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Min Jeong Lee
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 12, 2020
Activist urges Japanese clothing firm Sanyo Shokai to sell itself
A U.S. activist investor has called on Japanese clothing company Sanyo Shokai Ltd. to sell itself, saying a new owner would help turn around the firm.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 10, 2020
Goldman says Japan stock index may still be too big after re-size
Japan's equity market overhaul may cut the companies in the benchmark gauge by a few hundred, and that won't be enough for investors, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 9, 2020
Japan-run language school that saw stock surge 1,093% last year eyes expansion
A Japan-run language school that saw its stock soar almost 12-fold last year is planning to expand into new business areas as its chief executive officer tries to keep the rally alive.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2019
Shareholder activism rises in Japan as firms go hostile and investors speak out
Record shareholder activism is combining with rare hostile takeover bids in Japan, in a trend that's seen as good news for investors in the country's ¥675 trillion stock market.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 31, 2019
Japan Inc. paying more dividends than ever, says Nomura Holdings
Japan Inc. is paying dividends like never before, and that's poised to lure more investors, according to Nomura Holdings Inc.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 5, 2019
5G stocks among rare winners in Japan's sluggish market
Even with an ongoing trade war between the world's two biggest economies, and a weak domestic market, some Japanese investors suggest going long on next-generation technology stocks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 3, 2019
Japan Inc. sitting on ¥506.4 trillion mountain of cash
In banks across Japan sits a pile of money that's bigger than most countries' gross domestic product — the cash reserves of the nation's companies. For some it's a testament to their strength, but to many it's a wasted opportunity.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2019
Miyakoshi, the first Japanese firm into postwar China, hopes for a real estate-driven comeback
When it comes to China, Kunimasa Miyakoshi has at least two claims to fame.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 15, 2019
Goldman sees a bargain in resilient Japanese cram school with focus on private tuition
Noriko Mori, 47, paid about ¥700,000 ($6,300) to a cram school to help her daughter prepare for a school entrance exam in Tokyo. Her daughter was six, and the entrance exam was for an elementary school.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 23, 2018
Kura's Kunihiko Tanaka: From peddling vinegar to running a sushi empire
Kunihiko Tanaka was peddling vinegar to sushi restaurants in western Japan when he spotted the opportunity that would change his life.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 28, 2018
Having outperformed Topix, a pioneer female money manager takes her womenomics fund to U.S.
Miyuki Kashima was one of the first female fund managers in Japan, with a career that dates back to the mid-1980s, before the country's bubble burst. Now she's outperforming the benchmark index by buying companies that hire and promote more women.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
May 22, 2018
Japan's earnings reports mostly disappoint, but analysts see hope ahead
With Japan's quarterly reporting period almost over, one analyst summed up the general feeling about companies' profit performance.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Apr 4, 2018
As market watchers wonder when easing will taper, Bank of Japan counters sell-off with record buying
It's been a bad year for the Japanese stock market. Without record purchases by the Bank of Japan, it could have been even worse.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2018
After Daifuku's 1,200% stock surge, departing Japan chip CEO aims for more
Masaki Hojo, who built Daifuku Co. into the world's largest maker of machines for handling chip materials, is once again challenging market expectations even as he prepares to make his exit from the company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 12, 2018
Bain says the record year for Japan private equity is no one-off
Japan's banner year for buyouts is just the start of a bigger boom in the market, says the fund responsible for more than four-fifths of private equity deals in the country by value in 2017.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 28, 2017
As dark pool action grows in Japan, top exchange lobbies for action
The Tokyo Stock Exchange is worried about Japan going dark.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 20, 2017
Volatility returns to Tokyo markets
Bryan Goh says there's no clear reason why Japanese stocks suddenly started falling after a turbocharged rally sent them to their highest in a quarter century.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2017
How one Japan firm shifted its focus from steel plates to fancy phone screens
It calls itself a steel maker, but don't be misled by the name.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 24, 2017
During Tokyo stocks' bull run, the BOJ is sitting on its hands
The record rally on the Tokyo Stock Exchange is so powerful that one of the most prominent buyers is sitting on the sidelines.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 19, 2017
WPP alliance dead with or without Bain deal, Asatsu-DK CEO says
Asatsu-DK Inc.'s chief executive officer said he is determined to sever an alliance with top stockholder WPP PLC, seven months after the world's largest advertising agency called on share owners to vote him out.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb