author

 
Menu
Search
 
July 27, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Kazuaki Nagata

Meta

Twitter

@kzinagata

Kazuaki Nagata
The main targets of a new bill on smartphone software are the app stores provided by Google and Apple, as consumers effectively have only two choices for smartphone operating systems: Apple's iOS or Google’s Android.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 22, 2024
Japan aims to curb Apple and Google's smartphone app duopoly
A new bill would compel dominant platforms to allow third parties to launch their own app markets and to offer more payment options.
A representative explains the features of the Afeela electric vehicle, a Honda-Sony Mobility concept car, at the CES 2024 trade show, in Las Vegas on Jan. 9. The Honda-Sony alliance plans to deliver its first EV model in the spring of 2026 in North America.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 16, 2024
Honda to double investment in electric vehicles and software
The automaker had planned to invest ¥5 trillion ($32.3 billion) for the 10 years through March 2031, but it now plans to spend ¥10 trillion by that point.
Japan Post CEO Tetsuya Senda (right) and his Seino Transportation counterpart Satoshi Takahashi announce their companies' agreement on joint long-haul truck operations, in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 10, 2024
Japan's logistics firms seek partnerships to cope with driver shortage
Japan Post and Seino Transportation have reached a basic agreement to work together on joint long-haul truck operations.
Laforet Harajuku, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last year, has been a witness to the district's evolution over the years.
BUSINESS
May 2, 2024
Harajuku strives to reclaim its former glory — and surpass it
Stakeholders are pulling out all the stops to restore the creative energy of the Tokyo district known for setting fashion trends in its heyday.
A man walks past an electronic board displaying the exchange rate for the yen against the U.S. dollar (right) in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 30, 2024
Did Japan intervene to prop up the yen? Analysts think it did.
The size and timing of the swing indicates that the government stepped in after the currency fell significantly.
A woman walks past the Bank of Japan headquarters in central Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2024
BOJ leaves policy unchanged despite yen’s continued weakness
Investors and market observers had been watching for whether the bank would send more hawkish signals to prop up the Japanese currency.
Mitsuko Tottori became Japan Airlines’ first female CEO on April 1, having risen through the ranks as a flight attendant and heading the flight attendant and customer experience divisions.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 25, 2024
New JAL chief concerned about yen’s ‘excessive’ weakness
While a weaker currency helps spur inbound tourism, it is curbing demand for overseas travel for people in Japan, Mitsuko Tottori says.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
Apr 17, 2024
Why hasn't Japan moved to prop up the weak yen?
Even though the yen has already far exceeded the level that prompted action in October 2022, an intervention seems far off.
Average age of Japanese chief executives increased for 33 consecutive years to 60.5 last year.
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2024
Japan biz leaders' average age rises for 33rd straight year
As of December last year, the average age of company leaders stood at 60.5 years old. In 1990, the average age was 54.
Harakado will open next Wednesday and aims to be a place where creators can gather.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 9, 2024
New Harajuku complex aims to become next cultural creators hub
The nine-story building — named Harakado — will open next Wednesday and is designed to be “a commercial complex where creators (can) gather.”
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda listens to a question during a news conference after a two-day monetary policy meeting at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on March 19.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 8, 2024
Ueda's first year as BOJ chief marked by smooth handling of policy shift
But the central bank governor now has to balance various factors, including how further rate hikes might affect not just the yen but also households.
Startup Genome officials speak to representatives from startups that will participate in the Global Hypergrowth Tokyo program during its kickoff event last week in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 3, 2024
New mentoring program aims to help later-stage Japan startups go overseas
While many acceleration programs target young startups, the new initiative focuses on later-stage firms that already have a certain degree of experience.
Major beef bowl chain Sukiya will introduce an additional 7% late night fee starting Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 30, 2024
Popular beef bowl chain Sukiya to introduce late night fees
The restaurants will from Wednesday charge an additional 7% to the bills of late-night customers coming between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the yen dropping to nearly ¥152 against the dollar on Wednesday morning.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 27, 2024
Yen slides to 34-year low, heightening talk of intervention
Although the Bank of Japan hiked rates for the first time in 17 years last week, the yen’s weakness has persisted.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a news conference after a policy meeting at the bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2024
BOJ introduces first rate hike in 17 years following pay gains
The negative rates policy, the last one in the world, had been a symbol of the Bank of Japan's ultraloose monetary stimulus lasting over a decade.
The results of wage negotiations between companies and labor unions are written on a whiteboard at the office of the Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 15, 2024
Japan’s labor unions win big pay raises for members
The preliminary figure for the average hike stands at a 33-year high of 5.28%, according to Japan’s largest labor organization.
Results of spring wage negotiations are written on a board at an office of the Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 13, 2024
Major Japanese firms offering solid pay hikes for second year running
Several companies met or even exceeded labor union demands, raising the possibility the Bank of Japan will adjust monetary policy soon.
A man looks at electronic boards displaying stock prices of companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on Monday. The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei average has surged at an unexpected pace of about 20% this year
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 8, 2024
A stock rally but sluggish growth: What’s the deal with Japan’s economy?
The Nikkei is benefiting from companies' strong earnings, but wider economic indicators are much less positive.
AI Medical Service's artificial intelligence-based endoscopic diagnostic support system is designed to help detect stomach cancer at an early stage.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 7, 2024
Tokyo startup looks to AI to boost gastrointestinal cancer detection
AI Medical Service thinks it can use Japan’s strengths in endoscopy to boost diagnosis of a condition responsible for 1 in 3 cancer deaths globally.
Solar panels on display at PV Expo in Tokyo on Wednesday. Japan's "transition bonds" will cover cutting-edge solar cells, as well as more controversial projects.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Mar 3, 2024
Japan wants cash for its green transition. But what are investors actually backing?
"Transition bonds" are intended to fund a wide variety of net-zero projects, but it's not clear all of them will actually help with decarbonization.
Japan's population continues to fall even as foreign resident count rises
The number of residents in Tokyo as of Jan. 1 rose by 0.03% from a year before, data shows, marking a year-on-year increase for the first time in three years, while the country's other 46 prefectures saw their populations continue to decline.
Japan’s minimum wage set for record ¥50 hike in major boost
Demonstrators rally to demand a big hike in minimum wages in Tokyo last week.
One dead, three missing as heavy rain batters Tohoku
Camera footage shows the Mogami River bursting its banks in Tozawa, Yamagata Prefecture, on Friday morning.
Yen melt-up nudges Japanese stocks into correction territory
Japanese stocks are down 10% from their July peak as the yen strengthens.
Yen rally could help end crushing wage decay in Japan
Some economists say a sticky weak yen trend would have a negative impact on Japan's real wage growth.
Japan’s minimum wage set for record ¥50 hike in major boost
Demonstrators rally to demand a big hike in minimum wages in Tokyo last week.
Japan loses top spot on strongest passport list to Singapore
Japan had the strongest passport for six years running from 2018, before being dethroned by Singapore on the 2024 list.
Why Japan's mysterious stash of classified funds escapes scrutiny
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (right) during a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Terunofuji, as he tends to do, returns to stamp his authority on sumo pretenders
Terunofuji (left) throws down Kirishima on Tuesday to build on his perfect record at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.
Japanese startups advised to internationalize to get some global mojo
Entrepreneurs who participated in the Beyond Japan Zero to X program last year share their experiences in the United States during a meeting in May in Tokyo.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’
Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER