edge closer
The arrests for Gaza-related posts indicate Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s regime will take a hard line against citizens not toeing the line when it comes to normalizing ties with Israel.
'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.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
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.

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

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