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Kanako Takahara

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Kanako Takahara
Kanako Takahara is a staff writer who has covered national politics, diplomacy, business and the economy at The Japan Times. A graduate of Sophia University, she is currently a national news editor.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2010
Ozawa, if he wins poll, promises Kan key post
Democratic Party of Japan heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa said Wednesday he will offer Prime Minister Naoto Kan a key Cabinet post if he is elected party leader and thus the next prime minister.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2010
Futenma plan OK: Ozawa
Democratic Party of Japan heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa on Thursday backpedaled from his claim the previous day that he had a new, specific plan for relocating U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and basically said the pact reached in May to move the base to Nago, Okinawa, stands.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 23, 2009
Fans make troupe phenomenon it is
Takarazuka Revue Co., Japan's all-female musical troupe, is a love-it or hate-it theatrical landmark.
JAPAN
May 1, 2009
'Swine flu' e-mails spread PC virus
E-mails containing a virus and falsely identifying the sender as the National Institute of Infectious Diseases have been sent out amid the swine flu epidemic, the institute said Thursday.
BUSINESS / Q&A
Feb 4, 2009
Postal hotel 'fire sale' draws flak
Orix Corp.'s purchase of 70 Kampo no Yado hotels from Japan Post Holdings Co. for the fire sale price of ¥10.9 billion has been making headlines for the past month and drawing the scorn of internal affairs minister Kunio Hatoyama.
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2009
Toyoda family scion got to the top fair and square
Akio Toyoda, 52, heir apparent to Japan's biggest automaker, may have the founding family's blood running through his veins but was not spoiled in any way as he steadily climbed the corporate ladder, a journalist said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Dec 27, 2008
Couple's multinational backgrounds make 'good match'
Although Tomoko and Riki Melwani both hold Japanese passports, by background they are multinational.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2008
Scenic cliffs drawing suicidal idled part-timers
An increasing number of part-time workers thrown out of their jobs because of the recession and with nowhere else to go are heading to Tojinbo, a popular sightseeing destination — and suicide spot — in Fukui Prefecture, according to a local nonprofit organization.
BUSINESS / Q&A
Oct 25, 2008
Lowdown on bank-aid bill
The credit crunch brought about by the collapse of the U.S. housing market is spreading throughout the world and has begun choking off funding to small and midsize Japanese companies.
BUSINESS / Q&A
Oct 23, 2008
Aso's team digging for 'buried funds'
With Prime Minister Taro Aso's government and ruling coalition lawmakers busy compiling a second economic stimulus package by the end of this month, the latest political catchphrase has become "Kasumigaseki maizokin," or buried funds in the Kasumigaseki district, the seat of the central government.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2008
Nakagawa has ministry hoist Hinomaru
Despite opposition from media organizations, the Finance Ministry displayed the Hinomaru flag in its press briefing room Friday under orders from Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa.
BUSINESS
Oct 15, 2008
Steps set to keep TSE stable
The government announced a package of measures Tuesday to stabilize the volatile stock market, including suspending sales of government-held shares.
BUSINESS
Oct 10, 2008
Asia not immune, Kuroda warns
The global financial crisis may force the Asian Development Bank to reduce next year's growth estimates for Asia's economies, ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda said Thursday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2008
Japan may bail out U.S.: economist
With Tokyo stocks plunging and the yen surging against the dollar, the financial crisis born in the United States can no longer be regarded as just a problem on the other side of the ocean.
BUSINESS
Oct 2, 2008
Industry's mood at five-year low
The business confidence of big manufacturers dipped below zero for the first time in more than five years in the latest Bank of Japan "tankan" survey released Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 27, 2008
Primary surplus not top priority: Nakagawa
Achieving a primary surplus by fiscal 2011 is not the most important goal for Prime Minister Taro Aso's administration, finance and financial services minister Shoichi Nakagawa said in an interview Friday.
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2008
Economists split over Nakagawa's dual financial duties
Prime Minister Taro Aso's appointment of Shoichi Nakagawa to head both the Finance Ministry and the Financial Services Agency drew mixed reactions Thursday as economists wondered whether the move will help Japan cope with global turmoil or compromise the FSA's regulatory role.
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2008
BOJ joins dollar-swap deal
The Bank of Japan and four other central banks Thursday agreed to a $180 billion swap deal with the U.S. Federal Reserve to pump dollars into short-term money markets and ease the global credit crunch.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2008
Collapse echoes through Japan
Monday's bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the fourth-biggest financial institution in the United States, sent shock waves through the global financial industry, and Japan was no exception.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 12, 2008
Coach builds brand of affordable luxury goods
Twenty years ago, at the height of the bubble economy, Coach Inc. started out small in Japan, selling its products at the Mitsukoshi department store in Yokohama.
JICA to designate four Japanese cities as 'hometowns' for African nations
The Japanese flag (left) with the flag of the African Union
103-year-old remembers Soviet attack right after WWII
Shoichi Takahashi holds a photo of himself when he was younger, in Otaru, Hokkaido, on May 17.
Schools get students involved in revision of unreasonable ‘black rules’
At Yawata Junior High School in Nagoya, there are no more rules on clothing and hairstyles. Students are free to wear either the school's uniform or clothes of their own choosing.
Tokyo crowned No.1 'workation' spot
Workations were a burgeoning trend in the corporate world for years before the COVID-19 pandemic turbocharged it.
Japanese man suspected of ordering double murder in Manila
Two suspects arrested over the killing of two Japanese last week are held in restraints in Manila on Tuesday.
Tokyo crowned No.1 'workation' spot
Workations were a burgeoning trend in the corporate world for years before the COVID-19 pandemic turbocharged it.
Candidates preparing to make final pitches for Sawamura Award
Hawks pitcher Livan Moinelo has a 1.13 ERA in 19 starts this season.
Winning warship bid gives Japan confidence boost as Tokyo eyes more exports
Australia’s decision to select Japan's upgraded Mogami-class warship, seen in this computer-generated image, has been “well received across Japanese industry," a Defense Ministry official said.
In Paris, chefs Chizuko Kimura and Kei Kobayashi make their mark
Chef Kei Kobayashi is France's only Japanese chef with three Michelin stars.
In preserving Japanese hospitality, ‘details are everything’
Beniya Mukayu, a traditional "ryokan" inn located in Ishikawa Prefecture, considers itself at "the heart of onsen towns, local residents, farmers, fishermen, sake brewers and artisans" — all of which need new, sustainable methods of serving visitors to survive into the future.

Podcast

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

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers
By Tomoko Otake

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