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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
Jun 26, 2008
Goodwill to liquidate temp agency
Goodwill Group said Wednesday it will close its scandal-tainted temp staff unit Goodwill Inc. by the end of July because the health ministry is preparing to revoke its business license.
BUSINESS
Jun 25, 2008
JT execs face shareholders' ire over food poisonings, tax talk
Shareholders of Japan Tobacco Inc. peppered management with questions Tuesday over the food-poisoning scandal involving pesticide-tainted frozen "gyoza" dumplings made in China.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 10, 2008
Pawing in enough to be a fat cat
The world's most coveted kitty wears just a bow, doesn't have a mouth to feed and has never been in trouble.
BUSINESS
Jun 10, 2008
Industry still not sold on cap-and-trade
While Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Monday presented his plan to introduce emissions trading on a trial basis as early as autumn, Japanese businesses remain skeptical about whether the cap-and-trade system is the best way to slash greenhouse gas emissions.
BUSINESS
Jun 7, 2008
Securitized losses top ¥2 trillion
The combined losses incurred by Japan's 673 financial institutions on their holdings of securitized products, including those linked to U.S. subprime loans, amounted to ¥2.44 trillion at the end of March, the Financial Services Agency said Friday.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2008
Premium revenues drop at six big life insurers
Premium revenues at six of Japan's nine major life insurers dropped in the business year to March, according to earnings results released Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / G8 COUNTDOWN
May 30, 2008
Japan finding itself in hot water
SADO, Niigata Pref. — Kyuichi Sakano, head of Niigata's fixed shore net fishing association, sighed in dismay one day last December as his fishing boats came back yet again without any yellowtail.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 24, 2008
BOJ chief willing to cut rates as economy slows
Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa said Friday he will not rule out lowering the BOJ's benchmark interest rate from the current 0.5 percent amid the slowing economy.
BUSINESS
May 23, 2008
Hilton to open hotel at Niseko resort area
Hilton Hotels Corp. said Thursday it will open a refurbished hotel July 1 in the Hokkaido resort area of Niseko, a location recently popular with skiers from abroad, to make it a year-round resort for families, golfers and skiers.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2008
Nonlife insurers lashed by steep profit hits
Four of Japan's six major nonlife insurance companies saw their group net profits plunge in business 2007 as the U.S. subprime loan crisis and the subsequent fall in global stock prices pushed down profits from their investments, the firms said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
May 21, 2008
Subprime crisis slammed banks in 2007
The U.S. subprime loan crisis and subsequent turbulence in stock markets worldwide pushed down profits at Japan's major banking groups in the business year that ended in March.
BUSINESS
May 17, 2008
Lifenet to offer 30% cheaper insurance online
Lifenet Insurance Co., a newly established online life insurer, said Friday it will start selling polices Sunday via the Internet at rates up to 30 percent cheaper than those offered by major life insurers.
BUSINESS
May 17, 2008
SMBC logs 77.2% plunge in profit to ¥83 billion
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Banking Inc. said Friday that net profit at its banking unit, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., plunged 77.2 percent to ¥83 billion in the business year that ended in March as the U.S. subprime-loan upheaval eroded its profits.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2008
Mizuho profit drops 50%; worst said over
Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Japan's No. 2 banking group by assets, said Thursday its group net profit dropped 49.8 percent to ¥311.2 billion in business 2007 because of losses from the U.S. subprime loan crisis.
JAPAN
May 14, 2008
G8 seeks environmentally friendly workplaces
NIIGATA — Labor representatives of the Group of Eight industrialized nations agreed Tuesday that they must take measures to deal with the impact climate change will have on the labor market.
JAPAN
May 13, 2008
G8 talks take up labor inequalities, green role
NIIGATA — The Group of Eight industrialized nations must place more emphasis on a better work-life balance when drafting employment policies, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe said Monday at a G8 conference on labor.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2008
Toshiba announces plan to double profit
Toshiba Corp. said Thursday it plans to double its group operating profit to ¥500 billion in business 2010 from ¥238 billion it booked in business 2007 by expanding its NAND flash memory and nuclear power plant endeavors.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 3, 2008
Rain or shine, Disney's parade rolls on
Although a cloudy day in April, and a little chilly from the morning drizzle, the temperature seemed a bit higher at Tokyo Disneyland, where many had come to enjoy a new parade, "Jubilation!" created to mark the park's 25th anniversary.
Japan Times
JAPAN / G8 COUNTDOWN
May 1, 2008
EC to G8: Match our ambitious carbon goals
The European Commission will push members of the Group of Eight industrialized countries to equal the European Union's commitment to fighting global warming when the G8 summit opens in July in the hot-spring resort of Toyako, Hokkaido, a senior EC official said.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2008
Subprime woes send Nomura to ¥67.8 billion loss
Nomura Holdings Inc. said Friday it booked a group net loss of ¥67.8 billion in the business year ended in March due to losses related to U.S. subprime mortgage loans and falling stock prices.
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.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Muji has been sustainable from the beginning
Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

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