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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
Mar 17, 2006
Oil firms adjust footing amid Iran's nuclear follies
As tension mounts worldwide over the standoff concerning Iran's nuclear ambitions, Japanese oil companies are starting to take precautions as uncertainties surrounding the situation may force them to stop importing oil from the Islamic state.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2006
Usen chief to buy Fuji's Livedoor stake
Usen Corp. President Yasuhide Uno said Thursday he will personally purchase Fuji Television Network Inc.'s entire 12.75 percent stake in Livedoor Co. for 9.5 billion yen.
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2006
Wage increases reflect growing pay disparity
The pay raises at major carmakers and electronics firms announced Wednesday may be the first increases in five years but illustrate the fact that there are growing wage disparities between industries, companies and individuals.
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2006
How will delisting impact Livedoor?
The Tokyo Stock Exchange will delist Livedoor Co. on April 14, depriving the Internet company of the ability to raise capital on the market. How will the move affect Livedoor? Here are some questions and answers that address the firm's possible fate:
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2006
TSE elects to delist Livedoor
The Tokyo Stock Exchange said Monday it will delist scandal-tainted Livedoor Co. and subsidiary Livedoor Marketing Co. from its Mothers market for emerging firms on April 14 due to alleged accounting fraud.
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2006
NSG inks deal to acquire Pilkington
Nippon Sheet Glass Co. announced Monday it has sealed a deal to acquire British glassmaker Pilkington PLC in a friendly takeover bid worth some 359 billion yen that at one point was rejected by the Pilkington side.
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2006
Hiramatsu: Horie finished at Livedoor
Livedoor Co. President Kozo Hiramatsu said Friday that the firm will not let founder and former President Takafumi Horie rejoin the company even if he is acquitted of charges that he spread false financial information and allegations he committed accounting fraud.
BUSINESS
Feb 24, 2006
What is Livedoor's future on TSE?
With the Wednesday arrest of Livedoor Representative Director Fumito Kumagai and fresh warrants served on founder Takafumi Horie and three former executives for alleged accounting fraud, Livedoor's delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange may be inevitable. Below are answers to some questions about what...
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2006
Acquisitive Don Quijote posts 13% profit rise
Discount retailer Don Quijote, currently under the spotlight over its hostile takeover bid for Origin Toshu Co., said Wednesday it posted a net profit of 4.85 billion yen from July to December 2005, up 13.2 percent from the same period the previous year.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2006
GSDF troops to start Iraq exit in March
Japan will start pulling out its Ground Self-Defense Force troops from the southern Iraq city of Samawah in March and complete the withdrawal by the end of May, Foreign Ministry officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2006
ASDF general labels China 'threat'
Is China a military threat to Japan or not?
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2006
SDF to get random drug testing: agency
The Defense Agency will conduct urine tests on Self-Defense Forces members in the wake of several narcotics busts since July, according to an internal report submitted to the agency director general Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Feb 15, 2006
Most U.S. beef processors safe: LDP team
Most U.S. beef processing facilities looking to export beef to Japan are taking sufficient measures to satisfy the criteria agreed upon between the United States and Japan, an inspection team of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2006
Egypt ambassador counsels caution on cartoons
Attacks like the ones on the Danish embassies in Syria and Lebanon last weekend could take place in Japan if the media here insult Muslims by reprinting cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad, Egyptian Ambassador to Japan Hisham Badr warned Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2006
North's abduction charge irks NGOs
Members of nongovernmental organizations trying to help North Koreans who have fled their impoverished country find safe haven lashed out Thursday over Pyongyang's claim this week that they were kidnapping its people.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2006
Media restraint urged on Muhammad cartoons
The Foreign Ministry has recommended that Japan's media organizations not reprint contentious caricatures of the prophet Muhammad, after angry demonstrators torched the Danish embassies in Lebanon and Syria over the weekend and other violence has erupted.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2006
Tokyo to leverage whole talks on abduction issue
In a move to pressure North Korea a day before bilateral talks between Tokyo and Pyongyang are to start in Beijing, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Friday that Tokyo may consider abandoning the three-track talks on security, abduction and normalization if there is no progress on the abduction issue.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2006
Three-prong North Korea talks set for Feb. 4
Japan and North Korea will begin the first of three-track normalization talks on Feb. 4 in Beijing, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2006
Russian plane intruded while tracking freighter
A Russian aircraft violated Japanese airspace seven times Wednesday night off northern Hokkaido, government officials said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2006
U.S. official tries to play down risky beef shipment
U.S. agricultural official J.B. Penn tried Tuesday to minimize the impact of a recent shipment of banned U.S. beef material, saying it was "an isolated incident" carried out by a meatpacker inexperienced in export procedures.
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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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

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