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Yuki Hagiwara
For Yuki Hagiwara's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 27, 2019
Negative rates see Japan's regional banks move into structured finance sector
The nation's regional banks have long been relegated to the sidelines in one of the most lucrative corners of the lending market while regular loans got gradually less profitable.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 10, 2019
Happy hour is over: MUFJ bank executive takes aim at Japan's 'nominication' drinking culture
It's time to stop drinking with the boss after work.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 1, 2019
Bank of Japan should avoid pushing rates further below zero, head of lenders' association says
The new head of the nation's main banking lobby is warning the Bank of Japan against deepening negative interest rates, signaling that such a move could spur risky investment and put further pressure on lenders' profits.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 6, 2019
Mizuho's surprise $6.1 billion charge exemplifies risks for Japan banks seeking returns abroad
Mizuho Financial Group Inc. announced another round of losses Wednesday on its foreign-bond holdings as part of a surprise writedown that will severely curtail full-year profit, as Japanese banks' quest to secure yield by investing overseas continues to create turbulence.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 1, 2019
Japan's MUFG agrees to buy German lender DZ Bank's aviation finance arm for ¥710 billion
The unit acquired from Germany's second-largest bank will be one of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group's biggest acquisitions since it was created in 2005.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Dec 5, 2018
How could Carlos Ghosn possibly have hidden billions of yen from Nissan?
How could one of the world's most visible employees go about hiding billions of yen worth of salary and benefits paid to him by one of the world's biggest companies, without the company knowing it?
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 19, 2018
In Japan, the growing number of dementia sufferers hold a vast pool of idle wealth
The country's growing ranks of dementia sufferers are sitting on a mountain of frozen assets, creating personal dilemmas for loved ones fretting over how to handle that money and a drag on the nation's economic prospects as the vast pool of wealth lays idle.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 6, 2018
Mizuho Financial Group looks to attract creative thinkers in new hiring strategy
One of Japan's biggest banks is throwing away the cookie cutter when it comes to hiring fresh graduates.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 27, 2018
Mizuho's trust banking sector sets sights on $11 trillion held by Japan's well-heeled elderly
Mizuho Financial Group Inc.'s trust banking arm has its sights set on exactly where the wealth is in Japan: the $11 trillion held by the nation's elderly.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 15, 2018
Regional banks fight for inheritance to ensure their survival
Where there's a will, there's a way. That's what banks across Japan are counting on as they try to keep hold of the ¥50 trillion in wealth left by their customers each year when they die.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2018
Banks rush to turn Japan cashless before legal change attracts tech giants
Japanese banks, long content to foster the nation's love for cash, are now diving into digital payments thanks to a regulatory change that threatens to usher in new rivals.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 27, 2018
Japan's financial regulation shake-up seen as a game changer for banks
The Financial Services Agency is laying the groundwork for a regulatory overhaul that could lead to a shake-up in Japan's ¥1 quadrillion banking industry.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 21, 2017
Alipay pursues Chinese tourists in hard-to-crack Japanese market
Alipay, a third-party mobile and online payment platform by Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd., is chasing Chinese tourists to Japan, where it's signing up a growing number of retailers and eyeing the long-term potential of the nation's $45 billion digital payments market.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2017
Tokyo pushes back on 'bizarre' death tax that deters expats
Considering a work stint in Japan? You'd better make it short, and you'd better stay alive.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 27, 2017
MUFG brokerage manager claims paternity harassment led to unpaid leave
Glen Wood, an equity sales manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., filed a harassment claim against the brokerage and asked a Tokyo court to order the firm to withdraw its decision to put him on unpaid leave.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 5, 2017
Strict ID checks may deter residents from visiting Japan's casinos, LDP's Iwaya says
A proposal that residents be required to give their My Number before entering a casino could severely restrict access, the leader of a ruling party panel working on plans for the Singapore-style resorts said in an interview.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jun 13, 2017
With casinos on horizon, bill to curb gambling addiction draws skepticism
A childhood New Year's holiday spent playing cards with his family planted the seeds of a gambling compulsion that ravaged decades of one man's life. Now 67, the former salesman from western Japan fell into debt time and time again as his addiction drew him to pachinko parlors, then illegal mah-jongg and dice games.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 25, 2017
Revival-seeking rural Japan feels left out as casino plans favor major cities
Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama are emerging as likely candidates for casino resorts under the government's new bidding framework, triggering criticism from smaller cities that say it undermines Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's goal of reviving rural areas.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 20, 2017
Renho takes Abe to task over policies on ‘womenomics,’ Constitution
Renho, leader of the struggling Democratic Party, says Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policies are failing Japan's women and the pacifist charter.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 13, 2017
Economy seen hurting as thousands of Japan's 'zombie' firms legally dodge bankruptcy
The owner of a car repair business in northwest Tokyo has been digging into his retirement fund to keep his shop going. He's in his mid-60s, he's not making money and he knows he'll eventually have to close down.

Longform

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