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July 06, 2025
 

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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.
BUSINESS
Oct 21, 2006
Daiei operating profit up, net profit down
Daiei Inc. said Friday its operating profit for its March-August half was 25.45 billion yen, up 41.9 percent from the previous year, on sales of 672.1 billion yen, due to strong sales in its credit card subsidiary OMC Card Inc.
BUSINESS
Oct 19, 2006
Inpex to drill for Indonesian gas
Inpex Holdings Inc. said Wednesday it plans to develop a gas field in southern Indonesia to produce about 3 million tons annually beginning as early as 2014 in a bid to ensure Japan has a steady supply of liquefied natural gas.
BUSINESS
Oct 14, 2006
Nuke test casts cloud over markets: Fukui
The nuclear test North Korea claimed it conducted Monday will negatively effect Japan's economy, Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui said Friday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 12, 2006
Sony's battery fiasco a symptom of bigger woes at legendary firm
It was a fine day at Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 16 when a passenger's ThinkPad laptop, containing a Sony Corp. battery already recalled by other companies, was suddenly wreathed in smoke and started emitting sparks.
BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2006
Business sentiment hits two-year high
Business confidence at large manufacturers rose to a two-year high in the three months through September, according to the Bank of Japan's latest "tankan" survey, despite forecasts by economists it would either remain flat or slightly decline.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Oct 3, 2006
Transport minister wants road taxes to be spent on more than just roads
Gas and vehicle taxes should not be spent only on road construction but also on protecting the environment, including maintaining the nation's forests, according to the new minister of land, infrastructure and transport.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 30, 2006
Single rate cap needs five years, FSA chief says
A transition period of about five years in introducing a lowered, single interest-rate ceiling for consumer loans is necessary to meet potential demands from customers who want to borrow money for a short period, Financial Services Agency chief Yuji Yamamoto reckons.
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2006
Nissan to sell off stake in truck maker to Volvo
AB Volvo said Monday it will acquire 34.5 billion yen of Nissan Diesel Motor Co.'s preferred stock and purchase 6 percent of Nissan Diesel's outstanding shares from Nissan Motor Co. -- a move that will push Volvo's stake in the truck manufacturer closer to 50 percent by April 2014.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 23, 2006
Sony takes center stage at Tokyo Game Show
CHIBA -- The nation's biggest game exhibition kicked off at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba on Friday as industry officials and media reporters took a peek at the next-generation video-game consoles before they hit the stores later this year.
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2006
Top Lexus model glides into showrooms
Toyota Motor Corp. unleashed the Lexus LS, its flagship model, on Japan on Tuesday in hopes of improving flagging sales of the internationally known brand, which has not lived up to expectations here since debuting in August 2005.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2006
'Gyudon' return sets off stampede to Yoshinoya
Fans of Yoshinoya's beef bowls thronged the fast-food chain Monday to get their first taste of the popular dish in more than 2 1/2 years since it was scratched from the menu due to the ban on U.S. beef.
BUSINESS
Sep 16, 2006
Lenders to get five years until 20% rate cap: LDP
A key Liberal Democratic Party panel agreed Friday to shorten a transition period for the creation of a single interest-rate ceiling for consumer loans to five years instead of the original nine proposed by the Finance Services Agency, panel members said.
BUSINESS
Sep 16, 2006
Government says deflation still not beaten
The government on Friday stopped short of declaring the death of deflation in its September economic report, but dropped the dreaded word for the first time since April 2001.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2006
M.crew offers work in the day, cheap bed at night
Three years ago, a 19-year-old man arrived in Tokyo from Kyushu to work at a security company.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2006
Motorcyclists to get some help from government on parking
Hideo Sakata remembers the time of "lawlessness" when it was easy to find a place in Tokyo's Roppongi district to park his motorcycle.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2006
Seiyu cuts first-half loss to 1.36 billion yen
Seiyu Ltd. said Tuesday its first-half group operating loss narrowed to 1.36 billion yen from 2.48 billion yen for the same period last year, thanks to higher sales of household goods.
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2006
Rakuten enjoys 37% surge in profit
Rakuten Inc. reported Friday that its group net profit rose 37.1 percent to 7.1 billion yen in the first half of the year, thanks to strong sales at its online brokerage.
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2006
Despite Oji's likely failure, M&As catching on
Japan appears to have entered a new era of mergers and acquisitions with Oji Paper Co.'s recent takeover bid for Hokuetsu Paper Mills Ltd.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 15, 2006
Affiliate marketing now coming of age
"Half my advertising budget is wasted, but I don't know which half," goes the old retailer's quip, but this dilemma may someday be a thing of the past. If so, affiliate marketing, a type of pay-for-performance advertising, will get some of the credit.
BUSINESS
Aug 12, 2006
BOJ Policy Board talks net no changes
The Bank of Japan decided Friday to maintain its 0.25 percent short-term interest rate as the central bank's assessment of economic and financial condition in the past month remained unchanged.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Japan to require flight passengers to keep power banks within sight
The transport ministry has announced new regulations requiring flight passengers to keep power banks within sight to mitigate fire risks while on board planes.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

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