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July 06, 2025
 

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Yasutaka Tamura
U.S. proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services had urged Japan Exchange Group investors to vote against CEO Hiromi Yamaji’s re-election after an employee was found guilty of insider trading.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2025
Japan bourse CEO reappointed with slimmer vote as rating falls
Investors voted with their feet as the stock’s 18.6% decline over the past year underperformed the broad Topix’s 1.6% rise.
Over a five-year period, shares of Bitcoin-buyer Metaplanet have soared more than 3,000%.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 17, 2025
Bitcoin buyer Metaplanet sees market value top ¥1 trillion amid crypto rally
But not everyone is convinced Metaplanet’s rally will last, with short positions having grown to about 23% of its free float as of last Thursday.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Tokyo. Stock traders are looking for signs of activist holdings in Japanese firms, with more than 80% of Tokyo-listed companies, whose fiscal year ends in March, expected to hold shareholder meetings in the last five days of June.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 6, 2025
Traders scouring annual meeting filings for traces of activist shareholdings
Multiple stocks jumped last week after activist investor Aya Nomura’s name appeared in annual general meeting letters, listed as a stakeholder.
Astroscale Holdings executives attend the company’s listing ceremony at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in June 2024.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2025
Space-debris firm that saw shares surge 62% on IPO loses half its value
Excitement over Astroscale Holdings was riding high, but it's now the worst performer among Tokyo’s 10 biggest listings in the past year.
Japan’s carmakers are being pushed to combine their resources in an environment roiled by tariffs, as well as to counter Chinese auto firms’ rapid expansion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2025
Japan's carmakers face consolidation amid tariffs and China's rise, says hedge fund
Man Group’s Stephen Harget thinks the phenomenon could be Japan-specific as automakers in other regions have already been through such a cycle.
Orbis Investment Management bought shares of Mitsubishi Estate over the past months on the view that inflation will lift revenue as the domestic real estate sector remains attractive.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2025
Top Japan fund adds Mitsubishi Estate shares on cheap valuations
The return of inflation in Japan has lured overseas investors to the nation’s real estate market and property developer shares.
JX Advanced Metals' stock rose as much as 6.7% in morning trading on Wednesday as it debuted on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 19, 2025
JX Advanced Metals surges on debut after biggest Japan IPO since 2018
The successful debut for JX may provide a tailwind for other local IPO hopefuls to push forward with their plans to go public.
JX Advanced Metals plans to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on March 19.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 10, 2025
JX Metals raises $3 billion in Japan's biggest IPO since SoftBank
The semiconductor materials supplier, whose clients include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Intel, plans to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on March 19.
JX Advanced Metals' shares will be offered at ¥810 to ¥820 each after feedback from investors, the firm said in a filing in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2025
JX Metals cuts price of Japan’s biggest IPO since SoftBank
The shares will be offered at ¥810 to ¥820 each after feedback from investors, JX Metals said in a filing in Tokyo on Monday.
Japan Post Holdings plans to sell a stake in Japan Post Bank that could raise ¥630 billion ($4.2 billion).
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2025
Japan Post plans sale of $4.2 billion stake in banking unit
The company will sell as many as 416.1 million shares at a discount of 2% to 4% of the stock’s market price.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 14, 2025
Japan’s biggest IPO since SoftBank seeks to raise $3 billion
The deal would exceed last year’s blockbuster share debut of subway operator Tokyo Metro.
Next Generation Technology Group acquires companies in need of future leadership with competitive technologies and high margins, said Eiichi Arai, the Tokyo-based firm’s CEO.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2025
Tokyo’s first listing of the year soars in trading debut
The shares climbed as much as 58% to ¥3,165 in early trading in Tokyo on Wednesday.
A surge in management buyouts has come amid increasing pressure from activist investors to improve corporate value, and the burden of maintaining a listing.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 5, 2025
Japan weighs tougher management buyout rules to protect minority shareholders
A surge in buyouts has come amid increasing pressure from activist investors to improve corporate value.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market 250 Index is down about 11% so far this year and set for its fourth yearly loss.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 24, 2024
Japan startups set for longest rout on record as rate hike looms
A rate hike by the Bank of Japan would make it more expensive for new companies to finance research and development.
While the prospect of Eneos Holdings offloading a majority stake in JX has been mooted for years, it is coming closer to reality amid a hot market for share sales in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2024
Eneos considers IPO of up to 70% of JX Advanced Metals
Japan has seen the highest volume of IPOs this year since 2018.
Nobuo Hayasaka, president of Kioxia Holdings, reacts after striking a bell during the company's listing ceremony at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2024
Chipmaker Kioxia surges 12% in Tokyo debut after jumbo IPO
Shares in the producer of NAND memory chips extended gains in afternoon trading after initially dropping, valuing the firm at ¥877 billion ($5.7 billion).
People walk toward a beach in Miyakojima, Okinawa Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2024
Blackstone buys Ritz-Carlton Okinawa as Japan tourism booms
The transaction will include the Kanehide Kise Beach Palace and money to be spent on renovations, sources say.
Kioxia Holdings will debut on the market Wednesday, but its initial public offering may get a cooler reception than anticipated.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 17, 2024
Chipmaker Kioxia faces a tough debut in Tokyo’s busy IPO arena
Investment in Kioxia faltered as parent Toshiba wrestled with years of scandals and crippling losses at nuclear giant Westinghouse, making it a shadow of its former self.
Kioxia priced its stock at ¥1,455 ($9.6), at the middle of the price range it proposed before the IPO.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 10, 2024
Kioxia’s jumbo IPO shows weak sign contrary to booming market
The Bain Capital-backed memory-chip manufacturer priced its stock at ¥1,455 ($9.6), at the middle of the price range it proposed before the IPO.
Optiver starts providing liquidity on options of 12 Japanese companies and exchange-traded funds in September.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 10, 2024
Options giant Optiver bets Japan’s market is about to boom
The firm is betting that a push by the Tokyo bourse for better corporate governance will lead to more stocks trading and increased usage of derivatives.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
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. 
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.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha 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

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Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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