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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
Apr 18, 2008
Ailing Hitachi subsidiary spurns U.S. fund's offer
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Inc., a U.S.-based hard-disk drive subsidiary of electronics giant Hitachi Ltd., said Thursday it will rebuild its business on its own, denying rumors it will sell part of its shares to U.S. investment fund Silver Lake Partners.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2008
Radio station to air '55 Osaka hanging
Nippon Cultural Broadcasting Inc. will air an audio recording of an execution carried out at the Osaka Detention House in 1955, a spokesman for the AM radio station said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2008
Insurer looks to online sales to undercut big firms
Daisuke Iwase, 32, immediately felt chemistry when he was introduced to Haruaki Deguchi in Tokyo's Akasaka district two years ago. The chemistry was all business.
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2008
Nomura group to buy into Ashikaga Bank
A consortium led by Nomura Holdings Inc. signed an agreement Friday with Deposit Insurance Corp. of Japan to purchase shares of Ashikaga Bank Ltd., paving the way for the government-owned regional bank to become private again July 1.
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2008
Subprime losses lower Mizuho profit forecast
Mizuho Financial Group Inc. on Friday revised downward its forecast for business 2007 to ¥310 billion in group net profit from its initial ¥480 billion due to losses stemming from the U.S. subprime loan crisis. It was the third downward revision for the business year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 10, 2008
Tough call on rate cut awaits new governor
The past three weeks have been something of a roller coaster ride for Masaaki Shirakawa, the former career central banker who was appointed Bank of Japan governor Wednesday by both chambers of the Diet.
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2008
P&G, IBM most 'woman-friendly'
The Japanese units of overseas companies topped the list of firms in the country with the best working environment for women, according to a survey conducted by monthly magazine Nikkei Woman released Friday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / TAKING A CHANCE
Apr 5, 2008
Leaf-selling business helps small town rake in cash, find pride
Tomoji Yokoishi, 49, recalls how astonished he was 21 years ago by three pretty women sitting next to him in a sushi restaurant in Osaka's Namba district.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2008
Outlook bleak, businesses say
Business sentiment among major manufacturers dropped by 8 points to 11, marking the biggest drop in three years, according to the latest Bank of Japan "tankan" survey released Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 1, 2008
BOJ finds itself in 'unpresidented' state
The divided Diet has left the Bank of Japan with a vacant seat at the top for the first time since the war. This came about after Toshihiko Fukui's five-year term ended in mid-March and the government's nominees to succeed him were vetoed.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2008
End cross-shareholding, up dividends: TCI to J-Power
A senior executive of the Children's Investment Fund Management LLP (TCI), a British investment fund and the largest shareholder of Electric Power Development Co., urged the utility Friday to stop cross-shareholding and increase investment in fast-growing emerging economies.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2008
Fukui's term ends on sour note
What would have been a cheerful sayonara news conference Wednesday evening for departing BOJ Gov. Toshihiko Fukui instead turned into an uncomfortable interrogation as he was peppered with questions about the Diet's failure to endorse his successor.
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2008
BOJ boss lacking Finance Ministry ties unthinkable
Tuesday's nomination of another former top Finance Ministry bureaucrat, Koji Tanami, for the Bank of Japan governorship shows the government continues to want someone with a background in the ministry at the post.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2008
Shinsei unloads headquarters for ¥118 billion to duck red ink
Shinsei Bank, the first Japanese lender acquired by foreign investors, agreed to sell its head office in central Tokyo on Thursday as it struggles to stay out of the red amid losses from the U.S. subprime mortgage loan crisis.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2008
Critical time for BOJ to lack governor
With the opposition-controlled House of Councilors' veto Wednesday of Toshiro Muto's nomination for Bank of Japan governor, the prospects are mounting that the BOJ helm will become vacant after Toshihiko Fukui's term ends March 19.
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2008
Shinginko Tokyo may sue ex-managers
Shinginko Tokyo, the brainchild of Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, said Monday it will consider suing its former management team, including ex-Chief Executive Officer Yasumasa Nishi, for allowing over-lenient screening that resulted in billions of yen in losses.
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2008
Jury still out on Fukui's legacy
What thoughts were going through Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui's mind on the last day of the BOJ Policy Board meeting Friday — the final one before his term ends March 19 — is anyone's guess.
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2008
Analysts see bid for balance in choice of BOJ nominees
The government's nomination Friday of Masaaki Shirakawa, a former Bank of Japan executive, and Takatoshi Ito, a member of the government's Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, as new BOJ deputy governors prompted analysts to wonder whether one of them may become the central bank's chief five years...
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2008
Ferrari to open subsidiary as luxury car sales boom
Ferrari SpA announced Friday it will open a Japanese subsidiary on July 1, transferring importer rights from dealer Cornes & Co. in an effort to cash in on the growing Japanese luxury market.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2008
Shinginko Tokyo asks for more money
Troubled small and medium-size business lender Shinginko Tokyo said Wednesday it has asked the Tokyo Metropolitan Government for a capital injection of ¥40 billion to counter mounting losses from borrower defaults.
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’

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What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
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